ISIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ISIS - Essay Example ich has seized significant territories in western and northern Iraq and eastern Syria and established â€Å"caliphate† in accordance with Islamic Law, or Sharia. The history of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria goes back to 1999, which is the year when Tawhid wa al-Jihad, a militant Islamist group, was established by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Jordan. This militant group achieved its ill name due to the numerous attacks on coalition forces, beheadings of hostages and suicide attacks held in Iraq. After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Zarqawi pledged alliance with al-Qaeda network and changed the name of the organization to al-Qaeda in Iraq (usually referred to as AQI), which became the main force of the insurgency (BBC, 2014). In 2006, the leader of the organization died, and AQI created an umbrella organization named Islamic State in Iraq. During 2006-2007, the group lost support of the population because of violent attacks committed by the members of the organization. As a result, AQI found itself in a deep crisis as it was isolated its supporters. However, 2010 can be regarded as the year of revival of the organization as its new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, restored the capabilities and reputation of the Islamic State (BBC, 2014). It was in April 2013 that al-Baghdadi made the merge of his forces in Syria and Iraq public and announced the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In the end of 2013, the organization focused on the conflict between the Sunni Arab community and the government and took control over Fallujah with the help of tribesmen. In June 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized Mosul and advanced to Baghdad. In this very month, the organization changed its name to the Islamic State, and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the creation of caliphate, a state led by one and the only political and religious leader (BBC, 2014). There is no certain data on the area controlled by the organization. For

Monotheistic Religions in the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Monotheistic Religions in the Media - Essay Example Even as our perception of these religions is long-entrenched through insights gleamed from an early age, in a small degree the news media can continue to shape perception through the ways they structure culture and religion. This essay considers three such means of structuring religion through an analysis of articles on Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In considering one way the media develops and implements a perspective on religion, an article from the Los Angeles Times is considered. The article ‘Islamists in Egypt seek change through politics’ presents a number of interesting perspectives on the nature of Islam. The article is indicating is interesting in that it considers the nature of radical Islam, yet contrasts it with a reimagined perspective that demonstrates some of the religion’s positive elements. In these regards, it considers former rebel Nageh Ibrahim who at one time had expressed a desire to create a large-scale Islamic state through blood-shed, who is now living in a high rise and, â€Å"has the soothing voice of a man who could lead a 12-step program on rejecting radicalism† (Fleishman 2010). The article indicates that the group Ibrahim headed at one point committed considerable acts of terror and violence in an effort to achieve these ends for the Islamic state. Within these regards, he is known to take contributed to the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, and the massacre at Luxor temple that contributed to the death of sixty-two people. After being imprisoned for twenty-four years, Ibrahim is demonstrated to have changed his radical stance. The article uses the story of Ibrahim’s life as a sort of metaphor on the nature of the changing nature of Islamic politics. In regards to Egypt, this philosophical slant is akin to a shift from Malcolm X like means of enacting change to Martin Luther King Jr’s stance of non-violent exchange. Ibrahim states, â€Å"Over the years†¦it became apparent th at violence harmed us and the image of Islam. The state could always hit us back harder than we could hit them† (Fleishman 2010). While the article indicates that radicalism is still occurring, the general consensus in terms of Egyptian politics is that this more political and less violent approach is the means towards significant change. In terms of a broader framing of Islam, the article presents a complex picture of the religion as embodying a variety of polls of political action – both extremism and modernism. The next article, ‘Rapper Finds Order in Orthodox Judaism in Israel,’ analyzed is from the New York Times and it considers the nature of rapper that has turned to Judaism. This is an intriguing investigation of Judaism as it challenges traditional assumptions of Jewish individuals as being of a certain ethnic class. In addition, the juxtaposition with rap also constitutes a clashing of socioeconomic classes that are generally separate aspects with in American society. The rapper in the article is Shyne, a protege of famed rap producer Puff Daddy. An interesting sidenote, Shyne served nine years in prison for opening fire at a club. Despite being raised as a troubled street hood in Brooklyn, Shyne states, â€Å"My entire life screams that I have a Jewish neshama,† he said, using the Hebrew word for soul† (Kraft 2010). This is an interesting presentation of the Jewish religion. While soul and street legitimacy have oftentimes been conclaves of African American art and culture, Shyne has made an interesting connection between these aspects and those of the Jewish religion. The article indicates that Shyne discovered Judaism during his time in prison, although he had been intrigued by Old Testament stories since an early age. While this article may constitute an outlier of

