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Samantha Bennett is a sound recordist, guitarist and academic from London, UK, and Professor of Music at the Australian National University. Her research is focused on sound recording, music technology, the recording workplace, recordist agency and the technological aesthetics of popular music. She is the author of two monographs, Modern Records, Maverick Methods: Technology and Process in Popular Music Record Production 1978-2000 (Bloomsbury Academic) and Peepshow, a 33 1/3 series edition on the album by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Bloomsbury Academic). She is also a co-editor of Critical Approaches to the Production of Music and Sound (Bloomsbury Academic) and Popular Music, Stars and Stardom (ANU Press). She has published numerous book chapters on the technological, sound recording and production aesthetics of recorded popular music, her journal articles are published in Popular Music, Popular Music and Society, The Journal of Popular Music Studies and IASPM@journal and her technical papers are published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. She has hosted 2 conferences at the School of Music, ANU: 'Popular Music, Stars and Stardom' (IASPM-ANZ, 2015); and, 'Turns and Revolutions in Popular Music' (XX International IASPM, 2019). In 2014, Samantha gave the biannual American Musicological Society Lecture at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Library and Archives where she also held a research fellowship in 2015. As an AHRC Doctoral scholar, she completed her PhD in popular music recording techniques and analysis at the University of Surrey under renowned musicologist Prof. Allan Moore. Samantha is a board member of the Australasian Sound Recordings Association and currently sits on the advisory board of Bloomsbury Academic's 33 1/3 series. Prior to her work in academia, Samantha worked extensively as an audio engineer in multiple London recording studios and is a former Director of the UK's Music Producer's Guild. | https://www.eventscribe.com/2020/VirtualVienna/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presenterInfo&PresenterID=908216 |
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SOUTHERN MO BANCORP, INC. is a bank holding company. | https://www.earningswhispers.com/stocks/smbc |
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Belgian elections, June 13, 2010 - Twitter opinion mining
In the week before the Belgian 2010 elections, we analyzed approximately 7,600 tweets that mentioned the name of a Belgian politician. What makes this experiment interesting is the fact that Belgium is divided in a Dutch-speaking half (Flanders, 60% of the population) and a French-speaking half (Wallonia, 40% of the population). Flemings can only vote for Flemish politicians, Walloons can only vote for Walloon politicians.
A follow-up to the experiment is politiekebarometer.be, which tracks the 2012 Belgian local elections.
To set up the experiment we used Pattern:
from pattern.web import Twitter, plaintext from pattern.db import Datasheet from pattern.nl import sentiment as sentiment_nl from pattern.fr import sentiment as sentiment_fr csv = Datasheet() for politician, party in (("bart de wever", "NV-A"), ("elio di rupo", "PS")): for tweet in Twitter().search(politician): if tweet.language in ("nl", "fr"): s = plaintext(tweet.description) if tweet.language == "nl": w = sentiment_nl(s) if tweet.language == "fr": w = sentiment_fr(s) csv.append([politician, party, tweet.date, s, w])
The resulting Datasheet (i.e., Excel-like table) was updated daily and visualized using NodeBox.
The sentiment() functions rate Dutch and French texts for their subjective tone. Take the following tweet, chosen for its obvious (positive) sentiment: "Danny Pieters, sterke speech voor een gedurfde en degelijke sociale bescherming." Translated to English, the individual words would have the following scores:
|Danny||Pieters||strong||speech||for||a||bold||and||proper||social||protection||Score|
|0||0||+0.5||0||0||0||0||0||+0.45||+0.2||0||+0.4|
For research purposes, the old project source code is available here.
Fig. 1-4 shows an overview of our readings with Twitter data from May 26 to June 7 2010. Liberal political factions (VLD, MR) are marked in blue, center right wing (NV-A, CD&V) in deep yellow + orange, right-wing (VB) in bright yellow, social democrats in red (PS, SP-A, CDH), green left-wing in green. Each bar has a splitter that indicates the frequency of Dutch tweets (on the left) vs. French tweets (on the right).
There is an apparent tendency for the Flemish part of Belgium to discuss Flemish politicians and for the Walloon part to discuss Walloon politicians. The darker bar indicates negative tweets, for which we used a custom corpus of 800 adjectives. However, this corpus performed poorly and we later replaced it with SentiWordNet (see below). In hindsight, the code examples included here now use Pattern's built-in sentiment analysis (for English, Dutch and French it is about 75% accurate).
Fig.1 - Twitter mentions on June 7.
Fig. 2 - Twitter mentions on June 8.
Fig. 3 - Timeline of Dutch tweets, May 26 to June 7.
Fig. 4 - Timeline of French tweets, May 26 to June 7.
Figure 3 and 4 show the results per day. To do this, we need to "bin" the tweets of a politician per day (or per week, month, year) and calculate the average sentiment of that day:
from pattern.db import Datasheet, date, avg from collections import defaultdict bins = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list)) for politician, party, date, score in Datasheet.load("data.csv"): d = date(row) d = (d.year, d.month, d.day) bins[politician][d].append(float(score)) for politician in bins: for day in politician: bins[politician][day] = avg(bins[politician][day])
On June 10 we plugged in SentiWordNet for sentiment analysis, replacing a number of heuristic, proof-of-concept scripts. The result was instant and striking: all of the mentions where roughly divided 50-50 between positive tweets and negative tweets, as shown in Fig. 5. Flemish-speaking Belgians were inclined to report more negatively on French-speaking Walloon politicians, and vice versa.
Moreover, another striking result is visible: Bart De Wever, leader of the center-right nationalist NV-A got massive feedback when compared to other politicians. If we are to give any value to the Twitter buzz, we could at this point assume that his party would have a large electorial victory (which it did) and that opinions concerning this victory would vary greatly (which they did).
Fig. 5 - Twitter mentions on June 10.
Fig. 6 - Timeline of tweets, May 26 to June 10.
Fig. 7 - Timeline of tweets, split positive and negative, May 26 to June 11.
As of the 2010 federal elections the NV-A gained a plurality in the Flemish region of Belgium, with 28% of the votes in Flanders and 17% of the national vote, becoming the largest party in both Flanders and Belgium altogether. This was the first time in which a non-traditional political party dominated the outcome of a Belgian election. – excerpt from Wikipedia
The second largest party was the PS, led by Elio Di Rupo. It became the largest party in Wallonia and held 14% of the national vote. NV-A and PS subsequently became the key players in the coalition formation.
While the NV-A ultimately seeks secession of Flanders from Belgium, the PS is inclined towards state interventionism. After various media clashes and attempts to form a coalition, Belgium still did not have an official federal government 500 days after the elections. | https://www.clips.uantwerpen.be/pages/pattern-examples-elections |
By: Paul Noble-Campbell
Crafting design strategies that result in truly compelling brand experiences, products and services demands a change from traditional methods. It requires a more creative and iterative design approach, which is optimized towards identifying real human needs and addressing them with meaningful experiences. Paul Noble-Campbell delves deeper into five critical keys to uncovering those true success drivers.
Traditionally the design process had been begun after an organization creates of an exhaustive list of “must have” features and requirements, as means of a design brief. The assumptions used to generate this document are typically based solely on market research data and voice-of-customer (VOC) information.
Starting with a requirements document is a mistake!
Information garnered through market research tends to be based on what has sold in the past, providing only a rear-view mirror perspective of your market. Typically, VOC information consists of survey-generated data and anecdotal stories from ad-hoc customer groups. This data is helpful only for creating incremental improvements, but it does not provide the foundation of knowledge necessary to enable large leaps forward into underserved, differentiated, or “Blue Ocean” spaces (as described in the book “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Kim and Mauborgne).
Many user-needs are latent – so it is extremely unlikely that you could uncover any game-changing insights through customer interviews alone. It is unreasonable to expect that typical customers will have the imagination necessary to describe a future that is much different from today’s reality. The classic description of this phenomenon was immortalized by Henry Ford, who said “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”
If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.
Many organizations spend enormous effort analyzing and refining the wording of their requirements documents based on customers’ pre-conceptions of what they want. The result of following this process is that they miss what is of fundamental importance to their customers. This is why I believe that many requirements documents are “highly polished but deeply flawed”.
A better way – human needs drive success drivers
Uncovering latent and unmet user needs demands the use of contextual and generative design research techniques optimized for discovering the valuable insights that drive innovation and create brand experiences that delight customers. Such techniques as empathetic immersion, user observation and participatory design serve to provide a deeper understanding of what is truly important to customers.
This knowledge provides the background needed to create product experiences that are authentic, meaningful and engaging. Providing your customers with these types of compelling experiences results in increased customer loyalty and superior long-term business results.
With that in mind, here are the five critical keys to uncovering those true success drivers:
1. Identifying needs and solutions is an iterative process
The insights garnered from the holistic approach outlined here serve as a strong foundation to validate, complement, and challenge existing market research and VOC information.
Synthesize the insights you discover so that needs are described as opposed to solutions. View these as a flexible set of product guidelines that become more definitive as the design process progresses. As conceptual solutions are created based on this flexible “insight-based” framework, validate them with customers. Use this feedback to refine the product guidelines.
2. Provide benefits, not features
The value you provide your customers lives in the quality of the experience you create for them – much more so than in your products & services themselves.
The graphic below pokes fun at how a technology company might promote the features of a healthy product like an apple – rather than considering its health benefits, its natural flavor or the experience of biting into a fresh, juicy apple.
Credit: Smart Design, Femme Den.
3. Understand the context of use
Understanding context is imperative when considering user experience. Observe the moment of use from a range of perspectives with the human experience as your central focus.
An example of one such perspective is the environment in which a product or service is used. Think about who is using your products and services and what physical abilities or limitations they may have. For instance, a product designed for hazardous areas would need to allow for an operator to interact with the device while wearing protective clothing and gloves.
Cultural background also shapes how people perceive their environment and the products and services they interact with. Factors such as the emotional, cultural, social, and physical aspects of the experience are often over-looked but are crucial inputs.
4. Consider the whole customer experience of the brand
Examine the user experience both before and after the moment of use. Think about how your customers research, purchase, setup, learn to use and maintain your products and services. Ask yourself: “What is the environmental impact of my product or service? What happens at the end of its service life?”
Identify the range of customer interactions with your brand (products, services, out-of-box experience, purchasing experience, user interface, customer service, web portals, etc.) and consider how they can be coordinated as a single brand eco-system. Each interaction provides an opportunity to positively impact the overall brand experience.
A holistic view of the entire product experience, including the product’s benefits to each stakeholder, offers valuable insight that may lead to new business opportunities and improve the overall experience.
5. Consider all key stakeholders
An effective brand experience strategy requires consideration of the motivations and aspirations of a range of stakeholders. On the customer side, the stakeholders are those who interact with a product or service such as end users and less obvious groups including purchasing influencers and maintenance providers.
A “Brand Audit” is a valuable exercise to gain a deeper understanding of how your customers respond to your brand and what preconceptions they have of your products and services.
Internal stakeholders, such as executives, marketing, sales, engineering, supply chain management and regulatory teams all have different and sometimes conflicting requirements for future development programs. These needs must be understood and correctly weighted against each other, so that they are always based on what is most important to your customers.
Summary
Constructing design guidelines based on deep insights into customer needs is the most vital step toward creating compelling brand experiences and greater brand loyalty. Get these guidelines wrong and you risk creating products and services that are “highly polished but deeply flawed”
Unfortunately, many organizations fail to correctly prioritize stakeholder desires. These companies end up with inconsistent products and services that are muddled by a lack of coherent vision. In contrast, the few organizations that get it right successfully create a direct and honest statement that differentiates them from competitors.
Great design strategy is as much about saying “no” as it is about trying to be all things to all people. To achieve a unique and valuable market position, clear tradeoffs need to be made. If you want to achieve the highest possible value, you must provide your customers with meaningful experiences, not just a collection of features.
By Paul Noble-Campbell
About the author
Paul Noble-Campbell is a partner at UPSTREAM – a silo-busting group of innovators working holistically to positively impact the brand ecosystem. His focus is creating innovation and experience design strategy solutions that result in organizations, people and society thriving. He utilizes a human-centric approach to identify growth opportunities, translate them into actionable strategies for innovation and rich brand experiences.
Paul’s collaborative leadership has guided multi-national clients through hundreds of innovation initiatives and provided the strategic vision to positively affect future products, digital interfaces, web experiences, brand identities, interactive exhibits, interior spaces, product packaging and environmental signage. | https://innovationmanagement.se/2011/06/27/how-to-create-compelling-brand-experiences/ |
What Are the Stages of the Buyer’s Journey?
The study and decision-making process that accompanies a purchase is referred to as the buyer’s journey. There’s so much more to it than that. We’ll look at the buyer’s journey, the stages it goes through, why it’s essential, and how to design one for your target demographic. We’ll also discuss developing content relevant to the buyer’s journey and how this can help your inbound marketing efforts.
How Does the Buyer’s Journey Operate, and What Is It?
The buyer’s journey is a description of a customer’s purchase process. To put it another way, buyers do not buy on the spur of the moment. They go through a process of being aware of, considering, and evaluating a new product or service before acquiring it.
Sales staff may better sympathize with buyers and place their product or service along that road by understanding the buyer’s journey, the challenges and problems they face along the way, and the influencing elements that influence their thinking. So let’s delve a little further.
Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
There is no universally applicable buyer’s journey. Every firm will go through numerous stages, but there are usually three basic stages of the buyer’s journey
Stage 1: Awareness
Prospects become aware of their problem at the beginning of the buyer’s journey. They’re still doing their investigation to figure out what’s wrong, so they’re not looking for solutions just yet. Businesses typically exhibit their industry knowledge and experience by giving a lot of instructional content that gently guides customers to the next step of the journey to grab prospects.
Stage 2: Consideration
Prospects at the consideration stage have defined their problem and decided how to solve it. They have not, however, come up with a precise remedy. At this point, consumers will attempt to comprehend various techniques and solutions for resolving their issues. They haven’t yet expressed an interest in locating service providers. They want to know what the best options are for meeting their requirements.
Stage 3: Decision
Prospects are aware that they have a problem that must be addressed. They know potential options but haven’t decided which one is best for them. Buyers will now seek information on your brand, products, or services because they haven’t decided on a single service provider yet.
Remember that they’ll also consider the competitors’ offerings while weighing their selections. They’ll weigh the benefits and downsides of many options to find the one that best meets their requirements. They are more inclined to trust you if your brand has assisted them in reaching this point in their journey. Determine the criteria customers use to evaluate potential offerings to make your business stand out from the competition.
What is the Most Effective Method for Mapping Content to a Buyer’s Journey?
Now that you’ve learned a little about the advantages of the buyer’s journey, it’s time to consider how you can include it into your inbound marketing approach. If you want to do buyer’s journey mapping for your firm, here’s how to get started:
Marketers Should Create Buyer Personas
Yes, we’ve already discussed how important buyer personas are, but having them in place makes it easier to describe your audience’s buyer journeys. How can you generate helpful content if you don’t grasp their challenges, requirements, motivations, and goals?
Awareness
Assist the buyer in identifying and defining their problem.
Content: Blog entries, whitepapers, and checklists help you establish your brand as a trustworthy knowledge source.
Consideration
Provide the buyer with options for resolving their newly identified issue. Customer testimonials, product videos, and live webinars may aid the buyer in selecting a solution to their problem.
Decision
Persuade the buyer that your business is the most excellent fit to supply the solution they’ve chosen. Free samples, demos, and product factsheets can help consumers decide if they’re the right company for them. However, as previously stated, these are only suggestions that content should tailor to each consumer persona and the product or service you provide.
Keep in mind that your goal is to provide content as helpful to your personas as possible at all times. Your content is more likely to drive more visitors to your website and lead to more transactions if you can deliver real value to your target audience.
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Adapting Your Sales Process to the Buyer’s Journey
With this in mind, buyers do not want to be prospected, demoed, or closed before they are ready. These steps bring little value to their eyes when presented incorrectly. When buyers need additional information about your product that they can’t find online, though, a sales representative may shine.
- Awareness
The issue or opportunity that buyers desire to explore is being identified. They’re also debating whether content should prioritize the aim or the challenge.
- Consideration
The buyers have explicitly identified the goal or issue and committed to addressing it. They’re now weighing the pros and cons of several tactics or ways of achieving their goal of resolving their problem.
- Decision
Buyers have chosen a solution category and are currently assessing vendors. They may, for example, have compiled a pro/con list of specific offerings to select the one that best matches their requirements. Some of these factors may come more under the marketing than the sales umbrella, but the answers to these questions will eventually create a solid basis for your buyer’s journey.
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Why Make Content For The Stages Of The Buyer’s Journey?
There are numerous reasons to generate content for the various stages of the buyer’s journey. Let’s go over a couple of the most significant ones to see why this method of content organization is so effective.
Prospect Nurturing Throughout the Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
The opportunity to nurture prospects toward conversion rather than trying to sell them straight away is one of, if not the most important, benefits of developing content around the buyer’s journey stages. Most visitors to your website aren’t looking to buy right away.
Many are simply gathering information because they have recently discovered a need or problem and are still looking for information on the best ways to satisfy or address that need or problem.You may provide them with the right information at the correct times with the suitable types of content, rather than bombarding them with pushy sales text or adverts with the suitable types of material.
At Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey, Lead Qualification
Another key advantage of developing content around the stages of the buyer’s journey is that it allows you to qualify your leads before passing them on to sales or having them contact your team. It’s beautiful if they can figure out that what you give isn’t a good fit for their need or problem.
The only people you should spend time selling to are those who are most likely to buy from you. It’s pointless to spend the workforce educating people when your content can do it for you! Let’s look at the types of content you’ll be writing for each stage of the buyer’s journey now that we’ve covered that.
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Content Types for the Awareness Stage
Your prospect is only becoming conscious that they have a problem or a need at this time and have minimal knowledge of the various options for meeting that need or resolving that issue. They’re still gathering information and aren’t ready to decide what they’ll buy or from whom.
Because awareness-stage leads are the least qualified, most sales teams will refrain from engaging them. Marketers should direct any resources spent on awareness-stage prospects to advance them to the consideration stage and increase their trust in your brand to make them more likely to purchase in the future.
The blog post is the most prevalent type of awareness-stage material. It’s a user-friendly, non-threatening media format that most people can find with a quick Google search. On the other hand, blog postings can be valuable at all three stages of the buyer’s journey that we’ll discuss in this piece. The following are the qualities of an awareness-stage blog post:
- Copywritten solely to answer questions and resolve difficulties.
- There should be no sales material or brand mentions that aren’t necessary.
- Simple to learn and comprehensive enough to handle most problems.
- Enough to demonstrate your industry experience and provide insight into the benefits of doing business with your brand.
Make a list of all the questions your buyers would ask before purchasing your goods to develop ideas for your awareness-stage blog posts. We’re not talking about questions about your product or service; we’re talking about inquiries concerning the problem that your product will help them address.
YouTube
As marketers, we know that video is quickly becoming the most popular way for people to consume content, and this isn’t to argue that written content is being phased out; far from it. People are just consuming more content, much of it in the video.
Video is a simple-to-understand medium that can convey much information in a fraction of the time it takes to read textual blog material. For a good reason, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine. Videos, like blog entries, are an excellent tool to assist people in solving their problems. Starting with how-to and Q&A videos is a good idea.
Facebook Isn’t to Be Overlooked
Although YouTube is a more popular medium for sharing educational video content, Facebook is a beautiful, significantly less crowded alternative. While Facebook has a lot of videos, it doesn’t have nearly as many as YouTube. Many astute marketers generate entertaining and engaging videos about their products or companies that a third party has put together. They look to be being chronicled from the outside and highlight the product’s new, inventive, and unique features.
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Infographics are what they sound like: highly informative, highly engaging images. It conveys the most vital information about a topic entertainingly and engagingly. For numerous reasons, infographics are particularly appealing during the awareness stage.
- Simple to Consume
The first is that they are simple to eat. People can extract critical information from an infographic in seconds rather than reading a lengthy article on a subject. It has the potential to catch their attention enough to get their wheels turning and lead them to your more extensive consideration- and decision-stage content.
- It’s Simple to Share
On social media, good infographics receive a lot of attention. People find them considerably more enticing to share than copy-heavy blog posts. Thus it’s a terrific method to get your brand/product in front of hundreds or thousands of new eyes who didn’t know they needed what you have to offer.
Content Types for the Consideration Stage
Your potential clients will comprehend their problem/need by the consideration stage and focus more on options. They still haven’t reached a decision point. They’re listing their options so they can make the best decision. The buyer’s trip isn’t complete yet.
They need help deciding how to tackle their challenge. Many sales teams don’t contact consideration-stage buyers, even though they’re more qualified. This determination will vary from company to company and will likely depend on the sold goods. High-value, low-volume sectors may be profitable investments.
Downloadable Resources / Ebooks
After reading an awareness-stage blog article, ebooks and other downloaded resources are the ideal next step. From your blog article, you may link to a landing page that mentions your resource and guides them through the conversion process one step at a time.
The following are examples of resources that buyers can download:
- Ebooks
- Guides
- Sheets of Advice
- Templates
- Checklists
- Powerpoint Presentations/Slideshares
- And there’s more.
These resources are beneficial because they allow you to deliver value and exhibit your industry experience, giving buyers a taste of what it’s like to do business with your company. Keep in mind that your goal when generating these resources is to provide as much value as possible.
Video Comparisons
The purpose of consideration-stage videos is to explain. Your goal should be to demonstrate how your product may assist consumers in resolving their issues. You’ve given them a sample to pique their attention, but they’ll want to see more before making a decision.
Comparison videos are an excellent way to respond to concerns regarding how your product compares to your direct competitors. You can make a film that compares your product to a single competition or one that compares it to numerous industry leaders.
Articles / Blog Posts
As previously stated, Marketers can use blog postings to support each stage of the buyer’s journey. The themes you write about for each step, on the other hand, will be somewhat diverse. As we all know, consumers interested in learning about their possibilities for solving their problems are in the consideration stage. That means it’s up to you to produce content around the many possibilities and present your business positively that appeals to your prospective buyer.
- Live Demonstrations / Webinars
It’s critical to tailor your content to the stage of the buyer’s journey where it will be most effective. While you can use webinars and live demos in the decision stage, it’s up to you to figure out what works best for the product or service you sell. Suppose your awareness-stage content is sufficient to pique people’s curiosity about what you have to offer.
In that case, you may want to encourage them to join up for a webinar or live demonstration to demonstrate how your product compares to industry leaders. If your awareness-stage prospects can engage with your brand enough by reaching the contemplation stage to judge it worthy of their attention, you should employ this type of material.
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Content Types for the Decision Stage
As you may have guessed, when people reach the decision stage, they are ready to make a purchase. In the consideration stage, they’ve narrowed their options and are seeking information on why they should choose your brand. The decision Stage is where you may finally brag about how great your product or service is.
Many businesses make the mistake of focusing all their efforts on putting decision-stage ads and web pages in front of individuals who aren’t ready to see them. The Decision Stage is where all that material comes in handy, but you’ll need more than just your website to capitalize on your decision-stage buyer’s enthusiasm for your product.
Whitepapers, Reports, and Case Studies
When customers reach the decision stage, they’ll be much more interested in learning how you’ve helped others solve problems or satisfy their needs. Case studies, reports, and white papers are handy in this situation. The decision Stage is the most critical in the buyer’s journey because you must be able to back up any claims you’ve made thus far.
This type of writing should provide the most pertinent details on how you’ve assisted others in achieving excellent outcomes. It should be limited to the information you need about their results and how you helped them get them.
Blog Posts
Yes, the tried-and-true blog post can be helpful during the decision-making process. It’s all about how we’re so good at what we do and how we thrive at producing outcomes for clients in various ways. If this was the first item we showed them, we couldn’t have hoped to sign new clients. However, after reading awareness- and consideration-stage blog pieces and downloading guides, people are significantly more likely to be interested in articles like this one and appreciate the information included within.
FAQs on Stages Of the Buyer’s Journey
Q1. What distinguishes buyer personas from ideal customer profiles?
The majority of B2B sales and marketing teams employ ideal customer profiles. They employ them to characterize the intended audience and current clients generally. Sales teams that deal directly with clients of a company use buyer personas. Sales teams use this phrase to describe a specific market audience type. Buyer personas are developed using the information you have gathered about your leads and prospects.
Q2. What distinguishes active buyers from passive buyers?
Prospects or leads who are active buyers have already started the buying process. Because their problem isn’t significant enough to warrant them looking for a solution, passive shoppers are people who haven’t begun their relationship with a brand.
Q3. What makes the customer journey and buyer journey different from each other?
During the buyer’s journey, a business consistently strives to assist a prospect in becoming a customer. They develop a range of content techniques that encourage purchases. By consistently interacting with your clients, you can focus on building relationships with them and your brand.
Conclusions
Modern purchasers follow a self-explanatory and defined process when purchasing. The Inbound Buyer’s Journey is divided into three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. Let us look at the stages of the buyer’s journey.
- Awareness Stage: Through web research, the buyer seeks to identify their difficulties in a more critical and particular approach.
- Consideration Stage: Once a buyer has recognized a problem, they begin looking for particular solutions, which leads them to potential solution providers, partners, or vendors.
- Decision Stage: After engaging with competent enough, trust-building information, the buyer may narrow down their list of solution providers and decide which companies product they want.
Your website is your best salesperson, and as such, it must adapt to your persona’s purchase journey. You should also remember that the buyer’s journey stages are just guidelines. Some purchasers may move directly from an awareness-stage article to content for the decision-making stage. Others could find themselves reading a consideration-stage blog post and downloading a consideration-stage guide before moving on to the decision step. It doesn’t matter which road they pick; it’s the right one. You can only assist buyers on their trip by having the required content ready and available. So, here we are binding up the guide on the stages of the buyer’s journey. | https://iimskills.com/stages-of-the-buyers-journey/ |
A Project Manager (PM) is responsible for overseeing the successful completion of projects and can work in a wide variety of fields, such as information technology, construction and advertising. Although specific tasks will depend on a Project Manager’s employer and their current project, they will generally be responsible for the creation, organization, execution and completion of specific projects. This includes managing relevant employees, setting deadlines, communicating with company executives about the state of the project, ensuring projects stay on track and on budget, and adjusting if necessary to meet new requirements.
Project Managers typically manage six different aspects of projects: scope, schedule, finance, risk, quality and resources.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Creating long- and short-term plans, including setting targets for milestones, adhering to deadlines and allocating resources
- Delegating tasks on the project to employees best positioned to complete them
- Identifying and managing potential risks and liabilities of multiple projects
- Assisting in the definition of project scope and goals
- Making effective decisions when presented with multiple options for how to progress with the project
- Serving as a point of contact for teams when multiple units are assigned to the same project to ensure team actions remain in synergy
- Communicating with executives or the board to keep the project aligned with their goals
- Performing quality control on the project throughout development to maintain the standards expected
- Adjusting schedules and targets on the project as needed
- Motivating people involved in the project to complete tasks on time
Administration Assistant
Administrators may frequently handle details like compiling reports, organizing and understanding data and managing programs and schedules. In some cases, they supervise or implement information technology programs. They should be comfortable handling spreadsheets and calendars, with attention to accuracy, so that they can handle anything from meeting times to budget entries without errors. Many Administrator positions require broad areas of ability and knowledge, since an Administrator is an important organizational asset, helping manage data, meetings and reports for a company and even helping with the hiring process itself.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Manage data in spreadsheets and reports
- Keep records and reports up to date
- Help maintain the budget plan
- Organize and schedule meetings and events
- Supervise other staff and delegate responsibilities
- Handle technical issues in their area of expertise
- Carry out clerical duties, including answering phones and preparing documents
Digital Designer
Product Designers help to create new product designs by organizing and managing stages in a product’s design. From initial concept to finished product, a Product Designer creates the potential designs for a product based on client needs, research and marketability of the product. Product Designers usually work with clients to brainstorm ideas and potential designs. A Product Designer also acts as a manager to supervise design teams or to be part of a design team creating new products in coordination with other professionals such as graphic designers, financial analysts and marketing teams. As a team member, a Product Designer will incorporate the ideas and feedback of others about the new product.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Developing product design concepts from client requirements
- Confirming product design specifications with clients
- Preparing design specifications through sketches
- Meeting requirements for project completion with clients and adhering to budgets and schedules
- Troubleshooting any design problems that may arise during the design process needed
- Ensure the creation and implementation of customized experiences for the digital user
- Produce high-quality solutions through flow diagrams, graphic designs, storyboards and site maps
- Maintain a competitive edge against competitor products and industry trends
- Understand product specifications and user psychology and predict what might work for both
- Work with other creative team members to produce content.
- Take creative direction and art direction before and during project to meet guidelines and expectations
- Create guidelines for how logos and other branding materials should be displayed and used.
- Help make design choices (e.g., fonts and colors) for all content your company will use.
- Implement existing brand guidelines and creative direction into creating new materials for client.
- Creating a suitable color scheme or incorporating the client’s color scheme into the design
- Creating mock-ups
Sales
Sales Representatives build relationships with buyers and administrators in a wide variety of businesses to sell goods and services. They contact customers, pitch and explain products for sale, negotiate the sale price and provide any requested information or answers to questions that a customer might pose regarding the product. Their primary responsibility is to get their product into the hands of customers. | https://neonwilderness.org/careers/ |
Since the dawn of time, it seems we’ve approached customer experience from a B2C vantage point. They both have customer in the name—makes sense, right? That kind of traditional thinking was chronicled in Part 1 and Part 2 of our recent blog series. Yet, segmentation at this level no longer makes sense or is successful. The influence of B2B is highly relevant and surprisingly similar.
With Q1 in the bag, our team has noted many customer experience trends. What do you see in this list?
We don’t see anything overly new. Current marketers aren’t likely to do a double-take, as most have been trends for the past few years or are things we knew would happen eventually. What’s unique here is application. Generally regarded as B2C trends, they play a new and vital role when transposed to the B2B environment. Keep reading to learn how.
While at SXSW this year, I sat in on a session by Evernote CEO Chris O’Neill; it was titled B2B and B2C are Dead: Now What? The session’s overall theme was centered around companies needing to adapt to the rise of freelance/contract work and the decline of full-time jobs. One comment lingered with me:
“The reality is that we're used to thinking in terms of segments like B2B and B2C. So, we've been trained throughout our lives as marketers and designers and engineers to really think of these two things as completely distinct segments. I'm here to call them dead… It really has to do with end users demanding something better.”
I felt it instantly—a struck nerve. Not only was it a bold statement, but one I had been talking with fellow strategists about for the last few years. You can see it happening. Lines that divide the B2B and B2C customer experience are blurring, just as work-life balance is developing into a work-life blend. Why is this? Well, those behind the B2B industry are B2C customers outside of the office. From this, they have expectations about how brand interactions should be.
B2B companies are failing those expectations. They don’t see customers, but companies. Because of this, they can’t recognize that their customers are normal people who shop both emotionally and rationally. If B2B companies can start communicating in a way that spans the rational-emotional spectrum, they can create deeper, more rewarding experiences.
I’m sure everyone can recall the first campaign that pulled at their heartstrings, while also establishing a need to purchase from that brand. It was Apple’s Here’s to the Crazy Ones (1997) for me. For many reasons—some more subconscious than others—I feel its message of individuality and innovation is why I’m still a loyal Apple customer. Today, B2B brands must strive to create that same intense, enduring connection. The following trends are the first step to getting there and shunning the traditional.
Customers want to feel like they are being spoken to individually. This is easier in B2B marketing, because most of the buying relationships are with the same people. It can come in many forms, from customer service touchpoints to email marketing strategies, to something as simple as self-selection. Travelers does a fantastic job of allowing their visitors to select their industry and the website personalizes the information to that specific industry.
I know this sounds crazy, but invest the time and money in creating content for your customers! Not only will it leave a lasting impression, but it presents opportunities for interaction beyond the few times a year they visit your site to purchase from you. The Hartford does a near perfect job of this through their Small Biz Ahead content hub, where educational content and customer tools find ways to continually resurface their brand.
Here, we return to the notion of talking to your customers like they’re rational and emotional human beings. Appeal to both sides through storytelling within your content and channels. Share testimonials, make it personal. Remember that customers in the B2B space are bombarded with impersonal messaging. Giving them an authentic narrative to latch onto will cut through the clutter. Squarespace is a prime example of this, they’ve created a mixture of famous and regular user testimonials to help showcase their product. They even allow you to start your favorite person’s website template, that tells their story.
The new landscape for brand loyalty is tough; it’s not just about the product anymore, but about what your brand stands for and how it conducts itself. Showing community outreach, sustainability and other corporate initiatives help endear the customer to your brand. Nationwide does this through their volunteer work and sponsorships that they share on their Facebook page. This shows that they are active in the community that buys from them.
“Big data” has been a buzzword for some time, and it’s even more pervasive this year. Data is a beautiful thing that can help inform how customers are—or aren’t—using your channels and content. When gathered correctly, data can be used to create impactful strategies rooted in more than just assumption. Right now, per Customer Think, only 17% of companies have fully integrated customer data throughout their organizations.
Think with Google has been talking about micro-moments for a few years, and their importance in the B2B landscape shouldn’t be underestimated. Since users are increasingly more digital-friendly, the next generation of leadership roles will be filled by digital natives. What is a micro-moment? Any time a person looks at a digital device (to check the time, text a friend, read an email, etc.) Understanding your customer’s behaviors and keying into their micro-moments can help you leverage your brand in fresh ways.
Influencers have had their time in the sun; people connected the dots about who’s on your payroll. Honestly, the best influencers don’t need to have millions of followers—just authenticity. Testimonials and customer profiles are powerful things. B2B buyers experience purchasing stress, because they aren’t just buying for themselves. Showing them other relatable customers can help them gain comfort and confidence in you. American Express does this through their #amexambassadors hashtag that showcases wealthy, successful customers, that others emulate.
59% of B2B buyers prefer to do research online instead of interacting with a sales rep. They feel that sales reps only care about their personal selling agenda. The issue? Most B2B companies are behind when it comes to technology. It’s time to update your websites, because if they aren’t accessible, none of these trends will help you. Circling back to the rise of digital natives, your company needs to be always-on and always-updated. Outdated tech gives the impression of outdated product.
It’s plain to see: customer experience matters to B2B customers, and the spotlight will continue to shine on those expectations. Yet, we can’t neglect the distinctions that exist in B2B selling. The buying process is much more complex, the cycle is longer, the price tag is higher and the pressure to make the right decision is greater. Marketers also need to consider that final buying decisions might be affected by a committee vote, implementation of a business strategy or company politics. Most importantly, though, retention is the key to everything. B2B business should work toward retaining their customers for future investments. As suggested here, making a human connection is top priority. Shockingly, only 14% of B2B companies are customer-centric when it comes to experience.
If you can get the following things right, your customer experience is sure to shine: | https://mindstreaminteractive.com/insights/b2b-customer-experience-trends-are-looking-a-lot-like-b2c |
Government engagement and regulations can directly impact the ability of a business to expand. We provide effective advocacy, consistent engagement and broad-based stakeholder management in order to shape conversations.
