Interpersonal management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Interpersonal management - Coursework Example The success of these improvements will be measured through observing the response of the various people I will communicate with within the next two weeks. Direct questions on how they feel I should improve on my listening skills will also be asked. Positive responses and more lively discussions will be the main measure of how effective I will have improved on my listening skills. Record 5 Areas of Strength in Team Work The questionnaire on team contribution skills has been of great assistance in identifying my major strengths and weaknesses in team work skills. Personally, I have identified nine major areas in which my teamwork strengths lie in. When working with teams, I have been good at listening to others, providing solutions, time management, maintaining group focus, helping others and organizing the members. The area of administrative chores has also benefited from my contribution. Generally, I have over 60% rating gauging by the questionnaire; which is commendable. Weaknesses in Team Performance Group members identified two major areas of weaknesses that I exhibit during teamwork activities. They include leaving the responsibility of driving the team to others and generating many ideas that are mostly irrelevant to situations. To begin, I have left responsibility in the hands of others in this activity. This has been due to my areas of weakness such as the inability to present charts and drawings, my inadequate research skills and inability to help in positive conflict resolutions. In the past, it has been a difficult task for me to remain non-partisan especially when my close associates are involved in conflict and that has been a major...Weaknesses in Team Performance Group members identified two major areas of weaknesses that I exhibit during teamwork activities. The two weaknesses in team performance as identified by group members need to be addressed so that my team work skills are sharpened. Addressing the Weaknesses In the area of conflict resolution, I intend to register for future conflict resolution seminars and join relevant clubs or societies that promote effective conflict resolution to enable me handle future conflicts effectively. Record 6 Non-violent communication (NVC) Rosenberg (2003) outlines the four main components of NVC that are very essential in any communication process including face to face communication. They include observation, feelings, needs and requests. The first step involves observing and in face to face communication it may involve listening to the details of the speaker, which are verbal and non verbal. After stating how we feel, the next stage involves identifying the needs that maybe connected with the said feelings. Luckily enough, a student sympathizer came in and helped me to handle the situation. The use of the NVC could have helped in this situation. The process of observing, stating feelings, identifying needs and finally making request was not duly followed. Identifying specific needs of the book owner and identifying mine could have helped in resolving the matter.

Riordan Corporate Compliance Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Riordan Corporate Compliance Plan - Essay Example Riordan attracts customers from various industries including, electronic companies, household item producers, defense, bottlers, aircraft, and even software companies. The entire vendor management and human resource management systems that Riordan uses in its various branches in the United States are with an Oracle system. The Vendor management and the HR management system are available on the Riordan website and almost all the processes are done including, placing the orders, tracking the order, accepting delivery, and process management. The management system automatically delivers e-mails to the relevant persons once a transaction gets generated through the e-mail engine. The Riordan Corporate Compliance should be created and approved by the senior management or Board of the company and stick to the regulations that may be applicable in various states the company is functioning. Third, the Compliance plan should also give importance to monitoring and auditing the system and ensuri ng that enforcement and breaches are addressed appropriately. In such a manner, the legal compliance plan should meet the legal standards and be in line with the legislations of that particular nation. Legal Compliance Plan Introduction Riordan Production is a manufacturing and productions company concerned with the manufacture of plastics, polymers, electrical appliances, and household appliances. It will not only sell the appliances to other businesses but also to the end consumer. Initially, Riordan was a company that supplied other companies, and it has been recently until which Riordan has entered the relationship sector. Within the company, Riordan consider meeting certain legal and ethical obligation concerned with business and comply with the standard business practice. The legal compliance document of Riordan will not only ensure that the ethical and legal obligation of the company and the manner in which it functions is known to others. This also ensure that the various st akeholders concerned, including employees, other businesses, companies, partners, and the government, are aware of these standards and the manner in which the company functions. The Company compliance plan will chalk out the legal and the ethical commitments and the set of standards that has to be followed during the business practices. The important aspects of corporate compliance are †¢ Enterprise liability †¢ Tangible property and intangible property (intellectual property) †¢ Governance principles of regulatory compliance requirements †¢ The specific international laws This compliance plan created by the company senior management and approved by the Management Board of Riordan Productions. It sets the basic framework and the manner in which the business is conducted. It shall be binding on the company management, employees, contractors, and the third parties who do business with Riordan Productions. The compliance plan will also be binding on the managers and the supervisors. Some of the important set of functions includes Standard policies and guidelines to be adhered to concerned employee management, risk identification, risk management, evaluation, monitoring, implementing corrective processes, and managing the property/assets. Legal Standards Riordan Productions is a manufacturing hub and would be appointing, supporting, and using the services of the human

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Arizona immigration law Research Paper