Edward Lee Thorndike And His Behaviour Experiments

Edward Lee Thorndike And His Behaviour Experiments Prior to Edward Lee Thorndikes landmark experimental analysis of behaviour in 1898, the study of the psychology of learning lacked a clear, defined research methodology. Research findings were very much subjective, lacking the quantitative evidence that would give them scientific credence and avoiding impreciseness and ambiguities in their interpretation. People were asked to look inside their minds and describe what they were thinking. (Ormrod, 2008). This method was called introspection, which by its very nature, is devoid of objectiveness. Thus emerged Thorndikes groundbreaking puzzle box experiments with cats, dogs, and chicks, culminating in his doctoral dissertation on animal intelligence in 1898. Through his experiments, the study of learning took on a more objective approach, where the emphasis was on the observables rather than the non-observables. The basis of his experiments was that behaviour is an observable phenomenon and thus is measurable. It led to the birth of the behaviourist movement where research looked primarily at behaviour rather than cognition, given that mental processes (like insight or introspection) cannot be objectively measured with any level of reliability. 2. Thorndikes Experiments (Task (a) of Assignment) To circumvent the subjective nature of research then, Thorndike developed some experiments on the learning phenomenon whose results were beyond subjective interpretations. The idea behind them was to observe the behaviour of a hungry animal trapped in puzzle boxes in its attempt to escape. He conducted the experiments using three animals, viz. cats, dogs, and chicks. Food, functioning as the temptation factor (stimulus), was placed outside the box in full view of the animal. He started with a cat. For it to escape, the cat had to manipulate a device that would open the door in order to get at the food. There were altogether 15 of these boxes, each with different escape mechanisms, ranging from a wire loop, lever, and a treadle which had to be depressed for it to escape. The variety of mechanisms was (presumably) to observe any consistency in behavioural mode despite the variables presented by the escape devices. In its attempts to escape, Thorndike closely observed the cat initiating numerous, apparently random movements, seemingly driven by impulse rather than reasoning. Through the cats struggles, it would eventually trigger the release mechanism. This was achieved more by chance through trial and error rather than by any reasoned action of the cat. The cat was repeatedly put into the box. Thorndike observed that what was initially random and chaotic behaviour became relatively more orderly and efficient. In other words, he noticed gross changes in behaviour when the same set situation was repeated. In addition, he recorded the time it took for the cat to escape from its confinement. He then plotted a time-curve graph which enabled him to not only analyse the animals speed of learning, but also the rate of learning. Thorndike repeated the same puzzle box experiment with dogs and chicks, with minor practical adjustments to the procedure. Again, time-curves were plotted and compared to those exhibited by the cats. However, in some experiments, Thorndike varied the escape mode. Instead of the animal physically manipulating a release device, he would, for example, remove a chick from a box whenever it preened its feathers; or he would open the door when a cat licked or scratched itself. He observed that the chick started preening itself when it was re-placed into the box, indicating the animals instinctive desire to be let out of the box. Time curves were plotted and compared to the curves obtained by the escape device mode. There were also certain other variations in the way the experiments were conducted. One such variation was placing the same cat that was used in a particular box into another differently designed box. He then observed how the cat reacted to the changed environment. In another variation, Thorndike allowed the animal to observe another member of its species in its attempt to escape. He wanted to find out if animals could learn by imitation. 