We help our clients anticipate and react to the changing policy landscape. We do this through coalition building, public affairs, policy research and government outreach.
Our services include
- Advocacy: We create and execute bespoke communications strategies to inform audiences, challenge perceptions, mobilise existing and new allies and spark change.
- Thought leadership: Communicating your story through high-quality reports can help navigate reputational challenges, engage and mobilise audiences.
- Digital communications: We enhance your brand through impactful and targeted messaging through social media, influencers and web development.
- Brand strategy and positioning: Communicating your story in the right way through branding, content development and rich media, from drawing board to full execution.
Engaging diverse stakeholders
Just as each project is unique, so are its stakeholders. To engage with, and influence, this diverse community the traditional approach to communications and other ‘one size fits all’ strategies need to be replaced.
We will help define structured but flexible approach to identifying and engaging a stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project. | https://www.economicpolicygroup.com/service/strategic-communications/ |
- Jenny made two big leaps. The first was that shift from hobby to business. The second was leveraging her strengths as a teacher and really helping other people as well.
- “If I started approaching it like a business and treating it like a business, it would become a business. And I think that that is always one of the biggest shifts I watched clients go through.”
- When you stop saying that you’re just a blogger, but instead say that you are running a business and this is what I create content for and who it’s for – that’s a huge shift.
- Pat Flynn’s book, Will It Fly? talked about the idea that you can’t make something and not have proof that you’re actually going to pay for it.
- The first client Jenny got, the first yes she got, gave her confidence to reach out to a couple more bloggers to make sure. Out of the twelve she reached out to, eight said yes. Then she finished her course on September 1st.
- It’s so amazing that we can have our businesses from home. But I think it is also is a business. It’s so important to get out of our offices, get out of our living rooms and be around other people that are doing the same thing and just soak in that inspiration.
- I loved just putting yourself in that blogger conference around other people who were taking it seriously just opened up your eyes to how much opportunity that was literally right in front of you.
- But the interesting thing is now, not necessarily in the traditional sense of teaching but in the online marketing world of teaching, the teachers are the ones that make a lot of money.
- And the teachers are the ones that can and that are sharing their experiences and actually being paid for it.
- Teachers are now able to make an unlimited amount of money in this kind of field, which was never available before.
- Don’t be afraid to create those types of relationships. And some of those that I had actually started that with, I had met in person at a conference. And they felt like they knew me. They trusted me. They understood that I was on the same page, looking to take this to another level.
- Creating those bonds with people in person.
- We all have expertise that we can help other people with. We didn’t let that get in the way. Oh, they’re “further along” or they have a bigger blog. You knew that you can help them with something. Or they knew you could help them with that, too. And I just think that that’s so amazing. Yes, we can all help each other.
- If you have an expertise that they don’t, sure as hell you can help them.
- Not being afraid to just hit send and not care of if they don’t reply or they come back and say no – that’s the worst thing you’re gonna do is say no. Nothing else. It’s not gonna stop my business. It’s not gonna help me out of my tracks. It can only move you forward.
- Know your audience, because the brand doesn’t care about you. It’s not about you, it’s about your audience and whether or not you know how to leverage it.
- If you even have 100 followers and they are engaging with you on Instagram stories or they’re emailing you back, and they are telling you what it is they want or need from you – those 100 are worth more than 100,000 any day of the week.
- There are so many ways that people are getting followers now that if they’re not engaging, they’re not worth anything. So just understanding what it is that you deliver to that audience who they are, and as long as your audience is not your mom, your sister or your best friend, then you’re okay to pitch. It has to be beyond that.
- Have at least three months blogging underneath your belt before you go to pitch.
- So how do we pick these authentic brands to align ourselves with? Start with the ones that you know, use and love.
- And when you create content, if it’s something that comes back and it’s your first sponsored post, the easiest thing that I can tell you is make sure that it’s content that your audience wants to see.
- The content has to be authentic and give value to your reader.
- If you fall on your face because you did something that was inauthentic and your audience hated it, not only are you gonna probably lose some of your audience, but that brand will never work with you again.
- We need to take that bigger role and say we know our audience best. We know how to create content best. Trust us, trust me to put this together in the way that I know is best. I’ll work it in and it’ll be a win-win for both of us.
- As bloggers, we should be telling stories.
- It’s not just about being authentic to the brands you’re aligning yourself with, but about how you’re delivering this content, too.
- The big thing that many times bloggers miss and the brand sometimes would miss is that sponsored content isn’t about selling the product. When you do affiliate marketing, you need to sell stuff because that’s how you make your money. And it’s your job to sell it. When you do sponsored, it’s about influencing your readers.
- You always wanna ask the brand what they’re KPIs are. What are their Key Performance Indicators as far as what are they looking to really establish with the content.
- Are they looking to just have more followers on Instagram? Or are they looking for the hashtag to be seen more out there? Are they looking for better engagement?
- If you’re wanting to work with brands right now and you’re wanting to make a difference, Instagram stories is where it’s at. Because you can get into people’s DMs and start really having a conversation about the brand. And then the brand, you report back to them with any of those conversations that have occurred.
- It’s about that the engagement that you’re getting on the content that you’re creating for your audience.
- That’s how you get long-term relationship: proving your worth and being able to show that you’re worth it.
More about Jenny: Standing out amongst a sea of bloggers is intimidating and difficult to do, but you can work with brands even though you think you’re smaller. Jenny created a framework to pitch brands so that they not only want to work with you but will become long term clients. Plus, she’s teaching you how to get paid what you’re worth without feeling like you’ve sold your soul and your audience in the process.
Jenny is a former reading specialist who “retired” from her teaching career when her blogging income far exceeded her salary. Through her unique pitching system, her lifestyle blog, The Melrose Family, became regularly sought out by nationally recognized brands such as Neutrogena, Smuckers, Glad, Costco, Stanley Steamer, Sara Lee and many more. Now, she’s made it her mission to use her teaching skills and extensive experience as a successful influencer to share her strategies with thousands of other entrepreneurs via her podcast, Influencer Entrepreneurs and her website, JennyMelrose.com.
Find Jenny:
- https://jennymelrose.com/
- https://thenymelrosefamily.com/
- https://jennymelrose.com/pitch-perfect-pro
- https://www.facebook.com/jennymelrose1/
- https://www.instagram.com/jenny_melrose/
- https://twitter.com/JennyMelrose
Relationships that made an impact:
- The friendships she made in the conferences she attended, and then connecting with her clients and peers in person.
Notable Influencers to Follow
Other Links/References Mentioned
- https://www.blogher.com/
- Will It Fly? by Pat Flynn
Read the Transcript: | https://jaclynmellone.com/how-to-partner-with-brands-as-a-micro-influencer-with-jenny-melrose/ |
The Inside Housing Communications Conference is the only event to combine knowledge and insight from experts outside of the sector with the innovative communications campaigns from leading housing peers.
The programme covers a wide range of communications themes, from effective storytelling, work around mergers, public affairs, integrated campaigns, tools to effectively measure your communications, plus crisis communications and PR.
It’s your chance to access transformative ideas and gain immediate inspiration for your communication campaigns.
2019 programme highlights include:
- Learn from expert storyteller, Matt Locke, director and founder of Storythings, ex-director of the BBC’s Innovation Team and Channel 4’s Education and Multi-platform
- Hear how Plymouth Community Homes managed their communications around fire safety in the wake of Grenfell
- Gain knowledge on how to measure your communications to influence upwards from the director of communications at the Museum of London and the Local Government Association
- Get the lowdown on successful internal communications from award-winning Trivallis, Great Places Housing Group and the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group
"Communications in housing are doing some of the most innovative and important work in the comms and marketing industries. I’m really looking forward to seeing it showcased at Inside Housing’s Communications Conference."
Mario Ambrosi, director of communications and marketing, Anchor Hanover
View a sample of the 2018 delegate list here
2019 Programme
08:00 Registration
09:00 Chair’s opening remarks
Martin Hilditch, editor-in-chief, Inside Housing
09:15 Panel session : Influencing stakeholders – your leadership team, politicians, press and your community
- Setting strategic priorities for engagement
- Identifying top targets and outlining what the ‘asks’ for government or politicians are
- Creating active roles for each member of the team
- Getting the feedback mechanisms right
- Integrating PR into the whole comms mix: digital and events
Rebecca Goodhand, communications and marketing manager, Community Housing Cymru
Hel Reynolds, founder and director, Comms Creatives
Max Curtis, director of public affairs, Metropolitan Thames Valley
09:55 The measurement mindset and why this is key to strategic communications success
Proving the value and impact of communications is central to our survival as a function so it is worth looking in detail at why it is so important to measure the right things.
- Meaningful measurement: outcomes vs outputs
- Golden rules of measurement
- What does success look like?
- Utilising data and communicating it to influence upwards
Andrew Marcus, head of communications, Museum of London
David Holdstock, director of communications, Local Government Association
10:50 Refreshment break
11:20 Panel session: Delivering internal communications that engage what ever the budget
- Innovative internal communications trends to inspire
- Key digital trends, tools and tech to transform
- Perfecting your channel mix to maximise engagement and interaction
- Tools to measure success and prove the strategic role of internal comms
- Equip, empower and engage senior management to modernise top-down communications and encourage authentic two-way dialogue
Mark Woods, head of communications, Trivallis
Julia Graham, change communications specialist, Great Places Housing Group
Carl Holloway, director of communications, Great Places Housing Group
Michelle Smith, associate director, communications and engagement, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS
12:00 Crisis communications: managing fire safety comms in a febrile environment
- Developing a crisis communications plan from spokespeople and messaging through to protocols and resources
- Dealing with the potential to confuse people with information overload
- Lessons learned: timely responding, what information to release, facts not spin
- Telling residents stories – how the political landscape has changed from being focused on delivery to people
Angie Scott, head of strategy, communications and external relations, Plymouth Community Homes
12:40 Lunch
13:40 Breakout sessions
Breakout 1
Mergers roundtable session
Meet the organisations who have been through a merger and come out the other side. What have other people learnt from a comms perspective what’s been successful across these areas of work and what lessons have been learned:
- leadership
- culture
- branding
- values and behaviours
- collaborative working practices
- making sure that we have the wellbeing of our comms team at the forefront when faced with significant change
Mario Ambrosi, director of communications and marketing, Anchor Hanover
Carlene Leonard, assistant director: communications, marketing and public affairs, Radian Group
Kate Jeffreys, director of communications, Notting Hill Genesis
Breakout 2
Integrated marketing communications – building trust and boosting morale
An integrated marketing campaign is your opportunity to deliver a distinct message across multiple channels and show your customers and tenants a consistent and clear approach expressing your brand values. This is basic common sense so how do you get them right and why does the integrated approach fail sometimes?
14:20 Breakout sessions
Breakout 3
Case study: Engaging tenants, staff and stakeholders – telling great stories in housing
- Recruiting and training your team right and gearing all of your processes around content
- How to set up your organisation so you can gather stories and content from your colleagues
- How to use good content across multiple platforms and measure how effective this is
- Getting content you will use again and again
Steve Hayes, head of communications, Citizen
Breakout 4
Interactive workshop: Living a brand from the inside out – what branding really means
- What do brand and culture mean to you?
- How do you create a culture that lives it values?
- How do you get commitment to its purpose?
- Build a brand from the inside out
Jo Marsh, director, Winster Marsh, associate, Jane Wentworth Associates
15:00 Refreshment break
15:30 Getting a feature into Inside Housing – dealing with the press from a non-news perspective
- What’s the story? Why should I care?
- Riding the trends while staying authentic
- Storytelling to engage the audience
- Q&A session
Peter Apps, deputy editor, Inside Housing
16:00 Case study: Elephant Park – creating a communications campaign that tackled negative perceptions
- Right channel, right time, right message – finding and engaging a hard to reach / switched off audience
- Finding and using new and innovative tools, techniques and strategies to boost awareness
- Creating a creative campaign in partnership with a local authority
16:30 Integrated storytelling – creating and delivering content that connects
- Why stories are so important
- How they work and how not to mess them up
- How attention is changing in the digital age and what that means for anyone creating content
- Honing your storytelling muscle – top tips and lessons learned
Matt Locke, director and founder, Storythings, chair, The Audience Agency, ex-head, Innovation Team, BBC, ex-head, Education and Multi-Platform Teams, Channel 4
17:10 Close of conference
Sponsorship
Our conference sponsorship positions you at the forefront of housing sector, while establishing you as the brand of repute in the minds of the leaders influencers and key decision makers across the sector. | https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/events/inside-housing-communications-conference- |
What is a client brief?
When you hire someone to work with you on a project, it makes everything easier if they clearly understand what you want to achieve. If the person you’re working with doesn’t understand the project and doesn’t ask questions, they may struggle to complete the work to a satisfactory standard. To prevent this, consider writing a client brief for them.
This article will explain what a client brief is and guide you through writing a client brief. The topics we’ll cover include:
- What is a client brief?
- How do I write a client brief?
- How can Countingup help me invoice clients once I complete a brief?
What is a client brief?
A client brief acts as a blueprint for anyone working for your business. You, as the client, will want to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding your project. The client brief you write should ensure that the person or agency you hire knows not only what you want to do, but how you want them to do it.
Client briefs are often short and mostly contain overviews of topics instead of in-depth descriptions. This is so the people you’re working with can feel comfortable asking questions and making their own decisions. A project might change hugely halfway through, and having a very strict brief might limit creativity.
If you’re a small business hiring a larger or more experienced company, remember to reach out to them if you’re struggling with what to include in your client brief. If they’ve received a lot of client briefs, they’ll know what they should look like and should be happy to help you put all the relevant information about the project into one document.
How do I write a client brief?
Client briefs are unique to each business and each project, but a thorough client brief should contain at least a few of these sections to be effective:
- Overview of your business
- Project challenges and objectives
- Overall strategy
- Resources available
- Competitors and target market
Overview of your business
A client brief will usually include a general description of the client company. When you write your briefs, include the most relevant points of your company history, your company values, and your long-term business strategy in this section.
It’s also essential to describe your company brand in this section so that whoever you’ve hired understands how your business approaches problems.
Project challenges and objectives
This is where you’ll outline the main purpose of your project. Be sure to list the main challenges you expect to face during the project, so whoever you hire isn’t surprised by sudden difficulties.
Try to describe what you hope to accomplish by completing the project, and the benefits you hope it will bring to your company. This will help you measure the success of your project once your hired team finishes working.
Overall strategy
This section will explain how you want your hired team to approach the project. This section can be tricky, as being too strict in your guidelines means the team can’t be as creative. On the other hand, not being clear enough might mean the people you hire aren’t sure how to complete the project, which will lead to your objective not being achieved.
A good way to complete this section is to provide a basic overview of your project strategy while reinforcing your company’s branding. By outlining how your company does things in general and how to complete this specific project, you should get a finished product that achieves your objectives and falls within your company values.
Resources available
Any project requires resources to complete, and this section will list all of the resources available to your company. It may be that your hired team has resources of their own — their access to resources may even be why you hired them — but you should still describe the list of equipment and facilities that are available for the project.
This section should also outline the project budget. Budgeting is very important for businesses, as it prevents overspending and stops financial issues appearing during future projects. Consider all the potential costs your hired team might face, and be sure to include extra money for unexpected difficulties.
Competitors and target market
This section gives the people you hire a better idea of the industry your business operates in. You should list your main competitors in this section and describe the kind of customer that falls within your target market. Your target market is the group of customers that you aim your marketing and products towards. Making a hired team aware of this is vital if they are to achieve the goals you’ve set.
Easily invoice clients once you complete a brief
This article focuses on you being the one writing a client brief, but it may be that you more frequently receive briefs than have to write them. In this instance, understanding the brief you’re given should be relatively simple. Read all the information it includes carefully to make sure you know what the client wants, and don’t be afraid to ask the client questions. If something is missing from the brief, they’ll be just as interested in filling the blanks as you are.
Once the work is complete, you’ll have to create an invoice and send it so you can get paid for your work. This is much easier if you use financial management software. For instance, the Countingup app enables your to create customised invoices in seconds.
Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are.
You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward!
Find out more here. | https://countingup.com/resources/what-is-a-client-brief/ |
Just Exactly Just How Pupils Can Very Quickly Keep Their Assignments Plagiarism-Free?
In most cases pupils don’t give consideration to composing a traditional project.
Composing an innovative and informative project plays a key part into the popularity of each and every pupil.
While composing projects, pupils may select some lines up on the internet in order to complete their assignment work and submit it.
If an instructor or a lecturer discovers any content that is plagiarized the project work, they usually have the complete straight to simply just just take any action from the pupil.
Plagiarism is unethical and nearly every university discounts strictly along with it.
If your pupil writes any copied assignment or just about any work, she or he needs to face the anger associated with lecturer.
Numerous pupils neglect to compose an assignment that is original destroyed their project markings.
All of the pupils don’t get time for you to compose projects due to their hectic routine and a hefty load of studies.
Before diving into the conversation on what pupils can avoid plagiarism into the project, all plagiarism must be known by them kinds to prevent plagiarized content.
Forms of Plagiarism in Assignments
One of the better methods to prevent copied content in projects would be to understand all sorts of plagiarism.
After will be the different plagiarism kinds:
1. Direct Plagiarism
This sort of plagiarism takes place when pupil straight copy-pastes the information in to the project.
This consists of copying the word-to-word content of some other individual and composing it in your quest work without offering any appropriate credit.
2. Mosaic Plagiarism
It takes place when a pupil utilizes information from a various source without making use of quotations.
This kind of copyright is much more threatening than that of paraphrasing the content that is original.
3. Self-Plagiarism
Whenever a pupil takes any piece of information from the research that is previous work project, self-plagiarism does occur.
And in case a lecturer or teacher finds almost any self-plagiarized content in your assignment, he has got the right that is complete just just simply take any severe action against you.
4. Accidental Plagiarism
This kind of plagiarism takes place when you forget to cite the initial supply of the concept or content. Accidental plagiarism can additionally cause some severe effects regarding the life that is academic of pupil.
It may take place each time a student uses the incorrect citation design and does not proceed with the complete directions of including any citation into the content.
5. Paraphrasing Plagiarism
It really is perhaps one of the most typical kinds of plagiarism plus it takes place when a student forgets to include the source that is actual of work while rephrasing the information.
It may occur in a way once you read content from the various supply and simply take the main concept to rewrite the first content in your terms.
Composing an innovative and copyright-free project is not a task that is big. Merely proceed with the described below ideas to keep projects copyright-free.
Recommendations on exactly just just how pupils will keep their projects Plagiarism-Free
1. Conduct your Research
Create your own research to prevent the copyright content in project work.
Merely proceed through all resources to obtain maximum information that you can make use of effortlessly while composing an project.
This may help make brand brand new tips all on your own to create initial and interesting content.
2. Keep an eye on all Resources
While doing all your research, must ensure that you keep accurate documentation of most sourced elements of information.
All the students compose copyright content by just forgetting to incorporate the actual supply of the information and provide it as his or her very very own.
It is possible to avoid this by maintaining a record of all needed notes and citations in order to avoid copyright content.
process of writing a research paper
Using this method, it is simple to be sure in which you look for a sentence that is specific or any proven fact that do you require into the project.
This may make projects authentic, innovative, and initial.
3. Include Quotation when you look at the Assignment Work
Its trusted to incorporate informatics that are authentic numerous online language resources in scholastic writing.
Quoting means copying someone else’s term to term text in work.
Also, the quoted text must certanly be presented in your terms and must certanly be enclosed within the quotation markings.
Whenever you’re quoting any such thing in the project work, constantly cite the initial supply of this content.
Pupils need to ensure they quote the information and knowledge in a way it does not misrepresent the quoted text.
4. Paraphrasing in Assignments
Paraphrasing in the assignment work ensures that you’re utilizing your terms to improve some information through the source that is different.
It will help pupils to obtain crucial and information that is useful any document.
While paraphrasing, you reword sentences for the initial writer in your terms to help make the project work unique and initial.
Additionally, in paraphrasing, syntax as well as the expressions associated with initial writer are rephrased which will make brand new content.
5. Cite Original Sources Correctly
Perhaps one of the most essential and effective methods to avoid plagiarism in projects is always to cite the sources precisely.
Each time you compose a quote or any expression, constantly consist of a citation that is in-text
to spot the real way to obtain information.
When you look at the citation, pupils add a mention of the source that is original of in the study strive to prevent copyright content.
Merely cite most of the details that are necessary a writer within the project to improve its value.
Pupils additionally make use of the citation that is proper to cite the initial sources and these designs consist of Chicago Style to incorporate sources correctly.
You could put in a reference that is useful at the finish of this project which include nearly every source which you’ve cited in the research work.
A few of the information that is common of guide list includes:
- Author’s title
- Date & 12 Months of Publication
- Title and supply of the job
Last Terms
Plagiarism is a really severe offense and all sorts of for the students need certainly to avoid it atlanta divorce attorneys writing that is academic.
Every pupil should have to cite every source that is single of content within the project to prevent copywriting.
Students can follow all of the mentioned previously suggestions to keep their assignments plagiarism-free.
They may be able additionally make use of quotations and paraphrasing to composing a very good and assignment that is authentic.
In order to avoid plagiarism into the project, pupils have to keep a reputation all resources to incorporate in-text citations to the investigation work. | http://www.daytona.lk/just-exactly-just-how-pupils-can-very-quickly-keep/ |
Summer 2021:
Schreiber Foods
Brand Strategies Internship
Description:
Assist the Brands Team at Schreiber Foods in the day-to-day activities necessary to ensure profitable volume and revenue growth. Involvement in both strategic discussions and tactical application of brand positioning, retail execution, trade management and marketing necessary to ensure flawless execution of the sales goals.
Primary responsibilities include sales reporting/communication, consumer insights analysis, trade management ROI analysis, broker management, marketing execution and general administrative support. A successful candidate will have an ownership mentality and exercise resourcefulness to accomplish tasks with minimal supervision. Internship is based out of our Home Office in Green Bay, Wisconsin with the option to work remotely. Looking to hire intern immediately.
Responsibilities:
-
Work closely with the trade marketing manager in development of annual trade budget. Own and actively manage trade accrual and broker incentive budgets, including broker scorecard updates.
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Assist marketing brand managers and brands team leader to provide the marketing and sales tools necessary for successful retail execution of brand goals & objectives. Sales tools include PowerPoint presentations, consumer insight research, syndicated data analysis, meeting facilitation and general administration.
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Analysis: Assist in marketing and retail sales initiatives. Use consumer insights to identify issues and opportunities to achieve brand goals. Provide timely and comprehensive analysis of objectives, execution and future planning.
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Project Management: Spearhead projects across multiple functional areas. Develop and communicate consumer and trade materials to sales team as necessary. Assist in all aspects of brand communication including marketing activities, price lists, key performance indicators, point of sale materials, account-specific programs, consumer advertising and promotion development.
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Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting: Work closely with Sales Finance and Demand Planning to ensure accurate forecast and P&L communication.
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Special Projects: Manage special projects as needed (i.e. broker management, customer promo ROI, communication vehicles, competitive activity, sales meeting presentation preparation).
Qualifications:
-
Pursuing Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing or related field
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With position start date of Spring semester 2021, must have at least 3 semesters remaining in school upon start date (Fall 2022 grads or later)
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Must have the ability to work 40 hours/week during summer
-
Proficient in Microsoft Office Software (PowerPoint and Excel)
-
Strong analytical skills
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Displays strong attention to detail
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Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment
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Knowledge of marketing and social media industry trends
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Ability to multitask and prioritize work
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Strong communication skills (verbal, written and presentation)
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Must have reliable internet connection (minimum 10 mb download speed)
To Apply: Complete the application here.
Deadline to Apply: Sunday, May 16, 2021
little word studio
Summer Intern
Description:
Little word studio is a boutique creative marketing agency based in Newport Beach, servicing clients from million-dollar startups to world-renowned executives to some of the most respected brands in America. Their client list includes: some of the most powerful real estate executives in the nation; growth stage tech startups; the largest professional coffee machine manufacturer in the U.S.; Herbalife Nutrition; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices; the largest residential real estate company in the nation; and more.
They are hiring an intern for the Summer semester and the position is 100% digital, 100% work from home and class credit only. If you’ve ever wanted to know what life is like at a boutique creative marketing agency, this is your chance!
Please view the video here for a recap of what you'll learn from a past intern who now works as a content specialist at little word studio.
In this position, you’ll learn about content marketing, budgets, social media marketing, invoicing (yay), client relations and how to send GIFs on Slack (if you aren’t proficient at that already).
Responsibilities:
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Be the first point of contact for incoming inquiries
-
Assist with client projects
-
Prepare and organize client deliverables for upcoming meetings
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Create and manage content for little word studio social media sites
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Write and publish (1) blog post per month on the company website
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Help with the company's newest platform, Elite Content Collective, a membership subscription and mastermind community for license-free content
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Be proficient with: Canva, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Slack, Notion, Google Drive (Adobe Creative Suite is a plus)
To Apply: Send your resume, cover letter and 2 writing samples to [email protected].
TEGNA
2021 Summer Internship Program
Description:
TEGNA Inc. is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. With 62 television stations and four radio stations in 51 markets, TEGNA is the largest owner of top 4 affiliates in the top 25 markets, reaching over 38 percent of all television households nationwide.
They are seeking Moody talent for their 2021 Summer Internship Program, which will give students an opportunity to explore career paths across TEGNA. Participants will gain valuable real-world experience alongside some of the most senior and celebrated journalists in the country and have the chance to build a network that will be invaluable throughout their careers.
Responsibilities:
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Produce engaging content for all platforms, broadcast, digital, and social
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Use social media and other tools to understand audience’s needs
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Demonstrate a desire to learn as much as possible about a career in media
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Assist as needed in the newsroom
Qualifications:
-
Degree-seeking student currently enrolled at a college or university (preference is for juniors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher who will be rising seniors during their internship summer)
-
Passion for storytelling
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Strong writing and social media skills
-
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
-
Internships will begin on June 7th (remote) with a target of moving into the building in early July. End date is customizable for each student but likely mid to late August, depending on school calendars.
-
Interns will be paid $15/hour and be expected to work 20-30 hours per week
-
Specific stations are TBA but students should let us know what markets they are able to work/stay in
To Apply: Complete the application here.
Capital City Village
Administrative Web Services Intern
Description:
Capital City Village, is an Austin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping seniors stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible, a concept called aging in place and community.
CCV is seeking Moody talent for a qualified Administrative Web Services Intern to work closely with CCV staff and volunteer leadership in designing the layout and functionality of Capital City Village’s website. This is an unpaid position requiring 20-40 hours per month.
Responsibilities:
-
Update and edit website content, posts and pages for capitalcityvillage.org
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Create and edit web page templates
-
Assist in troubleshooting issues on web-based systems
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Create and maintain software documentation
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Provide technical support for online system to current and prospective members, volunteers and service providers
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Test and give feedback on new and existing technologies and processes
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Assist in other web-related projects as necessary
Qualifications:
-
A solid understanding of how web applications work including security, session management and best development practices
-
Strong organizational skills to juggle multiple tasks within constraint of timelines
-
Ideal candidate is highly-motivated, team player on the path to becoming a great web or app developer
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Must have the ability to work independently to solve problems and learn new skills as required
To Apply: Send a copy of your resume to [email protected] to be considered.
Tilted Chair
Brand Strategy Internship
Description:
You: A college student looking to get some real-world experience in brand strategy. You are half data nerd and half psychology geek. You love diving into the brains of clients and consumers to create stories that make sense and help the two fall in love. Speaking of love, you love uncovering insights that help the creative team develop great ideas. Lastly, you can deliver a clear, concise point of view to team members and clients, supported by data.
Responsibilities:
-
Meets with clients and leads detailed discussions to understand their objectives
-
Analyzes market research and collects information regarding consumer behavior; then is able to analyze this data to contribute to briefings by communicating information and impact
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Analyzes client data to support an idea and frame up a business opportunity
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Ability to understand and translate complex ideas and data into simple stories that inspire our teams
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Be a strategic yet creative thinker – develop hypotheses, think through possible solutions, and communicate ideas in an interesting way
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Executes projects from brief to presentation
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Knows the social, digital, and mobile landscape; understands how consumers use them, and demonstrates creative ideas about how brands can join in
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Be curious, keep up with cultural trends across consumer segments – be in tune with what is going on in media, pop culture, culture, (etc.) – turn those cultural trends and insights into great creative ideas
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Develop well-thought-out presentations and be able to present it both internally and externally
Qualifications:
-
In college seeking Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, or Psychology
-
Quantitative and/or qualitative research experience, preferred
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Demonstrates innate curiosity to continuously explore
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Appreciation for creativity and the creative environment
-
Good communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to deliver exciting presentations to small teams
To Apply: Take the e-interview here.
Interactive Internship
Description:
You: A college student looking to get some real-world experience in interactive design, development, and project management. First and foremost, you have a great attitude. You have the ability to work with a team and collaborate with clients. You’re a quick learner who’s no stranger to technology. You have the ability to problem-solve. Obstacles don’t deter you, they simply re-route you.
Responsibilities:
-
At first, just learning about how we do things
-
Meets with clients and leads detailed discussions to understand their objectives
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Developing content strategies to help drive website designs
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Developing information architectures to logically display the content hierarchy of websites
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Learning how to edit WordPress templates
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Learning some simple HTML/CSS
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Learning some simple Carbon Fields syntax for WordPress theme editing
Qualifications:
-
In college seeking Bachelor’s Degree
-
Positive attitude (#1 priority)
-
Ability to learn computer-related skills (#2 priority)
-
Accountable
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Ability/interest in learning some code
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Organized
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Self-starter
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Curious/interested in learning about how things work
To Apply: Take the e-interview here.
Torchy's Tacos Austin HQ
Summer Internship
Description:
The Torchy's legacy began in Austin, Texas in 2006 with an idea, a dedicated executive chef and a food trailer to now operating in dozens of locations across multiple states. OUR MISSION: Be Damn Good. OUR VISION: Serve people the best damn tacos. OUR WHY: Passion. OUR MOTTO: Devil is in the details.
This isn’t a file papers and make some coffee kind of internship. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of serving some Damn Good tacos and we’re looking for some Damn Good interns to take part in our immersive 8-week rotational internship program where you’ll get to dive into different taco obsessed departments like Marketing, Operations, Risk & Safety, and People (HR).
Qualifications:
-
Currently enrolled and active in a 4-year degree program
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Ability to reside in Austin for the duration of the program (Check out our perks, we’ll help you out!)
-
Legally authorized to work in the United State on a full-time basis
-
Ready to work hard and have some fun!
Perks:
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Paid Internship - $14/hour
-
Allowance for travel to and from Austin
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Housing, food and transportation stipend
-
Torchy’s swag
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Discounts on DAMN GOOD food (Who doesn’t love tacos?)
-
Personal development opportunities
To Apply: Complete the application here.
The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society
Blog Writing Internship
Description:
The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society is a member-supported advocacy association for Texas surgery centers and serves as a resource for surgery center management and professional education. They are seeking Moody talent for their Blog Writing Internship for special events and topics that TASCS provides for its members.
Responsibilities:
-
Maximize TASCS’s Blog presence through relevant and timely postings for TASCS’s membership
-
Interview Association stakeholders to identify and develop blog pieces
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Represent TASCS at events and seminars, online or in person, and provide recaps through Blog postings. (If not available, a recording of the event can be provided)
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Event frequency includes: Every other Thursday, 30 min event, Special Legislative event all day April 14th, Conference 1 hour a day April 26-30, Other potential pop up events as applicable
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In collaboration with Association staff, interview Association membership 2 times a month for “Member Monday” highlights for blog posts. A sample can be found here.
-
In collaboration with Association staff, interview Association membership once a month for a blog post on a national organization’s website
-
Write a timely recap blog post of 600-1000 words for each assignment
Qualifications:
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Interview and People skills a must
-
Ability to self manage, meet deadlines, and regularly follow up for content
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Understanding of SEO optimization and use of keywords to amplify search capabilities.
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Public Policy and/or interest in the Medical field a plus
-
Seeking Junior and Senior Levels
To Apply: Send a copy of your resume and cover letter to [email protected].
Snackbox PR
PR Finishing School Internship
Description:
PR Finishing School brings college-level students agency experience with real clients while digging into some of the day-to-day PR work that classes might not cover. Before graduating, students interested in PR should have at least one internship under their belt to receive an entry-level position and Snackbox wants to provide those essential skills to ambitious students. This program is completely virtual but still provides an enriching experience from a safe distance. This internship is eligible to count towards credit hours.
Qualifications:
-
Must be a Junior or Senior with a decent amount of PR classes completed (specifically want course experience around PR writing)
To Apply: Send your resume and a professional note describing your interest in the program to [email protected].
Lauren Seegers Group (LSG)
Influencer Talent Agency Internship
Description:
Lauren Seegers Group (LSG) was founded in 2017 as the first influencer talent agency in Texas, and shortly thereafter expanded to shape the careers of top reality tv stars and creators. We’ve navigated the uncharted territories of the influencer marketing industry to help our talent and thousands of brands create meaningful relationships with their audiences.
As an influencer talent agency, we work with influencers on our roster to connect them with brands to produce bespoke marketing campaigns. Our role is to introduce influencers to brands by pitching creative ideas, securing partnerships then doing whatever else it takes to make it happen. We are ultimately the liaison between our talent and brands.
Current and past brand partners include: Coca-Cola, Warner Brothers, Uber Eats, Amazon, L’Oreal, AT&T, McDonald’s, American Express, OREO, Chipotle, Dunkin’, Lyft, State Farm, Smirnoff, Ocean Spray, Dos Equis, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Bose.
Responsibilities:
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Developing creative concepts behind influencer marketing campaigns
-
Creating influencer campaign insights reports
-
Company database management
-
Conducting client research
-
Performing the occasional general office task and miscellaneous projects that may arise
Qualifications:
The ideal candidates are juniors and seniors in college who have previous internship experience in public relations and will be able to allot a block of time each day they are available for this position. Students studying advertising, public relations or communications are preferred.
To Apply: Send your resume and cover letter to [email protected].
Herban Bud
Brand Ambassador Internship
Description:
Are you a fan of hemp or hemp-derived products? Herban is a B2B wholesale and distribution company already live within multiple stores in the central Texas region. Their clients are CBD stores and shops that want to give their customers the same effects from hemp and hemp-derived products that are 100% legal. They currently sell gummies, flower, pre-rolls, and vape carts but are expanding their product offering all the time.
They are seeking Moody talent for their Brand Ambassador Internship in which you will be prospecting new stores, fostering relationships with store owners and managers, distributing samples, and creating new orders.
Qualifications:
-
Previous sales experience (preferably B2B)
-
Long term relationship management focused
-
Attention to detail
-
Ability to work independently
-
Active listening skills in regards to client needs
-
Must be a JR or SR communications student
-
Ability to follow up with clients and ensure deliverables are met
To Apply: Send a copy of your resume and cover letter to [email protected].