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Arizona immigration law - Research Paper Example Governors across the state and lawmakers introduced many immigration bills. The law required non-citizens to carry authorization papers which gave Arizonans to sue state and localities for non compliance. The Arizona law specifically drew the greatest national attention due to its racial profiling2. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court released an order that invalidated most sections of the Arizona immigration law. It was declared a success for Obama administration, a challenge for the constitutionality of the law. A number of issues were considered invalid and unconstitutional3. The congress specified the type of aliens to be evicted from the United States following laid down procedures. A brief by former commissioner of the United States immigration and naturalization services covers some aspects concerning alien eviction. According to him, aliens are subject to eviction if they could not be admitted at the time of entry or have had committed certain crimes. Eviction is civil and not criminal. The officials of the federal government have a voice on what credits an eviction. Aliens too have the right to seek asylum and other permit to remain in the country or leave without official eviction. Alien workers supporting their families are les likely to pose threat and are allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Returning an alien back to his country is also considered inappropriate regardless of whether they have committed crimes or have not met the admission requirements4. Unlike the Arizona law on field preemption, the federal law provides guidelines for alien registration and punishment for refusal. The aliens within the state borders are kept on track by a comprehensive and strong system. The Arizona law ignored the basic rules of field preemption that nations are banned from entering an area preserved by the federal government itself. Also,

Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication - Research Paper Example I was with my friends, and sometimes it was awkward getting up out of the raised barstool chairs with backs in order to meet and greet people who were coming and leaving the bar and grill. For the most part, people at my table did not violate other peoples' personal space. Everyone was pretty respectful. I cannot necessarily say the same for the people sitting at the bar. When I glanced over at the bar occasionally, people were leaning on the top of the bar and having their arms folded, or they had their arms pointing the direction of other customers. I'm sure it was a cozy atmosphere for many of those folks, and friendly too, I'm just not sure everyone at the bar had the equal amount of elbow room that is nice to have when one is sitting around the tabletop of a bar. One has to kind of edge in, sit on a barstool, and make oneself comfortable. Peoples' appearances were rather varied and interesting. Some people were dressed up. Some men wore a tie, but for the most part there were no men wearing suits. All the men seemed to be dressed casually but in nice polo shirts. The women for the most part dressed nicely as well, some more than others. Not many women had excessive jewelry or accessories. Some women didn't wear any jewelry at all, which I found quite surprising, because usually on the whole, women wear jewelry of some type. One woman who was a singer in the show had her hair professionally done and wore a modicum of jewelry but nothing too extreme. Another singer in a band which performed, who also was a woman, had absolutely no jewelry on. I thought the woman with the jewelry was prettier and had more substance as an artist than the woman without any decorative ornamentation at all. The woman who wore jewelry looked like she took care of herself better. Her nails were painted and nicely manicured as well. Overall, peoples' appearances were clean-cut but not professional in any sense of the word, except for one woman I did notice who was wearing a dress. Other than that, both men and women wore casual clothing and nothing extremely fancy or overdone. Peoples' communication, both verbal and non-verbal, was congruent for the most part. The people producing the show at the bar and grill were very nervous, looking at the crowd quite a bit and analyzing how many people were at the venue. They had promoted this event (mainly for the sake of their own band being filmed by ABC later on in the evening), and the people who put on the show were worried that they weren't going to get enough of a crowd in to see the artists/musicians play. For the most part, peoples' body language and what they didn't say was very telling. Few people avoided eye contact, which is a non-verbal behavior which people do when they are lying.1 I could tell some people were nervous or bored by the way we were holding conversation. Some people were just nervous to be in social settings, and other people were trying to act interested in making conversation

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

None - Essay Example In other instances, the error may be a result of omission or negligence. For a practice or occurrence to be considered a medical malpractice, the patient must prove certain elements, which include liability, direct causal link, and damages. For an occurrence to fulfill the requirement of liability, the patient must prove that there existed a professional relationship between the health professional and the patient. This is often easy to proof. However, the patient must also proof that the health care provider concerned offered substandard care or was negligent. Depending on the circumstances, substandard care is at times not considered a medical malpractice. The next element that the patient is required to prove is that there were injuries, which directly resulted from the negligence or substandard care (Mor & Einy, 2012). In Jose’s case, there was some of negligence since proper care was not provided in good time, which resulted in the injuries. It was clear that the permanent disability of his shoulder was due to the delayed surgery. In this particular case, the person who can be held responsible or liable is the emergency center physician since he understood the seriousness of the injuries. However, he failed to consider other measures since there was no anesthetist on call. He would have advised Jose’s parents on the seriousness of the problem and maybe they could have sought treatment elsewhere. The physician had foreseen the possible complications that could arise from the injuries but insisted that Jose’s waits until morning when the anesthetist would be available. Moreover, the physician did not inform Jose’s parents of the risks involved if the surgery was delayed. The parents could have opted for other options. Although the anesthetist who was not available, he wa s not on duty at the particular moment and was thus not

Rationality, Educated Opinion and Peace Essay Example for Free