3. Summary of Main Findings (Task (a) of Assignment) 3.1 Overview The overarching finding of Thorndikes experiments was that there are responses (explicit behavioural changes) when there is a stimulus (food). In that sense, there is a stimulus-response (S-R) connection in how animals learn. How well the animals learnt is determined by the experience it gained from the same experiment conducted repeatedly. In effect, this perspective of learning (connectionism) emphasized the role of experience in the strengthening and weakening of the S-R connections. In general, it could be said that the essence of intellectual development depends on how strong this S-R connection is. The main findings from Thorndikes experiments in animal intelligence would form the basis for his formulation of theories related to learning. They led to further research into the more complex intellectual abilities of humans, eventually leading to the development of modern era comparative psychology. 3.2 Findings from the Experiments The main findings from Thorndikes puzzle box experiments can be summarized below: 3.2.1 Gross changes in behaviour When presented with a stimulus (S), the animal displayed an overt response (R), i.e. food (the stimulus) elicited a reaction in a hungry animal. In other words, Thorndike noted explicitly observable behavioural changes when an S-R setting is presented to the animal. The gross changes described by Thorndike manifested itself by the animals impulsive actions in what he described as trial-and-error learning in order to escape from the box. 3.2.2 Learning is gradual Time curves were plotted in all of Thorndikes experiments involving cats, dogs and chicks. The curves were a measurement of the time required for the animal to escape over repeated number of trials ranging from 24 to 117. The graphs allowed Thorndike to not only obtain the escape times, but also the rate of learning, which was represented by the slope of the curves. The time curves presented by all the animals showed remarkably similar patterns of behaviour. Analyses of the curves proved that learning took place gradually, i.e. in incremental steps rather than huge jumps. This was seen in the gradual reduction of escape times over the total number of trials. In one of the experiments, for instance, escape times for a cat varied from a high of 160 seconds to a low of 6 seconds over 24 trials, indicating that it had been steadily more efficient in its attempts to escape. Thorndike alluded to this when he described its initially random, chaotic demeanour gradually becoming more orderly and deliberate. It also proved that in some innate way, the animal had learnt from past experience. 3.2.3 Effective behaviour diminishes ineffective behaviour By analysing the time curves, Thorndike concluded that effective behaviour, i.e. actions that could lead to a satisfactory end, persisted. Conversely, ineffective behaviour diminished. In effect, there was a stamping in of some behaviours and a stamping out of others (Ormrod, 2008). This phenomenon was demonstrated in the way the animals became more efficiently adept in their escape attempts as proven by the quicker escape times. For example, in the experiment with a chick, the initial escape attempt was arbitrary and disorderly. But after many repetitions, the chick learnt to escape quickly with little of the initial chaos. As Chance (1999) puts it: Eventually the bird performed the act required for escape as soon as it was placed in the enclosure. In short, ineffective behaviour petered out. It could also be said that generally, other than through experiential learning, positive learning generates further positive learning. 3.2.4 Generalization of behaviour Thorndike also found that an animal that had learnt to escape via a particular means, e.g. by clawing, tended to employ the same means when placed in a different box with a different escape device. It could be inferred that animals generalize when first put in circumstances different than what they are familiar with, with their immediate prior experience influencing how they subsequently behave. It is only after they have adapted to the new environment that they adopt a new learning approach. 3.2.5 Discriminatory behaviour Another aspect of learning that Thorndike noted from his experiments was that an animal is capable of being discriminatory. This was evident, in one of his experiments, when (i) he made a statement to feed it and indeed fed it, and (ii) he made a statement to feed it, but he did NOT feed it. There far fewer errors in situation (i) than there were in (ii). This illustrated yet another perspective about the learning process that Thorndike delved into. 3.2.6 Learning by observation Thorndike asserted that animals, at least other than primates, do not learn by imitation, even after observing the successful behaviour of other members of their species. He effectively concluded that imitation could be discounted as an aspect of an animals successful behaviour. 