LadyLab
Virtual Social Media Internship
Description:
LadyLab's girl-powered social network provides entrepreneurs, business owners, freelancers, remote workers and boss ladies the tools to connect and collaborate on their next venture. Built for female and non-binary bosses of all backgrounds, LadyLab provides tools to go forth and conquer like access to their inclusive community, their projects board and your own customizable creative portfolio.
Responsibilities:
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Work 1-on-1 with CEO, assisting with the strategy and execution of LadyLab's daily publishing and community management activities
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Design compelling images and write posts for a diverse female audience
-
Build upon LadyLab's rand narrative on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok
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Welcome new app users onto Ladylab, strategizing opportunities to feature users in our content calendar
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Collaborate with team on opportunities for LadyLab to increase our social following
-
Create monthly analytic reports to measure performance across communications
Qualifications:
-
Junior or senior with at least one year of experience in social media, content creation, community management or digital marking
-
Must have experience and familiarity with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok
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Must be proficient in Canva, with a flair for graphic design and content creation
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Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, interpret and relay data findings
-
Creative skills when it comes to capturing and editing photo and video
-
Ability to commute between 10-15 hours/week, with flexible hours
-
Must be available to attend weekly digital check-ins with team
-
Must receive school credit
To Apply: Send your resume and cover letter to Cassy Martinex at [email protected]. For your cover letter, include:
-
Any relevant experience and learnings from growing and managing digital communities
-
A digital brand you feel does a good job communicating/catering to a similar audience as LadyLab, and in your opinion, why they are so effective. Please cite the brand's social handles, along with linked examples.
The Common Desk
Community Internship
Description:
Common Desk specializes in creating a sense of community that anyone can belong to. They use thoughtful digital practices to connect their virtual members and use an intentional approach to the design of our physical spaces to do the same for their workspace members. Their coworking locations are connective, accommodating, and inspiring places that you actually want to show up to day-in and day-out. They incorporate local art, intentional design, strategic partnerships, honest materials, curated events, and great people into every Common Desk co-working space, making a heck of a workspace product when it’s all said and done. But they don’t stop with workspace… They also build beautiful coffee shops and kiosks through Fiction Coffee that let anyone experience their passion for hospitality. Then their power all the above with our custom-built technology to make workdays more thoughtful and convenient.
Responsibilities:
-
Community Interns are eager to learn, have a heart for customer service, and are always ready to lend a helping hand
-
Primarily manning the Hospitality Bar and making espresso-based coffee drinks, members and staff know them to be outgoing, customer-focused, and supremely organized
-
Interns report to their location each week to support the Community Team, made up of a Community Manager and Community Associate, in their effort to drive membership satisfaction, growth, and operational excellence
To Apply: Send your resume to [email protected]. | https://www.texasprssa.org/profile/caroman/blank-1 |
Many factors affect honey bee health and can impact overwintering colony losses. Learn what young US beekeepers are doing to improve the situation.
Bees and other pollinators play a vital role in food production. But how to balance the need to protect food with our desire to protect pollinators?
Bayer organized the ‘Farmers love bees’ event on 28th May at its Forward Farm in Belgium, showing why agriculture and bees need each other.
The 11th International Symposium on Pollination in April provided the opportunity to present three bee studies with Brazilian researchers.
The project looks at a new way of protecting Western Honey Bee colonies from the impact of the Varroa mite – a major threat to honey bee health.
Research findings aid development of new bee-friendly insecticides.
A joint study, now published in Current Biology, has discovered bee enzymes that determine their sensitivity to different neonicotinoid insecticides. | https://beecare.bayer.com/media-center/news?start=13 |
Pesticide regulation, diversified farming systems and long-term monitoring are all ways governments can help to secure the future of pollinators such as bees, flies and wasps, according to scientists.
In an article published today in the journal Science, a team of researchers has suggested ten clear ways in which governments can protect and secure pollination services – vital to the production of fruits, vegetables and oils.
A recent global assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) confirmed that large-scale declines in wild pollinators are happening in north Europe and North America.
The ten policies report, led by Dr Lynn Dicks at the University of East Anglia who also took part in the assessment, expands on its findings to provide clear suggestions on how to tackle the problem.
Dr Dicks said: “The IPBES report has made it very clear that pollinators are important to people all over the world, economically and culturally. Governments understand this, and many have already taken substantial steps to safeguard these beautiful and important animals. But there is much more to be done. We urge governments to look at our policy proposals, and consider whether they can make these changes to support and protect pollinators, as part of a sustainable, healthy future for humanity.
“Agriculture plays a huge part. While it is partly responsible for pollinator decline, it can also be part of the solution. Practices that support pollinators, such as managing landscapes to provide food and shelter for them, should be promoted and supported. We also need to focus publicly funded research on improving yields in farming systems like organic farming, which are known to support pollinators.”
“Pressure to raise pesticide regulatory standards internationally should be a priority. The World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have worked for many years to develop a global code of conduct on pesticide management, but there are still many countries that don’t follow it. This means pesticides are in widespread use that are unacceptably toxic to bees, birds, even humans.”
The report stresses the need to develop more in-depth knowledge about the status of pollinators worldwide. Dr Dicks said: “We need long-term monitoring of pollinators, especially in Africa, South America and Asia, where there is little information about their status, but the processes driving declines are known to be occurring.”
The ten suggested policies in full are:
- Raise pesticide regulatory standards
- Promote integrated pest management (IPM)
- Include indirect and sublethal effects in GM crop risk assessments
- Regulate movement of managed pollinators
- Develop incentives, such as insurance schemes, to help farmers benefit from ecosystem services instead of agrochemicals
- Recognize pollination as an agricultural input in extension services
- Support diversified farming systems
- Conserve and restore “green infrastructure” (a network of habitats that pollinators can move between) in agricultural and urban landscapes
- Develop long-term monitoring of pollinators and pollination
- Fund participatory research on improving yields in organic, diversified, and ecologically intensified farming
Prof Simon Potts, co-author and research professor in Agri-Environment at the University of Reading, said: “The definitive UN report is a sign that the world is waking up to the importance of protecting these vital pollinators. We hope that by going a step further and implementing these top policy opportunities, we can encourage decision-makers to take action before it’s too late.
“Three quarters of the world’s food crops benefit from animal pollination, so we must safeguard pollinators to safeguard the supply of nutritious foods.”
Learn more: Scientists propose ten policies to protect vital pollinators
The Latest on: Pollinators
via Google News
The Latest on: Pollinators
- Why Ireland's pollinators are important to farmingon May 27, 2022 at 2:00 am
Ireland’s pollinators are made up of one species of honeybee, 100 species of wild bees (21 bumblebees and 79 solitary bees), roughly 180 species of hoverflies and other pollinating insects including ...
- Keeping pests out of the garden while encouraging pollinatorson May 26, 2022 at 6:20 pm
No Mow May is coming to a close and hopefully its impact is just beginning. The movement is intended to help pollinators like native bees, but where there are pollinators there are also pests that ...
- Bee kind: Planting native helps pollinators, experts sayon May 25, 2022 at 1:31 pm
So we always say native plants for native pollinators.” Keith Tignor, Virginia’s State Apiarist, says a little variety goes a long way. “Just like we need a variety of diet, in our diets ...
- Perennial favorites: Native wildflowers that will attract pollinators and praiseon May 25, 2022 at 8:07 am
Perennial wildflowers are a very diverse group of plants that grow in all light conditions, soil types, and habitats. | realestate.boston.com ...
- No Mow May: A way of doing more for pollinators by doing less this springon May 24, 2022 at 8:15 am
By not mowing in May and letting dandelions, clover, creeping Charlie and other flowers bloom, people are creating habitat for pollinators, including bees, and other wildlife. We are part of The ...
- No Mow May: How skipping a chore once in a while can help our local pollinatorson May 23, 2022 at 3:54 pm
No Mow May is a movement spreading throughout the nation, encouraging people in America to take a break, now and again, from mowing their lawns to help out pollinators.
- JoAnne Skelly: Bee kind to pollinatorson May 23, 2022 at 1:04 pm
Carson City's Bee City USA #76, wants to remind people that June is Pollinator Month and June 20 to 26 is National Pollinator Week.
- Lets talk pollinators with Pike Nurserieson May 20, 2022 at 8:06 am
Rebecca with Pike Nurseries gives a lesson on pollinators from bees, birds, butterflies, and more. Listen in for tips on what sorts of plants you need for pollinators to thrive and help your plans ...
- Pollinator Park: What a world without pollinators could look likeon May 20, 2022 at 7:20 am
Pollinator Park incorporates gamification, storytelling and alluring technologies to showcase the shocking insect decline and a need for urgent action to wider audiences, particularly to younger ... | https://innovationtoronto.com/2016/11/10-ways-to-help-pollinators-pesticide-regulation-diversified-farming-systems-and-long-term-monitoring/ |
Bees and other insects pollinate a wide variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, animal forages, fiber crops, and native plants. They also play an important role in Minnesota agriculture. This important group of insects includes domesticated honey bees as well as native wild bees, flies, wasps, moths, butterflies, and more.
Over the last 50 years, the number of pollinators has decreased and their overall health has been negatively impacted. The cause of this problem is complex and it is affecting pollinators in Minnesota, as well as other parts of the U.S.
A web of complex environmental factors are the root of the problem. Pollinators are exposed to a variety of stressors such as parasites, pathogens, and pesticides. When exposed to many stressors, they become more susceptible to the harmful effects. In addition, their habitat is getting smaller. Human development continues to divide or replace large areas of habitat. Roads, houses, and farm fields have replaced native prairies and forested land.
What Can You Do?
There are many things we can do to help pollinators. Simple acts, such as planting pollinator-attractive flowers, leaving pollinator nesting habitat (e.g., plant stems, leaf litter) undisturbed, and using pesticides only when necessary, can make a big impact.
There are a series of Best Management Practices that we can follow to protect, improve and create pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes, yards and gardens and roadsides. The MDA also has suggestions for making your yard bee-friendly (PDF), and protecting and supporting protecting and supporting endangered and threatened insect pollinators (PDF).
NEW: Learn about creating and protecting pollinator habitat in rural land in this short video.
Making a Difference Across Minnesota
Neighbors across the state are already making a big impact on pollinators and their habitat. You can take advantage of federal and state programs to help you establish new habitat. More info from the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources.
Minnesota state agencies are doing their part by exploring ways to increase pollinator habitat in all areas of Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources focuses on pollinator habitat and conservation, while the Department of Transportation manages approximately 175,000 acres of land in Minnesota and is working to increase pollinator habitat along roadways throughout the state.
Pollinator Report
In 2013, the Minnesota State Legislature asked for a pollinator report to address the decline in pollinators.
The report includes a proposal to establish a pollinator bank to preserve pollinator species diversity, as well as a proposal to create and enhance pollinator nesting and foraging habitat and the establishment of pollinator reserves or refuges. The report also includes the process and criteria the commissioner would use to perform a special review of neonicotinoid insecticides registered by the commissioner for use in this state currently and in the future.
This pollinator report was developed in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and representatives of the University of Minnesota. | https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/pollinators |
Species-rich mixture with a high proportion of legumes to promote microbial diversity in the soil. Attracts beneficial insects. Loosens the soil and suppresses diseases.
Lifespan: annnual
Beemeadow: yes
Beemeadow: yes
Seed rate: 350g/100 m²
Positive for pollinators: yes
Nutrient requirements: manuring not necessary
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Explanations
Bee-friendly: This plant has a good nectar or pollen supply, which is especially good for honey and wild bees, as well as other pollinating insects. There are 500 different kinds of wild bees alone. Some crops are best approached by specialists, others by generalists. | https://www.sativa.bio/en/green-manures/biodiversity-mix-f163 |
(EAC) confirms that neonicotinoid insecticides are to blame for mass bee die-offs.
The declaration by this prominent government advisory group comes following the release of data out of the E.U. showing that neonicotinoids contain compounds that interfere with bees' central nervous systems, and thus cause them to become confused while pollinating. Eventually, bees affected by these chemicals lose their ability to navigate back to the hive, forgetting where they are and how to get home, which results in them starving and dying en masse.
Back in January, the
European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) determined that neonicotinoids, which have been in use since the early 1990s, are directly responsible for triggering an epidemic of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) all around the world. The agency went on to express opposition to the further use of neonicotinoid insecticides, particularly with regards to plants that are attractive to bees. But the European Commission was ultimately unable to garner enough votes to successfully implement a two-year ban on the chemicals, which has prompted EAC to issue its own call for a ban.
"If farmers had to pollinate fruit and vegetables without the help of insects, it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and we would all be stung by rising food prices," says Joan Walley MP, chair of EAC, referring to the devastating losses that will occur in the absence of pollinating
bees
. "Defra (
Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs
) Ministers have refused to back EU efforts to protect pollinators and can't even come up with a convincing plan to encourage bee-friendly farming in the U.K."
UK, Germany primarily responsible for enabling continued 'armageddon' on bees
According to earlier reports, the European Commission was roadblocked in its attempt to protect bee populations by both the U.K. and Germany, which at the last minute failed to vote in favor of a two-year moratorium. The winners in the proposal's defeat, of course, are chemical companies like Syngenta and Bayer CropScience, both of which have a vested interest in neonicotinoids. The losers are not only bees, but the global population at large, which will suffer from crop failures and eventually starvation.
"Britain and Germany have caved in to the industry lobby and refused to ban bee-killing pesticides," Iain Keith from the non-profit environmental group Avaaz is quoted as saying by the U.K.'s
Guardian
. "[The] vote flies in the face of science and public opinion and maintains the disastrous chemical armageddon on bees, which are critical for the future of our food."
Sources for this article include: | https://www.naturalnews.com/z040088_bee_population_neonicotinoid_colony_collapse.html |
The rusty patched bumble bee is now listed as an endangered species in Canada and the US. Building a bee-friendly garden is one way you can help rebuilt declining bee populations.
- Published On April 12, 2018
Buzzing bees signal the lazy days of summer. On sunny summer days, bees can be seen flitting from one flower to the next foraging for nectar. But recently, however, bee populations have been having a harder time. Bee populations across the world are dying out, and it has a greater ecological impact than you might think.
Declining Bee Populations Around the World
Bees are found on every continent except Antarctica. With approximately 20,000 known species of bees, they make up a large chunk of the earth’s insects.
Although the honey bee, belonging to the family Apinae is the most well-known of all bees for their production of honey, sweat bees, belonging to the family Halictidae, are actually the most common bees in the Northern Hemisphere.
According to the European Red List of Bees, prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 9.2% of bee species in Europe are considered threatened. Of these threatened species, 0.4% of the species are listed as Critically Endangered, 2.4% as Endangered, and 1.2% as Vulnerable. In addition, 5.2% of bee species in Europe are classified as Near Threatened. Over half of European bee species are listed as data deficient due to lack of information on their populations. Due to the high number of data deficient species, the true number of threatened bee species could range anywhere from 4% to almost 61%. North American species are showing similar trends.
Although there are several bee species listed as critically endangered by the ICUN, the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) made headlines when the United States Fish and Wildlife Service added the species to the endangered species list in January 2017. It is now listed as endangered by both the US and Canada. The rusty patched bumble bee, once found throughout central Canada and the midwestern and northeastern United States, has declined by 87% over the past 20 years. In recent years the species has only been spotted in 0.1% of its historical range. In the US, populations have been spotted in Illinois, Iowa, and Maryland, whereas in Canada, it has been found only in the Pinery Provincial Park in Southern Ontario. The the rusty patched bumble bee was once one of the most common species of bumblebee in southwestern Ontario.
The rusty patched bumble bee is listed as endangered in Canada and the US, and critically endangered by the IUCN. Photo credit: shutterstock.com.
As the rusty patched bumble bee is known to pollinate about 65 different varieties of flowering plants, their decline may have grave ecological consequences.
The Ecological Importance of Bees
Bees are found in almost every habitat containing insect-pollinated flowering plants. With approximately 75-95% of flowering plants requiring pollination, bees and other pollinators such as butterflies, wasps, bats, etc. have an important role to play. Pollinators are said to be responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat, pollinating over 1,200 crops and 180,000 plants.
World Atlas recently had a chance to speak with Christy Bumanis from The Honeybee Conservancy about the importance of bees.
“Honey bees have been an integral part of civilization since its beginnings. Honey has been consumed by humans for millenia, and raw honey has important health benefits,” Bumanis informed us, continuing to explain that bees are important to humans agriculturally and economically as well, as “agriculture depends on honey bees for pollination. For example, more than $15 billion a year in U.S. crops are pollinated by bees, and U.S. honey bees also produce about $150 million in honey annually. The global economic cost of bee decline, including lower crop yields and increased production costs, has been estimated at as high as $5.7 billion per year1. Honey bees and native bees are important pollinators of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, both wild and cultivated, leading to optimal crops of seeds, fruits, and berries and thus supporting humans as well as birds and other wildlife.”
Bees are responsible for the pollination of some of our favourite and most important fruits and vegetables, such as cranberries, plums, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, onions, and alfalfa among many others.
Unfortunately, while agriculture depends on bee populations as pollinators, agricultural practices are putting these same bee populations at risk.
Bee Threats and Conservation
Bees face a number of threats, including widespread use of pesticides, habitat destruction, and climate change.
“Bees, and insect populations in general, have been adversely affected by pesticide usage on agricultural, commercial, and home landscape plants, most importantly the widespread use of Roundup, neonicotinoids, and the use of toxic lawn chemicals. Roundup, although it is an herbicide, harms the gut bacteria of bees, disrupting their immune systems,” said Bumanis. “Major habitat destruction is another huge factor, wiping out forest stands which supply hollow trees for nesting and trees providing important forage, as well as destroying open fields with stands of wildflowers that are important for late summer and fall forage.”
Some bees, like the critically endangered rusty patched bumble bee, require multiple types of habitats within close proximity to forage, nest, and hibernate. Such species are particularity vulnerable due to habitat loss. In addition, climate change is thought to have an effect on bee populations.
“There has been some research showing that climate change is decreasing the nutrient value of pollen, and the extreme weather events resulting from climate change can do significant damage to both managed and feral hives,” Bumanis informed us.
Other threats include the transportation of bees for agricultural purposes and the spread of the parasitic varroa mite (varroa destructor) which can lead to the death of entire honey bee colonies.
Ensuring that bees and other pollinators have access to pesticide-free habitats is an important factor in bee conservation. One way to accomplish this is by educating homeowners on the importance of bee-friendly gardens that will provide bees with the nectar and pollen they need to survive.
Planting Bee-Friendly Gardens
Although large green front and backyard lawns have become commonplace in many North American communities, these landscaped areas leave little productive plants for bees and other pollinators.
Although it might go against the grain, reducing turf lawn and allowing plants such as clover and dandelions, often thought of as lawn pests, to grow is a great first step. Replace turf with more or larger areas of plant beds with bee-friendly shrubs, trees, and plants.
Bees are active from early spring to late fall in many areas. Spring and summer offer an abundance of high quality nectar and pollen. However, in early spring and in fall bees have a harder time. Introducing flowering plants that bloom during different seasons will help provide foraging habitats.
Depending on your location, pansies, pussy willows, and snowdrops will bloom in early spring, peonies, milkweed (also important for monarch butterfly conservation), lavender, marigolds, and goldenrods will bloom in spring and summer, while liatris, nasturtiums, and black-eyed Susan’s will bloom in late summer and fall.
A source of fresh, clean water is also important for bees, making sure to provide pebbles or twigs for the bees to land on. Uncultivated areas will provide soil for mason bees and nesting spots for burrowing bees.
Don’t have a lot of room? Bee-friendly herbs can be grown outdoors in small pots or hanging baskets. Photo credit: shutterstock.com.
Any small area can be accommodated to become a bee oasis, including large front or backyard gardens, rooftop gardens, and even window containers! Consider placing hanging baskets or potted plants up walkways or by doorways. Herbs are easy to grow in small spaces and can be used while cooking. Chives, rosemary, mint, and lavender will bloom in spring and summer, while thyme, oregano, sage, and basil will bloom in summer and fall.
Most importantly, never use pesticides or herbicides.
What Else Can Be Done?
Aside from building a more bee-friendly garden, there is much that interested bee conservationists can do. When asked what more could be done to help bees, Bumanis suggested the following:
Support or volunteer for non-profits that advocate for bees and other pollinators.
Talk to your local community association or organization about reducing pesticide use and planting for bees and other pollinators.
Vote for legislators who support the environment by preserving natural areas, setting up pollinator gardens and corridors, encouraging organic agricultural practices and reducing or banning pesticide use, and rewarding and subsiding bee-friendly agriculture and research.
Visit the Honeybee Conservancy website to learn more about bee conservation and how you can help.
**
Kelly Bergevin is a writer and editor based in Montreal, Canada. She is an avid reader, coffee-drinker, and learner, and has recently turned her focus towards environmental issues and wildlife conservation efforts. | https://www.worldatlas.com/news/building-bee-friendly-gardens-to-help-threatened-bee-populations.html |
Let’s be honest: Few of us, save for insect enthusiasts, spend much time fretting about bees or moths or wasps or beetles – except when they set their sight on our lunchboxes. We definitely ought to care about them a whole lot more, however. That’s because a myriad of insects, together with bats and birds, serve invaluable roles not only in natural ecosystems but also in human food production.
“Crops such as oil palm, coffee, cocoa, mangoes, kiwifruit, apples, cherries, pears, watermelons, cantaloupes, squash, zucchinis, avocados, cashews and almonds depend on animal pollinators for a good harvest,” explained Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, chairman of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). “All these highly beneficial and flavourful food crops have a common denominator: They arrive in our stores thanks to the tireless efforts of pollinators – some 20,000 species of [wild] bees [on top of] butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and others,” he went on to explain in an op-ed. “Nature exploits their flying and crawling abilities to transport pollen from place to place within ecosystems and fertilise many types of flora.”
Zakri addressed the role of pollinators during a week-long international symposium in Kuala Lumpur on biodiversity, where the issue was a main topic of discussion for the 500 delegates from 141 countries. Most pollinators are coming under increased threats, IPBES has warned, after a two-year comprehensive study with the involvement of 77 leading experts has found that adverse human activities have been taking their toll on “populations of these small but enormously helpful species.” The threats run a whole gamut from pollution to climate change, and from industrialized farming to the indiscriminate use of pesticides.
And that should be sounding alarm bells far and wide. More than a whopping three-quarters of cultivated crops worldwide rely on pollinators in one way or another. So do around 90% of flowering plants in the wild. Yet over 40% of invertebrate pollinators, especially bees and butterflies, are facing extinction, as are 16% of vertebrate pollinators. If they go, so will plenty of yields in global crops. In Malaysia, for instance, a type of weevil that originated in Africa is alone responsible for pollinating hosts of oil palm trees, thereby helping prop up a major pillar of the nation’s economy.
So what to do? Malaysia can take several steps to safeguard the well-being of its oft-neglected pollinators. It can protect their habitats by managing natural environments better. It can promote more sustainable and less invasive agricultural practices among communities. It can phase out the use of harmful pesticides in favor of alternative forms of pest control, including green technology tools. It can educate farmers and members of the general public about the vital role pollinators play in food production. It can improve the control of pathogens in bee husbandry. And it can better regulate the trade and use of commercial pollinators. That’s quite a list, yes, but there’s a lot at stake. | https://cleanmalaysia.com/2016/02/28/pollinators-will-need-our-attention/ |
By Claire Mitchell. Posted in the Gardener’s Corner – 3rd July 2019.
Bees play a crucial rule in our environment and are the world’s most important crop pollinator.
Without the mighty bee, our planet would change beyond recognition.
Sadly, due to the aggressive use of pesticides and habitat loss, the bee population is rapidly declining.
The chart below reveals the rate of decline:
The chart and data points above are sourced from Nature Communications.
By providing species-level, national-scale estimates of change, our study found evidence of declines across a large proportion of pollinator species in Britain between 1980 and 2013. These overall declines are in addition to the losses that occurred before 1980.
– Nature Communications 26th March 2019
In July 2019, I published a detailed guide on how gardeners can attract more bees to their garden.
The article covers topics such as pesticides to avoid, pre-made bee houses you can buy, the importance of water and an overview of bee-friendly plants you can grow in your garden.
Below you’ll find a list of my favourite top 20 bee-friendly plants that I think you should consider planting in your garden.
I’ve sorted the list by season so your garden can become a bee and flying insect haven all year round.
Bee-Friendly Plants – Top 20
Different bees will be active at differing times of the year so we suggest you pick a range of plants that flower from spring to winter.
Don’t forget; it’s not just bees that will love these plants but also other pollinators and flying insects.
Spring
Apple Trees
Apple trees are among the most popular and easiest fruit trees to grow in your garden. With thousands of different apple varieties to choose from, the oldest varietals — like Bramley and Cox — tend to be the easiest to cultivate. Apple trees are very hardy and easy to maintain; they require pruning every year with feeding from June (with a well-balanced fertiliser). Young trees will require the most amount of care but older and larger trees tend to be more resistant.
Apple trees, like other fruit trees, are very beneficial for bee populations. In fact, because apple trees are pollinated by bees, the two are vital to one another’s success. A good tip is to produce several different apple varietals in flower during the same period in spring because apples are cross-pollinated. Opt for trees which produce a lot of large flowers, like the Royal Gala, to attract more bees.
Primrose
Primroses can be grown as both annuals or perennials, and they are favoured for their tolerance to cold temperatures and most soils. Flowering in early spring (March), they do best with access to both full sun and partial shade. They grow to their full size at about 2-5 years after planting.
Primroses are a known boon for local bees and an excellent source of nectar. It’s ideal to get your primroses planted by February so that Queen bees can establish their colony. As such, primroses are often a perfect early source of food for bees, as well as an attractive flower to brighten up your outdoor spaces. Primrose flowers also sustain worker bees throughout the summer.
Marjoram
Marjoram is a perennial herb which is native to the UK. Grown with aromatic leaves and tiny flowers of pink, purple or white, marjoram also consists of a central four-seeded fruit. Marjoram has many different names worldwide, including oregano (not to be confused in the UK). Marjoram flowers through summer into early autumn.
Marjoram is among the most attractive flowers for bees in the UK, being popular with many different bee species, including bumblebees and honeybees. Many pollinators find marjoram flowers irresistible, making them perfect plants for bee-friendly gardens. The flowers require a sunny space and do not cope well through winter, so you have to reduce the old flower stems in winter for regrowth the following summer.
Crocus
Crocus is a fairly low-maintenance perennial flower which produces a very early pollen source for bees. Emerging in late winter and early spring, their shoots are hardy enough to survive through crisp winter snow and ice. They come in a wide variety of colours, making them a welcome addition to a colourful spring garden.
Crocus plants are not limited to spring flowering, with different varieties blooming through autumn. They prefer full to partial sun with well-drained soil. To attract bees, you should plant crocus in large clusters. This also rewards gardeners with a beautiful carpet of deep colour.
Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley is a perennial flower often found on woodland floors. With attractive and elegant looking bell-shaped flowers, they grow as creeping stems drooping delicately to the side. You can add this to your garden for flowering throughout May and June. The flower is deeply linked with British and European folkloric cultures and fairy tales.
Lily of the Valley is a bee-friendly plant which also offers decorative potential. They will make a great addition to a bee-friendly garden by encouraging the flow of nectar as early as May. Your best propagating the flower by divisions in semi-shaded areas with dappled light.
Summer
Chives
Chives are an easy to grow perennial herb which sprouts edible purple flowers that are ideal for promoting bees. As an indispensable daily herb, they make a valuable asset to your window box, balcony or herb garden. To grow, sow seeds in early spring in small pots ready for germination. Once grown, they’ll be easy to maintain provided you keep them well watered over summer.
For chives to be beneficial to bees you need to allow their flowers to grow. You can still cut down some of the stalks for cooking. The edible purple flowers are particularly attractive to bumblebees, mason bees, leafcutter bees and honeybees.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the most attractive plants for pollinators. Richly aromatic and fragrant, lavender is a shrub that is both easy to grow and maintain, provided you prune and keep them well-maintained. Many varieties of lavender are hardy with silver-grey evergreen foliage, but ensure you plant in areas of full sunshine. Expect them to bring colour into your garden through June, July and August.
Lavender is particularly useful for bees because it flowers in midsummer. This is a period when very few other flowers are out for bees to forage. The larger lavender cultivars tend to be the most attractive for bees, particularly when planted as dense hedges. They are among the best plants for a bee-friendly garden.
Viper’s Bugloss
Viper’s bugloss is a blue flower named after its spotted stem which is said to resemble a viper. It is a hairy plant consisting of fairly dense spikes and funnel-like flowers of blue. The flower is typically found in chalky and sandy landscapes such as cliffs. They typically bloom from May into September and provide food for a number of important insects.
Viper’s bugloss is not typically found in gardens or garden centres, but it is a native British species which is very beneficial for local bees and other pollinators. Because it produces nectar throughout the day, it is particularly important as a late afternoon nectar provider for bees. It needs planting near full sunshine in well-drained soil.
Heather
Heather consists of a variety of bee-enticing flowering calluna which often dominates moorland and heathland landscapes. They are hardy plants which flower throughout the year, depending on the varietal. They require sunshine and open areas but can tolerate partial shade and are ideally planted in spring. They require lime-free soil.
Heather is a real boon for bumblebees and honeybees, among others, as it provides a rich nectar. Famous for the production of heather honey, heather can be strategically planted for year-long nectar production with winter heathers (such as Erica Erigena and Erica Carnea) providing much-needed pollination in winter months. Small heather gardens are an ideal way to attract bees throughout the year.
Marigolds
Marigolds are both annual and perennial herbaceous plants that are part of the daisy family. Grown in a wealth of attractive summer colours, they are ideal garden flowers due to their long blooming period and easy-to-maintain growth. Plant these flowers through March and May for a full summer to autumn bloom. They are best maintained with direct sunlight with well-drained soil.
Contrary to popular opinion, marigold flowers are ideal bee-friendly plants owing to their single-flower tops with easy-to-access nectar. Marigolds also repel some insect pests, making them ideal for bee-friendly gardens. Opt for non-hybrid single-flower marigolds for better bee attraction.
Autumn
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is a native British wildflower which can be easily grown in your garden. Generating one of the sweetest scents, the honeysuckle is a woody climber which often twines around local trees and shrubs. Often found in hedgerows and woodland areas, the flower blooms as a cream-coloured trumpet with an orange buff. They bloom between June and September with red berries ripening in early autumn.
Honeysuckle offers a lot of value to local wildlife, both bees and birds alike. Bumblebees benefit from honeysuckles prized nectar and bees act as important pollinators for this plant. Bumblebees have become well adept at feeding on honeysuckle which aids in their autumn feeding.
Salvias
Salvias are a large genus of 900 mint family plants encompassing shrubs, annuals and herbaceous perennials, including the herb sage. Plants tend to grow through April and May for flowering from June through November. All varieties enjoy full sunshine, making south-facing areas ideal. Care depends on the variety you grow, with many hardier perennials cut back in spring or autumn.
Salvias are ideal plants for bees and pollinators, particularly those of the herbal variety. Many of the more colourful bedding plant salvias are not as good for native British bees because of their long flower tubes. For bee-friendly salvias, look for Salvia Nemerosa, a small perennial with blue flowers, or clary sage, a versatile hedgerow plant with midsummer pink flowers.
Asters
Aster is a perennial flowering bee-friendly plant genus grown throughout Europe. The UK’s native species is the sea aster which grows in salt marshes and flowers in late summer. Often known as autumn daisies, asters come in a wide variety of colours and are found in just about every garden in the UK. Their late flowering in September makes them an ideal autumnal colour bringer. They also cope with both light shade and direct sunlight.
Asters are perfect bee-friendly plants because they sustain populations through autumn. Asters like novi belgii (known as the New York aster) are reliable attractions for bees and other pollinators through September. Honeybees and sweat bees are drawn to autumnal asters as they are known to bloom until November, providing much-needed late-season pollen and nectar.
Hardy Fuscia
Fruschias can be hardier then their delicate exteriors suggest, withstanding cold temperatures and blooming through autumn. As hardy autumnal bloomers, they are ideal to light up dull shades in the garden. The plants require little care and can be incorporated into hedge areas, hanging baskets or containers as well as summer beds. With cultivars flowering from late spring up until the first frosts of winter, they make for very versatile shrubs.
Fuschias are also great bee attractors, producing pollen and nectar for an extended period of time. This is vital for colder months when other bumblebee favourites are out of bloom. They are highly recommended to promote a bee-friendly autumn garden owing to their single-flower makeup.
Hebe Autumn Glory
Hebe Autumn Glory is an easy to grow, hardy shrub which produces attractive flowers from July through November. Its leaves are bronze tinges with deep green foliage and violet-blue flowers. Best grown in areas of half-sun with shelter from wind, Autumn Glory is compact enough to fit into tight areas for welcome patches of autumnal colour.
Because of Hebe Autumnal Glory’s long flowering period, it makes an ideal addition to a bee-friendly autumnal garden. The shrub is a particular favourite of bees and butterflies owing to their short spikes of flowers which can potentially last until winter. They also have some tolerance to drought, making them hardy and reliable shrubs.
Winter
Winter Flowering Clematis
Winter flowering clematis include a host of clematis flowers which last from November through until early spring. Some examples, like clematis cirrhosa varietals, are evergreen shrubs which climb other stalks to display attractive white flowers. Flowers are generally sweet-scented and hardy. All types require good drainage in cultivated soil within a warm and sheltered position either in full sun or with part shade.
Winter-flowering clematis is a vital lifeline for early honeybees and queen bees that have just emerged and are hunting for much-needed food. Because nectar is so rare in winter and very early spring months, these flowers are crucial pollinators which will attract a wide variety of wildlife, making them a very bee-friendly plant. The bell-shaped flowers of many clematis are particularly attractive and accessible to bees.
Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’)
Mahonia aquifolium is a flowering evergreen shrub which can grow up to 1m in height. They produce dense sections of yellow flowers and deep blue berries (reminiscent of grapes). These shrubs offer year-round interest as the leaves change in appearance through both spring and winter, from yellow to a purple-like flush.
As a recommended plant for pollinators, bees are attracted to this cultivar through winter and spring. At other times of the year, the sharp leaves provide perfect cover against predators or other unwanted garden invaders. This hardy shrub will easily withstand British winters, even in the north, so long as they are partially protected and not in the open.
Ivy
Ivy (or hedera) is a climbing evergreen which just sings winter and Christmas. There are many forms of ivy (of which there are a lot of perennials), and many are easy to sustain with most soils. Aside from their evocative wintry leaves, ivy is an incredibly valuable plant for bees, offering vital nectar and pollen during the colder autumn months when insects are building their stores up for winter.
Once a bane of some gardeners, their value to honeybees, in particular, mean that they should be promoted through winter. Over 80% of a bee’s autumn pollen will have been foraged from ivy. That’s not to mention the berries which provide perfect resources for birds and hibernating animals.
Rosemary
Rosemary is more than just a fragrant, perennial herb with value in the kitchen, it produces beautiful needle-like leaves with white, blue, pink or purple flowers. The herb is harvestable year-round, with flowers blooming through in spring. When planted along a path, they produce an intoxicating and guiding aroma. You can plant year-long but seeds can take some time to germinate, making young plants the best to cultivate.