Rationality, Educated Opinion and Peace Essay Abstract: This paper addresses the relevance of interwar thought to the building of peace through examining the ideas of three important writers of the period: Edward Hallett Carr, Norman Angell and Alfred Zimmern. The role of public opinion was under much query in the politics of the period they wrote in, and crucial to this issue are the questions as to whether the public mind is rational and capable of reason. These writers are concerned with the influence of public opinion and believe that through educating the public mind, the possibility of peace can be increased. Drawing from their ideas, this paper thus postulates that peace is a product of rationality and there is possibility of progress through education. The birth of international relations as a separate discipline was founded against the context of the interwar years, which brought about important consequences for the subsequent development of the interwar years. The tensions prior to and the subsequent devastation of the Great War forced intellectuals of the early twentieth century to seek explanations for the causes of war and to postulate measures by which another catastrophe could be prevented. The general psyche of the people exerted an influence on the direction of international studies. As David Long points out, the academic study of international affairs during this period of time possessed a normative though not necessarily utopian interest in the avoidance of war1. Such a trend is manifested in the trust deed of the Wilson Chair of International Politics (one of the first few schools of the discipline), which states that international politics is the political science in its application to international relations with special reference to the best means of promoting peace between nations.2 Woodrow Wilson, being a leading statesman at the time, presents one of the possible avenues for peace. He consciously and deliberately tied issues of foreign policy to domestic politics, giving rise to what will come to be known as the democratic peace thesis. Wilson advocates the belief that popular participation, public life and opportunity for all [will be] the guarantee of peace. Wilson believed that diplomacy and foreign policy must be taken with regard to public opinion and the public being rational would prefer peace to war.3 The crucial premise here is that public opinion matters in a democratic political system. The assumption further made is that the political leaders are sensitive to public opinion and will be susceptible to their demands. The issue of public opinion gives rise to another set of issues, and one of the foremost in this period, is the skepticism that the basic assumption of a rational public rejecting war is true. Is the public rational? Is war a rational choice? The political definition of rationality is the ability of the public to discern the options open to them, and to adopt the best option to achieve their prioritized goals. The Great War cast doubts as to whether public is necessarily aware of what their options and goals are, much less their ability to choose the best option to fit their preferred purpose. As historian A. J. P. Taylor argues that the intellectual backlash against the dehumanizing war made the interwar years an age of intellectual and artistic activity, where intellectuals from various fields of study question the power of man to reason.4 The devastation of war brings queries, particularly from the idealists, as to whether war can be a rational choice. Even if the assumption holds true, there is still the question as to whether public opinion has any weight on policy formulation. Given this particular context, this paper questions the foundations of Wilsonian politics. This paper will thus postulate on the influence of public opinion and the impact of rationality on the maintenance of peace by drawing from the ideas of three important writers of this period: Edward Hallett Carr, Norman Angell and Alfred Zimmern. This paper will first introduce the positions of all three writers. It will then examine the fundamental assumption shared by all three writers with respect to public opinion, before expounding on their arguments on the rationality of the public and why the issue matters. The paper will then look into the possibilities of peace, and how the three concur on the issue of education. Due to source constraints, this paper will draw on secondary references to the works of the three writers, where the primary sources are not available. Carr, Angell and Zimmern Peter Wilson in Thinkers of the Twenty Years Crisis introduces Carrs book as a work which not only set the tone for subsequent discussion of inter-war thought, but also substantially shaped postwar attitudes towards it.5 The premise for The Twenty Years Crisis is the critique of inter-war idealism, which Carr terms utopian6. Carr dismisses the utopians as being unable to understand political reality and sets up a dichotomy that supposes utopia: reality= free will: determinism= theory: practice= morality: power =universal: relative= intellectual: bureaucrat= Left: Right 7 The dichotomy presented by Carr undermines interwar idealism, and leads, in part, to the rejection of the practical value of these theories. This dichotomy shapes subsequent debate and is consequentially identified as the polarity of realism and idealism, which will dominate international studies for the next few decades. In order to posit queries of the dichotomy, it is first necessary to expound on the assumptions that are conventionally made of either school. Brian C. Schmidt summarises the assumptions of idealism as follows : a pervasive faith in reason and rationalism, a belief in the infallibility of public opinion, the view that war was irrational, that the best way to end conflict was through education, international law, and world government, and, finally, a belief that the essential harmony of interests existed, which translated into the international doctrine of war-does-not-pay8. Superficially, both Norman Angell and Alfred Zimmern adopt such assumptions in their writings. Significantly, both Angell and Zimmern share the same devotion to one key tenet: the possibility of progress through educating public opinion and conditioning human behaviour. Their devotion to the tenet became stronger later into their careers, especially after the Second World War. The realist school of thought as represented by Carr, refutes the idealist assumptions. In particular, the realists argue that the concept of power is central to international affairs. Carr adopts Thomas Hobbes argument on human nature and advances the argument that the state as a rational actor will choose to maximize its capacity for power in order to secure its survival. He argues that public opinion, even when informed, is not necessarily pacifist and that thought can be mould by political purposes. Through defining his position by rejecting and critiquing the idealists assumptions, Carrs realist position is thus seen as the diametric opposite of the idealists. It is then necessary to redress both the ideas of Carr and the much-maligned interwar idealists, among whom are Zimmern and Angell. The choice of juxtaposing Angell and Zimmern with Carr in this paper is conscious. Both Zimmern and Angell are among the few utopians whom Carr explicitly criticizes in The Twenty Years Crisis. Andreas Osiander points out that Zimmern is still widely regarded as what Oslon and Groom have called the consummate idealist9, and is thus identifiable with the idealist school of thought. Yet Zimmern, as Paul Rich and Peter Wilson suggest, is considerably less adverse to Carrs ideas than his idealist colleagues.10 Angell, on the other hand, is one of the fiercest adversaries to The Twenty Years Crisis, but J. D. Miller raises the argument that Angell should be regarded less as an idealist than a far sighted realist because of his acute awareness of the issues of political reality11. The interplay of their ideas then calls to question the validity of a clear dich otomy. In essence then, this paper seek to question if the positions of these writers on the assumptions raised by Schmidt are as concrete as they appear to be. In other words, this paper examines the complexities of Carr, Angell and