4. Theories propounded by Thorndike (Task (b) of the Assignment) Thorndikes experiments on animal intelligence resulted in the formation of a body of theories related to the learning process and laid the scientific foundation for educational psychology. These learning theories were bound together by the theory of connectionism. The principal credo of Thorndikes connectionism is that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli (S) and responses (R) (http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html). Connectionism debunked the dominant view held by psychologists before Thorndike that animals learnt by the association of ideas, i.e. they could logically relate events and reason out solutions to a problem. Rather, through his experiments, Thorndike established that animals are equipped with action impulses. It was these impulses, responding to the stimulus (S), that activated the trial-and-error behaviour of the animals trapped in the puzzle boxes. Their eventual successful escape was the result of the gradual learning they experienced arising from actually performing the act. It derived from an innate understanding that the correct actions (affirmative response) produce the desired effect (getting to the food). In short, Thorndike believed that learning requires no ideas in the head of the animal; only the performance of the act itself was essential for a satisfactory consequence. The learning theories propounded by Thorndike, being subsets of connectionism, can be summarised as follows: 4.1 The Law of Effect Responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened; responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened (Ormrod, 2008). This theory basically emphasizes the role of responsive actions and their consequences. In the act of responding, the impulse that produced the successful act would be stamped in (strengthened), whilst all other non-successful impulses would be stamped out (weakened). Eventually the stamping in would become habitual responses to that same situation. In the puzzle box experiments, the S-R connection was established because the response resulted in a satisfying consequence (escape from box). This response was strengthened, as seen when the animal reduced its vain actions (e.g. clawing and scurrying aimlessly) in the repeated experiments, as shown by the much faster escape times. Applied to human learning, this law implies that positive stimuli breed correspondingly positive responses. In practical terms, in schools or any learning institution, students should be provided with an environment that is conducive to learning. Libraries, for example, in general provide this conduciveness. As Ormrod (2008) puts it: Students should experience academic tasks in contexts that elicit pleasant emotions rather than in contexts that elicit anxiety, disappointment, or anger. This statement is consistent with the premise of Thorndikes Law of Effect that satisfactory consequences strengthen the response. 4.2 The Law of Readiness A series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked. (http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html) This theory arose in an experiment where a chick had to execute a sequence of actions to trigger a series of release devices for it to escape confinement. This sequence of acts is today known as a response chain. Extending the aspect of satisfying some goal to humans, it could be surmised that optimal learning takes place only when someone is ready to act; in so doing, the consequences are satisfying. On the other hand, forcing someone to act when he is not ready will be annoying. Forcing can be interpreted as interfering in someones goal-directed behaviour. Interference that leads to unwilling behaviour causes frustration. An analogy could be made of a child who is force-fed to eat vegetables. He may grow up to hate eating vegetables if it is forced upon him. However, if he himself is ready to eat them, the act will more likely lead to satisfaction. In the long run, vegetables are a must in his meals; not having them may lead to annoyance. On a broader perspective, the level of readiness could be linked to a major factor in the efficacy of learning, viz. motivation. At its basic level, motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something. (Harmer, 2007). When a person is sufficiently motivated to learn, the aforesaid internal drive should ready him/her to learn. In the context of the classroom, a conducive learning environment (S) can also motivate (R) students (the S-R connection in the Law of Effect). Hence it can be said that the stimulus (S) breeds a response (R) (of readiness to learn); in turn the response (R) breeds another positive response (motivation). Here, there is a chain of positive responses in the learning process. 4.3 The Law of Exercise Stimulus-response associations are strengthened through repetition. (Wikipedia, 2009) There are two sub-laws arising from the theory:- a. The Law of Use: The S-R connections are strengthened as they are used. b. The Law of Disuse: The S-R connections are weakened as they are not used. In effect, this theory stresses the importance of repetition in the learning process. This was how the animals strengthened the S-R response progressively in Thorndikes experiments, resulting in the faster escape times evident in the time-curves. The exercise in the law refers to practice, as in the commonly-held adage Practice makes perfect. This is especially true, not only cognitively, but also in skills where psychomotor and kinaesthetic abilities are critical to the learning. For instance, the more successful golfers are more likely to be the ones who hone their skills through longer periods of repetitive drills, all other factors being equal. Motor mechanics achieve a higher level of competency through constant and repetitive work. The importance of repetitive practice in learning cannot be overemphasized. A student can achieve a greater mathematical proficiency through tireless repetitive practice. In language learning, repetition has always played a part to provoke the structuring and re-structuring of noticed language (Harmer, 2007). Hence teachers in language classrooms put their students through choral drilling for them to internalise not only grammatical structures, but also the sentence intonation. The three laws of learning above are interestingly linked to each other. Connections are strengthened because S-R pairings occur many times (Law of exercise) and then rewarded (Law of effect) as well as forming a single sequence of actions (Law of readiness). Re-stating the link in another way, it can be said that in learning, motivation (readiness) is driven by incentives (effect). Both motivation and incentives can drive the learner towards practice (exercise) until ultimate success is achieved. 