Herbs like rosemary are known to be bee-friendly. Bees are pollinators of rosemary and seem to love these fragrant bushes just as much as humans. To make the most of your rosemary, plant them in accessible areas among other winter pollinators.
Winter Flowering Heather
Winter flowering heather plants are a species of heather which is hardy enough to withstand and flower in colder climates. They provide a blanket of much-needed colour to your garden whilst sustaining the local wildlife and producing a rich aroma. They are indispensable additions to your winter garden and are perfect for small spaces.
They are particularly valuable because of the profusion of flowers which appear as early as November which can last well until spring, supplying newly buzzing bees with their needed pollen. Through winter, heather is best mixed with other winter colours for an attractive and vibrant garden ecosystem.
Related Products Hand-Selected by Us
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Bee-Friendly Wildflower Seeds
With over 1000 seeds per packet, this mix is certified for pollination by the Royal Horticultural Society.
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This guide was created by Claire Mitchell and posted in the Gardener’s Corner. Published 3rd July 2019. | https://job-prices.co.uk/plants-to-attract-bees/ |
People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN) is passionately seeking solutions and creating awareness about the importance of pollinators and ways to best protect them.
PPAN works throughout Colorado to promote safe healthy habitat for pollinators, advocate for sustainable agricultural practices and safeguard public health. We seek to improve our environment by fostering a strong movement to build community awareness, change policies and support best practices in habitat management and to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.
In 2017, we have combined forces with Bee Safe Boulder to launch a new pollinator safe neighborhood program across Colorado. | https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-people-pollinators?nowrapper=true&referrer=&source= |
The Government has made an agreement with landowners including Network Rail and the Highways Agency to restore bee-friendly habitat throughout England.
It is part of a 10-year National Pollinator Strategy.
But some conservation groups say the plan does not go far enough.
It includes countryside stewardship schemes, worth a total of £900m, to provide financial incentives for farmers to plant pollinator-friendly crops and let meadows grow.
The plan is announced on Tuesday by Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss.
It will be the key policy announcement of her first major speech as environment secretary.
The coalition has been criticised for some of its actions on the natural environment, including the controversial badger cull and a plan to sell off forests, which was ultimately scrapped. So Ms Truss will look to move the debate forward.
She will say in her keynote speech that “our health, our jobs and our future prosperity and security depend on nature in this country”.
Policy for pollinators
Ms Truss told BBC News that the new strategy was “all about helping our pollinators survive and thrive”. Farmland, which covers most of England’s land area, is the main focus.
“Pollinators are really important for food and farming – for our rural economy, which is worth £210bn per year,” she told BBC News.
“The most important part of the strategy is the stewardship scheme, which has a specific pollinator element incentivising farmers to plant wild flowers, have pollinator friendly crops, and to carry out their activities in a pollinator-friendly way.”
The charity Buglife and Friends of the Earth both broadly welcomed the plan, but said that it did not go far enough on the regulation of pesticides.
Referring to a 2013 decision by the European Commission to restrict the use of a group of neonicotinoid pesticides that were found to be harmful to honeybees, Buglife chief executive Matt Shardlow said it was time for the government to bring in new regulations to govern the testing of new chemicals.
“We’re not against pesticides entirely,” he told BBC News. “But we’re keen that there’s better testing, so the ones that are ultimately used aren’t damaging to bees.”
Public help sought
To make space across an increasingly urban landscape for insects, the government has secured commitments from landowners including Network Rail and the Highways Agency, which has agreed to undertake work to “enhance the grassland” on its verges.
Mr Shardlow pointed out that these pollinator-friendly urban spaces were vital and he encouraged the public to help.
“It is time now for everyone to come together around this national strategy; for government to deliver tens of thousands of hectares of restored wildflower habitats in the countryside, creating a network of B-Lines so that pollinators can move across the landscape effectively. | http://www.hantsfoenet.org.uk/plan-bee-new-measures-to-protect-pollinators/ |
PAN International was founded in Malaysia by NGOs across the globe, demanding accountability after transnational corporations endangered human health and devastated entire communities.
Agroecological farming technology and innovations are knowledge-intensive, low cost, ecologically sound and practical.
The PAN International network works closely with groups of farmworkers, small and medium scale farmers, and peasant organizations around the world.
Bees and other pollinators are harmed by certain pesticides used in industrial agriculture. PAN promotes farming practices that protect pollinators, the environment and agricultural communities.
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is a network of over 600 participating nongovernmental organizations, institutions and individuals in over 90 countries working to replace the use of hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.
PAN was founded in 1982 and has five independent, collaborating Regional Centers that implement its projects and campaigns.
28 October 2020, 1:30 GMTAgroecology: farmers’ pathways to liberation from pesticides
In this webinar, you will hear farmers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America sharing their experiences and successes in agroecology. | http://pan-international.org/ |
In a resolution adopted yesterday, the European Parliament called on the EU executive Commission to beef up its Pollinators Initiative, saying EU-wide mandatory pesticide reduction targets are needed to halt the decline in species.
The European Commission initiative, adopted in 2018, is not enough to protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators from the many causes of their decline, MEPs said in a resolution voted in Strasbourg on Wednesday (18 December).
Intensive farming, pesticides, climate change, land-use changes, loss of habitat and invasive species are among the factors leading to the current fall in biodiversity. Since 1992, grassland butterflies and pollinators have declined by about 40%, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The European Parliament welcomed the EU Pollinators Initiative but highlighted that, as it stands, it is not sufficient to protect bees and other pollinators. To tackle the problem, lawmakers called on the Commission to present a full-scale action programme with new measures.
Speaking at the plenary session before the vote on the resolution, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the decline of wild pollinators in the EU was “dramatic”. It means the “functioning of ecosystems, as well as our food security and well-being, are at risk,” she said.
Kyriakides also highlighted the important role and “significant opportunity” that the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can play in scaling up action on pollinators through the inclusion of robust environmental criteria and increased support for organic farming, agroecology and precision agriculture techniques.
Call for mandatory targets
In its resolution, the Parliament insisted on the introduction of EU-wide mandatory reduction targets in the upcoming revision of the Pesticides Directive. Lawmakers also called for more funds to support research into the causes of bee decline in order to protect the diversity of pollinator species.
Targets for pesticide reduction were set at 50% in a first draft version of the European Green Deal circulating one week before the Commission officially unveiled its flagship environmental plan.
But the final version of the European Green Deal communication did not mention targets, referring only to an “increased level of ambition to significantly reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides, as well as the use of fertilisers.”
The reduction of pesticide use is mentioned in the European Green Deal as part of both the zero-pollution strategy and the new Farm-to-Fork (F2F) approach to EU food policy.
In April 2018, the EU agreed to fully ban the outdoor use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, known as neonicotinoids. However, several EU member states notified emergency exemptions regarding their use on their territory.
The Commission presented its EU Pollinators Initiative communication on 1 June 2018, heeding calls from the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers who called for more action to protect bees and other pollinators.
The initiative sets strategic objectives and a set of actions to be taken by the EU and its member states to address the decline of pollinators in the EU and contribute to global conservation efforts. It sets the framework for an integrated approach to the problem and a more effective use of existing tools and policies.
Pollinators are a diverse group of animals – primarily insects – that pollinate crops and wild plants. According to the Commission, around 84 % of crop species and 78 % of wildflower species in the EU alone depend, at least in part, on animal pollination.
Up to almost €15 billion of the EU’s annual agricultural output is directly attributed to insect pollinators.
In the past decades, pollinators have declined both in numbers and in diversity in the EU.
Multiple drivers are believed to be responsible for the decline of pollinators, according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent scientific body.
Direct threats to pollinators include land-use change, intensive agricultural management and pesticide use, environmental pollution, invasive alien species, pathogens and climate change, according to the landmark IPBES report, published in 2017.
The Parliament resolution comes on the back of a European Citizens’ Initiative, called ‘Save bees and farmers’. The initiative, launched on 25 November, is a growing network of currently over 70 environmental NGOs, farmer and beekeeper organisations, charitable foundations and scientific institutions distributed throughout the EU who are working together to reconcile agriculture, health and biodiversity.
It aims to phase out synthetic pesticides by 2035, support farmers, and save bees and nature. If the initiative gathers one million signatures by September 2020, the EU Commission and Parliament must consider turning the campaign’s demands into law. | https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/parliament-urges-cuts-in-pesticide-use-to-save-europes-pollinators/ |
With a half acre site dedicated to making pollinators happy, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven is a great place to explore varieties of plants appropriate for local gardens and ideal for bees of all stripes. While the flora has been picked to attract bees, the profusion of blooms is also attractive to humans, many of whom are taking personal steps to foster healthy relations between food and native species, and to combat pollinator loss and promote drought-resilience in the face of climate woes.
At the height of buzz about Colony Collapse Disorder, Häagen-Dazs granted $125,000 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology to establish a bee-friendly demonstration garden and in support of bee research. The Haven, both educational and lovely (thanks also in part to artwork and landscape design supported by other donors), is a great resource for creating a local landscape that is both aesthetically pleasing and responsive to environmental and social concerns.
Specimens of the garden’s most common bees will be available for viewing and tips on identifying bees will be presented. A guided tour at 6pm will focus on fall- and winter-blooming bee plants and several styles of bee houses will be available for purchase to support the garden.
From Hutchison Drive, turn south on Hopkins Road.
Left on Bee Biology Drive – the garden is at the end on the right. | http://www.davislifemagazine.com/2014/10/honey-bee-haven-open-house/ |
Wednesday 4 April, 7.30pm, Duke Street Church Cafe, Duke Street, Richmond, TW9 1DH
This month we welcomed guest speakers from the beautiful botanic gardens at Kew! They talked to us about the fabulous site and the many pollinators that inhabit the Gardens. We also learnt a lot about pollinators from around the world (not just insects! Mammals also play a crucial role in pollinating plants).
They shared some gardening tips for a bee-friendly and pollinator-friendly garden - essential to help save our bees and ensure bio-diversity forever. | https://www.therichmondwi.org.uk/2018/04/april-2018-meeting.html |
PAN International was founded in Malaysia by NGOs across the globe, demanding accountability after transnational corporations endangered human health and devastated entire communities.
Agroecological farming technology and innovations are knowledge-intensive, low cost, ecologically sound and practical.
The PAN International network works closely with groups of farmworkers, small and medium scale farmers, and peasant organizations around the world.
Bees and other pollinators are harmed by certain pesticides used in industrial agriculture. PAN promotes farming practices that protect pollinators, the environment and agricultural communities.
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is a network of over 600 participating nongovernmental organizations, institutions and individuals in over 90 countries working to replace the use of hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.
PAN was founded in 1982 and has five independent, collaborating Regional Centers that implement its projects and campaigns.
Global Outrage at FAO Plans to Partner with Pesticide Industry
Rome – Today 350 organizations in 63 countries representing hundreds of thousands of farmers, fisherfolk, agricultural workers and other communities, as well as human rights, faith-based, environmental and economic justice institutions, delivered a letter to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu urging him to stop recently-announced plans to deepen collaboration with CropLife International by entering into a formal partnership.
[Read more]
28 October 2020, 1:30 GMTAgroecology: farmers’ pathways to liberation from pesticides
In this webinar, you will hear farmers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America sharing their experiences and successes in agroecology. | http://pan-international.org/ |
Over one third of hoverflies threatened with extinction in Europe - IUCN Red List
Brussels, Belgium, 11 October 2022 (IUCN) – Thirty-seven per cent of all hoverfly species in Europe are threatened with extinction, according to the first continent-wide assessment of this essential pollinator group on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM, which was requested and funded by the European Commission. Intensive agriculture and harmful pesticides, unsustainable commercial forestry, urban development and climate change have been identified as the main threats to hoverflies.
“This first-ever European Red List assessment of hoverflies highlights their immense diversity and their pivotal role in our food and agriculture systems. However, it is these same systems that are a leading cause of hoverfly decline,” said Dr Bruno Oberle, IUCN Director General. “To turn the fate of hoverflies around, we urgently need to transform all sectors of our economies, and especially agriculture, to become nature-positive and sustainable. The IUCN Leaders Forum this week is a great opportunity to find common ground on how to achieve this goal ahead of the crucial UN Biodiversity Conference in December.”
This IUCN European Red List assessment found that 314 out of 890 species in Europe are Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. Hoverflies (Syrphidae) are critical for the planet’s food security because they are the second most significant pollinator group globally after bees, often showing higher rates of visiting flowers than bees. They also naturally control populations of aphids, small sap-sucking insects that damage many commercial crops, such as the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) on peach crops.
Intensive agriculture is the most common threat to hoverflies across Europe, affecting more than half (475) of all 890 species. Unsustainable farming practices that impact hoverflies include land conversion of suitable habitat, habitat degradation by livestock overgrazing and the fragmentation of natural and semi-natural habitats. In addition, the use of pesticides affects at least 55 species across the region. The loss or degradation of habitat (in particular the loss of ancient trees from a variety of drivers including commercial forestry), urban development and climate change are other important threats.
Targeted area-based conservation measures are needed to protect key hoverfly habitats, especially wetlands, ancient woodlands that are home to old trees, and also semi-natural habitats outside of formally protected areas. The assessment identifies practices such as field margins planted with wildflowers or hedgerow restoration, which form part of well-supported sustainable farming methods across Europe, as beneficial to hoverflies.
“The main way to help stop the decline in hoverfly populations is by protecting their habitats and connecting habitats across the landscape. Most urgently, it is critical to protect ancient trees which contain trunk cavities, tree-holes, sap-runs, fallen branches and tree stumps – the microhabitats where the larvae of a wide range of species feed, including many that are threatened,” said Dr Francis Gilbert, Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC’s Hoverfly Specialist Group.
Over a quarter (244) of the assessed species were found to be impacted by habitats degrading, shifting and changing as a result of climate change and the related increase in fire frequency. As forest fires often clear dead wood and old trees, hoverflies are forced to move into new areas to cope with changing landscapes. Hoverfly species in the Alps, Pyrenees and the Dinaric Alps, where species richness is the highest, are particularly affected by this threat. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, alongside restoring ecosystems, will be essential in addressing this threat.
The assessment, which was requested and funded by the European Commission, completes an important milestone in the implementation of the EU Pollinators Initiative, contributing to the European Green Deal objectives. While it has produced actionable knowledge to support the EU’s efforts to reverse the decline of pollinators, more research is needed to fill key data gaps.
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Download photos.
For more information or interviews please contact: | https://iucn.org/press-release/202210/over-one-third-hoverflies-threatened-extinction-europe-iucn-red-list |
Interview with Diomedes Kalisa: "Our only option is to protect the gift of biodiversity"
Diomedes Kalisa is the ACP MEAs 3 programme coordinator for Tanzania, where he grew up in a smallholder farming family that practiced agroforestry: mixing crops, trees and animals and using no chemical pesticides or fertilizers. He says this system supported his family and the entire community while protecting a thriving environment that was rich in biodiversity.
DK: Our main crop was bananas, which we intercropped with coffee. We kept cattle and pigs, and grew seasonal food crops such as cassava, maize, beans, yams, local varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, and sugar cane. We also had mango, citrus, and guava trees, and palm trees from which we made palm oil for cooking.
As well, we grew herbal shrubs in different layers, from which we extracted traditional medicines and natural pesticides. The farm was surrounded by trees that provided fodder for our goats and sheep, as well as firewood and timber for building houses.
Among its many benefits, our mixed farming system controlled erosion and kept the soil fertile. We had enough highly nutritious, chemical-free food to support a family of 10 throughout the year.
It may seem like a joke, but the first time I ever set eyes on a chemical fertilizer was when I went to secondary school. On our farm, all we did was apply animal dung and composite manure to fertilize our land. This provided a wealth of microorganisms that kept our soil healthy and productive, and it also maintained conducive habitats for a wide range of pollinators and natural enemies of different pests.
We must protect and conserve the gift of biodiversity
Biodiversity makes farming possible: it ensures functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, plant pollination, pest control, soil formation and protection, nutrient storage and recycling, and much more.
Sometimes we may need to ask ourselves, why do we look healthy and happy? The smiles on our faces would not be possible without a diversity of plant, animal, insect and fish species to provide us with nutritious food. This leaves us with no option but to protect and conserve the gift of biodiversity by all possible means.
With this in mind the ACP MEAs 3 project comes at the right time for Tanzania, which is one of the 12 mega-diverse countries in the world in terms of biodiversity. This wealth of plant and animal species contributes significantly to people's livelihoods and to the country on a socio-cultural, economic and environmental level. However as is the case in many other countries, it is being threatened by unsustainable farming practices.
The problem is that while Tanzania has put in place policies and strategies for environmental conservation, the sustainable use of biodiversity and pesticide risk reduction, in many cases they're not implemented on the ground due to scarce resources.
ACP MEAs 3 helps close that gap. Through farmer field schools, it gives smallholder food producers hands-on experience in ecosystem-based practices and biodiversity-friendly agriculture on their land. These practices include agroforestry, woodlot management, and push-pull technology to reduce reliance on pesticides.
The project also builds the technical capacity of extension officers — those who transmit the policies from the government to the field, and who are in touch with the farmers. A knowledgeable field officer can make the difference between a farmer adopting or not adopting a more environmentally friendly technique that will also ensure food security for the community.
ACP MEAs 3 is working on several fronts in Tanzania. One of them is reducing risks from highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and promoting safer alternatives to protect pollinators and soil biodiversity in general. We are also promoting beekeeping, especially among women. The idea is to diversify their livelihoods and generate income for food and nutrition security, while also supporting pollinators and sustainable forest management. We plan to work with at least six women's groups, totalling 180 members.
Farmers "ask challenging questions"
In my experience farmers are always inquisitive and ask a lot of challenging questions. Unless you are well prepared, you may find yourself losing focus and end up with a lot of frustrations. In the course of over 10 years in the field of pesticide risk reduction, I have come to realize that it's not easy to convince farmers to shift to biological alternatives, which may not deliver the same immediate results as chemicals.
So it is our job to explain that the alternatives are very effective in the longer term, that they will eventually kill damaging insects and protect crops, and that unlike toxic pesticides, they will not harm the farmers' health during spraying, pollute the environment, or affect the health of consumers.
Farmers also ask about the availability and the cost of alternative pesticides. We reply that yes, they are in the shops and they may be a little more expensive, but their advantages outweigh those of chemical pesticides. Another option we talk to them about is how to prepare their own bio-pesticides with local materials, such as oil from neem plants, cattle urine and ashes.
It's a slow process, but in Tanzania some of the farmers are beginning to see that the alternatives are better if they want to stay healthy, access external markets for their products, and protect their land for the benefit of their children. | https://www.fao.org/in-action/building-capacity-environmental-agreements/resources-news/news/news-details/en/c/1451198/ |
Democracy can be considered a better form of government because:
- It Promotes equality among citizens
- Every individual is prioritized and hence enhances their trust.
- The quality of decision-making is enhanced.
- Provides a method to resolve conflicts
- Allows room to correct mistakes
Democracy is a form of government that can only provide conditions to achieve the goals but it is the citizens who should properly utilize those goals.
Accountable, Responsive, and Legitimate Government
- Whenever there is possibility and necessity, citizens should be able to participate in decision-making, which affects them all.
- Democracy frames a government that is accountable to all the citizens and meets their expectations too.
- Democracy can sometimes create a less efficient government. It is certainly true that non-democratic rulers do not have to bother about deliberation in assemblies or worry about majorities and public opinion and hence have less restrain over their actions.
- Democratic is more based on deliberation and negotiations and hence decision-making can take a lot of time since they keep everyone into consideration. These decisions are better welcomed by the citizens and mostly bear fruitful results.
Economic Growth and Development
- If we consider all democracies and all dictatorships for the fifty years between 1950 and 2000, dictatorships have a slightly higher rate of economic growth.
- A democratic form of government does have the inability to achieve higher economic development.
- The economic development of a country depends on:
Economic Outcomes of Democracy
Countries having dictatorship as a primary form of government have more economic growth, compared to democracy.
About 20 percent of the population takes up more than 60 percent of the world population in democratic countries like Brazil and South Africa.
Reduction of Inequality and Poverty
Democratic governments shouldn’t focus on growing economically but on reducing economic disparities that exist between rich and poor. Poverty is a topic not well addressed by democratic governments as can be noted in countries like Bangladesh where more than half of its population lives in poverty.
Accommodation of Social Diversity
- No society can fully and permanently resolve conflicts among different groups but these differences should be respected in a culturally diverse society.
- These two conditions must be met by a democracy:
- The majority and minority should work together. Opinions of both must be respected for the smooth functioning of the government.
- Rule by a ruling party shouldn’t become rule by the majority community.
Outcomes of Democracy Notes: Definition
As stated earlier, the various outcomes of democracy are understood through the political, economic, and social aspects of a country. This is because a democratic government is founded on the grounds of the involvement of the population of a country. The population at large gets to decide who they want to vote for and represent their country with.
It is a sharp contrast to the government practice of dictatorship, as practiced in North Korea. A dictatorship is a form of government where the entire nation or country is represented by one primary leader, called the dictator. He is responsible for all of the country’s decisions concerning its population.
Outcomes of Democracy Class 10 – Three Major Aspects
While discussing the three major aspects of a country based on which a democratic government operates, two fundamental questions regarding its outcomes arise. The most obvious one being “What are the outcomes of democracy?” and the other being “How can one examine the outcomes of democracy?” Therefore, when you proceed with the notes of Outcomes of Democracy, these two questions shall be answered in detail.
To state it briefly, the form of a functional democratic government is to improve a nation’s socio-economic environment through multiple ways such as:
- Promoting and practicing equality in the country among its people.
- Enhancing an individual’s dignity through the ways of them being in power while selecting their leaders for the country.
- Improving decision-making practices by considering various perspectives to conclude.
- Resolving internal as well as external conflicts through functional means and methods.
- Allowing any mistake to be readdressed and corrected.
Political Outcomes of Democracy
The first aspect while discussing the outcomes of democracy is the political aspect. So, to examine the political outcomes of democracy, it must be understood that the political dimension through which democracy operates is based on the interests of the general population. The government is set up by the citizens through the electoral college and elected representatives. Therefore, the outcomes of democracy concerning the political spectrum are dependent on the power of the citizens of a country.
Similarly, the decision-making of the government is also performed by considering the consensus among the citizens of the country to align their political interests with the interests of the governing body.
Economic Outcomes of Democracy
Although the political regime of a democratic nation is superior to that of a dictatorship in terms of economic status under a democratic government, it is less effective than that of a dictatorship regime. Albeit more preferable to execute, the economic outcomes of democracy are oftentimes vastly unequal and exploitative.
You can download the Outcomes of Democracy Class 10 PDF by clicking on the link given below. | https://pdffile.co.in/outcomes-of-democracy-class-10-notes-pdf/ |
In the wake of the Revolution of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Russian Revolution, it is time to re-examine the role of conventional realism in the making of U.S. foreign policy.
quintessential Wilsonian, Franklin D. Roosevelt, got the West (and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe) into a lot of trouble by failing to understand ''Uncle Joe.'' But if the Realists were more right about the origins of the Cold War, and more right than wrong about the conduct of it, they have been caught off guard by its end-game.
The Realists were slow to grasp the coming Revolution of 1989 and its great possibilities. The Realists misperceived the breadth of Russian democratic opposition to Mikhail Gorbachev and his reform communism. And the Realists are missing the importance of the democratic ferment in the republics that is putting an end to what used to be the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Realism is showing itself to be largely dysfunctional at a time when ideas, values and moral passions are driving the politics of nations.
there would be nothing wrong with our urging on the republics the merits of a customs union, a common currency and perhaps even common defense arrangements (after the Red Army is drastically scaled down).
But unless those advices and cautions are put in the context of our wholehearted appreciation for those who challenged and defeated the Leninist/ Stalinist empire, and unless we make clear that we support the right of peoples to democratically pursue self-determination as the old empire disintegrates, we are not going to be able to exert even that minimal leverage we have over the course of events.
We need to rethink the strategic principles of our foreign policy in light of what we have learned from the Revolution of 1989 and the New Russian Revolution. Here are three possible rules of the road for navigating in the post-Cold War international environment.
Given the choice, go with the democrats.
Democracy is no panacea for all the world`s ills. But democrats have proven themselves far more likely to pursue nonviolent means of redressing longstanding ethnic and national grievances than their authoritarian or totalitarian counterparts. Moreover, there is something distasteful about the United States-the world`s premier multiracial, multiethnic, religiously plural democracy-showing sympathy for the difficulties of Chinese tyrants or Soviet reform communists. A democratic revolution has been sweeping across the globe for the past decade. We should not resist the winds of freedom in the name of a misconstrued ''prudence'' or, worse, an amoral Realpolitik. Rather, we should try to help direct the democratic revolution so that it produces what it promises: governments accountable to the consent of the governed.
''order and stability'' in Yugoslavia helped make a Yugoslav civil war more likely. Why couldn`t we have stressed then, as we should be stressing vis-a-vis the republics of the late USSR now, that what America wants, and will support, is negotiated change, through democratic means, pursued without resort to bloodshed? That is the position that is more true to our moral and political values. Conventional Realists seem to think that the alternative to ''order and stability'' is chaos. It isn`t. The alternative is deliberate, democratic, negotiated, nonviolent change. In a situation where people are demanding change, to opt for ''order and stability'' as the supreme values is to hasten the day of chaos.
Concede that the post-World War II arrangement of borders is going to change.
''how?'' Is the change going to be nonviolent, negotiated and democratic, or is it going to be . . . well, Yugoslav-style?
There are three arenas where adjustments in the post-World War II arrangements are likely in the next decade, and where extreme bloodshed could ensue. There are the Balkans. There is the now-collapsed USSR. And there is the Asian subcontinent, now composed of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. American leverage amidst the churnings that are forcing change in those areas is not irresistible. But if we insist on the ''inviolability of borders'' and the supremacy of the principle of ''sovereignty'' (construed as the permanence of existing arrangements), our influence will be reduced to zero.
association, that will help make the passage of old empires (the Leninist empire, the British Raj, the south Slav mini-empire) less cataclysmic. Can peoples satisfy their longing for control of their political lives without the creation of hundreds of micro-states? Can former cellmates in the prison that was the USSR, soon to be far more independent politically, make economic pacts that will maximize the chances for a successful transition to the market?
These should be the questions getting primary attention.
What died in Moscow in August was the Jacobean revolutionary tradition that began in France in the late 18th Century. But there was another 18th Century revolutionary tradition, the American tradition. Ours was a revolution of conservation: Unlike the Jacobins and their heirs, the communists, the American revolution tried to conserve and extend the great political tradition of the West, with its stress on justice, the consent of the governed, the rule of law and peaceful change through ballots rather than bullets. That is the revolutionary tradition whose virtues ought to be central to U.S. foreign policy in these stirring times. | https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-09-09-9103080205-story.html |
Due to the remarkable successes of civil resistance in legitimate pro-democracy struggles against autocratic governments, increasing numbers of political parties/coalitions in polarized societies are using many of its tactics to attempt to oust democratically elected governments which have fallen into disfavor with a significant portion of the population. On average, such movements have differed from more traditional anti-authoritarian civil insurrections in that they generally had a smaller base of support, were more prone to violence, were more dependent on elite allies (i.e., the military, the monarchy, corrupt judiciary, business interests, foreign powers), were less likely to have democratic goals, were less likely to succeed, and were less likely to resolve the underlying conflicts within the society. Nevertheless, a number of such uprisings have been successful, such as those in Ukraine, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and Egypt. The webinar will examine several examples of such insurrections, including the similarities and differences between them as well as address the questions such as: At what point might, due to severe repression or massive corruption, a government lose its right to rule, even if it was democratically elected? What if it simply loses majority support and impatient oppositionists don’t want to wait until the next election cycle? What if the resistance includes powerful and influential anti-democratic elements and other vested interests interested in political control than the common good?
Dr. Ste phen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies.
He serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, a contributing editor of Tikkun, and a member of the academic advisory council for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.
He is the author of scores of articles for scholarly and general readership on Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, international terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, strategic nonviolent action, and human rights.
Ackerman, Peter, Maciej Bartkowski, and Jack Duvall. “Ukraine: A Nonviolent Victory.” OpenDemocracy. 2014.
Bartkowski, Maciej. “Popular Uprising against Democratically Elected Leaders. What Makes It Legitimate?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2016. Web.
England, Philip. “Iceland’s ‘pots and Pans Revolution’: Lessons from a Nation That People Power Helped to Emerge from Its 2008 Crisis All the Stronger.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 2015.
Sombatpoonsiri, Janjira. “Assessing Civil Resistance: Social Movements’ Instrumentalisation of Nonviolent Tactics in Thailand and beyond.” OpenDemocracy., 2014.
Velasco, Alejandro. “Where Are the Barrios? Protest and History in Venezuela — Cultural Anthropology.” Where Are the Barrios? Protest and History in Venezuela — Cultural Anthropology. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.
Upcoming ICNC webinars. For the full list of upcoming ICNC webinars go here.
Past ICNC webinars. Please visit the ICNC Webinar Digest to hear all ICNC webinars delivered between 2010-2016 in an easily accessible format. | https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/civil-resistance-against-democratically-elected-governments/ |
Nonviolent communication is a tool that we can use to resolve conflicts at both the individual and collective levels. By focusing on identifying the needs of individuals and groups instead of the assigning blame for circumstances, nonviolent communication has the potential to heal the wounds most of us feel deep inside us. When we succeed in nonviolent communication, we are able to meet both our own needs and the needs of those we love. We begin to live from a place of “natural giving” which is where true joy and happiness emerges. A sustainable human society will emerge naturally if we focus on identifying and meeting not just the material needs of people but also the emotional needs as well.
Marshall Rosenberg pioneered the way for the nonviolent communication movement which now has a presence in over 60 countries around the world.
This video features audio excerpts from one of Rosenberg's 3-hour presentations. Watch the full video in part 2 or via this link.
"At the core of all anger is a need that is not being fulfilled." ~ Marshall Rosenberg
Founded in 2006, our mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and perspectives essential to creating a more beautiful, just, sustainable, and democratic society. | https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-purpose-of-nonviolent-communication/ |
We are still in the process of converting the "external resource" links from our old computer system to our new one. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming task which, because of limited funds, we are undertaking on a time-available basis. In the meantime, many of these references can be found by using our Search Plus External Links system.
Additional Resources for Equalizers
Short Examples of Equalizers
Longer Case Studies of Equalizers and other Third Siders in Action
A number of case studies have been developed to exhibit:
- How the third side gets mobilized and becomes active; and
- What the most significant barriers to the third side's emergence are, and why these have proven so difficult to overcome.
These case studies are excellent resources for teachers, study groups, or others interested in the role of the equalizer (and other third-sider roles) in actual conflict situations.
- Tuzla, The Third Side, and the Bosnian War, by Joshua N. Weiss, Ph.D.
- The Role of Third Side in Peace Talk: Toward Effective Means of Dispute Resolution: The Case of the 1994 Nuclear Crisis between the United States and the DPRK, by Chang In Shin, Ph.D.
- "Whose Land Is It Anyway?" The Third Side's Response to Indian Land Claim Conflicts in Upstate New York, by Brian Blancke and Bianca Wulff
- TB in Peru: How the Third Side Mobilized a Global Response to a Burgeoning Health Crisis, by Rebecca J. Wolfe
Internet Resources
- The Albert Einstein Institution - The mission of the Albert Einstein Institution is to advance the worldwide study and strategic use of nonviolent action in conflict. The Institution is committed to defending democratic freedoms and institutions, opposing oppression, dictatorship, and genocide, and reducing reliance on violence as an instrument of policy.
- US Equality Opportunity Commission - This governmental organization seeks to ensure that employers do not discriminate against people based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, or disability.
- Center for Democracy and Human Rights - This is a non profit organization that presses for improvements in the human rights environment not merely with megaphones but with behind-the-scenes diplomacy, so that governments and other political actors have adequate means to work within our global community.
- The National Democratic Institute - This is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions.
- Oneworld.net - This website is filled with international news concerning human rights and other global issues. You can find news by country and it can also be translated into other languages.
- Agape Foundation Fund for Nonviolent Social Change - This is a non-profit public foundation founded in 1969 out of opposition to the war in Southeast Asia. Pacifists, World War II conscientious objectors and anti-Vietnam War activists founded it in order to build a movement that seriously challenged the Pentagon and the American culture of violence.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change - The King Center is the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America?s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.
- Group of 77 - As the largest Third World coalition in the United Nations, the Group of 77 provides the means for the developing world to articulate and promote its collective economic interests and enhance its joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues in the United Nations system, and promote economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.
- M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence - The Mission of the Gandhi Institute is to promote and apply the principles of nonviolence locally, nationally, and globally, to prevent violence and resolve personal and public conflicts through research, education, and programming.
- Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment - This organization promotes public participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs by creating, nurturing, and supporting a citywide system of grass-roots, independent, and participatory neighborhood councils.
Print Resources
- Ackerman, P. and C. Kruegler (1993). Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century. New York: Praeger. - This book employs case studies to describe instances of well-planned and implemented nonviolent action, used in opposition to violence. The authors discuss the riskiness and the potential benefits of nonviolent action.
- King, M.L. Jr. (1958). Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. New York: Harper & Brothers. This book presents Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s full account of the nonviolent resistance demonstrated during the Montgomery bus strike.
- Laue, J. and G. Cormick (1978). "The Ethics of Intervention in Community Disputes." In ed. Bermant, G., H. Kelman and D. Warwick. The Ethics of Social Intervention. Washington, DC: Halsted Press, pp. 205-232.
- Lijphart, Arend (1991). "The Power-Sharing Approach." In ed. Montville, Joseph V. Conflict and Peacemaking in Multiethnic Societies. New York: Lexington Books.
- Gandhi, M. (1983). Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Dover Publishers. - In his classic autobiography, Gandhi recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.
- Sharp, G. (1973). The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Boston: Porter Sargent. - Volume 1, Power and Struggle, examines the nature and sources of political power, and then explores the potential for nonviolent action to serve as an effective alternative to the use of violence in controlling political power. Volume 2, The Methods of Nonviolent Action, describes nearly two hundred specific methods of nonviolent action. Volume 3, The Dynamics of Nonviolent Action, explores the nature and processes of nonviolent action. The Dynamics of Nonviolent Action will be of interest to those who seek a better understanding of the mechanism and operation of nonviolent resistance.
- Ury, William (2000). The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. New York: Penguin. This is the book that first described the concept of the "third side" and explained the equalizer role in that context.
- Volkan, V. (1988). The Need to Have Enemies and Allies: From Clinical Practice to International Relationships. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
For More Information
- What is Power?
- Why is Power Inequality a Problem?
- What Do Equalizers Do?