Zimmerns ideas on the applicability of public opinion, rationality and possibilities of peace. On closer examination, this paper argues that despite the differences, the three share a fundamental similarity: the belief in progress. The dichotomy between the realists and idealists is permeable, and in their postulation of the long term, the arguments of Carr, Angell and Zimmern coincide. Public Opinion First and foremost, the underlying assumption that Carr, Angell and Zimmern adopt is that public opinion matters, even though their understanding of public opinion differs. Zimmern argues that [p]ublic opinion is the lifeblood of a civilized community but unfortunately, the majority of the peoples is guided by caprice of ignorance, passion or greed, and the other devils if unreason.12 The title of Carrs inaugural speech at the University College of Wales, Public Opinion as a Safeguard of Peace says much. Carr argues that public opinion can exert tremendous influence over a foreign policy issue that it feels sufficiently strongly about, using the case of the public rejection of the Hoare-Laval plan to build his case. He states that, No nation, and least of all a democracy, can wage war unless it has the support of an overwhelming majority of its people13. The implication of such a statement in light of guarding the peace is that insofar as the public is not in favour of war, a state and particularly a democratic state will not and cannot adopt war as a policy instrument. Angells Nobel Lecture, Peace and the Public Mind, adopts the same position, except that he argues public opinion, being misinformed and disastrously erroneous can lead to war. 14 Interestingly both Angell and Carr argue that public opinion is easily manipulated. Carr devotes a section to Power over opinion in The Twenty Years Crisis, suggesting that the greater proportion of public becoming conscious or involved in politics relates to the importance that the ruling elite place on propaganda as an instrument of power. The influence of propaganda rests on the premise he sets earlier in the book that the crucial contribution of realism is the idea that thought is relative to purpose. 15 For instance, nationalism, as a form of ideology, could be seen as a means by which the public can be persuaded to go to war. Similarly, Angell contends that a small militant minority is capable of appealing to the majority towards a policy that may not be in the majoritys best interests.16 Rationality Having established that public opinion has a role to play, we then move on to the crucial questions: is the public rational, and is war a rational choice? On both issues, there are significant differences between Carr and the idealists, arising from the difference in the way they interpret and infer from past and current events. Reason and rationality give rise to different outcomes for Carr and the idealists. An important observation is that Carr places more faith in reason and rationality than do the others, contrary to our earlier presupposition that it is the idealists who have a pervasive faith in reason and rationalism. A proper definition of what is meant by rational behaviour has yet to be provided as a premise for argument. To proceed, we adopt James Mills argument for the rational public opinion quoted in Carr as a guide to what rational behaviour entails: Every man possessed of reason is accustomed to weigh evidence and to be guided and determined by its preponderance. When various conclusions are, with their evidence presented with equal care and with equal skill, there is a moral certainty, though some few maybe misguided, that greatest number will judge right, and the greatest force of evidence, whatever it is, will produce the greatest impression. 17 Whereas Carr believes that the public, being self-interested, is capable of defining their goals and seeking the best possible means to achieve toward that end, he rejects Mills definition of rational behaviour. Mills definition is in turn based on the ideas espoused by Jeremy Betham who assumes that the ideal option is the greatest good to the greatest number. Carr argues that public opinion comes from the masses, who are for large part, neither enlightened nor educated and thus the greatest number need not necessarily judge right. He argues that Betham and Mills assumption that self-interest can be sacrificed for the sake of the greatest good to the collective is based on some kind of intuition of what is right and cannot be demonstrated by rational argument.18 Carr suggests, instead, that rational necessarily demands a consciousness and the ability to adjust to the balance of power existing in international affairs, which serves as a constraint on the options available. The discerning public thus does not only take into account what is right, but also what is most practical in catering to self-interest. Carr then adopts an argument that is parallel to Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes, in Leviathan, states the fundamental law of nature as: it is a precept, or general rule of reason that every man, ought to endeavour peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it; and when he cannot obtain it, that he may seek, and use all helps, and advantages of war Carr comments, to the same effect, that although war is undesirable, it is not possible to impose an absolute judgement that war is always and unconditionally wrong. The implication of Hobbes and Carrs argument is that the public being rational favours peace. However, when the public believes that they have more to gain from war, or more to lose from not going to war, war becomes a rational and logical solution. Historically, Carrs argument seems to find sufficient basis in the outbreak of World War I. One of the reasons contributing to the war was the increase in bellicosity, arising from rationalization of cost and benefit or cooperation and non-cooperation. Prior to the Great War, the perceived cost of non-cooperation19 had decreased. The perception was influenced by beliefs that any war would be short, a consequence of a highly exaggerated faith in the efficacy of offensive military strategies and tactics20 and by the system of alliances. The perception was further coloured by nationalism. Secondly the perceived gains of non-cooperation had increased. The general belief was that expansionism and offensive foreign policy was perceived to be too high, due to the general suspicion of the intentions of the other states. Given these perceptions then prevalent, European states saw it to their advantage to go to war, and in fact to initiate the war so as to reap the greatest advantage of the gr ound. This international game theory exemplifies in part the rational process that Carr espoused. The idealists depart greatly from Carr. Angell and Zimmern accept that Mills definition is greatly desired but finds it incongruent with political reality. Reus-Smit, in his essay The Strange Death of Liberal Theory, argues that the conflict between morality and political reality is seen by Angell as a divide between reason and unreason. He argues that, If the former prevailed, there was some hope of a reconciliation between morality, defined as the well-being of all and reality, which in [Angells] favoured area was the incompatibility of warfare and such well-being.21 However, within the historical context, Angell believes that unreason prevailed. Angell believes that the public mind is often irrational, because it is too easily persuaded; it does not possess sufficient information, nor the ability to process vast amounts of information when it is available and it lacks the skill to seek evidence for the various conclusions, as Mill points out, i.e., it cannot see the likely results of actions. 