5. Thorndikes perspective of animal learning (Task (c) of the Assignment) The MacMillan English Dictionary (2002) defines reasoning as: the process of thinking about something in an intelligent and sensible way in order to make a decision. The Concise Oxford English (2002) dictionary defines thinking as: using thought or rational judgement; intelligent. But are both these definitions applicable universally, i.e. applicable to humans and animals? In a general sense, it may appear so. After all a process of thinking, in whatever way, has to take place before an animal acts. But does an animal think by using rational judgement? On the premise that animals do not rationalise, it follows then that animals do not think, at least not in the way that we humans do. Barrow and Woods (2006) declared that rationality is inextricably tied up with the notion of thinking. So it begs the question: How do animals think? Given that thinking is needed for learning, how do animals learn? Thorndike, in his doctoral dissertation, asserted that animal learning has nothing to do with reasoning or the association of ideas. Rather, he declared that it (learning) occurs as a result of trial and accidental success. He concluded this based on his puzzle box experiments where success (of escape) was due to the animals trial-and-error actions rather than a reasoned, logical, i.e. thinking, approach to the problem. According to Thorndike, the outwardly random, chaotic behaviour of the animal was due to the activation of its innate action impulses responding to the stimulus. There was no evident association of ideas in the solution. In laymans terms, animals do not put two and two together (as humans do) in a rational, logical way when they act, i.e. there is no reasoning. If animals could reason, then learning should be abrupt, NOT gradual as proven in Thorndikes time curves. What Thorndike offered, on the other hand, was that instead of the association of ideas, animals learnt through the association of sensations. This perspective was diametrically opposed to the views subscribed by comparative psychologists before him. They had contended that animals had cognitive insight, they being able to establish ideas and employ reasoning in their actions. Thorndikes experiments effectively debunked that long held contention. He said that there was no solid evidence that animals grasped ideas or learned through reasoning (Chance, 1999). In summary, Thorndike put forth four arguments in support of his beliefs. These arguments were empirically backed by the main findings of his puzzle box experiments. Chance (1999) expressed them thus: (1) The behaviour of animals is impulsive and apparently random, not systematic and logical. As enunciated above (and in other sections), when presented with a stimulus, the response of a trapped animal is chaotic; it follows that there is no contemplation or thoughtfulness, therefore no insight. Impulse rather than thought drives its actions. (2) The change in an animals behaviour is gradual, not abrupt. This assertion was validated by the time curves. The curves established that animals learn in incremental steps, not in sudden surges. This implies that there is an absence of reasoning (Chance, 1999). (3) The animals show no sign of understanding between action and consequence even after they have learnt to escape from the box. This arose from an experiment when a cat, which had escaped by pulling a loop, would repeat the same action, even when the loop was absent in the repeated trials. It shows that the cats response had been strengthened due to earlier successes (The Law of effect). It again confirms Thorndikes view that animal learning does not involve reasoning. (4) Animals learnt only if they performed the necessary act themselves. As described in 3.2.6 Learning by observation, animals do not learn by observing and imitating models. Neither would they learn if they are prompted to perform the act, as Thorndike discovered when he repeatedly assisted the cat to pull the release device. When left on its own, the cat could not associate the loop as a means of escape. This indicates that, unless the animal acted on its own volition, learning would not take place (the Law of readiness). It stands that animals cannot reason their way through a problem. 6. Conclusion It has been over 100 years now since Thorndikes pioneering work in the study and psychology of learning, resulting in a learning perspective referred to as connectionism, emphasizing on behaviour as opposed to cognition. It laid the foundation for latter day psychologists to conduct a more objective, scientific research into the process of human and animal learning. Thorndikes puzzle box experiments primarily focussed on the S-R relationship that provided the catalytic impetus to learning. It led to the development of Thorndikes theories, which expounds how learning takes place. Through his experiments, Thorndike also disproved the views held by other psychologists that animals possess insight in their learning process. All in all, Thorndikes research provided a fresh perspective of the learning process which led to further research by others. In a way, this scenario is an instance of the S-R environment. (End)