- Third Sider Roles
- Main Third Side Page
Much of the material on this user guide is drawn from www.thirdside.org. Thanks to William Ury and Joshua Weiss for giving us permission to republish their material here. | https://crinfo.org/userguide/thirdside/resources-for-equalizers |
The 2020-2021 local and national elections are the third time since 2011 that citizens are democratically electing new leaders, and the first that power will pass peacefully via elections from one civilian president to the next.
The elections are however taking place amid widespread insecurity. Niger faces persistent threats from foreign-based jihadist groups, including Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and The Islamic State in West Africa, as well as community-based conflicts.
OUR WORK
Since Niger’s return to democratic rule in 2011, the United States has been supporting efforts to improve governance, increase transparency, fight corruption, expand civil liberties, and build Nigeriens’ resilience to violent extremism. In addition to supporting democratic values, practices, and institutions USAID is helping the Nigerien government to: provide quality public services to its citizens; accelerate the pace of ongoing reform; and strengthen the ability of local governments to answer citizens needs and concerns.
Democratic Institutions Provide for Free and Fair Elections
Ahead of the 2020-2021 local, parliamentary and presidential elections, USAID supported preparations for a peaceful democratic transition, expected to be the first-ever power handover from an elected civilian regime to another. USAID supported political consensus on a revised electoral code and procedures, capacity building of political parties, prevention of electoral disputes and electoral violence, voter education, as well as capacity building for the national election commission on administration and strategic planning.
Government Institutions are more Transparent, Accountable, and Responsive to Citizen Needs
To improve people’s and communities’ ability to enact change and demand more responsive governance, USAID focuses on citizen mobilization, advocacy, and dialogue with the government. USAID also works with government agencies to transfer planning, resource allocation, and management responsibilities to the local government levels. In order to ensure that policies and reforms are inclusive and reflect the needs of all Nigeriens, USAID supports non-governmental actors to better communicate their priorities.
As part of its regional resilience strengthening program, USAID is assisting local governments to build and improve their disaster risk reduction and natural resource management capacities.
USAID is expanding women’s participation in local decision-making. It also supports partnerships that can improve gender-responsive service delivery in areas affected by violence and insecurity.
Respect for Justice, Fundamental Human Rights, and Civil Liberties
USAID is helping the people of Niger to know their rights and have better access to justice. This includes engagement with customary conflict mediation mechanisms and the formal justice system to resolve disputes, allowing citizens and communities to peacefully resolve conflicts, settle long-standing grievances or address human rights violations. Especially in areas prone to violent extremism, this is critical to slow the spread of radicalism and violent conflicts.
Collaboration to Reduce Vulnerability to Violent Extremism
With a view to improving the security of communities in areas affected by conflict, USAID brings together local influencers, opinion leaders, government security forces, and citizens. It then helps these varied actors to peacefully communicate and address ongoing sources of tension.
At the national level, USAID assisted the Nigerien government in developing its first national strategy for countering violent extremism and developing solutions to improve security and reduce conflicts. To reduce the risk of Nigerien youth being recruited by violent extremist groups, USAID is working with the government to increase youth participation in the country’s political and economic life and ensure access to justice in conflict zones.
OUR GOALS
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Ensure more consensual, transparent and inclusive elections and political processes.
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Improved responsiveness of the government to citizen needs in priority sectors.
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Support for governance reforms and cross-sectoral collaboration in advancing resilience.
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Increased capacity of citizens and non-governmental actors to take collective action.
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Increased civic participation, specifically of youth,women and girls, in community governance.
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Addressing drivers of violent extremism and supporting community peace building. | https://www.usaid.gov/niger/democracy-human-rights-and-governance |
For the Policy Community
Civil resistance movements have a proven role in advancing human rights, promoting democratic governance, and curtailing corruption. They are a critical factor in directly and indirectly addressing root causes of human suffering and reducing deadly violence in the world. It is therefore incumbent for members of the policy community—whether in international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), think tanks, multilateral institutions, or governments—who care about these issues to understand how movements work; their historic record of making change; and when, how, and under what circumstances external actors can take actions that are helpful to movements.
This can be challenging to external actors, because civil resistance movements are different than traditional hierarchical organizations. Movements are also disruptive—they upset existing power arrangements. They are driven by popular energy and initiative, and external actors can neither start movements nor control them.
However, external actors can play an important role in expanding the political space within different societies, inhibiting the capacities and actions of repressive adversaries, and responding to the needs that movements express. The actions of sympathetic external actors can be seen as an extension of what a movement demands.
ICNC supports research, informed discussions, and the development of resources about effective external assistance to nonviolent movements and campaigns. It is particularly important for members of the policy community to address this issue at a time of increasing repression against civil resisters and civil society around the world.
Ongoing Research Projects
External Support for Nonviolent Campaigns: Data Collection and Analysis
ICNC is supporting research on the effects of different forms of external aid—or combined forms of external aid—on the outcomes and longer-term impacts of civil resistance campaigns. The research team aims to collect and analyze systematic data on numerous nonviolent campaigns to assess their impacts. They are employing a three-pronged methodology to ensure: (1) data reliability; (2) causal inference; (3) generalizability; and (4) legibility to practitioners.
The Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes (NAVCO) Data Project
The Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes (NAVCO) Data Project is a multi-level data collection effort, to which ICNC contributed intellectually and also served as the primary financial supporter, that catalogues major nonviolent and violent resistance campaigns around the globe from 1900-2011. Researchers can use this data to better answer questions about how tactical choices lead to the success or failure of such political movements, how inter-group relationships among competing insurgent organizations affects their strategic choices, and how the sequencing of tactical choices influence the overall outcomes of resistance campaigns. The project produces:
- aggregate-level data on resistance campaigns from 1900-2006 (NAVCO 1.1)
- annual data on campaign behavior from 1945-2006 (NAVCO 2.0)
- events data on tactical selection during campaigns from 1987-2011 (NAVCO 3.0).
NAVCO 2.0 will be regularly updated with new cases of civil resistance struggles.
The Nonviolent and Violent Campaign and Outcomes (NAVCO) research project led to the publication of their book titled Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Civil Resistance, published by Columbia University Press in 2011.
This book, based on ICNC-supported research, won the 2012 Woodrow Wilson Foundation award for “the best book on government, politics, or international affairs”, given by the American Political Science Association. The book also resulted in the authors receiving the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.
ICNC Special Report Series
Launched in 2017, ICNC’s Special Report Series aims to bridge the gap between academic, policy and other practitioner communities. ICNC Special Reports draw on cutting-edge research to show the intersection of civil resistance and other fields such as peacebuilding, conflict resolution and international development.
Nonviolent Resistance and Prevention of Mass Killings During Popular Uprisings
What drives governments to crack down on and kill their own civilians? And how—and to what extent—has nonviolent resistance historically mitigated the likelihood of mass killings? This special report explores the factors associated with mass killings: when governments intentionally kill 1,000 or more civilian noncombatants. We find that these events are surprisingly common, occurring in just under half of all maximalist popular uprisings against states, yet they are strongly associated with certain types of resistance. Nonviolent uprisings that do not receive foreign material aid and that manage to gain military defections tend to be the safest. These findings shed light on how both dissidents and their foreign allies can work together to reduce the likelihood of violent confrontations.
Powering to Peace: Integrated Civil Resistance and Peacebuilding Strategies
This report explores the complementary ideas and practices that civil resistance and peacebuilding approaches present, each from different points along the conflict transformation spectrum. Both strategies oppose violence in all its forms, and seek to pursue just peace by peaceful means. However, they take different approaches to conflict transformation, in particular how they analyze primary causes of violence and how they respond to conflict. Drawing on a number of case studies, this report aims to help practitioners and scholars understand how integrating these strategies can help establish a path for “powering to peace.”
ICNC Monograph Series
ICNC’s Monograph Series aims to enrich public discourse by expanding scientific knowledge. Monographs are designed to be accessible to practitioners, while drawing on scholarly literature and high-quality analytical and empirical research. Each monograph includes general and specific recommendations for practitioners such as activists, organizers, journalists, and members of INGOs and the policy community.
Details on all of our published monographs are here.
People Power Movements and Civil Resistance: Creating a Legal Framework
International human rights law did not come into existence top-down, out of the benevolent intentions of states, even though states eventually began to recognize that large-scale human rights abuses could pose a threat to the international order. Rather, it came into existence from the bottom-up efforts of ordinary people in civil society to ally with each other in solidarity and demand their rights, often through organized nonviolent campaigns and movements that pressured elites and powerholders to recognize or grant individual rights (freedom for slaves, women’s rights, labor rights, and children’s rights, to name a few). Unlike international law generally, the real source of international human rights law has been the coordinated, organized and nonviolently forceful efforts of individuals—in other words, what one can refer to as people power.
Counter-Coup: Civil Resistance Against the Violent Usurpation of Democracy (Forthcoming)
This monograph will examine civil resistance against efforts by the military or other elements to forcefully overthrow democratic governments and replace them with autocratic regimes. Using five scenarios of civilian-driven nonviolent counter-coups consisting of two cases each, the monograph will address such questions as: How are such uprisings similar and different than the more protracted pro-democracy struggles against already-existing dictatorships? What is relevant from the existing literature regarding anti-authoritarian civil insurrections and what is unique to counter-coups? How can civil society successfully mobilize large numbers of people in a short time prior to the consolidation of power by undemocratic forces? What potential is there for civil society to organize in advance and plan contingencies for rapid mobilization in the event of a coup? What in particular would be most effective in terms of planning?
ICNC Online Resources
Resource Library
Visit our online Resource Library to find hundreds of resources on civil resistance in nearly sixty languages. Search resources by keyword or a variety of categories to find material in your language and relevant to your interests. Many resources are downloadable.
Minds of the Movement
Minds of the Movement (ICNC’s blog) is a forum for a wide range of people interested in the growing field of civil resistance. Our stories, interviews and commentary give readers insight on particular developments, strategies, and movements, highlighting lessons learned and implications.
Some recent blogposts of interest to the policy community include:
Nonviolent Conflict News
Nonviolent Conflict News (NVCNews.org) aims to be a dedicated, reliable source of international media coverage on civil resistance. While single protests generally draw the attention of most media outlets, NVCNews seeks to go beyond this, providing a window into in-depth analysis of civil resistance movements, their dynamics, and the full range of nonviolent tactics that they use.
Webinar Presentations
Since 2010, ICNC has offered a webinar series of online talks on critical ideas, cases, and questions related to civil resistance and nonviolent movements. Click here to download the ICNC Webinar Digest which lists all ICNC webinars delivered between 2010 and 2016 in an easily accessible format. Some recent webinars of interest to the policy community include:
National Nonviolent Defense Against Aggressor-States
by Maciej Bartkowski, ICNC Senior Director for Education and Research
This webinar elaborated on a national nonviolent defense as a viable means to counter external, overt and covert (hybrid) aggression and foreign occupation.
Civil Resistance against Democratically Elected Governments
by Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco
This webinar focused on political parties/coalitions in polarized societies that used civil resistance tactics to attempt to oust democratically elected governments which had fallen into disfavor with a significant portion of the population.
Webinar Discussion: Anti-Corruption Struggles and Latin America’s New Wave of People Power
by Lucia Mendizabal, Alejandro Salas, Shaazka Beyerle, Dr. Maciej Bartkowski
The webinar discussed the role and impact of popular civil resistance struggles against corruption; why and how people rise up against corruption and impunity; successes and setbacks of civil resistance fight with graft and abuse; and the differences but also synergies between bottom-up and top-down efforts to undermine corruption.
We will be updating the list of the upcoming webinars regularly and encourage our readers and viewers to return to this webpage periodically.
Past ICNC-funded Research
Civil Resistance and Conflict Transformation: Transitions from Armed to Nonviolent Struggle
This book investigates the decision-making process, rationale and determining factors which underlie the strategic shifts of armed movements from violent to nonviolent resistance. The revival of global interest in the phenomenon of nonviolent struggle since the 2011 Arab Spring offers a welcome opportunity to revisit the potential of unarmed resistance as an alternative pathway out of armed conflicts, in cases where neither military (or counter-insurgency) nor negotiated solutions have succeeded. This volume brings together academics from various disciplinary traditions and offers a wide range of case studies – including South Africa, Palestine and Egypt – through which to view the changes from violence to nonviolence within self-determination, revolutionary or pro- democracy struggles.
See also: ICNC Webinar on “Dynamics and Factors of Transition from Violence to Nonviolent Resistance”, with Veronique Dudouet (November 2014)
Curtailing Corruption: People Power for Accountability and Justice
How do citizens counter corruption and exact accountability from power holders? What strategic value does people power bring to the anticorruption struggle? Can bottom-up, citizen-based strategies complement and reinforce top-down anticorruption efforts? Addressing these questions—and demonstrating the critical role of grassroots efforts in the anticorruption/ accountability equation—the book explores how millions of people around the world have refused to be victims of corruption and become instead the protagonists of successful nonviolent civic movements to gain accountability and promote positive political, social, and economic change.
Website: curtailingcorruption.org
Download the Book (individual chapters below):
- Chapter 1 — Corruption, People, and Power
- Chapter 2 — Approaches to Curbing Corruption
- Chapter 3 — Blacklisting Corrupt Candidates: Korea
- Chapter 4 — Digital Resistance for Clean Politicians: Brazil
- Chapter 5 — Citizens Protect an Anticorruption Commission: Indonesia
- Chapter 6 — Nonviolent Resistance Against the Mafia: Italy
- Chapter 7 — A Citizen Pillar Against Corruption: India
- Chapter 8 — Community Monitoring for Postwar Transformation: Afghanistan
- Chapter 9 — Curbing Police Corruption Through Engagement and Disruption: Uganda
- Chapter 10 — Highlights from Five Cases: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Turkey
- Chapter 11 — What We Have Learned
- Chapter 12 — The International Dimension
Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict
Combining statistical analysis with case studies of specific countries and territories, Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan detail factors enabling nonviolent resistance campaigns to succeed and, sometimes, fail. They find such campaigns present fewer obstacles to moral and physical involvement and commitment, and higher levels of participation contribute to enhanced resilience, greater opportunities for tactical innovation and civic disruption (and therefore less incentive for a regime to maintain its status quo), and shifts in loyalty among opponents’ erstwhile supporters, including members of the military establishment. Chenoweth and Stephan conclude that successful nonviolent resistance ushers in more durable and internally peaceful democracies, which are less likely to regress into civil war. Presenting a rich, evidentiary argument, they originally and systematically compare violent and nonviolent outcomes in different historical periods and geographical contexts, debunking the myth that violence occurs because of structural and environmental factors and that it is necessary to achieve certain political goals. Instead, the authors discover, violent insurgency is rarely justifiable on strategic grounds.
A Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support, Second Edition
Responding to requests from civil society and governments, diplomats make important contributions to democratic development. Their work is largely unknown. Outdated stereotypes of this profession persist. The Diplomat’s Handbook begins to tell the diplomat’s story through case studies of practical measures diplomats from many democratic countries have taken across the globe. The Handbook recognizes that democracy cannot be exported or imported. It must be developed by the citizens of the country concerned. There is no one formula for success. But outside assistance is often requested, and there is a dearth of professional material for training and guiding our diplomats in deciding how they can appropriately respond. Civil society as well as governments can benefit from the Handbook, gaining a better understanding of what they can request from diplomats, who in today’s public diplomacy represent their own civil society as well.
How Freedom is Won: From Civic Resistance to Durable Democracy
The study, How Freedom is Won: From Civic Resistance to Durable Democracy focuses on 67 countries where dictatorships have fallen since 1972. It draws on over 30 years of Freedom House data analyzing the state of global freedom and is the most comprehensive examination of political transitions ever conducted. The report’s central conclusion is that how a transition from authoritarianism occurs and the forces that drive the transition have significant impact on the success or failure of democratic reform. In large measure, the study finds that transitions generated by nonviolent civic coalitions lead to far better results for freedom than top-down transitions initiated by elites. The study finds that “people power” is a frequent phenomenon, and civic coalitions are a major presence in most transitions. In 50 of the 67 transitions, or over 70 percent of countries where authoritarian systems fell, nonviolent civic resistance was a strong influence. Civic resistance employs such tactics as mass protests, boycotts, blockades, strikes, and civil disobedience to challenge the legitimacy of and erode support for authoritarian rulers.
Past Programs
ICNC Summer Institute
The ICNC Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict (formerly called the Fletcher Summer Institute) was the first professional education program in the world focusing on the advanced, interdisciplinary study of civil resistance.
Organized annually from 2006 to 2016, this 5-6 day course accepted 45-50 international participants—including activists, scholars, journalists, and members of NGOs and the policy community—per year to learn about diverse assets of movement organizing and civil resistance.
In 2017, in response to rising demand for knowledge of civil resistance around the world, ICNC made a strategic decision to discontinue the ICNC Summer Institute and instead to establish ICNC Regional Institutes, which aim to provide increased accessibility and allow more participants to attend. Although the ICNC Summer Institute will not be taking place this year, more information about past Institutes, as well as video-recorded presentations from past years, may be accessed here. | https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/for-policy-community-landing/ |
We, the election stakeholders convening today at the fourth Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum (AESF IV), reaffirm our resolute commitment and dedication to secure democratic elections for everyone in Asia. We believe it is our duty to act assertively on electoral issues and do everything in our power to achieve universal suffrage and peaceful political processes in our respective countries. Demo cratic elections, held periodically through a secret ballot, and accompanied by vibrant political competition, are the foundation of popular sovereignty, and a genuine necessity for equitable social, political and economic development.
Despite the progress achieved in some countries since the adoption of the Bangkok Declaration for Free and Fair Elections (2012), the Dili Indicators of Democratic Elections (2015) and the Bali Commitment to Electoral Transparency and Integrity (2016), we recognize that we co nfront deteriorating democratic conditions across Asia. We feel the need to address the state of implementation of these and other global instruments, in a civic space less favorable to the development of democratic elections than at any time since the first Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum was held.
Through this document, we emphasize the importance of democracies that are inclusively developed. As electoral stakeholders, we recognize everyone’s responsibility in the creation of credible electoral systems, and wish to emphasize examples of good practices that should be nurtured and replicated broadly to achieve more democratic standards of governance in the region. In accordance with the discussions that have taken place at this forum, we hereby identify particular current issues that, given recent developments, we feel need to be highlighted and are making recommendations to be implemented by electoral stakeholders in order to address them.
Electoral Integrity , Credibility and Individual Freedoms
We commit to uphold the norms and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Bangkok Declaration on Free and Fair Elections, and other international human rights instruments in formulating and implementing election policies and conducting electoral assessments. We believe that genuine democracy is not measured solely on the orderliness of the election process, but most importantly on the freedom which every voter enjoys. We will pursue to the best of our abilities means to address and ultimately eradicate vote buying, violence, threats, intimidation, and all forms of undue influence that undermine the will of the voter. We will support independent and accountable election m and serve the interest of the voters. anagement bodies and other stakeholders in their efforts to protect We express our belief in the importance of dissent and criticism in building democracies, and thus pledge to create space for constructive dialogue am ong all stakeholders. Civil society and media should be afforded autonomy as they perform their duties to the society. Finally, we commit to catalyzing and nurturing a culture of civic engagement to create and promote sustainable democracies in Asia and be yond. We will strive to protect the interests and rights of future generations.
Open, Balanced and Accurate Information
Information is the backbone of transparency. Transparency is the core of a healthy election. A healthy election is the heart of democracy. We call on all election stakeholders to promote, embody and implement, the right to information, with a particular focus on proactive disclosure of election information and data on a timely basis. Such information must be accessible for all citizens.
We, election stakeholders, resolve to collaborate in enhancing and strengthening existing avenues for impartial and inclusive civic and voter education, especially during election periods. Furthermore, we urge governments to empower institutions and we resolve to support mechanisms to counter the spread of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, intolerance and violation of codes of conduct. Voters have the right to be presented with facts and figures, and parties and candidates have the right to present their programs, enabling voters to make informed decisions. While doing so, governments must also refrain from resorting to the use of censorship, or policies which ultimately have the effect of self-censorship. Freedom of the media must be ensured in order for a variety of opinions to be expressed and so that healthy political debates can take place.
We recognize the important role of election observation as a tool to enhance accountability and propagate democratic values, when done properly. Thus, we will collectively pursue means to promote genuine election monitoring and discourage the spread of fake election observation that do not adhere to international and regional standards for election observation.
Efficient Electoral Justice and Legal Framework
As election stakeholders, we consider transparency as the hallmark of an electoral process with integrity, and thus call for a framework of checks and balances among stakeholders concerned with election management to promote, instill, and allocate accountability. All legal systems should ensure fair competition, and reconsider laws which have the effect of unreasonably limiting or restricting electoral participation. We also wish to draw attention to the lack of effective political finance regulations and enforcement, which are common weaknesses of most Asian elections.
We advocate for effective electoral justice and timely conflict resolution throughout the electoral cycle. We urge governments to ensure the proportionality of sanctions for candidate and party infractions, where banning from participation and dissolution of entities should only be administered as a final resort. We encourage all states to utilize codes of conduct and accountability standards to foster trust in the electoral process.
Democratic Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations
We, as election stakeholders, resolve to develop joint mechanisms to encourage inclusive and active participation of all vulnerable groups in planning, education, policy making, legal reform, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and data disaggregation of all aspects of the electoral process. Emphasizing that suffrage and political rights are the distilled essence of our fundamental human rights, we call on all states to eradicate disenfranchisement of any segment of society, remove legal, informational and physical barriers, and enforce accessibility and affirmative measures on the right to vote and political participation.
We also acknowledge that the present sociopolitical structures and norms have the tendency to negatively impact political empowerment of women, preventing them from reaching their full potential as candidates, voters, election officials, or members of civil society and the media. Likewise, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, religious and caste minorities, youth, prisoners, internally displaced persons, refugees, and other vulnerable groups are subject to discrimination and exclusion. We resolve to take these injustices head on, an d pledge to involve , and the organizations individuals, vulnerable groups equally and meaningfully that represent them, in all our activities and advocacy to ensure they can participate and contribute to electoral processes.
Facing what can only be described as a rollback of democracy in Asia, we choose not to be pessimistic and resigned, but instead be future oriented and hopeful. In the spirit of the Bangkok Declaration and subsequent documents adopted previously by the AESF, we renew today our call to all electoral stakeholders to join us, as we sign the present pledge and commit ourselves to addressing any and challenges to all democracy. We agree to take action, promote good electoral practices, and report our progress at the succeeding Asian Electoral Stakeholder Fora, which will pursue collaboration between stakeholders until all citizens of Asia enjoy unencumbered access to democratic elections. | https://anfrel.org/the-colombo-pledge-to-promote-and-defend-democracy/ |
12th 2019 EUmans Event
Manipulation of elections. Growing C02 emissions, for free. Agreements with Turkey and Libya to stop migrants at the price of violating human rights. Suppression of free media in Hungary, governmental control of judges in Poland, erosion of the Rule of Law all around Europe. Prohibition of genome editing and embryonic stem cell research. Inaction before China’s escalating political and technological supremacy, pursued also through general surveillance and repression of dissent. Weakness of common European social rights, and much more.
All this is not primarily EU’s fault. National Governments are responsible for the most. Stil, it is time now for the EU to act as a whole.
It would be naive to keep waiting for Governments, Parliaments and national political parties agreeing to take urgent decisions at European level to fight against Global Warming, counter digital monopolies and promote a Civic Artificial Intelligence; to defend the Rule of Law and abandon Prohibitionism on Scientific Research, and to promote Participatory Democracy. Action is needed regardless the short-sighting of national electoral politics.
Citizens, activists, NGOs can join efforts in a common mobilization to bring bottom-up Democracy at the heart of Europe.
Citizens from different countries and backgrounds are taking the streets and connecting with others throughout Europe to find a common ground for nonviolent, democratic, political initiatives. European Citizens Initiatives have been launched on issues such as Rule of Law, Carbon Pricing, Aviation Fuel, Genome Editing and more are to come.
A Europe-wide citizens mobilization on shared policy goals may be able to ignite a bottom-up wide reform of European policies. How can it work?
We are meeting in Brussels on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 December for a two days long gathering of activists, experts, nonviolent leaders, associations sharing views, experience and ideas.
EUMANS call individuals, NGOs, MEPs, scientists, journalists, students, workers, businessmen, citizens from any background to join. We will discuss about how a pan-European democratic, nonviolent citizens mobilization can work and what relevant goals can be achieved together.
We’re also planning to go the streets on Thursday evening campaigning for ongoing European Citizens Initiatives. | https://euroalter.com/events/eumans2020-how-citizens-can-change-europe/ |
The Open Budget Survey 2017 findings on the systems and practices that countries have in place to inform and engage citizens — or not — in decisions about how to raise and spend public resources, and on the institutions that are responsible for holding government to account, come at a critical juncture. Around the world, there has been a decline in public trust in government, in part due to instances of corruption but also because of dramatic increases in inequality. In a number of countries, leaders who have disguised their intolerant and reactionary agendas with populist rhetoric have been swept into power by those who’ve been left behind. These political shifts have driven out many government champions of transparency and accountability — especially those from countries in the global south. More broadly across countries, there has been shrinking of civic space, rollbacks of media freedoms, and a crackdown on those who seek to hold government to account, including individual activists, civil society organizations, and journalists.
Because open and accountable public budgeting is at the center of democratic practice and equity, it is the first place we should look for ways to strengthen the interaction between governments and citizens. Ensuring that the budgeting process is characterized by high levels of transparency, appropriate checks and balances, and opportunities for public participation is key to stemming the decline in confidence in government and representative democracy.
In the face of the spread of profound threats to active, informed public participation, and thus the ability of citizens to ensure their governments will pursue policies that improve their lives, the Open Budget Survey 2017 will provide essential data on the state of budget transparency and accountability around the world.
To answer these questions the Open Budget Survey (OBS) assesses whether national governments produce and disseminate to the public key budget documents in a timely, comprehensive, and accessible manner. In addition, the 2017 survey includes a newly enhanced evaluation of whether governments are providing formal opportunities for citizens and their organizations to participate in budget decisions and oversight, as well as emerging models for public engagement from a number of country innovators. It also examines the role and effectiveness of legislatures and supreme audit institutions in the budget process.
The OBS 2017 is the sixth round of the survey and covers 115 countries across six continents. The coverage of the survey expanded in the 2017 round to include 13 countries for the first time, including some advanced economies such as Japan and Australia, emerging economies such as Côte d’Ivoire and Paraguay, and fragile states such as Somalia and South Sudan.
The survey, which is implemented by independent budget experts in each country and rigorously vetted, provides governments, civil society organizations, and development practitioners with key data and analysis to allow them to identify baselines and trends in country practices and implement or advocate for reforms to close gaps.
In addition to providing the latest findings on open and accountable budgeting, the report for the 2017 survey will also provide suggestions for improving countries’ public finance systems and practices to better ensure more effective and responsive use of public resources to meet public needs.
The Open Budget Survey 2017 could not come at a more critical juncture as we look to reinvigorate democratic practice, re-engage the disaffected, and restore public trust in public institutions. Be sure to see the results at www.openbudgetsurvey.org on 30 January 2018!
Be one of the first to know about the Open Budget Survey 2017 results! Click here to subscribe to email updates from the International Budget Partnership.
As usual, this is an excellent article.
I’m looking forward to the recent findings [especially with changed yardstick].
Hope some improvement in Afghanistan budget system!
Afghanistan OBS score has been improved this year and stay tuned for the launch tomorrow, 11th Feb 2018.
Budget transparency and accountability is a big problem/concern in most Nigerian states, like Rivers state. Funding is a big constrain for the kind of massive advocacy our NGO wishes to mount.
Wish you success in this important programme proposed.
When we are informed about that, allow us informing you it acts an excellent action being deserving to advance more and more deeply.. | https://www.internationalbudget.org/2018/01/previewing-the-open-budget-survey-2017/ |
This blog post from Participatory Methods provides a detailed overview of Acountable Aid. The blog argues that only rarely do aid agencies introduce measures so that the recipients of their aid can hold them to account for their aid-giving practices.
Excerpt
"Could it be that accountability is the single most important thing to focus on in international aid? If states, governments and private sector companies became accountable to their citizens, voters and workers, would community development and international aid efforts still be needed?
We often hear that aid is needed because states are not always accountable to their citizens – perhaps because of violent conflicts, natural disasters or corruption. Aid, the argument goes, can help to narrow these accountability gaps, either by supporting citizens where the government is not doing so, or by working with government institutions to encourage them towards more accountable governance. That aid is needed because some countries and peoples have exploited others unaccountably throughout history is rarely part of this narrative."
Source
Participatory Methods, (2014). Accountable Aid. Retrieved from: http://www.participatorymethods.org/method/accountable-aid
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Login Login and comment as BetterEvaluation member or simply fill out the fields below. | https://www.betterevaluation.org/resources/overview/accountable_aid |
Lefkowitz, David B.
Advisor
Galston, William A.
MetadataShow full item record
Abstract
Is there a moral duty to obey the law? Or more precisely, do citizens of any modern state have a general duty to acknowledge its authority to determine for them, for action guiding purposes, whether certain kinds of conduct are morally permissible, required, or forbidden? Moral contractualism, I contend, entails that citizens of a liberal democratic state do have such a duty. Treating others morally often requires agents to act collectively. But even agents who accept the moral necessity of collective action will sometimes disagree over the specification of the ends to be achieved, and the means for doing so. I argue that a liberal democratic state (and only such a state) can justifiably claim the authority to resolve such disagreements, which it does mainly by enacting and applying laws. Obedience to democratic laws expresses respect for others' autonomy. In defending these claims, particular attention is paid to the problem posed by disagreement over the design of democratic decision procedures, conflicts between democratically enacted laws and individual rights, and conflicts of rights. Civil disobedience, conscientious objection, and over-inclusive laws are also addressed. | https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/284 |
The central duty of government is instituting governance procedures that meet the fundamental needs of its citizens; the government is the custodian of the policies aimed at enhancing social well-being. The systems of government have to work in tandem in order to avail resources and opportunities to the people; without feasible policy implementations, providing the much needed resources to the people will be a far-fetched idea.
Employment opportunities, affordable health services, decent housing and quality education are pivotal social-wellbeing features that governments should provide to citizens. Provision of such services calls for accountability and transparency on the part of the government. Governance is a dynamic and imperative enterprise that governments need to uphold in order to service the provision of equitable, quality and long-term services to their citizens. Democracy is a significant catalyst in pushing governments to avail the required social well-being benefits to citizen (King, 2010).
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Developed countries have recorded significant efforts in providing social welfare services to their citizens; the ability to integrate systems and strategically prioritise their policies has played an instrumental role in their progress (Age?nor, Alejandro and Henning, 2007). Conversely, most developing nations are still lagging behind in their effort to improve the social well-being of their citizens. Health standards, education opportunities, employment rates and housing facilities are at the brink of collapsing in most developing countries. Lack of good governance and the enactment of democratic processes have primarily contributed to the flawed systems of social well-being to the citizens.
Most countries in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America have continually demonstrated their incapacity adequately to meet the fundamental needs of their citizens. From the contemporary and historical trends in developing countries, this study questions: Are developing country governments able to provide long-term social well-being benefits to their citizens if those governments are not democratically accountable? According to King (2010), a vibrant democratic process, especially the system of “check-and-balance”, is an important impetus for governments to provide the necessary social well-being services to citizens, without which, they will fall short of the much-needed growth index.
Literature Review
The 21st century ushered in great opportunities as well as tremendous challenges for the developing world. The break of the century offered tremendous breakthroughs in technology, economic, social and political spheres.
However, as it stands, more than a decade, since the inception of the 21st century, developing countries are struggling in the mud of poor governance and failed state systems. For instance, the African continent had the largest number of civil wars in the last ten years. This trend not only affects the international image of such countries, but also the social welfare of the citizens.
The Second Civil War in Sudan (1982-2005), which is arguably the longest civil war in recent history, brought devastating effects on the social standing of the Sudanese people. The war, primarily precipitated by lack of democratically accountable policies by the government, sacrificed the social well-being of the people at the altar of autocracy. Consequently, the citizens could not get access to basic social amenities. This is a reflection of many developing countries without the ability to put in place sustainable social development structures because of lack of democratic accountability.
Lack of proper housing is a major problem in developing nations and especially in the African continent. Studies show more than half of residents in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa do not have access to adequate housing facilities.
According to Bhargava (2003) this trend has continued to plague the African region because of inadequate and inconsistent housing policies. Binett and Fernando (2005) agree with this point by reiterating that urbanest poor in developing countries live in shanty towns, which lack the basic housing amenities; they live in slums and poorly conditioned houses. There is a high propensity for insecurity in these places because the resources are scarce; people are resigned to poor living standards.
Dijk (2006) further adds that this situation emanates from the porous government structures that do not recognise the housing needs of the people. In emphasising the level of housing degradation in developing countries, Cheema and Shabbir (2005) assert that countries in the South East of Asia have an influx of people migrating into the urban centres, resulting into massive congestion in the town centres. For instance, rural-urban migration has forced the urban poor in Vietnam to live in dilapidated slum houses, which expose them to hazardous conditions; lack of government initiatives to provide housing solutions to urban Vietnamese has become a big concern (Mitlin and David, 2013).
According to Datta and Gareth (2002), the government has the sole responsibility of putting in place feasible platforms of housing the increasing number of migrants into city life. Unlike the developed countries, most developing countries fail to enact democratic systems of providing social benefits to their citizen (Nagel, 1998).
Education is an imperative social element in the growth and development of any nation. Virtually every country in the world is putting efforts to ensure that the level of education rises high to accommodate the increasing need of the phenomena. Despite the universal nature of education, it is sad to highlight that the levels of education are not at equilibrium; developing nations have not put enough efforts to eliminate illiteracy.
Studies show that 40% of the youth in Africa do not have sufficient educational background to enable them be competitive in the dynamic world of the 21st century (Glewwe and Nisha, 2004). In Indonesia, the rate of primary school enrolment in poor districts is below 60%, with slow improvement in secondary school enrolment (The World Bank, 2013). In addition, according to The World Bank (2013), the 11.6% rate of higher education enrolment is still down in Indonesia compared to its neighbours. The staggering levels of education deprivation are a reflection of the incapacitation of governments in developing countries to invest in the education sector. Failure to maintain accountability in managing education resources has contributed in the dismal performance of education policies.
Educational potential in developing countries has been draining; poor academic standards in the third world court immense challenge for most of the citizens. Evidently, education has a stratified structure in countries with equitable education policies. King (2010) highlights that the levels of education in the rural areas are way too low compared to the urban areas.
The stratified education systems stem from the poor governance in developing countries that have transited for years (Parrillo, 2008). Without equal representation of education in the part of the government, the social well-being of citizens will certainly continue to face challenges. This implies that in most developing countries, education is not a mainstreamed agenda in the governmental front; education policies are still lagging behind in the third world nations. Lustig (2001) argues that education delivers social benefits that are of extreme significance to the nation. So, there is a need for governments to demonstrate political will towards providing equitable education services to its citizens (Binetti and Fernando, 2005).