22 The public mind cannot compute cost-benefit-analysis, which is central to rationalization. Angell accounts for this irrationality of the public mind, stating that it arises from the failure to apply to our international relationships knowledge which is of practically universal possession23 In Angells opinion then, it is not for the lack of intellectual capacity on the part of the public that lead to the irrational behaviour, but the inability to apply knowledge. Resting on his idea of the irrational public, Angell expounds on the war and why the publics choice to go to war is actually irrational. In his aptly named book, The Great Illusion, he puts forth a convincing argument on the futility of war on grounds of rationality and economic considerations. Angell argues that the perceived benefits of war under modern circumstances, are reduced, as victors can no longer expect to benefit as much from the spoils of war. The change is largely because goods and spoils are no longer portable (such as gold, silver, slaves, precious stones) as they had before. Goods and services are non-physical such as currency, shares, and fixed assets, and are thus not transferable wealth. As such, if states act purely in their self-interest, given the expectation not to gain from war, states would be unlikely to pursue war.24 Angell considers this line of reasoning to be simplistic and easily applicable to the conduct of international relations. Yet as the advent of World War I proves, the public is incapable of applying such rationale to political practice. Angell argues that the pervading reasons behind war, then, are irrational. Not only does war not serve to the benefit of the state concerned, better alternatives of action could be sought such as building economic relations, social interaction. Such connections can be used in persuading, as opposed to coercing, other states into behaving in the manner that is beneficial to the state concerned. Thus the argument adopted is that war is irrational, i.e. not the best-laid option, and man being irrational and susceptible to external influences, chooses to use war as a policy instrument. Andreas Osiander points out that unlike what Carr implies, Zimmern, like Angell, was very far from seeing public opinion as necessarily a force for peace.25 Like Angell, he believes that the conflicts in the international arena, giving rise to war are resultant of intellectual, and not political failure.26 However, if Carr is to be believed, Zimmern can, in fact, be seen as being more extreme than Angell. Carr states in The Twenty Years Crisis that Zimmern is inclined towards the hypothesis that If mankind in its international relations has signally failed to achieve the rational good, it must have been too stupid to understand that good. Carrs statement is not altogether justified. Although Zimmern does point out that the impediment to overcoming the obstacle towards peace is that man are beings of conservative temper and limited intelligence27, what he implies is that man is reluctant to adjust to present realities brought by modernity. As a result of the inherent resistance towar ds change, mans mental capacity does not adapt to the fact that previous ways of managing international relations are no longer applicable. Consequentially, public opinion cannot be trusted to be rational. Zimmern subscribes to John Stuart Mills argument of the tyranny of the majority. He argues that the ruling elite, that is, the politicians in positions of power tend to be capable of rationalization. However this intellectual minority in government is consumed by the irrational public: for statesmen, however wise and far sighted, are limited in their policies by the public opinion and parliaments to which they are responsible.28 Angell concurs on this issue. J. D. Miller, drawing from Angells comments, argues that Angell too feared the impact upon politicians of an unreasoning crowd mind, and doubted the capacity of politicians to resist it. Both Angell and Zimmern, then, prefer that the intellectual minority be given the ability and power to lead the rest of the populace, so as to govern rational foreign policies. In this regard, Carr again differs. Whereas Carr does agree that the intellectual minority has a role to play in leading public opinion,29 he believes that the intellectual minority is however, sadly, out of touch with reality. He argues his case by drawing on the difference between intellectuals perceptions of the League of Nations with those of the man on the street. The intellectuals, who tend to be idealists by his definition, strive to secure and maintain peace via means of treaties, covenants and legal codifications. The general public, however, is more concerned with the practice of international affairs (as opposed to the theory.) Going by Carrs understanding of rational behaviour to be taking into account what is right and also what is most practical in application, the intellectual minority is in pra ctice less rational than the public. Change and the possibility of progress As it is, there seems to be a great divide between Carr and his two contemporaries with regards to whether man is rational. However, central to their arguments is the shared belief that history is a directional process, that is, there is the idea of constant change. Carr argues that war occurs because of the conservative reluctance to allow change to the status quo and the way to peace is to provide means of peaceful change.30 Angell and Zimmern suggest that war occurs because man has yet to come to terms with change, and that the mentality and psyche of the populace has not kept in line with international developments. As Zimmern states, the statesmen and the peoples have not adjusted their minds to the new realities31. The central concern with the issue of change harkens to a broader issue on which the three writers concur: the possibility of progress. The interwar context is one of pessimism. The first decade had been one of recovery and rehabilitation from the shock of the Great War and the second decade of mounting tensions and escalation to an even more disastrous war. The context in which these writers write in, therefore, begets the question of whether man can move away from destruction of war, and by what means. The three writers agree that the current situation calls for change, as present movements and measures to maintain peace are insufficient and inadequate, and are reasonably optimistic that such change can be effected. Carr notes even in 1936 that, the cause of peace has made tremendous stride during the past fifteen years and shows his preference towards progressive history, arguing that a sense of change as a progressive factor in history, and belief in reason as our guide for the understanding of its complexities are crucial to the current world. Angell is of the same mind when he questions the unchangeability of human nature and argues that just as cannibalism and slavery can be systematically