The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Marketing Communications Essay -- Medical M

Protecting patient information is an important task for any health care provider. The Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), also known as the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, was approved by the United States Congress in 1996. It was the first act to provide national regulations for the use of patient health information. This privacy rule outlines the boundaries for the use of personal health information, including specific guidelines to ensure HIPAA-compliance. In order to market under HIPAA, there are certain privacy rules in place to protect patients. According to HIPAA, marketing is defined as â€Å"a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients to purchase or use the product or service†2. This definition can include any type of marketing communication. Marketing also includes when a covered entity is paid by a third party for patient health information that they can use for their own purpos es. It also covers cases of an associate communicating and encouraging patients to buy or use their product or service. Covered entities, which include health providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses, must receive authorization to use patient’s health information for marketing but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Marketing activities that are permitted without prior authorization include face-to-face encounters as well as giving promotional gifts of little value, such as pens or mugs. A good example of this would be a covered entity giving new mothers a free sample of baby products as they leave the hospital. Covered entities may discuss the health benefits of a product or service to a patient, along with describing health plan options, ... ...portant that the health care provider understands when authorization from the patient must be obtained and when it is not needed. Knowledge of the HIPAA Privacy Rule is essential for any health care provider as well as their staff in order to ensure that any marketing communications are HIPAA compliant. Works Cited 1) Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. Question 5 – Newsletters, Patient Education. Retrieved from http://www.ahp.org/advocacy/us/HIPAA/Analysis/Pages/Question5Long.aspx 2) Direct Marketing Association (2002, August). The Privacy Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Retrieved from http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/HIPPA/#III1 3) Johnson, P. (2011, September 6). HIPAA: How does it relate to marketing? Retrieved from http://www.oandp.com/blogs/marketing-matters/post/HIPAA-How-Does-It-Relate-to-Marketing.aspx

Re-Examining the ‘Step-and-Slide’: Sex Differences in Pedestrian Collision Avoidance

Abstract Previous literature has reported sex differences in collision avoidance behaviour by pedestrians. The current study sough to establish whether these sex differences are still valid now by observing an opportunity sample of male and female pedestrians in a busy location. A chi-square test found a significant (p 01) relationship between sex and collision avoidance behaviour. In particular, women were significantly more likely to engage in closed passes and men were significantly more likely to engage in open passes. This finding is in keeping with the pattern previously reported by Collett and Marsh (1981). Future research is needed to understand why these sex differences may exist. Introduction Despite often busy and overcrowded public areas, pedestrians can be observed navigating and avoiding collisions with remarkable ease. Previous literature appears to be relatively unanimous in its observations and conclusions about how pedestrians are able to avoid collisions. In an early study, Goffman (1972) made a number of observations including that people tend to form two lanes whilst walking upon the pavement, with one group walking on the inside, away from the road and the other group walking on the outside and close to the road. Many years later, Collett and Marsh (1981) observed the same phenomenon and coined the term ‘pedestrian streaming.’ It was also discovered that individuals will use others’ movements and monitor their intentions, known as â€Å"externalisation,† to ensure a smoother passage. These movements may be unconscious or conscious and may as be discrete as a slight turn of the shoulders. Again, this phenomenon was also observed by Wo lff (1973), who named it â€Å"behaviour monitoring.