According to MacDonald (2005), employment is an important factor in availing the much-needed social benefits to citizens. In virtually every election, job creation is usually among the top agendas for implementation by a political regime. However, the rate of unemployment in developing countries has continued to raise eyebrows; poverty is driving people to social evils, which can be avoided through the creation of job opportunities.
Nagel (1998) asserts that without economic endowment, people cannot be in a position to meet their social obligations; employment opportunities provide the thrust needed to acquire social benefits. A typical example of unemployment in developing countries is in Bangladesh. The current statistics of unemployment is estimated at 30 million people (Islam, 2014).
According to Islam (2014), unemployment is a huge concern in Bangladesh, with educated people not utilizing their full potential in the job market; they are either unemployed or working below their standards. The textile industry in
Bangladesh recorded the lowest wage earnings in the world in 2010 (Islam, 2014). Instead of finding ways of providing job opportunities to their citizens, governments in developing are drenched in widespread corruption that erodes the integrity of citizens; corruption and lack of transparency have contributed in the rising cases of unemployment (Parrillo, 2008). Governments are mandated to streamline its policies towards providing solutions of unemployment. With the level of poverty rising in the developing nations, it is certain that the citizens of those nations will continue to face enormous challenges in meeting their social needs.
Developing countries do not give adequate priority to health care services as their counterparts in the developed world. Provision of health care services and benefits to citizens is not a question of wealth, but the ability for governments to prioritize on the issue, and provide the required funding. The tragedy with most developing countries, as Maclean (2013) puts it, is that they spent less of providing medical facilities to their citizens, while spending more on other political issues.
The World Bank (2011) points out that the government of Philippines does not invest adequate resources in the health sector. Inadequate distribution of health facilities and medical practitioners in the country by the government has jeopardized the capacity of citizens to receive proper medical attention. This is ultimately undemocratic, as it deprives citizens of their social well-being at the expense of dubious political projects. Without access to quality medical care, citizens, especially the poor will not be in a position to enjoy their social well-being. The rich have access to private health care in their countries and can also find medical care from foreign countries during the middle-class struggle with the results of weak political process (Maclean, 2013).
From the literature review, it is evidently clear that there are many political flaws in governments in developing countries towards providing social benefits to their citizens. The ability of the governments to meet the needs of the people is wanting. Yes, economic endowment in developing countries is not comparable to the developed world, but is that the problem? Are the governments doing enough to ensure that their citizens get access to the fundamental social benefits? This is a dilemma that raises many questions on the ability of developing nations to propel their growth and development agenda. A socially alert and vibrant nation means that the government is investing intensely in securing social benefits for its citizens.
In gathering information on the prevailing trends in developing nations, a case study is essential in providing the needed data and evidence. A critical analysis on a case study is valuable in knowing whether governments in developing countries have the ability to provide long-term social benefits to their citizens. The case study, involving housing policy in a developing country will seek to unearth the prevailing housing trends and needs in the developing world. Moreover, the case study will candidly display the actions of governments in developing countries towards providing social benefits to their citizens.
Case Study
Vietnam is a country in the South East of Asia with a population of approximately 89.2 million people; it is a developing country with an ever-increasing population in the urban cities; hence raising the demand for housing facilities in the country’s urban centres (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008). According to studies in the housing sector in Vietnam, the demand for housing in Vietnam does not match the number of housing facilities available (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008). The influx of people in the cities because of rural-urban migration causes problems in respect to the living standards of the people.
Vietnam is among the developing countries facing severe cases of poverty, causing a large part of the country’s population to lack proper housing and basic housing amenities. Housing is still an issue among the urban poor in Vietnam. Low-income citizens do not have enough capital to own decent homes; they have to borrow capital to their household (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008).
The living conditions for the low-earning Vietnamese have been declining because of the lack of the government in providing the necessary incentives to improve urban housing. Implementation of housing policy has been a major policy by the government of Vietnam, but slow implementation processes have triggered an outcry among the urban poor and middle-level earners. Based on the housing problems evident in the Asian country, the government has put plans to secure housing facilities for the urban dwellers.
The housing policy in providing affordable housing among the low-income earners in the country has constantly faced major setbacks because of the lack of adequate funding to build quality-housing facilities. Slow disbursement of funds by the government to spearhead housing policy in Vietnam has been a major hurdle in the eradication of housing problems. The government recognises that housing the increasing population in cities is significant, but the efforts by government structures are wanting. The political impetus to meet the social needs of the people is lacking in the part of the government (Mitlin and David, 2013).
According to Glewwe and Nisha (2004), a survey conducted in 2009 showed that a third of the city dwellers in Vietnam lived in borrowed houses, a reality that exposes the level of housing insecurity in the developing country.
United Habitat estimations indicate that approximately 9 million Vietnamese in the urban centres live in slums; this is approximately 41% of the total population of urban dwellers in the country (Mitlin and David, 2013).
According to Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2008), there are an increasing number of people living in make-shift houses with dilapidated living conditions. The slum dwellers argue that they live in shanties because they do not have alternative sources of housing; the poverty levels in the country push them to live in poor living conditions. The poor living conditions in the slums expose the people to hazardous situations. Poor health and high levels of insecurity are among the characteristics of slum life in the urban area (Glewwe and Nisha, 2004).
Privatisation is a factor that is fuelling the scarcity of housing among the urban dwellers. It is becoming expensive for the urban poor to gain access to affordable houses in the cities; hence, worsening the housing problem in Vietnam.
The lack of government control in controlling the housing sector is a major setback in the provision of housing services in the urban centres. The urban middle-class and the poor are not in a position to own decent homes because the privatisation policy takes hold of public housing; most of the public houses are sold to tenants, who happen to be governmental officials and war veterans. The corruption in government contributes in the creation of inequality in the acquisition of housing facilities. The housing policy does not end up benefiting the urban dwellers, but the political and economic connections in the country. Lack of proper monitoring and evaluation strategies of the privatisation process by the government has disadvantaged a large part of the urban population, and denied them a chance to have decent housing structures (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008).
Indeed, this is a huge problem facing the urban population. Housing management is also a serious issue in Vietnam. Housing services on the part of the government are poor, and houses are left to deteriorate without proper care. The
level of negligence and poor governance by government institutions is not a recent phenomenon, but a trend that has been in existence for years. Solving the housing problem in the major cities of Vietnam calls for the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the housing sector in order to provide viable housing alternatives to the deserving citizens; without such efforts the urban dwellers will continue to face acute housing shortages.
Critical Analysis
Based on the literature review and the case study, it is evident that the biggest problem for developing countries is the lack of adequate efforts by the government in providing social benefits to the citizens. As discussed above, the government is responsible for providing the necessary incentives required in meeting the social needs of the people.
The resources needed in streamlining the social structures of the country come from the government apparatus. In this respect, it is not the people, but the government that has the power to either raise the banner of growth, or subject the people to the point of lawlessness.
In reference to the information gathered, country governments in developing countries cannot provide long-term social benefits to their citizens if they are not democratically accountable. From a critical level, governments without democratically accountable structures cannot deliver long-term benefits to their citizens because of various fundamental reasons.
Firstly, equal representation of social services to the people is widely compromised if governments fail to follow the right channels in offering services. As evidenced in the case of Vietnam, lack of equitable housing facilities is largely responsible for the make-shift houses in the cities; corruption and allocation of housing facilities without following democratic channels are factors that jeopardise the capacity of providing long-term solutions to citizens. Inequality is a major trend that characterises the allocation of resources in developing countries; deep-rooted autocracy among government officials reduces the chances of according social benefits to deserving citizens. Therefore, it is ultimately important for governments in developing countries to put forward the required measures in enhancing equitable distribution of resource (Lustig, 2001).
Democratically accountable governments involve their citizens in the formation of development agendas. Thus, the inability of the developing countries to involve stakeholders in the provision of social policies erodes the capacity of long-term benefits. This implies that the people have a chance to decide what works for them, and the government is supposed to implement viable policies aimed at fostering social growth among the citizens. A critical analysis of the information presented in the research shows that most developing countries do not prioritise on the basic social benefits of the people. As King (2008) puts it, most governments in the developing countries prioritise on political interests that do not benefit the people. This is a serious breach of the democratic process, which undermines the interests of the people.
The 21st century experiences enormous challenges that call for governments to institute feasible processes that recognize the needs of the people. Health care is an important social policy that has seen governments putting less emphasis on it; access to health care is still a problem in many developing nations especially in Africa. The problem is not external, but inherent in the arms of governments who are not willing to pay the price for quality health services. This demonstrates a failure to have accountability in the mandate given to governments by their citizens.
Therefore, with the trend of less priority placed on significant elements contributing to the social well-being of the people, it is without a doubt that there can be no long-term social benefits to citizens in the developing world (Dijk, 2006).
Allocation of resources and personnel in the implementation of policies is important towards the attainment of social well being. The implementation of social policies calls for the provision of funds, by the government in order to enable the smooth implementation of such programs. Developed countries have been able to foster the growth of social well-being because of their ability to allocate the necessary resources for the attainment of economic and social growth. On the contrary, developed countries have not followed the trend, but evidence of mass corruption and illegal allocation of resources have made it impossible to achieve long-term social benefits.
According to Binetti and Fernando (2005), the poverty levels in developing countries do not stem from the lack of economic endowment but the misappropriation of the existing wealth in the countries. This shows that developing countries have great potential to provide long-term benefits to their citizens but the failure to place resources to the right policies in a democratic way has continued to plague them. Without the countries being democratically accountable, the governments will not be able to provide social benefits to the citizens (Dijk, 2006).
Lastly, a democratic process that avails social benefits to its citizens results from having the right leadership in place. Weak states are characterised by poor leaders without the qualities that can propel the people to high levels of growth (Age?nor, Alejandro and Henning, 2007).
Age?nor, Alejandro and Henning (2007) further add that most nations in the third world countries have failed to enhance the social wellbeing of the citizens because they lack the capacity to drive social policies to completion. A critical analysis of this point shows that democratic leadership is missing in many countries. Leaders, fail to execute a participatory approach in implementing social policies. For instance, the levels of autocracy in developing countries forces government leaders to work in seclusion; hence, disregarding the input of other stakeholders (Bhargava, 2003). This is an undemocratic practice that jeopardises the capacity for citizens to have social growth. Yielding too much power at the expense of the needs of citizens is a serious problem. Therefore, it is truly difficult for developing countries to meet the social needs of their citizens without democratic accountability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the research paper unearths significant points about the role of the government in providing social needs to the people, and the need to uphold good governance by the relevant authorities. The research paper brings about a comparison between the developing and developed countries in respect to the provision of services. For years, the trend of poor governance in developing countries has eroded the much-needed social mobility among the citizens of those countries. The research reveals that governments in developing countries have been a huge stumbling block in the development of social policies. The lack of democratic processes in the implementation of the social policies has forced the third world to remain in the dark patches of the past.
Poor health care, low education standards, poverty and dilapidated housing are among the social issues that have been a thorn in the flesh of many in the developing world. It is imperative for the concerned authorities to establish the most feasible means of meeting the needs of the citizens; without equitable and quality social services, the society will be devoid of its fundamental elements. Just like their counterparts in the developed countries, governments in the developing world should capitalize on democratic principles to avail the essential resources to the citizens. This will enhance the ability of the citizens to pursue personal and communal goals. There is hope for the developing world; long-term social benefits can be achieved, if only democratic processes and procedures are followed in the journey to attain such goals
References
- Age?nor, P., Alejandro I., and Henning J. (2007). Adjustment policies, poverty, and unemployment: the IMMPA framework. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
- Bhargava, G. (2003). Urban problems and policy perspectives. New Delhi: Abhinav.
- Binetti, C., and Fernando F. (2005). An unequal democracy? seeing Latin America through European eyes. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.
- Cheema, G. and Shabbir, G. (2005). Building democratic institutions: governance reform in developing countries. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press. | https://heliosenlighten.org/provision-of-long-term-social-well-being-benefits-to-citizens-in-developing-countries/ |
Plea for a nonviolent solution of the Syrian warJanuary 28, 2016
Mairead Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace in Northern Ireland, has issued a new appeal for peace in Syria, following several earlier pleas.
In November 2015 I traveled to Syria with an International Peace delegation. This was my third visit to Syria in the last three years. As on previous occasions, I was moved by the spirit of resilience and courage of the people of Syria. In spite of the fact that for the last five years their country has been plunged into war by outside forces, the vast majority of the Syrian people continue to go about their daily lives. Many have dedicated themselves to working for peace and reconciliation and the unity of their beloved Syria. They struggle to overcome their fear, the fear that Syria will be driven by outside interference and destructive forces within, to suffer the same terrible fate of Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, and so many other countries.
Many Syrians are traumatized and in shock. They ask, “How did this happen to our country?” Proxy wars are something they thought only happened in other countries. But now, Syria, too, has been turned into a war-ground in the geo-political landscape controlled by the western global elite and their allies in the Middle East.
Many of those we met were quick to tell us that Syria is not experiencing civil war but a foreign invasion. They also told us that this was not a religious conflict between Christians and Muslims. In the words of the Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, “Muslims and Christians not only dialogue with each other, but their roots are inter-twined with each other. They have lived together for over 1436 years without wars, despite disagreements and conflicts… Over the years, peace and co-existence have outweighed controversy.”
In Syria our delegation saw that Christian and Muslim relationships can be more than mutual tolerance. They can be deeply loving.
During our visit, we met hundreds of people, including local and national political leaders, government and opposition figures, local and national Muslim and Christian leaders, members of reconciliation committees and internally displaced refugees. We also met numerous people on the streets of town and cities — Sunni, Shia, Christian, Alawite — all of whom feel that their voices are ignored and under-represented in the West.
The youth we met expressed the desire to see a new state which will guarantee equality of citizenship and religious freedom to all religious and ethnic groups, and protection of minorities. They said this was the work of the Syrian people, not outside forces, and could be done peacefully.
We met many Syrians who reject all the violence and are working for conflict resolution through negotiation and implementation of a democratic process. Few Syrians we met were under the illusion that their elected leader President Assad was perfect, yet many admired him and felt he was much preferred to the alternative of the government falling into the hands of the Jihadist fighters – fundamentalist extremists whose ideology would cause the minorities (and moderate Sunnis) to flee Syria or get killed.
This had already been experienced with the exodus of thousands of Syria. They fled in fear of being killed or having their homes destroyed by Jihadist foreign fighters, and alleged moderates, who were trained, funded and accommodated by outside forces.
In Homs we saw the bombed out houses. Thousands fled after Syrian rebels attacked Syrian forces from residential areas, and the military responded causing lethal damage to civilians and all the buildings (the rebel strategy of “Human Shields”). They did the same with cultural sites (“Cultural Shields”).
In the old city of Homs, we met with members of the Reconciliation Committee, which is led by a priest and sheikh. We also visited the grave of a Jesuit priest who was murdered by the ISIS fighters. We visited the rebuilt Catholic Church; the original had been burned down.
During the candlelight meeting, we heard how Christians and Muslims in the town had been instrumental in getting the fighters to lay down their arms and accept the Syrian government’s offer of amnesty. They appealed to us to ask the international community to end the war on Syria and support peace.
Our delegation was particularly sad that day as we heard the news that the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury had publicly announced his support for the UK vote to bomb Syria.
If the UK government, the United States, and the European Union wish to truly help the Syrian people, they should immediately lift the sanctions which are causing great hardship to the Syrian people and try every nonviolent means to end the war.
We also visited the Christian Town of Maaloula, where the language of Jesus (Aramaic) is spoken. It is one of the oldest Christian towns in the Middle East. We visited the Church of St. George, where the priest explained how, after their church was burned to the ground by Western- backed rebels, and many Christians were killed, the people of Maaloula carried a table to the ruins of the church, offered prayers, then started to rebuild their church and homes.
We were sad to hear that in this same place, some Muslim neighbors also destroyed Christian homes. This story showed us the complexities of the Syrian conflict and the need to teach nonviolence and build peace and reconciliation. It also brought us to a deeper awareness of the plight of moderate Sunnis from extremists, and the plight of huge numbers of Christians now fleeing Mid-Eastern countries.
If the situation is not stabilized in Syria and the Middle East, there will be few Christians left.
The overall Middle East has witnessed the tragic and virtual disappearance of Judaism, and this tragedy is now happening at an alarming rate to Christians.
I call upon all American and European citizens to demand that their governments stop bombing Syria, end their violence, listen to the voice of peace from the suffering Syrian people and actively pursue nonviolent ways to end conflict and suffering in Syria.
Nonviolence can still work in Syria. There can be a nonviolent solution to war and violence in Syria. There is hope and Syria is a light to the world because there are many good people there working for dialogue, negotiations, reconciliation and peace.
This is where the hopes lies and we can all support that hope and those pursuing nonviolent solutions by rejecting violence and war in Syria.
Further reading: | https://mato48.com/2016/01/28/plea-for-a-nonviolent-solution-of-the-syrian-war/ |
The exemplary, concrete example of contemporary democratic practice to which Stout directs our attention is the thirty years of “broad-based organizing” undertaken by the Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation, a network of affiliated organizations that now stretches from Mississippi to California. Heir to the legacy of famed organizer Saul Alinsky, the founder of the IAF, the Southwest IAF has long been led by Ernesto Cortés Jr., one of the most significant radical democrats at work in American society today and one of the heroes of Stout’s book.
Stout offers a penetrating tour of the organizing efforts of Southwest IAF affiliates, from the devastated neighborhoods of post-Katrina New Orleans, to the shantytown colonias of the Rio Grande valley in Texas, to the crime-ridden neighborhoods of southeast Los Angeles, to a meeting of more affluent democrats in a Marin County synagogue. He gives us a kind of thick ethnographic description of grassroots, face-to-face democracy, seeking in the stories he hears and the events he witnesses to discern the governing principles and practices of a democratic counterculture that has developed largely under the radar of the media spectacles that pass for American public life.
Abraham Lincoln pithily described a democratic republican polity as government of the people, by the people, for the people. The extraordinary task that confronts democrats is figuring out how effectively to embody this regulative idea under modern conditions. Because in a polity of any size, the people cannot rule directly, government by and for all citizens depends on building institutions in which the people’s representatives are accountable to them all. If, as Stout says, “power minus accountability equals domination,” then power plus wide and deep accountability equals legitimate democratic authority.
A principal responsibility of democratic citizens, then, is to hold one another accountable. “Democracy,” Stout observes, “depends for its survival on what citizens do.” Hence, a key to effective democracy is the organization of ordinary citizens in the service of liberty and justice for all. As Alinsky nicely put it, in a democratic society “the people are the motor, the organizations of the people are the gears. The power of the people is transmitted through the gears of their own organizations, and democracy moves forward.” American democracy is stalled because powerful, unaccountable economic and political elites capable of domination are geared up, while those whom they would dominate are largely gearless.
The organizations whose stories Stout tells have hammered out a common strategy for giving American democracy some better gears. IAF organizers begin with existing institutions of civil society—schools, voluntary organizations, unions, and, above all, churches and other religious institutions. Having enlisted support from such groups, they then undertake hundreds of individual meetings over a period of months with members of these institutions (“one-on-ones”) in which they elicit their concerns. These face-to-face encounters are followed by small-group gatherings (“house meetings”) in which individuals who have consulted with organizers gather to formulate common concerns. The other purpose of such house meetings is for organizers to identify and cultivate indigenous leaders who can represent the members of their institution in a local citizens’ organization. Within the citizens’ organization a “core team” is chosen from among these representatives with the authority to formulate proposals and develop strategies on behalf of the organization to address the issues that have bubbled upward from below.
The purpose of this mode of organization is to create “the sort of power base that the citizens’ organization can then use to hold governmental and corporate officeholders accountable.” The organization then convenes, on its own turf, an “accountability session” in which office holders, candidates, and corporate managers are invited and (if they come) asked to listen to the concerns of the organization’s members and simply indicate whether or not they will support the proposals that its leaders have put together. The citizens’ organizations do not endorse particular candidates or entangle themselves with political parties, but their membership is made aware of their friends and enemies. The votes and other resources of those represented by the citizens’ organization are then mobilized accordingly.
The “broad-based organizing” of these citizens’ organizations distinguishes itself from “movement” organizing, which tends to focus on a singular set of goals and folds up shop when those aims are won or lost. And it is different from “community organizing” in that it seeks to draw members from across the divides separating local communities into large networks—organizations of organizations. At its most visionary, broad-based organizing aims at building wider and wider networks capable of holding not only local but national, even international, elites accountable. These citizens’ organizations are in it for the long haul, and they imagine democratic politics eventually taking shape as a set of concentric circles in which individual citizens are linked by ever widening ties of accountability to representatives who must earn and re-earn the legitimate authority these citizens confer.
The bulk of Stout’s book is devoted to a full, often moving, account of these organizing practices at work—not only successfully but unsuccessfully. To abstract from the full particulars of these stories as I have necessarily and regretfully had to do here for summary purposes is to strip them of the flesh and blood that lends them their power. As Stout says, “when despair is the disease one hopes to remedy, anecdotes can be antidotes.” Incisive as his theoretical abstractions from these stories are, Stout’s greater gift to democrats may lie in bringing to light the struggles, and especially the victories, of the largely obscure men and women who populate his narrative. His readers, like the residents of the south Texas colonias, will long remember Carmen Anaya.
The difficulties that confront the democratizing project that Cortés and his colleagues have undertaken are daunting. Constraints on elite domination seem to weaken daily. It is hard for democrats not to lose heart in the face of events such as the recent Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, which opened the door to unrestricted corporate spending in elections. Wall Street bankers created a deep economic crisis and appalling unemployment, but it is not they but unionized public employees who are held accountable for bankrupt state governments and relieved of their modest power by politicians beholden to wealthy donors who bankroll their election campaigns. Meanwhile, the language of grassroots democracy has been rhetorically appropriated by figures like President Barack Obama whose policies have done little to foster its concrete development and much to deter it. “Barack Obama,” Stout sharply remarks, “is the spirit of the fog.”
IAF organizers also confront challenges of their own making. They pursue a strategy that rests on the face-to-face institutions of a civil society that is eroding, supplanted by the thin bonds of virtual social networking. Theirs is not an approach likely to be fruitful with proto-cyborgs fixated on the screens of their iPhones. When their organizing enjoys success, they have to be constantly on guard against the development of oligarchies of domination within their own institutions (“All grass, no roots,” as Stout keenly puts it). And they have yet to prove that their networks can be “scaled up” to meet the challenge of rendering elites accountable beyond the local or regional level.
Stout is alert to all these difficulties. As he says, “if ordinary citizens are going to compensate for the emergence of new classes of masters, these things will be accomplished in the teeth of what will often appear to be insurmountable opposition.” His conclusions are modest:
All that can be said on the basis of available evidence is that there are promising signs of democratic life all around us.... Whether such developments can be extended further without either losing power or being corrupted by oligarchy remains to be seen.
Blessed Are the Organized is then a work of hope, not optimism. “Hope,” as Stout says,
is not the same thing as thinking that what one ardently desires is likely to happen. It is the virtue one needs when grim facts might tempt one to give up on promoting or protecting important goods.
One can only wish for this heartening book a large, wide, and diverse audience. Few will welcome it more than those democrats who, as Stout once did, find themselves stammering for some answers in the face of the skepticism and despair over democracy’s future that grip our faded republic.
Related: The Contested Sacred, an excerpt from Blessed Are the Organized. | https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/anecdotes-antidotes |
Outrage or Apathy?
There
have been talks by Hong Kong academics and activists about a possible mass
democratic movement named “Occupy Central” that can epitomize society’s varied aspirations
and assertions of rights. But one activist Chan King Fai points
out that there
are still many gaps to be filled before a framework of ideas can be laid.
Stephane
Hessel, a French Resistance fighter and concentration camp survivor, was on the
twelve-member committee at the United Nations responsible for drafting the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In his hugely popular book Time for Outrage, while advocating
citizens’ peaceful, nonviolent and determined engagement to achieve democratic ends,
he highlights two specific challenges that many modern societies now face in
attaining those ends, namely: the gross injustices inflicted on people deprived
of the essentials for a decent life, and the violation of basic freedoms and
fundamental rights. It was outrage that fueled him and other like-minded
individuals to join in the Resistance, and he thought that the same outrage
should stir world citizens into fighting against injustices, including the
tyranny of the world financial markets that threatens democracies everywhere. His book, published in 2010, sold 4.5 million
copies world-wide, and ignited New York’s “Occupy Wall Street” and Spain’s “Los
Indignados” civic movements.
In a
2011 interview with Democracy Now, Hessel described democracies as places where
the privileged should not be the ones who make the decisions, and where the
underprivileged are going to rise to a status where they are normal human
beings and human citizens with their freedoms and their rights. Citing the case
of France, which he thought had a solid democracy in the first thirty years
after the War but which has since then degenerated in terms of upholding
democratic values, he warned the young generations of the world to be vigilant
and to become engaged whenever they see that their citizens’ basic social and
economic rights and freedoms are not respected. He also expressed his worries
about young people being too concerned with material wealth and becoming
forgetful about the importance of democratic values, saying that indifference
is the worst possible attitude.
Not surprisingly,
Hessel believed that each individual has to have a strong sense of
responsibility and must not rely on any form of power or god, admitting he had
been influenced by French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre.
The two
challenges cited by Hessel, while universal in nature, happen to mirror exactly
those that Hong Kong has for a long time had to struggle with. Lower rungs of
the social ladder suffer infinite iniquities brought about by land monopoly and
the antiquated and inequitable tax system that seeks to enrich the already
rich. Freedom of speech and of the press is being eroded daily, either by way
of high-handed tactics or manipulation by business- or CCP-controlled,
self-censoring media. Fundamental right to a basic shelter is denied those city
dwellers with meager means, while every male indigenous villager in the New
Territories is unjustly privileged with a right to a “small house” that
measures 2,100 sq. ft. in floor area. To top it all, citizens have been cheated
out of their political right by a rigged electoral system being foisted on them
with no promise of genuine universal suffrage for the foreseeable future.
As Chan
says in his article, the new “Occupy Central” movement would be a test of participants’
resolve in the democratic cause to self-sacrifice (including the possibility of
being arrested), to engage long-term in civil disobedience and to exercise self-restraint.
This resolve is necessary in order to unite citizens and move onlookers into
action.
Other
than the resolve of an active minority being a major pre-requisite, Hong Kongers in general coming to the tipping point of feeling “outraged” would
no doubt be the key to the effectiveness of any civic movement.
It might
be helpful for activists to take heed of what Victor Hugo said about revolution
in Les Miserables. (The word
“revolution” here might be substituted by “civil disobedience”, the words
“Divine Right” by “entitlement”, the word “monarchy” by “those in power”.)
“Power
itself is often no more than a faction. In all revolutions there are those who
swim against the tide; they are the old political parties. To the old parties,
wedded to the principle of heredity by Divine Right, it is legitimate to
suppress revolution, since revolution is born of revolt. This is an error. The
real party of revolt, in a democratic revolution, is not the people but the
monarchy. Revolution is precisely the opposite of revolt. Every revolution,
being a normal process, has its own legitimacy, sometimes dishonoured by false
revolutionaries, but which persists even though sullied, and survives even
though bloodstained. Revolutions are not born of chance but of necessity. A
revolution is a return from the fictitious to the real. It happens because it
had to happen.”
Whether
Hong Kongers would like to continue to wallow in apathy or to let outrage sink
in, it is purely a matter of choice. But making choices no doubt means having
to face up to the consequences. This is what liberty is all about, and the
French understood this well and had the temerity to live up to the principle.
Hessel did risk his life in taking part in the French Resistance and Hugo had
put his personal freedom on the line in advocating for republicanism. | https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/outrage-or-apathy |
Some thoughts on the 2015 elections
Elections are critical turning points for all democratic systems. They express, in their pure essence, the exercise of sovereignty of the people, and represent the institutionalization of the consent to govern from the people to leaders. Citizens are most powerful during elections, not just as voters, but as people who hold opinions and views that will determine those who will exercise power. The degree to which elections genuinely involve citizens and voters in the manner leaders emerge is one of the few benchmarks for judging the quality of a particular democratic system.
Some preliminary comments may be necessary to put the linkages between elections and the nature and quality of the democratic process. First, it is important to note that elections on their own are not necessarily evidence that democracy exists. Pre-determined or rigged elections are very common, and in many instances, elections are merely routine rituals orchestrated to preserve the status-quo. Secondly, there is very little agreement over what represents genuine value added to democratic systems in terms of elections. In stable, advanced democracies, voter turn-out hovers around 30 – 45 per cent. In many instances it is lower. This suggests that a small percentage of the entire population decide who governs. On the other hand, large turn-outs in developing democracies have coincided with massively rigged elections in many instances. While citizens therefore demonstrate a deep and popular desire to influence the emergence of leaders, mandates are stolen by a handful of powerful people, thus rendering the electoral process into farce. Thirdly, there has been a raging debate over what the world should tolerate as credible or acceptable elections in developing democracies. Poorly – conducted elections have been accepted or tolerated in developing democracies by developed democracies because of the primacy attached to stability, and a questionable belief that with every successive election, the democratic system grows and develops.
Little attention is paid to the damage which successively rigged or disputed elections do to democratic systems in the manner they progressively shrink and violate the foundational values of the democratic system. Finally, citizens and voters expect elections to result in real changes in their lives or their social environments. Perceptions regarding the degree to which this happens are critical in determining dispositions towards democracy as a system of government, and, particularly in developing democracies where leadership plays such decisive roles in determining quality of life, elite competition for power very often draws citizens into serious conflicts over electoral outcomes.
Elections and the Political System.
The electoral process is a sub-set of the political system. All elections therefore reflect the basic issues and concerns of the political system. In developed democratic systems where most of the basic political issues such as the manner classes should compete for economic and political values; the form and structure of governments; nature and operations of basic institutions of state; processes and systems which determine citizen-state relations as well as group relations; the place of values such as faith and a few others are more or less settled, elections tend to be largely about choices within very limited political spectrum. On the other hand, in democracies where allocation of resources between classes and groups is a major issue, or where questions around values such as faith are still unresolved; or where loyalties to centripetal values are central to the political process; or where weaknesses of the elite are significant, elections tend to be volatile and massively destabilizing. If elections do not progressively capture, process and resolve some of these major issues, they merely reflect cumulative frustrations, and each election throws up more challenges to the capacity of the democratic system to resolve basic political issues.
In political contexts where basic issues remain unresolved, it is reasonable to expect that any or all of the following are responsible:
i. Elections merely compound the problems, for instance, by becoming one more arena and opportunity for competing values or interests. Leaders who emerge from the elections reflect and champion narrow interests that may not even qualify strictly as partisan interests.
ii. Democratic processes and institutions do not function between elections to resolve basic issues in the political system, as a result of which elections represent their highest levels of articulation;
iii. Elections do not reflect popular will, including the desire to resolve basic political questions and achieve progressive resolution of these questions. Consequently, leadership is isolated from the imperatives of exercising mandates in accordance with basic popular concerns.
Elections in Nigeria
Elite cohesion, a vital requirement for achievement of political hegemony has always been a major problem with the Nigerian political system. The build up to political independence exposed a weak elite rooted in powerful regions, collaborating only to achieve electoral victory or keep the opposition out. The goal of independence provided an incentive and a rallying point, but intense competition and the absence of unifying values among the political leadership left it exposed and weak. This explains in large part, both the relative ease with which the 1966 coup occurred, and the consequent split within the Armed Forces which was an organic appendage of the political elite.
The long stay of the military in power precluded the possibility of growth and development of a political elite, democratic values and institutions. That period coincided with the real beginning of a rentier state and a political system which was fuelled essentially by patronage. The brief period of civilian rule highlighted the huge chasms which had developed in the ranks of the political elite. Elite recruitment had suffered a major setback. The elite operated basically with the pre – 1966 values and worldviews in spite of efforts of the military to fragment their bases. The prime goal of capturing the state and bestowing patronage to sustain control was still visible and available to the military, and it moved once again to take back control of the state. The political elite was reduced to playing facilitating roles for a military whose own project was principally the control of resources of the state and political power. This singular goal made control and governance difficult and unstable, and the military itself went through a damaging process which progressively robbed it of cohesion and integrity.
The 1999 collaboration involving the rump of the non-military elite from the North and a military desperate to exit without further damage produced the current democratic dispensation. The 1999 elections were a comparatively tame affair, reflecting as they did, a basic consensus around candidates and outcomes at the national level. Subsequently, however, elections became principally about concentrating power around President Obasanjo and leaders of the PDP. His first term taught Obasanjo the lesson that power is best concentrated around his office and person, and his second term was a study in the process of imprinting a powerful leader on a political process.
Nigeria today bears all the hallmarks of a political system centered around powerful leaders who sustain control by subverting basic processes and values that give democracy its basic character. State resources are plundered to build and sustain loyalties, or prove access to patronage which reproduce the basic parasitic nature of the state. Subversion of the rule of law and due processes in the operations of core governance institutions have led to massive declines in their efficacy and integrity. Corruption and the collapse of policing institutions as well erosion of integrity of the judicial system have robbed the state of the capacity to perform its two basic functions: to protect life and pursue the economic well-being of citizens. This is the context in which the 2015 elections will be conducted.
Context of the 2015 Elections. | https://peoplesdailyng.com/some-thoughts-on-the-2015-elections/?shared=email&msg=fail |
From 2018 onward, a discussion emerged concerning the potential for a resource curse related to critical materials for renewable energy. This could concern either countries with abundant renewable energy resources, such as sunshine, or critical materials for renewable energy technologies, such as neodymium, cobalt, or lithium.
The IMF classifies 51 countries as “resource-rich”, defined as countries which derive at least 20% of exports or 20% of fiscal revenue from nonrenewable natural resources. 29 of these countries are low- and lower-middle-income. Common characteristics of these 29 countries include (i) extreme dependence on resource wealth for fiscal revenues, export sales, or both; (ii) low saving rates; (iii) poor growth performance; and (iv) highly volatile resource revenues.
A 2016 meta-study found weak support for the thesis that resource richness adversely affects long-term economic growth. The authors noted that "approximately 40% of empirical papers finding a negative effect, 40% finding no effect, and 20% finding a positive effect" but "overall support for the resource curse hypothesis is weak when potential publication bias and method heterogeneity are taken into account."
A 2018 study showed that most specifications, the impact of oil correlated with regime leaders as well as being between two and three times larger than the marginal effect of increases during the leader's term.
A 2021 meta-analysis of 46 natural experiments found that price increases in oil and lootable minerals increased the likelihood of conflict. A 2011 study in the journal Comparative Political Studies found that "natural resource wealth can be either a “curse” or a “blessing” and that the distinction is conditioned by domestic and international factors, both amenable to change through public policy, namely, human capital formation and economic openness."
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Main article: Dutch disease
Dutch disease, defined as the relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example natural resources) and a decline in other sectors, first became apparent after the Dutch discovered a huge natural gas field in Groningen in 1959. The Netherlands sought to tap this resource in an attempt to export the gas for profit. However, when the gas began to flow out of the country, its ability to compete against other countries' exports declined. With the Netherlands' focus primarily on the new gas exports, the Dutch currency began to appreciate, which harmed the country's ability to export other products. With the growing gas market and the shrinking export economy, the Netherlands began to experience a recession.