reduced in our society, so too can the warlike nature of man and states32. Zimmern, even when decrying the decline of international standards (which he defined as rules of behaviour) at a meeting at Chatham House in 1937 argues that the process of change allowing for peaceful coexistence was already taking place.33 The ultimate aim of change is the maintenance of peace, which is assumed to be the preferred good, through the avoidance of war. The question that is then posited is, by what means? Carr, Angell and Zimmern propose different measures but the one pertinent to the prior argument on public opinion and rationality is their faith in education. Due to their fundamental belief that public opinion matters, it is logical to argue that if the public mind, as Angell would call it, could be trained and conditioned to favour peaceful change, then the chances of states going to war would be minimized. Angell quotes in his The Great Illusion that Not the facts, but mens opinions about the facts is what matters, and making a parallel with the abolishment of witch hunts, he comments that just as in the matter of burning witches a change of behaviour was the outcome of a change of opinion in a same way a change in the political conduct of can only come about as a result of a change of thought34. The w ay to peace then is to shape mans perceptions about war. Given this understanding, the most basic and possibly most efficient way of bringing about this conditioned public is through education. However in his address given to Chatham House in 1931, Angell claims that the current education system does not adequately prepare the individual to make intelligent and informed inferences from the facts presented to him. He believes that the reason behind this lack in the system is that education tends to follow a tradition whereby an older generation influences and instruct the younger through a process of socialization.35 Unfortunately this tradition means that values and ideas that are taught are often unable to catch up with present realities. The educational system had also focused on provision of information, without equipping the individual with means to discern the motivations, the causation analysis, the implications et cetera behind the piece of information. According to him, We have thought too much of the facts and too little of their meaning. 36 Thus the socialization/education of an individual does not adequately provide him with the skill to make rational choices. Given his premise that war is irrational under any circumstances lest in defence and a rational public will therefore reject war, the skill deficiency means that man may choose to go to war due to their lack of understanding, unless the educational system can be changed. Beyond the suggestion that education shifts its focus from its informational purpose towards equipping successive generations with the skill to possess information, Angell does not however provide for how education can be otherwise structured. Zimmern elaborates on his ideal educational system in his book Learning and Leadership, which is not only designed to impart the skill of discerning information but also specifically equipped to teach students about international life. Particularly, he believes that practical experience through interaction with people from other nations will allow students to imbibe the habit of cooperation and harmonious living37. Zimmern believes that once people are given more exposure to the international arena, they will be able to understand foreigners and foreign influences better and become more acutely aware of the idea of universal brotherhood. This basic premise being established, man will be more able to understand the actions of others, less inclined to take preemptive action and to go to war. The assumption of such an argument is that people are less inclined to advocate war against a party that they share an understanding with. Education is thus seen as an instrument which can build commonality among peoples, as well as a means by which the public can be trained to be rational. In The Twenty Years Crisis, Carr argues for the application of reason to understanding current situations and political reality; in his later work What is History he extends the role of reason to the capacity to reform: The primary function of reason, as applied to man in society, is no longer merely to investigate, but to transform; and this heightened consciousness of the power of men to improve the management of his social, economic and political affairs by the application of rational processes seems to me one of the major aspects of the twentieth century. 38 The core assumptions here are that reason leads to progress and progress is necessarily an improvement. Remembering the key concern of the study of international relations in the interwar period, a foremost improvement of the human condition is the eradication of war. As do Angell and Zimmern, Carr believes that education was to be the tool by which such improvement can come about. However, unlike Zimmern and Angell who believe that the public has to be thought how to make rational choices in the first place, Carr believes that education can be used to shape the way the public thinks about their choices. Carr notes then that education policy must be shaped: Educators at all levels are nowadays more and more consciously concerned to make their contribution to the shaping of society in a particular mould, and to inculcate in the rising generation the attitudes, loyalties and opinions appropriate to that type of society: educational policy is an integral part of any rationally planned social policy.39 It is then assumed, that rationally, a society will be prefer not to resort to war in a conflict of interest, and a means by which this can be ensured is to design an educational system which, in the context of the interwar years, should imbue in them the moral norm that peaceful change is the preferred means of achieving policy objectives. To put it more plainly, Carrs ideal is using education to persuade man against the doctrine of power, providing a basis whereby a compromise between morality and power can be reached and peaceful change achieved. In his contention that thought is relative to purpose, Carr postulates that mass opinion can directed and in fact mass-produced via universal popular education. It is imperative to note that by popular education, Carr has included the mass media.