† Wolff (1973) observed that many pedestrians engage in what he coined the ‘step-and-slide’ pass, which involved a slight angling of the shoulders alongside a discrete side step. After videotaping the passing behaviour of individuals using a pedestrian crossing, Collett and Marsh (1981) noted significant sex differences in the strategies used whilst engaging in this type of pass. Males were far more likely to use an open pass strategy by orienting toward the person they were trying to avoid whereas females were more likely to use a closed pass strategy by orienting themselves away from the person they were attempting to avoid. Interestingly, the types of pass used could not adequately be explained by the natural position of the leg during passing and even when it was more difficult, women were still more likely to use a closed pass. The researchers concluded that the use of a closed pass strategy by women was an example of self-protective behaviour. In particular, the auth ors concluded that women were attempting to protect their breasts after observing that they often drew their arms across their bodies during the pass. The result of Collett and Marsh’s (1981) study may now be outdated. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate whether sex differences in collision avoidance behaviour still exist today and whether the pattern still reflects that seen by Collett and Marsh (1981). Based on previous literature it is hypothesised that females will make more closed passes than males and that males will use more open passes than females. MethodParticipants2,910 participants (1,376 females, 1,534 males) were observed using an opportunity sample. As this was a observation study it was not feasible to collect demographic data such as age.MaterialsObservations were recorded on a data collection grid. The data collection grid was used to record the sex of the pedestrian and whether a open pass, closed pass or neutral pass was observed. Design This was a between-subjects design with male participants being compared with female participants. The predictor variable was the sex of the pedestrian and the criterion variable was the type of passing behaviour exhibited.ProcedureBefore collecting data for the study a pilot study was carried out to ensure that the observers could correctly identify whether a pedestrian was exhibiting an open pass, closed pass or neutral behaviour. Data was collected on an opportunity sample of ten pedestrians for the pilot study. For the main study, data was collected by observing pedestrians at various train stations during peak times. Two researchers collected the data with one acting as observer and the other acting as recorder. Observations were based on an opportunity sample and a mix of male-male, female-female and female-male interactions were recorded.ResultsA total of 1,376 females and 1,534 males were observed. Of the 1,376 females, 561 engaged in an open pass, whereas 815 engaged in a closed pass. Of the 1,534 males observed, 1,070 engaged in an open pass, whereas 464 engaged in a closed pass. A chi-square test was performed and a significant relationship was found between sex and type of collision avoidance behaviour X2 (1, N = 2910) = 247.32, p < 0.01. [Insert graph here] Discussion The aim of the current study was to investigate whether current sex differences in pedestrian collision avoidance behaviour support previous literature that has found females are more likely to use closed passes, whereas males are more likely to use open passes when avoiding each other in busy pedestrian areas. It was found that more women engaged in closed passes than men and that more men engaged in open passes than women. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between sex and type of collision avoidance behaviour. This means that women are significantly more likely to engage in closed passes, whereas men are significantly more likely to engage in open passes. This finding is in support of previous literature (Collett and Marsh, 1981) and the data supports the researchers’ hypothesis. Collett and Marsh (1981) argued that females engage in closed passes in an attempt to protect their breasts because they observed that women often drew their arms across their chests during the pass. However, more recent research has demonstrated that even in non-confrontational, everyday situations, females tend to sit in closed positions whilst keeping their arms close to their bodies (Cashdan, 1998; Vrugt and Luyerink, 2000). This suggests that Collett and Marsh’s (1981) initial interpretation may be flawed. Women may naturally adopt closed body language, which they are also likely to use during pedestrian collision avoidance scenarios. The finding that men are more likely to use open passes is in keeping with previous literature on male body language and non-verbal communication. For example, Mehrabian (1968) found that men tend to show more alertness than women by directing their shoulder orientation toward the other person. This could explain why men adopt an open positi on and direct their shoulders toward the other individual whilst passing them. Luxen (2005) found that men tend to exhibit behavioural dominance in situations involving women. Turning their body toward a woman, whilst she turns away, may reflect this dominance. Therefore, the current findings can be interpreted in the context of sex differences in both body language and non-verbal communication. It is difficult to draw any strong conclusions from an observational study and only inferences can be made. However, based on the results and what is known