This process has been witnessed in multiple countries around the world including but not limited to Venezuela (oil), Angola (diamonds, oil), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (diamonds), and various other nations. All of these countries are considered "resource-cursed".
Dutch disease makes tradable goods less competitive in world markets. Absent currency manipulation or a currency peg, appreciation of the currency can damage other sectors, leading to a compensating unfavorable balance of trade. As imports become cheaper in all sectors, internal employment suffers and with it the skill infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities of the nation. This problem has historically influenced the domestic economics of large empires including Rome during its transition to a Republic in 509 BCE and the United Kingdom during the height of its colonial empire. To compensate for the loss of local employment opportunities, government resources are used to artificially create employment. The increasing national revenue will often also result in higher government spending on health, welfare, military, and public infrastructure, and if this is done corruptly or inefficiently it can be a burden on the economy. While the decrease in the sectors exposed to international competition and consequently even greater dependence on natural resource revenue leaves the economy vulnerable to price changes in the natural resource, this can be managed by an active and effective use of hedge instruments such as forwards, futures, options, and swaps; however, if it is managed inefficiently or corruptly, this can lead to disastrous results. Also, since productivity generally increases faster in the manufacturing sector than in the government, the economy will have lower productivity gains than before.
According to a 2020 study, giant resource discoveries led to a substantial appreciation of the real exchange rate.
Prices for some natural resources are subject to wide fluctuation: for example, crude oil prices rose from around $3 per barrel to $12/bbl in 1974 following the 1973 oil crisis and fell from $27/bbl to below $10/bbl during the 1986 glut. In the decade from 1998 to 2008, it rose from $10/bbl to $145/bbl, before falling by more than half to $60/bbl over a few months. When government revenues are dominated by inflows from natural resources (for example, 99.3% of Angola's exports came from just oil and diamonds in 2005), this volatility can disrupt government planning and debt service. Abrupt changes in economic realities that result from this often provoke widespread breaking of contracts or curtailment of social programs, eroding the rule of law and popular support. Responsible use of financial hedges can mitigate this risk to some extent.
Susceptibility to this volatility can be increased where governments choose to borrow heavily in foreign currency. Real exchange rate increases, through capital inflows or the "Dutch disease" can make this appear an attractive option by lowering the cost of interest payments on the foreign debt, and they may be considered more creditworthy due to the existence of natural resources. If the resource prices fall, however, the governments' capacity to meet debt repayments will be reduced. For example, many oil-rich countries like Nigeria and Venezuela saw rapid expansions of their debt burdens during the 1970s oil boom; however, when oil prices fell in the 1980s, bankers stopped lending to them and many of them fell into arrears, triggering penalty interest charges that made their debts grow even more. As Venezuelan oil minister and OPEC co-founder Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo presciently warned in 1976: "Ten years from now, twenty years from now, you will see, oil will bring us ruin... It is the devil's excrement."
A 2011 study in The Review of Economics and Statistics found that commodities have historically always shown greater price volatility than manufactured goods and that globalization has reduced this volatility. Commodities are a key reason why poor countries are more volatile than rich countries.
“Oil production generally takes place in an economic enclave, meaning it has few direct effects on the rest of the economy.” Michael Ross describes how there are limited economic linkages with other industries in the economy. Consequently, economic diversification may be delayed or neglected by the authorities in the light of the high profits that can be obtained from limited natural resources. The attempts at diversification that do occur are often white elephant [public works] projects which may be misguided or mismanaged. However, even when the authorities attempt diversification in the economy, this is made difficult because resource extraction is vastly more lucrative and out-competes other industries for the best human capital and capital investment. Successful natural-resource-exporting countries often become increasingly dependent on extractive industries over time, further increasing the levels of investment in this industry as it is necessary to maintain their states' finances. There is a lack of investment in other sectors of the economy which is further exacerbated by declines the commodity's price. While resource sectors tend to produce large financial revenues, they often add few jobs to the economy, and tend to operate as enclaves with few forward and backward connections to the rest of the economy.
Another possible effect of the resource curse is the crowding out of human capital; countries that rely on natural resource exports may tend to neglect education because they see no immediate need for it. Resource-poor economies like Singapore, Taiwan or South Korea, by contrast, spent enormous efforts on education, and this contributed in part to their economic success (see East Asian Tigers). Other researchers, however, dispute this conclusion; they argue that natural resources generate easily taxable rents that can result in increased spending on education. However, the evidence for whether this increased spending translates to better education outcomes is mixed. A study on Brazil found that oil revenues are associated with sizable increases in education spending, but only with small improvements in education provision. Similarly, an analysis of early-20th century oil booms in Texas and neighboring states found no effect of oil discoveries on student teacher ratios or school attendance. However, oil-rich regions participated more intensively in the Rosenwald schoolbuilding program. A 2021 study found that European regions with a history of coal mining had 10% smaller per-capita GDP than comparable regions. The authors attribute this to lower investments in human capital.
Adverse effects of natural resources on human capital formation might come through several channels. High wages in the resource extraction industry could induce young workers to drop out of school earlier in order to find employment. Evidence for this has been found for coal or fracking booms. In addition, resource booms can lower the wages of teachers relative to other workers, increasing turnover and impairing students' learning.
A study on coal mining in Appalachia suggests that "the presence of coal in the Appalachian region has played a significant part in its slow pace of economic development. Our best estimates indicate that an increase of 0.5 units in the ratio of coal revenues to personal income in a county is associated with a 0.7 percentage point decrease in income growth rates. No doubt, coal mining provides opportunities for relatively high-wage employment in the region, but its effect on prosperity appears to be negative in the longer run."
Another example was the Spanish Empire which obtained enormous wealth from its resource-rich colonies in South America in the sixteenth century. The large cash inflows from silver reduced incentives for industrial development in Spain. Innovation and investment in education were therefore neglected, so that the prerequisites for successful future development were given up. Thus, Spain soon lost its economic strength in comparison to other Western countries.
A study of US oil booms finds positive effects on local employment and income during booms but that after the boom, incomes "per capita" decreased, while "unemployment compensation payments increased relative to what they would have been if the boom had not occurred."
A 2019 study found that active mining activity had an adverse impact on the growth of firms in tradeable sectors but a positive impact on the growth of firms in non-tradeable sectors.
Natural resources are a source of economic rent which can generate large revenues for those controlling them even in the absence of political stability and wider economic growth. Their existence is a potential source of conflict between factions fighting for a share of the revenue, which may take the form of armed separatist conflicts in regions where the resources are produced or internal conflict between different government ministries or departments for access to budgetary allocations. This tends to erode governments' abilities to function effectively.
Even when politically stable, countries whose economies are dominated by resource extraction industries tend to be less democratic and more corrupt.
A 2019 meta-analysis of 69 studies found "that there is no aggregate relationship between natural resources and conflict." According to a 2017 review study, "while some studies support the link between resource scarcity/abundance and armed conflict, others find no or only weak links." According to one academic study, a country that is otherwise typical but has primary commodity exports around 5% of GDP has a 6% risk of conflict, but when exports are 25% of GDP the chance of conflict rises to 33%. "Ethno-political groups are more likely to resort to rebellion rather than using nonviolent means or becoming terrorists when representing regions rich in oil."
There are several factors behind the relationship between natural resources and armed conflicts. Resource wealth may increase the vulnerability of countries to conflicts by undermining the quality of governance and economic performance (the "resource curse" argument). Secondly, conflicts can occur over the control and exploitation of resources and the allocation of their revenues (the "resource war" argument). Thirdly, access to resource revenues by belligerents can prolong conflicts (the "conflict resource" argument). A 2018 study in the Journal of Conflict Resolution found that rebels were particularly likely to be able to prolong their participation in civil wars when they had access to natural resources that they could smuggle.
A 2004 literature review finds that oil makes the onset of war more likely and that lootable resources lengthen existing conflicts. One study finds the mere discovery (as opposed to just the exploitation) of petroleum resources increases the risk of conflict, as oil revenues have the potential to alter the balance of power between regimes and their opponents, rendering bargains in the present obsolete in the future. One study suggests that the rise in mineral prices over the period 1997–2010 contributed to up to 21 percent of the average country-level violence in Africa. Research shows that declining oil prices make oil-rich states less bellicose. Jeff Colgan observed that oil-rich states have a propensity to instigate international conflicts as well as to be the targets of them, which he referred to as "petro-aggression". Arguable examples include Iraq's invasions of Iran and Kuwait; Libya's repeated incursions into Chad in the 1970s and 1980s; Iran's long-standing suspicion of Western powers; the United States' relations with Iraq and Iran. It is not clear whether the pattern of petro-aggression found in oil-rich countries also applies to other natural resources besides oil. Some scholars argue that the relationship between oil and interstate war is primarily driven by the case of the Iran-Iraq War and that the overall evidence points in the direction of an oil-peace.
A 2016 study finds that "oil production, oil reserves, oil dependence, and oil exports are associated with a higher risk of initiating conflict while countries enjoying large oil reserves are more frequently the target of military actions." As of 2016, the only six countries whose reported military expenditures exceeded 6 percent of GDP were significant oil producers: Oman, South Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Algeria. (Data for Syria and North Korea were unavailable.) A 2017 study in the American Economic Review found that mining extraction contributed to conflicts in Africa at the local level over the period 1997–2010. A 2017 study in Security Studies found that while there is a statistical relationship between oil wealth and ethnic war, the use of qualitative methods reveals "that oil has rarely been a deep cause of ethnic war."
The emergence of the Sicilian Mafia has been attributed to the resource curse. Early Mafia activity is strongly linked[qualify evidence] to Sicilian municipalities abundant in sulphur, Sicily's most valuable export commodity. A 2017 study in the Journal of Economic History also links[qualify evidence] the emergence of the Sicilian Mafia to surging demand for oranges and lemons following the late 18th century discovery that citrus fruits cured scurvy.
A 2016 study argues that petrostates may be emboldened to act more aggressively due to the inability of allied great powers to punish the petrostate. The great powers have strong incentives not to upset the relationship with its client petrostate ally for both strategic and economic reasons.
A 2017 study found evidence of the resource curse in the American frontier period of the Western United States in the 19th century (the Wild West). The study found that "In places where mineral discoveries occurred before formal institutions were established, there were more homicides per capita historically and the effect has persisted to this day. Today, the share of homicides and assaults explained by the historical circumstances of mineral discoveries is comparable to the effect of education or income."
A 2018 study in the Economic Journal found that "oil price shocks are seen to promote coups in onshore-intensive oil countries, while preventing them in offshore-intensive oil countries." The study argues that states which have onshore oil wealth tend to build up their military to protect the oil, whereas states do not do that for offshore oil wealth. A 2020 study determined that low levels of oil and gas revenue actually increases the likelihood of nonviolent resistance in autocratic countries, despite the general logic of the resource curse.
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See also: Rentier state
Research shows that oil wealth lowers levels of democracy and strengthens autocratic rule. This is because political leaders in oil rich countries refuse democratic development because they will have more to give up from losing power. Similarly political leaders of oil rich countries refuse democratic development because political elite collect the revenues from the oil export and use the money for cementing their political, economic and social power by controlling government and its bureaucracy Military spending generally increases with oil wealth, meaning that a military coup - one of the strongest tools in toppling autocracies - is less likely in oil rich countries given that dictators can quell resistance through additional funding. According to Michael Ross, "only one type of resource has been consistently correlated with less democracy and worse institutions: petroleum, which is the key variable in the vast majority of the studies that identify some type of curse." A 2014 meta-analysis confirms the negative impact of oil wealth on democratization. A 2016 study challenges the conventional academic wisdom on the relationship between oil and authoritarianism. A 2022 study found that the resource curse is only tied to easily extractable oil, but not oil that requires complex extraction. Other forms of resource wealth have also been found to strengthen autocratic rule. A 2016 study finds that resource windfalls have no political impact on democracies and deeply entrenched authoritarian regimes, but significantly exacerbate the autocratic nature of moderately authoritarian regimes. A third 2016 study finds that while it is accurate that resource richness has an adverse impact on the prospects of democracy, this relationship has only held since the 1970s. A 2017 study found that the presence of multinational oil companies increases the likelihood of state repression. Another 2017 study found that the presence of oil reduced the likelihood that a democracy would be established after the breakdown of an authoritarian regime. A 2018 study found that the relationship between oil and authoritarianism primarily holds after the end of the Cold War; the study argues that without American or Soviet support, resource-poor authoritarian regimes had to democratize while resource-rich authoritarian regimes were able to resist domestic pressures to democratize. Prior to the 1970s, oil-producing countries did not have democratization levels that differed from other countries. Oil Abundant authoritarian governments are suggested to earn high levels of income for oil but spend an extremely minimal amount on social expenditures for individuals being ruled while democracies are suggested to opposite.
Research by Stephen Haber and Victor Menaldo found that increases in natural resource reliance do not induce authoritarianism, but may instead promote democratization. The authors say that their method rectifies the methodological biases of earlier studies which revolve around random effects: "Numerous sources of bias may be driving the results [of earlier studies on the resource curse], the most serious of which is omitted variable bias induced by unobserved country-specific and time-invariant heterogeneity." In other words, this means that countries might have specific, enduring traits that gets left out of the model, which could increase the explanation power of the argument. The authors claim that the chances of this happening is larger when assuming random effects, an assumption that does not allow for what the authors call "unobserved country-specific heterogeneity". These criticisms have themselves been subject to criticism. One study re-examined the Haber-Menaldo analysis, using Haber and Menaldo's own data and statistical models. It reports that their conclusions are only valid for the period before the 1970s, but since about 1980, there has been a pronounced resource curse. Authors Andersen and Ross suggest that oil wealth only became a hindrance to democratic transitions after the transformative events of the 1970s, which enabled developing country governments to capture the oil rents that were previously siphoned off by foreign-owned firms.
There are two ways that oil wealth might negatively affect democratization. The first is that oil strengthens authoritarian regimes, making transitions to democracy less likely. The second is that oil wealth weakens democracies. Research generally supports the first theory but is mixed on the second. A 2019 study found that oil wealth is associated with increases in the level of personalism in dictatorships.
Both pathways might result from the ability of oil-rich states to provide citizens with a combination of generous benefits and low taxes. In many economies that are not resource-dependent, governments tax citizens, who demand efficient and responsive government in return. This bargain establishes a political relationship between rulers and subjects. In countries whose economies are dominated by natural resources, however, rulers don't need to tax their citizens because they have a guaranteed source of income from natural resources. Because the country's citizens aren't being taxed, they have less incentive to be watchful with how government spends its money. In addition, those benefiting from mineral resource wealth may perceive an effective and watchful civil service and civil society as a threat to the benefits that they enjoy, and they may take steps to thwart them. As a result, citizens are often poorly served by their rulers, and if the citizens complain, money from the natural resources enables governments to pay for armed forces to keep the citizens in check. It has been argued rises and falls in the price of petroleum correlate with rises and falls in the implementation of human rights in major oil-producing countries.
Corrupt members of national governments may collude with resource extraction companies to override their own laws and ignore objections made by indigenous inhabitants. The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee report entitled "Petroleum and Poverty Paradox" states that "too often, oil money that should go to a nation’s poor ends up in the pockets of the rich, or it may be squandered on grand palaces and massive showcase projects instead of being invested productively". A 2016 study finds that mining in Africa substantially increases corruption; an individual within 50 kilometres (31 mi) of a recently opened mine is 33% more likely to have paid a bribe the past year than a person living within 50 kilometers of mines that will open in the future. The former also pay bribes for permits more frequently, and perceive their local councilors to be more corrupt. In a study examining the effects of mining on local communities in Africa, researchers concluded that active mining areas are associated with more bribe payments, particularly police bribes. Their findings were consistent with the hypothesis that mining increases corruption.
The Center for Global Development argues that governance in resource rich states would be improved by the government making universal, transparent, and regular payments of oil revenues to citizens, and then attempting to reclaim it through the tax system, which they argue will fuel public demand for the government to be transparent and accountable in its management of natural resource revenues and in the delivery of public services.
One study finds that "oil producing states dependent on exports to the USA exhibit lower human rights performance than those exporting to China". The authors argue that this stems from the fact that US relationships with oil producers were formed decades ago, before human rights became part of its foreign policy agenda.
One study finds that resource wealth in authoritarian states lower the probability of adopting Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. However, democracies that are resource-rich are more likely than resource-poor democracies to adopt FOI laws.
One study looking at oil wealth in Colombia found "that when the price of oil rises, legislators affiliated with right-wing paramilitary groups win office more in oil-producing municipalities. Consistent with the use of force to gain power, positive price shocks also induce an increase in paramilitary violence and reduce electoral competition: fewer candidates run for office, and winners are elected with a wider vote margin. Ultimately, fewer centrist legislators are elected to office, and there is diminished representation at the center."
A 2018 study in International Studies Quarterly found that oil wealth was associated with weaker private liberties (freedom of movement, freedom of religion, the right to property, and freedom from forced labor).
Research by Nathan Jensen indicates that countries that have resource wealth are considered having greater political risk for foreign direct investors. He argues that this is because leaders in resource-rich countries are less sensitive to being punished in elections if they take actions that adversely affect foreign investors.
According to a 2017 study, "social forces condition the extent to which oil-rich nations provide vital public services to the population. Although it is often assumed that oil wealth leads to the formation of a distributive state that generously provides services in the areas of water, sanitation, education, health care, or infrastructure... quantitative tests reveal that oil-rich nations who experience demonstrations or riots provide better water and sanitation services than oil-rich nations who do not experience such dissent. Subsequent tests find that oil-rich nations who experience nonviolent, mass-based movements provide better water and sanitation services than those who experience violent, mass-based movements."
Studies suggest that natural resource abundant countries contain higher levels of gender inequality in the areas of wages, labor force participation, violence, and education. Research links gender inequality in the Middle East to resource wealth. According to Michael Ross,
Oil production affects gender relations by reducing the presence of women in the labor force. The failure of women to join the nonagricultural labor force has profound social consequences: it leads to higher fertility rates, less education for girls, and less female influence within the family. It also has far-reaching political consequences: when fewer women work outside the home, they are less likely to exchange information and overcome collective action problems; less likely to mobilize politically, and to lobby for expanded rights; and less likely to gain representation in government. This leaves oil-producing states with atypically strong patriarchal cultures and political institutions.
Ross argues that in oil rich countries, across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, the need for female labor reduces as export-oriented and female-dominated manufacturing is ousted by Dutch disease effects. This hypothesis has received further support by the analysis of mining booms in Africa. For the United States, the evidence is mixed. State-level comparisons suggest that resource wealth leads to lower levels of female labor force participation, lower turnout and fewer seats held by women in legislatures. On the other hand, a county-level analysis of resource booms in the early 20th century found an overall positive effect of resource wealth on single women's labor force participation.
Research has also linked resource wealth to greater domestic violence, and a gender gap in education.
Research finds that the more that states depend on oil exports, the less cooperative they become: they grow less likely to join intergovernmental organizations, to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of international judicial bodies, and to agree to binding arbitration for investment disputes.
There is an argument in political economy that foreign aid could have the same negative effects on the long run towards development as in the case of the resource curse. The so-called "aid curse" results from giving perverse political incentives on a weak body of civil servants, lowering politicians' accountability towards citizens and decreasing economic pressure thanks to the income of an unearned resource to mitigate economic crisis. When foreign aid represents a major source of revenue to the government and especially in low-income countries the state building capacity hinders by undermining responsiveness toward taxpayers or by decreasing the incentive for the government to look for different sources of income or the increase in taxation.
A 2018 study found that "a 1% increase in the value of oil reserves increases murder by 0.16%, robbery by 0.55% and larceny by 0.18%."
Petro-aggression is the tendency for a petrostate to be involved in international conflicts, or to be the targets of them. The term was populized by a 2013 book by Jeff Colgan that found that petrostates (states with 10% or more GDP from petroleum) are 250 percent more likely to instigate international conflicts than a typical country.
Examples of oil-rich countries engaging in conflict include:
As of 1999, it remained unclear whether the pattern of petro-aggression found in oil-rich countries also applies to other natural resources besides oil.
Oil rich states also tend to have a poor record of human rights abuses, as well as revolutionary, revisionist ambitions, making them more conflict prone. Unfortunately, due to scant data, there is no way of being able to discern high oil prices turning petro-states more aggressive as public thought might deduce. Natural disasters turn out to be far more hurtful to the price of oil than any conflict.[original research?]
Microbial ecology studies have also addressed if resource availability modulates the cooperative or competitive behaviour in bacteria populations. When resources availability is high, bacterial populations become competitive and aggressive with each other, but when environmental resources are low, they tend to be cooperative and mutualistic.
Ecological studies have hypothesised that competitive forces between animals are major in high carrying capacity zones (i.e. near the Equator), where biodiversity is higher, because of natural resources abundance. This abundance or excess of resources, causes animal populations to have R reproduction strategies (many offspring, short gestation, less parental care, and a short time until sexual maturity), so competition is affordable for populations. Also competition could select populations to have R behaviour in a positive feedback regulation.
Contrary, in low carrying capacity zones (i.e. far from the equator), where environmental conditions are harsh K strategies are common (longer life expectancy, produce relatively fewer offspring and tend to be altricial, requiring extensive care by parents when young) and populations tend to have cooperative or mutualistic behaviors. If populations have a competitive behaviour in hostile environmental conditions they mostly are filtered out (die) by environmental selection, hence populations in hostile conditions are selected to be cooperative.
Mutualism hypothesis was first described while Kropotkin studied the fauna of the Siberian steppe, where environmental conditions are harsh, he found animals tend to cooperate in order to survive. Extreme competition is observed in the Amazonian forest where life requires low energy to find resources (i.e. sunlight for plants) hence life could afford being selected by biotic factors (i.e. competition) rather than abiotic factors.
A 2008 study argues that the curse vanishes when looking not at the relative importance of resource exports in the economy but rather at a different measure: the relative abundance of natural resources in the ground. Using that variable to compare countries, it reports that resource wealth in the ground correlates with slightly higher economic growth and slightly fewer armed conflicts. That a high dependency on resource exports correlates with bad policies and effects is not caused by the large degree of resource exportation. The causation goes in the opposite direction: conflicts and bad policies created the heavy dependence on exports of natural resources. When a country's chaos and economic policies scare off foreign investors and send local entrepreneurs abroad to look for better opportunities, the economy becomes skewed. Factories may close and businesses may flee, but petroleum and precious metals remain for the taking. Resource extraction becomes the "default sector" that still functions after other industries have come to a halt.
A 2008 article by Thad Dunning argues that while resource revenues can promote or strengthen authoritarian regimes, in certain circumstances they can also promote democracy. In countries where natural resource rents are a relatively small portion of the overall economy and the non-resource economy is unequal, resources rents can strengthen democracy by reducing economic elites’ fear of ceding power since social welfare policies can be funded with resource rents and not redistribution. Dunning proposes Venezuela's democratic consolidation during the oil boom of the 1970s as a key example of this phenomenon.
A 2011 study argues that previous assumptions that oil abundance is a curse were based on methodologies which failed to take into account cross-country differences and dependencies arising from global shocks, such as changes in technology and the price of oil. The researchers studied data from the World Bank over the period 1980–2006 for 53 countries, covering 85% of world GDP and 81% of world proven oil reserves. They found that oil abundance positively affected both short-term growth and long-term income levels. In a companion paper, using data on 118 countries over the period 1970–2007, they show that it is the volatility in commodity prices, rather than abundance per se, that drives the resource curse paradox.
A 2019 article by Indra Overland argues that concerns about a new form of resource curse related to renewable energy are overblown, as renewable energy resources are more evenly distributed around the world than fossil fuel resources. Some countries could still experience windfalls from critical materials for renewable energy technologies, but this depends on how the technologies evolve and which materials they require. | https://db0nus869y26v.cloudfront.net/en/Resource_curse |
Indebtedness to the european model in his book, arabic literature: an overview, pierre cachia studied the development of arabic drama and reported its early beginnings in egypt and lebanon during the years of french colonization to egypt and the levant, where the occupiers needed to bring in some. Existentialism existentialism refers to a set of ideas about human existence the term existentialism is used both for philosophical concepts and for literary works the exact meaning depends on the particular writer, and some writers objected to the notion of being called existentialists as an attempt to restrict their ideas. In that sense, an existential novelist absorbs the ideas in vogue at the time and reproduces them within literature just as existential philosophy is it is perhaps more productive to discuss the work of several individual authors than to attempt a sweeping overview of the whole movement in world literature, few have been. Absurdism and existentialism are very closely related, so much so that albert camus (the main absurdist philosopher) is usually considered an existentialist, even though he always claimed that he was not one these two philosophies start from the same place: human beings. The theatre of the absurd is another theatrical concept being examined proving that samuel beckett integrated the philosophy into his works through the theatre of the absurd whether or not beckett justified existentialism or remodelled the theory, especially through the expression of “existence precedes essence”, will. Philosophy's most profound contributions to the theater and all of samuel beckett's major plays, and by extension the theater of the absurd sartre's arguments in the larger and longer philosophical work keywords: philosophy, existentialism, existence, sartre's concepts 1 introduction in philosophy, the terms “exist. There are lots of good books that introduce the ideas of existentialism, but this is one that gives a lot to think about and opens up interesting perspectives then , once you've read an overview and feel equipped and ready for it, it's really worth plunging into either being and time itself, heidegger's greatest and richest.
In general, though, existentialism proceeds on the key concepts that existence precedes essence (a focus on authentic existence) and that absurdity or meaninglessness is part of existence the term “theatre of the absurd” was coined by critic martin esslin in 1960, using the term “absurd” in the way albert camus used it in. Warrant for a critical engagement with both shakespearean drama and existentialist philosophy before examining the kinds of existential ideas that were emerging in the renaissance and in shakespeare's plays, i shall first provide an overview of the main ideas and arguments of existentialism to approach existentialism. Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice it began in the mid-to-late 19th century , but reached its peak in mid-20th century france it is based on the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite. He worked out his original existentialist ideas under the sway of nonmaterialist thinkers such as edmund husserl and martin heidegger as a deliberate of the existentialist thinkers and the materialist objectivity of marxism can be seen in the following assertion of heidegger in an introduction to metaphysics : “it is in words.
Some similarities with existentialism introducing the concept of absurd theater in a foreign language to a group of literature students is not an easy task therefore, it is necessary to find an ideal approach to enhance students in this theater course and facilitate them for literature understanding through several literature. Index terms—beckett, self estrangement, existentialism i introduction twentieth century has been the age of the outbreak of two world wars resulting in the spiritual disillusion this alongside the relativity theory of einstein, the darwinist theory of the survival of the fittest, existentialism philosophy principles, and many. An analysis of this play as communicating the existential atheistic concept that comprises the idea of god's nonexistence inevitably led to a wide review and re-evaluation of the “old” conventional concepts which used to be the emergence of the absurd theatre is directly connected to samuel beckett's play waiting for.
Samuel beckett's waiting for godot is a play that presents conflict between living by religious and spiritual beliefs, and living by an existential philosophy there is another instance in the dialogue between estragon and vladimir that plays on the idea of vladimir as faithfully religious and estragon as. Followers of the idea often did not label themselves as such, as it undermined a fundamental principle waiting for godot is often called an existentialist drama, which in some ways it is, but beckett never ascribed the philosophy to his work in the world of the play, devoid of systems, purpose and markers of time, all that is.
And believes they have made the remedial condition for them was the adaptation of the islamism keywords: islamism, existentialism, god, absurdity introduction waiting for godot (1952) is an unusual and prominent drama written by irish nobel prize-winner (1969)contribution to drama and literature samuel beckett. Theater review and commentary: the chairs (a noise within) & endgame ( sacred fools) you're watching a play but you have no idea what's happening his ideas, based on existential philosophy, became so entrenched in fine arts that some now see existentialism as a literary movement. Of experience and expertise to write the existential actor: life and death onstage and off, a 232 page instruction manual that begins with the informative introduction four elements: a new theory for the theater deftly organized into four major sections: life and death (mortality salience - awareness of death) a brief.
The theatre of the absurd is a post–world war ii designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily european playwrights in the late 1950s, as well as one for the style of theatre which has evolved from their work their work focused largely on the idea of existentialism and expressed what. Introduction this paper is an exploration of six gaelic plays written in the 1960s and 1970s: in particular it seeks to contextualise them with european drama of a roughly contemporaneous period by the likes find in smith's stories the influence of existentialism and also camus' concept of the absurd (1992: 195) ( see also. Introduction: the root of existentialism existentialism has had unquestionably as significant effect on the philosophy, literature and comprehensive view of the world and human life of the 20th century as no other philosophical movement this movement begins officially during the world war i.
Having developed in different and contrasting directions, existentialism has furnished philosophy and the whole of contemporary culture with conceptual tools, of which the nature and techniques of employment have still not been clarified—as, for example, terms like “problematicity,” “chance,” “condition,” “ choice,” “freedom,. The idea of the absurd is a common theme in many existentialist works, particularly in camus. The third part then evaluates certain of beauvoir's key concepts in terms of beauvoir's own introduction to what will become the most con- simone de beauvoir on existentialist theater abstract domain of philosophy, as she remarked above with regard to sartre's theory33 in fact, nowhere is this intervention any more. In addition to the theater, novels and short stories serve as a literary means of conveying philosophical points of view in summary, it is evident that a good definition of existentialism is difficult to produce because existentialism is, by the nature of the movement, against narrow, hard-bound classification we now turn to our. | http://znpapervvhw.taxiservicecharleston.us/an-overview-of-the-existentialism-and-theater-concept.html |
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While the word “existentialism” is familiar to most people, not many of us have a clear idea about just what it means. Like a number of other philosophical terms, the meaning of “existentialism” is not only complex, but the word is used by different people in variety of ways that make that complexity even more difficult to sort out. However, unlike most other philosophical terms, the concept of existentialism is primarily used by people who are either not considered philosophers at all, or who bridge the gap between Philosophy and The Arts. In fact, almost all of those who are considered existentialists are writers of Literature, rather than Philosophy, people who use language in a way that is expressive and suggestive, rather than strictly denotative. For some, this difference is “essential,” since it enables those writers to express truths about the human condition that often escape the scrutiny of more analytic minds. For others, this different approach is precisely the reason such writers are not considered philosophers in any sense beyond the metaphorical, since their work is artistic (even overtly fictional), rather than theoretical. And, after all, how much truth can there be in fiction?Such a question, of course, is a matter for debate – one that’s lasted since the days of Plato. And it’s only one of many such questions raised by these late 19th & early 20th century thinkers. For in addition to reviving perennial concerns about the relation between theory and practice (philosophy and its application), about the existence of God, and about the nature of the human mind, the existentialists generated new ways of asking about the meaning of life, the specter of death, and whether genuine morality was any longer possible. In the process, they developed some novel terminology of their own, including Nihilism, The Absurd, Authenticity, and The Will to Power, as well as new uses of older terms, such as Anxiety, Dread, Nothingness, The Individual, and even Existence. And this only adds to the difficulty of getting a clear idea of just what “existentialism” is. However, as grim as the topics of existentialists often are, most of the writers in this movement were not simply trying to dwell on the most depressing aspects of life. Each, in their own way, was hoping to confront those aspects of life – often overlooked, denied, or repressed – in order to find the strength (either individually or collectively) necessary to deal with them. As a result, existentialist writings have diverse connections – in fields ranging from psychology and theology to economics and politics, from how to become a genuine individual to how to create the most free and open of societies. As we’ll see, these modern writers not only question what ties we have, or should have, with the past, but also what sorts of things might be possible in a future which doesn’t try to shirk the challenges that face those who happen to be alive today. | https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/existentialism/id1118680901 |
Christian and theological existentialism however, the christian soren kierkegaard (1813-1855) is considered the father of existentialism but existential philosophy argues life itself does not make sense. It is well known that kierkegaard's philosophy is, in large part, a response to or critique of hegel's walter kaufmann writes, kierkegaard would have us to be christian in his book existentialism from dostoevsky to newest kierkegaard questions feed philosophy tour help chat. 1 the emergence of existence as a philosophical problem sartre's existentialism drew its immediate inspiration from the work of the german philosopher, martin heidegger. Among contemporary philosophies none has made a greater impact on religion and theology than existentialism (f h heinemann the first is religious as delineated by the father of existentialism, soren aabye kierkegaard (1813 kierkegaard's philosophy was in opposition to that. By this philosophy however, the founder of existentialism, soren kierkegaard, had another view as with incarnation, and similar theological views were doubted because the unchanging fixed doctrines that result of friedrich nietzsche's philosophy and want for humanity. He bridged the gap that existed between hegelian philosophy and what was to become existentialism kierkegaard christian ethics and theology atheistic philosophers such as jean-paul sartre and agnostic philosophers like martin heidegger mostly support kierkegaard's philosophical. Søren kierkegaard's existential philosophy & hagen to study theology and become a pastor, but he ended up reading mostly philosophy central to kierkegaard's philosophical work was the question of subjectivity.
Søren kierkegaard's theology has been a major influence in the development of 20th century theologysøren kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a 19th-century danish philosopher who has been generally considered the father of existentialismduring his later years (1848-1855), most of his writings shifted from philosophical in nature to religious. Existentialism has had a profound affect on philosophy and theology over the last 50 years the first philosopher to use the term was soren kierkegaard (1813 precursors of existentialism soren kierkegaard - kierkegaard died too soon to be a part of the existentialist movement. Kierkegaard's historical role can be understood when we look at the fact that he and ludwig feuerbach brought forth a breakdown of hegel's universal synthesis by critiquing it in two extremely different ways: through faith-oriented existentialism and atheistic anthropology, respectively, which eventually led to barthian theology and marxism. Before we can talk about the father of existentialism as way to find personal meaning and alignment through faith with god and of one's own free will the theology of kierkegaard the purposes and justifications of existentialism as a philosophy of life and self. To clarify this endeavor as distinct from an exclusively philosophical pursuit next, kierkegaard's major psychological understandings are addressed kierkegaard's theological foundations to shed light on his whereas the more prominent face of existentialism asserts that. Theology, philosophy, culture, and organized religion kierkegaard's philosophy and theology substantially influences while often associated with existentialism and postmodernism, kierkegaard actually viewed his project as a way to wwwegsedu/library/soeren-kierkegaard.
Søren kierkegaard (1813-1855) employing a novel and flamboyant literary style which would affect twentieth century literature, theology and philosophy life and work in philosophy kierkegaard's work played a seminal role in that broad movement of thought known as 'existentialism. Rudolf bultmann used kierkegaard's and heidegger's philosophy of existence to demythologize christianity by interpreting christian the music journalism website blender has termed the style of interpol's music as 'existential dread' theology ↑ soren kierkegaard's journals and. Kierkegaard's fear and trembling written by an international team of contributors spinoza's theological-political treatise existentialism, and philosophy of religion with anthony rudd, he.