( Carr does not, however differentiate between education and propaganda in The Twenty Years Crisis though in What is History, he associates education with rationality and the growing consciousness from below as well as from above of the role which reason can play40). The application of reason and rationality therefore means that education can be used to persuade mankind against war. Instead of making an argument that war is irrational, educators can influence the public into making a conscious choice not to use war as a policy instrument. As Carr states, I regard as of immense importance and promise the gradual extension of the area of the worlds surface within which war has been effectively been placed under the ban, such that war is actually unthinkable41. What becomes interesting is how closely Carr mirrors the utopians he derides. Peter Wilson, in his attempt to understand what Carr means by utopian, lists the various characteristics that Carr associates with the term. According to his analysis, all of these characteristics are progressive ideas; and it might be therefore be concluded that the core characteristic of interwar idealism is belief in conscious, progressive change. On this basis, Carr does not seem to be any much different, which recalls Reus-Smits observation quoted earlier in this paper that Carr is himself not a consummate realist. It is also possible to put forth an argument that Carrs argument against utopianism was never meant to be an outright and unconditional rejection of the interwar theories. Conclusion Whether or not these three writers think the public mind is rational depends largely on whether they believe war can be a rational choice, and yet regardless of their perspectives on these two issues, they believe that progress towards avoidance of war can be ensured through changing human behaviour. Education policies thus become important, as they can shape the perceptions of the public and thus affect their choices, which is in turn reflected in the chosen foreign policy. However there is a point to note based on this argument set. All three writers are writing within a democratic framework and tradition, where by definition, requires that public opinion matters. Yet, public opinion is less likely to make an impact in an authoritarian state, and even in democratic states, there is the consideration of public apathy, the leaders gambling and taking risks by not going according to public opinion, et cetera. These complications bring us back to the consideration of Wilsonian politics. Woodrow Wilson professes that his aim is to make the world safe for democracy, and that democracy will bring peace. His tendency has been to look at the building and maintenance of peace from a top down approach, where the political structure and political ideological apparatus are enforced. In other words, he looks to providing a mechanism which will allow the rational public to prevent the tendencies of the militant minority from dragging the state to war. However, from the ideas of Carr, Angell and Zimmern, such a mechanism would not function effectively against war unless the public mind can be first conditioned through a fitting educational system emphasizing co-operation and peace. 1 David Long, Conclusion: Interwar idealism, liberal internationalism and contemporary international theory. Thinkers of the Twenty Years Crisis: Inter-war idealism reassessed. p. 303, pp. 306-307. 2 Quoted in E. H. Carrs inaugural speech in the University College of Wales. Public Opinion as a Safeguard of Peace International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1931-1939). Vol. 15. No. 6. (Nov- Dec 1936), p. 846. 3 Mortimer Chambers, et al. The Western Experience Vol C: The Modern Era. pp. 892-893 4 A. J. P. Taylor, From Sarajevo to Potsdam. London: Thames Hudson: 1966 pp. 103-106 5 Peter Wilson. Introduction: The Twenty Years Crisis and the Category of Idealism in International Relations. David Long Peter Wilson. (ed.) Thinkers of the Twenty Years Crisis: Inter-war idealism reassessed. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 1995. p.1 6 Carrs term utopians is generally taken to refer to the idealists, though he does not clearly define who he considers to be utopians. 7 Wilson, Introduction, p. 12. Wilson adapted the equation from Hedley Bull, The Twenty Crisis Thirty Years On, International Journal, Issue 24, Vol. 4 (1969), p. 627-8. E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years Crisis: 1919-1939. New York: Harper: (1946) 1964. pp. 11-21. 8 Brian C. Schmidt. Lessons from the Past: reassessing the Interwar Disciplinary History of International Relations. International Studies Quarterly (1998) 42. p 452 9 Andreas Osiander, Rereading Early Twentieth Century IR theory: Idealism Revisited, International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Sep.,1998). p. 417 10 Paul Rich, Alfred Zimmerns Catious Idealism: the League of Nations, International Education, and the Commonwealth. Thinkers of the Twenty Years Crisis: Inter-war idealism reassessed. p.88; Peter Wilson, Carr and his Early Crtics: responses to the Twenty Years Crisis. Michael Cox (ed). E. H. Carr: A critical appraisal. New York: Palgrave: 2000. p. 167. 11 J. D. Miller. Norman Angell and Rationality in International Relations. Thinkers of the Twenty Years Crisis: Inter-war idealism reassessed. pp. 116, 119. 12 Alfred Zimmern, Learning and Leadership: a study of the needs and possibilities of international intellectual co-operation. London: Oxford University Press: 1928. p. 10; p. 82. 13 Carr, Public Opinion as a Safeguard of Peace pp. 857-858. 14 Norman Angell, Peace and the Public Mind. June 12, 1935. http://www.nobel.se/cgi-bin/print. March 24, 2004. 15 E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years Crisis. pp. 132-133; pp. 67-75 16 Norman Angell Peace and the Public Mind. para. 19 17 quoted in E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years Crisis. p 24. 18 Ibid. p. 26; p. 41 19 The line of reasoning here is tied to the idea of an international game theory, which due to practical constraints cannot be covered here. The argument is made in line with Robert Jervis theory on international behaviour in his Cooperation Under Security Dilemma World Politics. Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jan, 1978), pp.167-214. 20 Stephen van Evera, Why co-operation failed in 1914. World Politics, Vol. 38. No. 1 (Oct, 1985). p. 81 21 Christian Reus-Smit, The Strange Death of Liberal International Theory. European Journal of International Law. Vol. 12. No. 3. pp. 578-9. 22 J. D. Miller. Norman Angell and the Futility of War: Peace and the public mind. London: Macmillian: 1986. pp/ 124-125. 23 Norman Angell. Peace and the Public mind. para. 17 24 Norman Angell. Europes Optical Illusion. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent , 1909(?)24-40; The Great Illusion:A study of the relation of military power to national advantage. London: William Heinemann 1913. pp. 26-40. 25 Andreas Osiander, Rereading Early Twentieth Century IR theory p. 417 26 Alfred Zimmern, Learning and Leadership. p. 11. 27 Alfred Zimmern, The Problem with Collective Security (ed) Q. Wright. Neutrality and Collective Security. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 1936. p. 8. 28 Ibid. 29 E. H. Carr, Public Opinion as a Safeguard of Peace. p. 854. 30 E. H. Carr. The Twenty Years Crisis. pp. 208-223 31 Alfred Zimmern Learning and Leadership. p. 22 32 Norman Angell, The Great Illusion. 1913. pp. 200-221. 33 Alfred Zimmern, The Decline of International StandardsInternational Affiars (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1931-1939). Vol 17. No. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1938), p. 21. 34 Norman Angell, The Great Illusion. P. 327 35 Norman Angell, Popular Education and International Affairs International Affairs (Royal Institute of International affairs 1931-1939) Vol. 11, No. 3 (May 1932), p. 323 36 Ibid, p 335-338, 338 37 Alfred Zimmern Learning and Leadership. p. 26-60 38 E. H. Carr. What is History? New York , St. Martins Press , 1961 p 190 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid p. 195. Propaganda is associated with the emotive and not with reason. 41 E. H. Carr. Public Opinion as a Safeguard of Peace. p. 861.