about body language, it appears as though the sex differences in the way that individuals avoid pedestrian collisions still exist today as they did in the 1980s. The results also seem to support Collett and Marsh’s (1981) conclusion that women are more likely to adopt a protective stance when making passes in a collision avoidance situation. The current study had a notable number of strengths. Primarily, this study utilised a large sample, which is highly likely to be representative of the population as a whole. Generalisability was also strengthened by using different train station locations for observations. Furthermore, having taken place in a natural environment rather than a lab setting, the results have good ecological validity. However, the observation method has a number of limitations, which should be noted. Firstly, although a pilot study was carried out in order to familiarise the observer with different types of passes, the data would have been more reliable if two observers had been used at any one time. An alternative method of improving the study would have to been to video record the observation area so that a second observer could interpret an identical scenario of pedestrian collision avoidance. This would have provided a measure of inter-observer reliability, which would have strengthened the results o f the study. It is also possible that the observer was biased because they were aware of the study hypothesis. In other words, the observer may have interpreted females to have carried out more closed passes because this is what was expected based on the previous literature. In future studies, keeping the observer blind to the hypothesis of the study will reduce this risk. There are also some ethical concerns with large scale observation studies such as this. For example, some individuals may object to being watched and to their behaviour being recorded. However, with such a large scale study, it would have been impossible to have sought the informed consent of each participant. Data was also completely anonymised, which keeps the study within ethical boundaries. Although the study has good generalisability, this is somewhat weakened by collecting results from only the UK. Future research may wish to focus on whether the same patterns are found internationally. Based on the findings of the current study, future studies may also wish to focus on exploring in more detail why these sex differences exist. For example, a sample of individuals exhibiting these behaviours could be administered a questionnaire to explore whether the behaviour is unconscious or conscious and if it is conscious, why they engage in either open or closed passes. References Cashdan, E. (1998). Smiles, speech, and body posture: How women and men display sociometric status and power. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 22(4), 209-228. Collett, P.R. & Marsh, P.E. (1981). Patterns of public behaviour: Collision avoidance on a pedestri an crossing. In A. Kendon (Ed.), Nonverbal communication, interaction and gesture (pp. 199-217). The Hague: Mouton Press. Goffman, E. (1972). Relations in public. Harmondsworth: Pelican. Luxen, M. (2005). Gender differences in dominance and affiliation during a demanding interaction. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 139(4), 331- 347. Mehrabian, A. (1968). Relationship of attitude to seated posture, orientation, and distance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10(1), 26-30. Vrugt, A., & Luyerink, M. (2000). The contribution of bodily posture to gender stereotypical im pressions. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 28(1), 91. Wolff, M. (1973) Notes on the behaviour of pedestrians. In A. Birenbaum and E. Sagar (Eds.), Peo ple in places: The sociology of the familiar (pp. 35-48). New York: Praeger.

Politics in Texas Essay

The Texan republicans stand for the ideas of individualism. That entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking the powers of the economy, according to the Republican Party. The Democratic Party respects the notion of small business and entrepreneurship as it also strives to encourage jobs for hard-working laborers. In conjunction with this, the Democrats want businesses to be more flexible and technologically friendly, along with finding creative, environmentally-sound ways of promoting business. The Green Party also claims to support the power of the small business, but they have a more environmental approach that specifies several details in which companies should abide. In accordance with this, the Green Party wishes to limit free-trade in exchange with environmentally and labor friendly trade. They also specify a set wage that would allow an individual to afford a one-bedroom apartment on thirty-percent of their income. In opposition to a heavily regulated economy, the libertarians seem like the Republican Party, but to a more extreme. They are against most taxation, including income taxes since they define a wage or salary as a trade of money and service, not an equity. I believe this to be a proper point. How can people promote the economy when a chunk of their wages is taken by the government? The Libertarians are also opposed to the use of eminent domain which I agree with. It should not be up to the government to choose how someone’s property may or may not be used.