Vargas Teaching Theory Analysis

Vargas Teaching Theory Analysis Question one What are your ideas of teaching? How does that compare with or contrast to Vargas perspective? Answer My ideas of teaching is to have a positive impact on my students in terms of their cognitive domain, affective domain and psychomotor domain. As a professional teacher, I understand that students have different learning styles and that is why my ideas of teaching and method of delivering instructions focuses on student center basically the 4Cs (collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity). I want students to have freedom of expression which gives room to open discussion and creativity. This boost their level of confidence and ability to express themselves out there any time. And finally, my Ideas of teaching is to challenge my students, watch them grow to their full potential, develop together for the betterment of everyone. Comparing my ideas of teaching with Vargas perspective, Vargas (2013) believes teaching is not just presenting to an empty class and we both have similar ideas on how teaching should be basically by knowing the students better, work on their behavior in every area and finally she doesnt think knowing the subject matter is a major factor on how students feel or perceive change in their attitude (p. 5). Which I totally I agree with her on this. Question two Briefly summarize Skinners perspective as it relates to behavior Answer Skinner, B.F. believed that the environment is a major determinant of behavior. Skinners perspective people have consistent behavior pattern because they have kinds of response tendencies (Vargas, 2013). He made a discover that most behavior is not the reaction to a stimulus that it depends upon its effect on the immediate environment. Vargas also stated in her book that Skinner believed that it was the consequences of individual actions and not antecedent stimulus that determined what the animals did. He called the behavior operant (p. 8). Question three What is your interpretation of Behavior Analysis? Support your answer with detail from the text. Answer My interpretation of behavior analysis is that it is a natural science that seeks to understand the behavior of individuals. Vargas (2013) explained that behavior analysis is a discipline based on the science first discovered by B.F. Skinner and the practices of operant conditioning have spread to all areas of behavior including animal training, business, clinical work, health and teaching. It is the science of behavior of humans and non-humans (p. 9). Question four How can the discussion What is a Cause (page 21), help the classroom teacher? Answer The discussion what is a cause will help the classroom teacher to focus on conditions or events on which an event or behavior depend on (Vargas, 2013). It will help teachers to learn and adopt strategies to improve behavior. Also what is a cause discussion on p. 21 will help teachers to know more about dependent and independent variables. With this, teachers will know more about the number of problems, assignment completed by the students. It will help them to sense what could be responsible for a behavior to identify functional relations between the behavior. And finally, the way the next generation behave will determine a countrys future more than any other resources within its borders (Vargas, 2013, p. 3). She believes teachers are expected to teach more while they receive more difficult students (p. 4). It is important to understand behavior of these students, it is very important to find the variables responsible for these behaviors. Vargas stated that Finding the causes becomes a search for functional relations among all the contingencies that occur in a setting (p. 22). This is exactly what is a cause discussion explained in details on page 21 of the text which will help the teachers a lot. Question five What new information did you find in chapter 2? Please explain. Answer The new information found in chapter 2 of the text behavior analysis for effective teaching is the functional relation which is a systematic relationship between dependent and independent variables. Independent variable explained as circular explanation or explanatory fiction which is a statement that has the form of an explanation, but in which the cause essentially restates the behavior to be explained while a mentalistics explanation relies on activities of a hypothesized mind to explain behavior (Vargas, 2013, pp. 22-23). Chapter 2 tries to explain more about Independent variables which buttress more points on behavior which can be circular or mentalistics. Question six What did you already know about Pavlov and his theory? After reading about Pavlov in chapter 3, what did you learn about his theory? Answer What I knew about Pavlov and his theory was that he was the one who discovered respondent conditioning and he believed that respondent behavior is controlled by a stimulus. But after reading about him from the text, I learnt that Pavlovs discovery was titled conditional reflexes instead of respondent conditioning (Vargas, 2013). The principle involves respondent behavior which occurs in response to a specific stimulus as part of a reflex. He believes reflexes consist of specific physiological reactions to a specific stimulus (pp. 8-9). What I learnt about his theory as a professional teacher is to be a good observer and a good researcher because it was due to his ability to research and observe that made him noticed something surprising about his dogs salivating before the food was put into their mouths. This is where his investigation began. As a teacher, we must research and observe what different behaviors of students must do with their learning. Question seven Define the Criticism Trap? Have you ever played a role in the criticism trap? Explain. Answer Vargas (2013) defined Criticism trap as a situation where criticizing a behavior you dislike or you wish to decrease seems to work because it temporarily decreases or stop the behavior, but criticizing it strengthens the behavior so that it occurs more frequently in the future. Yes, I had played a role. This happened to me and my wife with our little son at age 2. Anywhere we are going out, hes always excited to follow us but one thing he does is wearing his shoes or slippers the wrongly. After this, we will criticize him always for wearing his shoes wrongly, then he corrects himself and does it again and again. One day we realized criticizing him to correct him didnt work for him, so we adopted a method to correct him. Any time he wears his shoes wrongly, we will calmly correct him and once he does that, we tell him good boy or thats my boy and since then, he wears his shoes correctly and never wears them wrongly. What we learnt from the situation above is that we should praise imperfection and reward approximation the behavior we are looking for. And its working till now. Question eight How can teachers use the information found in chapter 3? Answer As a teacher, lets start from the criticism trap, we shouldnt criticize ourselves too much because in the long run, you will find yourself criticizing your students. We should learn to use praise frequently and use criticism relatively infrequently especially in the classroom. With these, we wont have problems with students. Another information here is punishment. Teachers must know the consequence of punishing a child because punishment has a bad effect on the punisher as well as on the recipients of the treatments (Vargas, 2013, p. 51). References Vargas, J.S. (2013). Behavior analysis for effective teaching (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.