Meaning in existentialism is descriptive therefore it is unlike typical, prescriptive conceptions of the meaning of meaning does not equal knowledge, although both are important meaning, for kierkegaard, is a lived experience, a quest to find one's values, beliefs, and purpose in a. Soren kierkegaard (makers of the elmer duncan helps readers understand kierkegaard s principal philosophical and theological insights and their has also often been named the father of existentialism, as twentieth-century christian existentialism appropriated his insights for.
Kierkegaard's peculiar authorship and literary style employed irony, satire, parody, humour, polemic and a dialectical method of indirect communication in order to deepen the reader's passionate subjective engagement with ultimate existential issues he elaborated on a host of philosophical, psychological, literary and theological. Philosophy of søren kierkegaard wikipedia who was a major influence on existentialism and protestant theology in the 20th kierkegaard's writings with supplemental materials acclaim for ldolphinorg, acclaim for provocations richard mouw, fuller theological seminary kierkegaards writings.
Existentialism kierkegaar d—1 kierkegaard (1813-55) reject hegel's philosophy as simply religion in another guise kierkegaard renews the theological tradition of 'fideism. Kierkegaard is a danish philosopher who lived from may 5, 1813 to november 11, 1855 he is the grandfather of existentialism, and a forerunner of psychoanalysis, because he bring together psychology, philosophy, and religion, and focuses it all on the individual he analyses complex feelings like fear, and examines. Along with sk's influence on existential philosophy and theology living poetically: kierkegaard's existential aesthetics kierkegaard, søren 1985 philosophical fragments: johannes climacus trans. Existentialism, and the theological hole 16 march 2010 michial farmer philosophy, theology as opposed to existential philosophy everyone discusses kierkegaard which is the pivot of kierkegaard's concerns. While the religious and theological literature links it with god existentialism is not a philosophical school like rationalism or empiricism the philosophy of soren kierkegaard kierkgaard‟s philosophy was a reaction against the hegelian absolute system which absorbs. | http://oepapersqyt.skylinechurch.us/existentialism-s-ren-kierkegaard-s-philosophical-and-theological.html |
Major value issues addressed by the world's most influential philosophers.
An overview of the history of philosophy from Thales to William of Ockham. An introduction to doing philosophical research and writing. Prerequisite: Philosophy major or minor; or permission of the instructor.
An overview of the history of philosophy from Francis Bacon to recent thought. A workshop for cultivating philosophical writing and research skills. Prerequisite: Philosophy majors or minors or consent of instructor.
Develop skills in analysis and evaluation of reasoning in everyday situations; improves insights into argument construction and exact methods of proof.
Development of ideas having a significant influence on Western thought during ancient and medieval times.
Development of ideas having a significant influence on Western thought during the Renaissance and modern periods, terminating with the philosophy of Hegel.
Development of ideas having a significant influence on Western thought during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Systematic political thought in Western philosophy during ancient and medieval times. Cross listed as PLS 307. Prerequisite: junior standing.
From the beginning of the modern period through the 19th century. Cross listed as PLS 308. Prerequisite: junior standing.
Philosophical meaning of existentialism and its relation to literature, theology, psychology, and psychiatry. Prerequisite: 3 hours of philosophy or religious studies, or consent of instructor.
Logical systems: propositional and predicate calculi. Truth tables, proofs, tautologies, principles of inference, Boolean algebra, DeMorgan's Laws, quantifiers, representations, and set theory. Cross-listed as CS 320. Prerequisite: MTH 120.
Nature of religion; function and validity of religious concepts in the modern world. Cross listed as RLS 344. Prerequisite: 3 hours of religious studies or philosophy.
Major ethical theories as they provide insights into our existence as moral beings; how we exhibit this in moral decision and behavior.
Detailed examination and explanation of various forms of visual, musical, literary, and dramatic arts; function of artistic creation in offering direct experience and appreciation of the essence of human feeling. Background in the arts recommended.
Advanced study of a particular thinker, system, work, or movement in philosophy. Repeatable to 9 semester hours. Prerequisite: 6 hrs. in philosophy or consent of instructor.
Directed individual study. Prerequisite: 6 hours in philosophy; senior or graduate standing; consent of department chair. | https://www.bradley.edu/academic/undergradcat/20162017/las-phlcourses.dot |
Jeremiah 24:7 “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.”
There was a time when I was helping with a local outreach doing street ministry. A young man came by who was clearly not homeless but had been pumped full of scholarly philosophy and was looking for someone to use it on, so I obliged. I noticed he spoke in such a way that revealed he had subscribed to this philosophy of “nothingness”, hoping to show me the profoundness of his knowledge. I tried to reason with him by showing him how the Word of God has the answers that philosophy only questions and his excitement grew. I could tell he hungered for answers when he made it clear he wanted to continue our conversation at a later date.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. When people have an existential crisis, they experience inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning.
Talk to any proponent of universalism, relativism, or any other directionless movement and you will see a focus more on the experience rather than on truth. It is through the use of terms like existentialism where the world can be so confusing, it can be difficult to know how to respond to someone who speaks from a philosophical position rather than a practical one. These people live off of theories and concepts and then incorporate ideas like Karma or Murphy’s law into their spectrum of existence and come up with a solution that is only left to fate.
John 8:31-32 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Those who subscribe to a philosophical hope for life often find themselves as lost as when they first began. In the view of the existentialist, the individual’s starting point has been called “the existential angst” which is a sense of disorientation, confusion, or anxiety in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.
Soren Kierkegaard, a 19th century danish philosopher was widely considered the first proponent of the thought that the individual not religion or society is responsible for bringing meaning to life.
Why does having an understanding of terms and authors carry any relative importance today?
*The philosophies of the 19th century are still taught and received in modern universities today.
If we are going to engage our culture effectively, we have to be able to understand the ideas these university professors have sold their souls to and corrupted the minds of our kids today–our responsibility is to respond in a way that illustrates God’s Truth effectively.
Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.”
Worldly Philosophy Enslaves
The humanistic hope for bringing meaning into existence is based off the idea that each individual will live passionately and sincerely, or “authentically”.
The issue with this line of thinking starts with determining how you measure certain success factors. What does a passionate life look like? What would you deem as sincere? How does authenticity look in a world that rewards the shrewd and aggressive?
The endless redefining of terms eventually takes you to the root of world philosophy. If you don’t support a politically correct version of morality, you are considered a hater, close-minded, or pushed out as a radical. The endless line of accusations will continue until the proponents of Biblical truth are extricated from what the world deems as a normal society.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
The culmination of the individual journey to meaning in purpose is a practice in relativism. The relativist lays claim to a definition of truth based off their own reality. What happens when everyone subscribes to an ideology such as this? You have individual realities colliding on multiple levels.
If John Doe wants Jane’s car, his reality of taking what doesn’t belong to him collides with her reality of wanting to keep what is hers. The hopeless circle of not being able to perform what you deem as truth as well as the basic goal of simply pleasing the flesh makes for a hollow reason for existence.
The Absurdity of Individualism
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
The argument for existentialism says that the most important consideration for individuals is that they are individuals—independently acting and responsible, conscious beings. On the surface, the idea of individualism seems reasonable but from a biblical perspective, (which is the pattern by which all of life was created), the concept conflicts not only with the collective body that is meant to function together but likewise the reliance we are meant to have in God. When responsibility is laid at the feet of one who has no moral foundation, the decisions are based off what is best for the individual.
Individually we may be responsible for our own decision to follow after Christ but once we make that decision, the responsibility extends to the church and the manifestation of the Spirit of God within the context of loving one another.
There is a moral obligation that is universal, not based upon the individual but by God who defines it by His moral law.
Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling”
For those who don’t subscribe to the theories of this world, they are despised and rejected. The mockery has no end when the faithful stand up for Truth unapologetically.
Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
The good news is, if the world hates your message it is usually a good thing, especially when it comes from a biblical position of faith. The world hated Jesus. The world will hate you if you model Christ before it. There will be those who are tired of the world’s philosophies or have realized the hopelessness it represents and they will search for the light.
For those who hear God’s call is up to the church to lead them in Truth. Don’t be discouraged by the one who attacks with long philosophical words, just speak the Word of God and know your position is one of power and might.
The Word of God pierces through every worldly position and exposes the lies for what they are—meaningless. | https://understanding-truth.com/2023/01/03/existentialsim/ |
Contemporary philosophy is defined as philosophical thought built from the 19th century to the present day, as a consequence of the historic landmarks of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.
Contemporary philosophical thought is mainly characterized by the phenomenology and hermeneutics (or studies of meaning).
Among the most important philosophical currents are also positivism, historical-dialectical materialism, analytic philosophy, Nietzsche's nihilism, existentialism, the Frankfurt school's critique and the poststructuralism.
There is no consensus among scholars on who were the main philosophers of this period.
This lack of consensus is mainly due to the diversity of thoughts developed contemporaneity, with different schools and philosophical currents coexisting and still expanding.
Many contemporary thinkers are considered essential for understanding philosophy and the other sciences today.
Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Max Horkheimer and Michel Foucault are some of them.
Characteristics of the main philosophical schools
Positivism
Contemporary philosophy begins with Comte's positivism and Marx's dialectical-historical materialism in the 19th century. These two concepts kick-start what would come later in the construction of current philosophical thought.
In positivism, the scientific thought is the only one considered valid. Comte completely abandoned earlier notions of philosophy, which still embraced thoughts about metaphysics and transcendentalism. Inspired by the Enlightenment.
In this way, the rationalism it's the scientism are important characteristics of positivism, and that have significantly influenced the way of thinking and doing science.
Comte also saw society as a system with natural progression. Keeping order, evolution and progress would naturally be achieved. Later historical events, in the 20th century, called into question this aspect of positivism.
Historical-dialectical materialism
The industrialization of societies led Marx and Egels to reflect on what would be dialectical-historical materialism. As historical-materialism, philosophers opposed Enlightenment beliefs, seeing society as a result of its level of production and its economy.
For Marx and Egels, it was not ideals (as the Enlightenment believed) that set a society on a path of progress, but its material and economic transformations. In this way, economic changes and transformations in production models would define the historical path that a society would take.
History is no longer thought of as mere events, to be seen as an order of facts that happened due to changes in the economic and productive model.
As an example, it can be said that the historical changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution are directly related to the economic changes that caused them. Therefore, the economic transformation was what influenced the social transformation, such as the migration from the countryside to the city, the struggle for labor rights, among others. Building the story.
In historical materialism, social evolution comes from confrontation. from the call class struggle.
O dialectical materialism is contrary to idealism. Through this theory, Marx and Egels claim that when studying an object, it is necessary to observe it in its entirety, as something inserted in a larger context.
Therefore, the study of a given issue cannot be done without considering everything that surrounds the issue, including what is seen as contradictory.
Phenomenology
Also averse to positivist ideas, Husserl's phenomenology proposed that it was necessary to rethink the philosophical construction, moving away from scientificist convictions.
For Husserl, knowledge would be produced from the form how human consciousness interprets phenomena. As a phenomenon, one can understand any event or manifestation, anything that is placed before an individual.
Therefore, in phenomenology, knowledge about a given subject or objective is constructed through interpretation, that is, a reading made by human consciousness. With this statement, Husserl takes the role of philosophical thought from the object and passes it to the person/subject, who holds the consciousness capable of interpreting it.
Phenomenology ends up being seen by many scholars as a kind of method for philosophical thought.
Hermeneutics and Theory of Meaning
Still in the context of interpretation, hermeneutics is an important feature of contemporary philosophy. Well it's the philosophy of interpreting and understanding the meaning, the production of meaning or semantics.
It can be said that the key disciplines for understanding current philosophy are phenomenology and hermeneutics.
Contemporary philosophy has a great concern with linguistic studies, with theories of meaning.
THE analytic philosophy it is also based on theories of meaning. One of his most important names was Russell.
With analytical philosophy, it is assumed that people are linguistic beings, and that knowledge is transmitted and constructed through language. Therefore, this current of thought proposes a logical analysis of language.
Philosophy stops thinking about objects or knowledge itself, and starts studying the language with which knowledge is shared.
Contemporary philosophy also has a strong nihilistic character. Based mainly on Nietzsche's thoughts. Nietzsche's nihilism influenced the construction of existentialism and poststructuralism.
Nietzsche's Nihilism
Nihilism is a philosophy that claims that there is no kind of certainty on which knowledge can be based. From Nietzsche's nihilism, one has the conceptions of death of god and gives subject's release.
In these concepts, the human being is no longer governed by morality, culture or religion. After all, in nihilism, none of these beliefs can be considered a certainty on which to follow or build knowledge on.
In this way, the human being becomes free, because life would not have any kind of meaning or essence. This is the basis of existentialist thinking.
Existentialism
Existentialism has as important names Satre, Beauvoir and Camus. This philosophical thought declares the meaninglessness to human life. Thus, life would not have any greater meaning, the individual simply exists and it is solely up to him to build and guide his existence. Building your human condition.
Critical Theory
On a Marxist basis, the Frankfurt School suggested a new reading of Marx's concepts. The thinkers of Frankfurt were opposed to positivism and the Enlightenment, as they considered that with the rise of the fascist and Nazi movements in Europe there had been a severe social regression.
The Frankfurt School emerged in Germany in the 20th century and during World War II it moved to the United States. Philosophers, among them Horkheimer and Adorno, developed Critical Theory.
Critical Theory aimed at social transformation. It was not presented as a neutral concept, which was common in previous concepts, but proposed a critical thinking that provoked change.
The cultural industry is a Critical Theory concept, which arises from the analysis of the media. THE cultural industry refers to a system of "manufacturing" of cultural goods that would serve as a mechanism for profit generation and social control, keeping people alienated.
Belonging to the cultural industry would be films, soap operas, radio and television programs, books and all artistic-cultural goods resulting from the so-called mass culture.
Mass culture would be a mixture of high culture and popular culture. These goods would be produced with the aim of maintaining the prevailing social and economic order.
Another concept present in Critical Theory is that of instrumental reason. THE instrumental reason it would be when reason or knowledge become instruments of domination and social control.
With instrumental reason, science would cease to be a model for knowledge and freedom, and would become a means to achieve power, becoming exploratory and dominating.
post-structuralism
One of the main names in the post-structuralist current is the philosopher Michel Foucault. Poststructuralism is a stream of philosophical thought that criticizes the foundations of structuralism, for considering them deterministic and not taking into account the historical contexts.
understand more about structuralism.
Poststructuralist philosophers consider reality a social construction and character subjective. Poststructuralism also tends to deny binary positions, such as the concepts of "good or evil" or "male or female".
Poststructuralist thinking is present in semantic and meaning studies, in gender studies, in literary analysis, and in many others. Poststructuralism is based on Nietzsche's concepts and anti-positivism.
Some scholars consider poststructuralism as a philosophical current characteristic of postmodernity.
understand what is postmodernity.
Summary of main features
- Positivism.
- Rationalism.
- scientism.
- Historical materialism.
- Dialectical materialism.
- Phenomenology.
- hermeneutics.
- Linguistic Studies - Analytical Philosophy.
- Nihilism.
- Existentialism.
- Freedom.
- Social Criticism - Frankfurt School.
- Post-structuralism.
- Subjectivity.
- Deconstruction.
Major contemporary philosophers
Auguste Comte
Comte is the founder of positivism. This philosophical current was based on Enlightenment ideals and believed that science was the only valid form of knowledge. Being responsible for explaining both nature and social realities.
Therefore, positivism is influenced by scientism. Although later philosophical concepts strongly questioned positivism, the importance of of this philosophical current is for having been the first to elaborate a social study in a systematic.
That is, defining an object of study, adopting a research method and composing concepts.
Furthermore, positivism saw society as a mechanism that would evolve naturally. Keeping order, organically the path would be progress.
Comte was of great importance in the construction of national identity in the period of the establishment of the Republic of Brazil. Most of the military involved in governmental regime change were positivists.
Auguste Comte was French, born in 1798 and died in 1857. He is considered the father of sociology.
Know more about positivism and its influence in Brazil.
Karl Marx
Marx is considered one of the most important contemporary philosophers. Together with Friedrich Engels was responsible for relevant philosophical concepts such as class struggle, historical-dialectical materialism and scientific socialism.
Marx was a great critic of industrial capitalism. In this way, he divided society into two large classes: the proletariat, composed of workers, mostly belonging to the working-class world of factories, and the bourgeoisie, which would be an elite class, owner of industries, that is, owner of the means of production.
Marx claimed that these two antagonistic classes would always be in dispute, the class struggle. While the bourgeoisie intended to maintain its status through economic and political power, the proletariat would be in search of social change through better living conditions.
Still within the industrial context, the philosopher approached the concept of added value, in which the final product built would always be worth more than the value given as remuneration to the worker.
The bourgeoisie would be the exploiting class, while the proletariat would be the exploited class. In this scenario, the philosopher also addresses the concepts of alienation and ideology. In them, the real condition of the individual would be camouflaged. People belonging to the proletariat would not have access to the knowledge of what they really lived, losing in a way their identity.
One of the camouflage methods, which would make the individual lose his identity, would be the fact that the workers of factories did not know the final product of what they manufactured, as they were involved only in part of the process factory
For Marx, only with the class struggle (when the proletariat understood its power and its rights) would it be possible to achieve a true social transformation.
At the historical materialism, the thinker sees the historical transformations of a society being driven by its level of production and its economy. For Marx it would be the class struggle, determined from the current production and economic model, that would make history.
already in dialectical materialism, the philosopher brings the notion that to study an object it is necessary to think about it as a whole, therefore the study of a object or theme cannot be thought of in isolation, but rather taking into account the contexts that are around it his.
Learn more about historical materialism it's the dialectical materialism.
The concepts of class struggle, surplus value, division of labor, among others, are included in what is called scientific socialism or Marxist socialism.
The main work of scientific socialism was The capital, of 1867, which criticized capitalism. O Communist Manifesto, from 1848, also addressed these concepts and proposed change objectives.
Karl Marx was a German philosopher of Jewish descent. Born in 1818 and died in 1883.
Edmund Husserl
Husserl was the main name of the phenomenology. For the philosopher, reality would be a phenomenon that would need to be interpreted and revealed.
Human consciousness would be responsible for carrying out this interpretation. Husserl also claimed that consciousness is always a awareness of something. Therefore, consciousness would not be empty, it would always be related to something, be it a person, an object or a situation.
This consciousness would also be considered plastic, that is, it would have the capacity for change, being open to transformations and adapting.
However, consciousness would also have the particularity of temporality. Thus, the way human consciousness interprets phenomena could vary according to the historical time in which the individual lives.
For the philosopher, knowledge would also have characteristics of intentionality. When an individual turns his attention to an existing phenomenon, there is always an intention to do so.
Edmundo Husserl was German, born in 1859 and died in 1938. Another important name within phenomenology was Friederich Hegel.
Bertrand Russell
Russell was a philosopher belonging to the current of thought of analytic philosophy. THE analytic philosophy was dedicated to the study of linguistic utterances, that is, it was a branch of philosophy that thought the human being as a linguistic being, and that language was the means by which knowledge would be constructed and transmitted.
Being also a mathematician, Russell brings to philosophy a logical way of analyzing language. THE logical analysis of language it would be the way to understand and think about philosophy.
For analytic philosophers, the logical analysis of language was the way to overcome the problems of metaphysical philosophy.
Russell was born in the UK in 1872. He belonged to the British aristocracy, assuming the title of earl.
He was a man considered progressive for his time, taking a political stand against both World Wars and proving in favor of women's suffrage. In 1950, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1970.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche was one of the most important contemporary philosophers. With his thoughts, he influenced many later philosophical currents, such as existentialism and poststructuralism.
At the beginning of his philosophical studies, Nietzsche was influenced by the important German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Friedrich Nietzsche was a critic of Socratic philosophy, he claimed that Socrates' metaphysical thoughts had taken from individuals what he called Apollonian forces and Dionysian forces.
The Apollonian forces would be characteristics such as rationality, beauty and order. The Dionysians, on the other hand, would be passion, intensity, fear, among others. For the philosopher, to deny these forces would be to deny life itself.
Nietzsche builds the concept of slave morals and sir morals. Slave morality would be one in which the individual submits to beliefs and values that would subjugate him, such as religion. Master morality would be when the individual does not follow any imposed value, being the master of his own morality.
Nietzsche claims that God is dead, therefore the human being should be the master of his own morals. The individual who managed to free himself from the values imposed by religion and culture would be the Superman (from German: "Übermensch").
Nietzsche's superman would be a model that should be sought by humanity, in order to obtain freedom.
THE will to power it would be what would drive individuals free from slave morality to build a trajectory for their existence.
Nietzsche can be considered a nihilistic philosopher precisely because he denies the existence of a certainty or an essence that serves as a basis for the creation of knowledge or morality. However, the concept of will to power shows a active nihilism, where superman is free to build a life without strings.
Friedrich Nietzsche was born in Prussia, now Germany, in 1844. In addition to being a philosopher, he was also a philologist, poet, composer and cultural critic. He died in 1900.
Jean-Paul Sartre
Sartre is the greatest representative of existentialism. The philosopher had as main inspirations the phenomenology of Husserl, the nihilism of Nietzsche and the historical materialism of Marx.
From these concepts, Sartre thought the existentialism atheist, once again abandoned a metaphysical philosophy. According to the philosopher, the human being was condemned to freedom, for there would be no higher force or greater meaning for human life.
In this way, individuals would always be completely free to choose how to construct their existence. That choice would be what would create the human condition. That is, from the choices made during his life, an individual would build his essence as a human being.
Unlike the classical philosophers, who thought of human beings as having a special essence or nature, Sartre says that the essence of the individual will be formed during life from the choices made in the face of freedom. For Sartre, existence comes before essence.
With the influence of Marx's historical and dialectical materialism, the philosopher also thought of an existentialism in a social context. Sartre had Marxist foundations, but carried out a reinterpretation of the concepts of the German thinker.
For Sartre, as individuals make choices for their lives, they also end up making choices for humanity in general, projecting their choices for the entire community.
The human being, when making choices looking at himself, would also be choosing what would be for the other. Thus, existentialism is also associated with political and social agendas.
Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre's wife, was a great existentialist philosopher and a reference in feminist theories.
Jean-Paul Sartre was born in France in 1905 and died in 1980.
understand more about feminism.
Max Horkheimer
Horkheimer was one of the most prestigious members of theFrankfurt school. One of the greatest philosophical currents of the 20th century, influencing philosophy and sociology. Also comprising the Frankfurt school, thinkers such as Walter Beijamin, Theodor Adorno and Jürgen Habermas.
The Frankfurt school began its studies at the University of Frankfurt, in 1924, and built philosophical thoughts on various topics, such as aesthetics, communication, linguistics, among others.
Having Jewish origins, the Frankfurt School began to exist in hiding around the 1930s, having later to change its location to the United States, during the Nazi regime.
proposing a reinterpretation of marxism, the Frankfurt school also had a profile antipositivist, and inspiration in the existentialism and psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud.
Horkheimer was one of the foundational thinkers for Critical Theory. THE Critical Theory is an umbrella concept for several important thinking developments within the Frankfurt School, among them the cultural industry and instrumental reason.
THE cultural industry would be the producer of mass culture. Therefore, the cultural industry would produce, as in a factory, cultural goods or products.
These cultural goods, which could be films, soap operas, plays, TV series, etc., as in an industry they are made in series and with the objective of generating profit and promoting control Social.
The philosophers of the Frankfurt school pointed out that the cultural industry was a source of information and a guide to people's lives. This "educational" aspect of the culture industry could influence patterns and behavior.
The "Frankfutians" also elaborated on the concept of instrumental reason, which would be when science and/or reason are used as an instrument of economic and social domination and exploitation.
Max Horkheimer was born in Germany in 1895 and died in 1973.
Michel Foucault
Foucault is one of the fundamental philosophers to understand current philosophical thought. Often seen as a thinker who revolutionized the humanities.
The philosopher is the great name of the poststructuralism, in which he took up Nietzsche's thoughts and was inspired by Sartre's existentialism. Also supporting anti-positivist ideas.
Foucault elaborated concepts about power, discourse, the domestication of bodies, the history of sexuality, the history of the construction of western knowledge and also of madness, approaching the psychiatry.
As a great critic of the contemporary world, Foucault became known as the philosopher of distrust. The expression refers to the thinker's practice of analyzing social institutions and defending an attitude of deconstruction reality, typical of the so-called poststructuralists.
Among the various conceptualizations, the thoughts on the power and domestication of bodies stand out. Foucault moved away from the classical Marxist thought that thought of power as a position mostly linked to the economic factor.
Foucault did not see the power as a position, but as something that could be exercised. Power would be something that could be executed. And it would always be exercised in an unbalanced way, that is, however subtle they may be, power relations are always unequal.
No individual could be outside of these relationships. As small as the execution of power may be, it will always be present in everyone's daily life.
As an example, these power relationships can be evident in family relationships, between parents and children, or even between siblings. At school, between teachers and students; between worker and employee; between police and civilian citizens; between friends or in larger situations, such as between legal institutions and the common population.
Power is not necessarily exercised in a duality relationship, power ramifies throughout society and has as one of its main characteristics that it is asymmetrical.
Power is also not something that is exercised eternally, the dynamics of power relations are changeable. Changing over time, but never ceasing to exist.
Another characteristic of power would be the ability to act on the bodies of individuals. In this conceptualization, Foucault elaborates the thought on the domestication of bodies. Which would cause the bodies of individuals to be transformed so that they could deliver as much as possible.
That is, bodies should be domesticated to the point of maximum yield. The philosopher claimed that this domestication could be seen in spaces, as in militarism or in schools. Domestication would create a kind of subject, which form rules and behaviors in order to make the most of time and the body.
Michel Foucault is French, born in 1926 and died in 1984.
Historical moment of contemporary philosophy
The historical context that permeated the construction of contemporary philosophy began with the French Revolution and also from Industrial Revolution.
These two historic events changed the economic and social structure around the world. Initially in Europe and then, gradually, in the rest of the globe.
The French Revolution, inspired by the ideals of the enlightenment, led to the fall of the monarchy in France and consequently the devaluation of the political regime throughout the world. After the revolution, the republic, as a political system, gained strength and the bourgeoisie came to have, in addition to economic power, political power as well.
From the end of the 17th century onwards, technological advances made possible major changes in social dynamics, especially at work. Technology has changed the production process, which was practically artisanal, to be made with machines.
Steam engines, the use of coal to generate energy, the discovery of new chemicals, among other advances, increased the productivity of factories. Producing more and in less time. The profit of the owners of the enterprises, belonging to the bourgeoisie, soared.
The Industrial Revolution began in England, around 1760, and quickly gained Europe and the United States. The replacement of human power by machinery changed the lifestyle of the population. Consolidating the capitalism as an economic-social model.
The exaltation of rationality and science, initiated with the Enlightenment, and the technological advances from the end of the 18th century made us think of society as a historical structure that progressed naturally. A conception that provided the basis for Comte's positivism.
In contrast to the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, problematic social transformations occurred, such as the strong migration of populations from rural areas to cities, in search of work in factories (the exodus rural). There was also an accentuation of social inequalities, which were notorious due to poor working conditions in factories, precarious housing and lack of labor rights.
The need of populations to conquer labor rights and better living conditions paved the way for concepts such as class struggle of Karl Marx and the feminism, with the suffragette movement. The movement fought for women's right to vote.
Faced with the social inequalities resulting from the establishment of capitalism, other social and economic models began to be thought of, such as the socialism, O communism and the anarchy.
Understand more about the concepts of socialism, communism and anarchy.
In addition to negative social changes, the ideal of natural progress established by positivism was challenged with the seizure of power by totalitarian governments in the 20th century. Both on the right, like Nazism and fascism, and on the left, Stalinism.
Hannah Arendt was an important German philosopher, persecuted by the Nazi regime. Arendt was Jewish and was responsible for a renowned study on totalitarian regimes, and developed concepts such as the banality of evil.
Learn more about the features of totalitarianism.
From these phenomena, especially the rise of Nazism in Germany, critical thinking began to be valued even more. The so-called Frankfurt school, which during the war had to move to the United States, had a Marxist basis, but sought to go beyond the notions of Karl Marx.
They were against positivism and were influenced by existentialism and psychoanalysis. His philosophical thinking was based on theories critical to capitalism and social emancipation.
It is also in the Frankfurt school that the concept of cultural industry arises. The culture industry would be a capitalist mechanism to transform culture into a commodity and a means of social control.
At the end of the 20th century, a movement based on Nietzsche's conceptions began in France. Although the poststructuralist movement did not call itself that way, it remained that way. known for thinking society as a construction and denying the binarism present in studies structuralists.
In addition to Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Judith Blutter are important names in contemporary philosophy.
Although it is possible to draw a timeline on the historical events that influenced and were influenced by contemporary philosophy, it is also well known that the philosophy practiced in the last two centuries is diverse.
Currents of thought are perceived that are related (either as a re-reading or as a denial of the previous school) or that practically do not talk, being only in the same thematic field.
For some scholars to condense contemporary philosophy into a historical/temporal mold would not be ideal. Firstly, due to the diversity of philosophical currents, which means that there is no uniformity of concepts during the defined time frame.
And there is also the inherent difficulty of interpreting and categorizing knowledge that is recent, and still being produced. However, one might think that the main concern of current philosophy is meaning.
Bibliographical sources:
- CHAUI, M. Invitation to philosophy. Ed. Attica, Sao Paulo. 2000
- FOUCAULT, M. Archeology of knowledge. Forensic University Publisher, Rio de Janeiro, 2008.
- FOUCAULT, M. The order of speech. Loyola Editions, São Paulo, 1996.
- PORTO, M. Philosophy from its problems. Loyola Editions. 3d. Sao Paulo, 2007
- RUSSELL, B. History of Western Philosophy. Ed. New Frontier, Rio de Janeiro, 2015. | https://forma-slova.com/en/articles/29171-contemporary-philosophy-main-characteristics-and-philosophe |
50Journal of Animal Ethics (review)Journal of Animal Ethics 10 93-96. 2020.A review of Abbey-Anne Smith's book "Animals in Tillich's Philosophical Theology."
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212Faithful to Nature: Paul Tillich and the Spiritual Roots of Environmental EthicsBarred Owl Books. 2017.Paul Tillich (1886-1965) is generally considered the most original and influential Christian theologian of the 20th century. What's not as widely recognized, outside of academic circles, is his stature as a first-rate existentialist philosopher—in the lineage of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Pascal. Few people have analyzed more areas of existence: from art and architecture to culture, science, economics, politics, technology, psychology, world religions (particularly Buddhism), history…Read more
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35Love, Gravity, and God: Paul Tillich and the Existential Depths of Reason and ReligionBarred Owl Books. 2015.Paul Tillich is generally considered the most original and influential theologian of the 20th century. Educated in the philosophical tradition of German Idealism, his experience on the front lines of World War I—where he watched many of his friends die—shattered his conservative intellectual upbringing. Emerging from the war, he embraced existentialism as a creative revolt against life’s destructive forces. With prescience, Tillich saw the early dangers of scientific materialism, religious funda…Read more
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202"A powerfully written work" —Dr. Peter Singer, Princeton University, author of "Animal Liberation" (1975) In this wide-ranging and accessible book, Yunt offers a brief survey of some of the most vital historical, scientific, philosophical, and even religious aspects of animal liberation. Making connections between sexism, racism, homophobia, and speciesism, he shows why nonhuman animals are the last group of sentient beings to gain rights, as well as how the movement to extend basic rights to th…Read more
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66Shock the Monkey: Confessions of a Rational Animal LiberationistPhilosophy Now 44 7-10. 2004.This paper examines the lack of philosophical/moral clarity at the root of speciesism. Focusing on the many reasons animal rights deserves a closer look, it investigates such issues as animal experimentation, human diet, and what should be the foundation of our moral reasoning when dealing with human and nonhuman animal relationships. | https://philpeople.org/profiles/jeremy-d-yunt/publications |
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Philosophy in Credo: Existentialism
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Existential Theology
Phenomenology
19th Century Existentialists
Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855): Topic Page
Danish philosopher and religious thinker. Kierkegaard's outwardly uneventful life in Copenhagen contrasted with his intensive inner examination of self and society, which resulted in various profound writings.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900): Topic Page
German philosopher; put forward the concepts of the superman and the death of God in Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-85); one of the precursors of existentialism.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881): Topic Page
Russian novelist. Remarkable for their profound psychological insight, Dostoevsky's novels have greatly influenced Russian writers, and since the beginning of the 20th century have been increasingly influential abroad.
Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924): Topic Page
Czech novelist writing in German. In his two main novels The Trial (1925) and The Castle (1926), published posthumously against his wishes, he portrays man's fear, isolation, and bewilderment in a nightmarish dehumanized world.
20th Century Existentialists
Albert Camus (1913 - 1960): Topic Page
French novelist, dramatist, and essayist, noted for his pessimistic portrayal of man's condition of isolation in an absurd world.
Andre Gide (1869 - 1951): Topic Page
French writer noted for his diaries and novels, such as The Immoralist (1902) and Lafcadio's Adventures (1914), which examine alienation and the drive for individuality in an often disapproving society.
Gabriel Marcel (1889 - 1973): Topic Page
French philosopher and playwright, a major representative of French existential thought.
Karl Jaspers (1883 - 1969): Topic Page
German psychiatrist, philosopher, and theologian. A founder of modern existentialism, he was concerned with human reactions to extreme situations.
Lev Shestov (1866 - 1938)
From
Dictionary of Existentialism
Lev Shestov was the son of a wealthy Kiev textile manufacturer. After studying mathematics and law at the universities of Moscow and Kiev, he worked in his father's company.
Miguel de Unamuno (1864 - 1936): Topic Page
Spanish philosopher and writer. His novels, poetry, and philosophical studies, such as The Tragic Sense of Life (1913) often address the conflict between reason and faith and the solitary nature of human existence.
Nicolai Berdyaev (1874 - 1948)
From
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
Russian religious thinker. He began as a “Kantian Marxist” in epistemology, ethical theory, and philosophy of history, but soon turned away from Marxism (although he continued to accept Marx’s critique of capitalism) toward a theistic philosophy of existence.
Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989): Topic Page
Samuel Beckett achieved worldwide fame in 1953 with his play Waiting for Godot. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969 and was a hugely influential figure in twentieth-century drama.
Terms & Concepts
Angst
From
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
German term for a special form of anxiety, an emotion seen by existentialists as both constituting and revealing the human condition.
Anxiety: Topic Page
Anticipatory tension or vague dread persisting in the absence of a specific threat. In contrast to fear, which is a realistic reaction to actual danger, anxiety is generally related to an unconscious threat.
Authenticity
From
The Encyclopedia of Ethics
The term, introduced into existentialist philosophy by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), was popularized by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).
Being
From
A Dictionary of Philosophy
Usually equivalent in the verbal sense to 'existence' (see is). As the most general property of all reality this is often considered to be the defining subject of metaphysical enquiry.
Consciousness: Topic Page
The state of being aware of oneself and one's surroundings, without hindrance from sleep, illness, drugs, or hypnotism. This awareness is not purely of external events or phenomena, but also of one's own feelings, beliefs, and mental events.
Essence
From
Dictionary of Existentialism
Since Plato and Aristotle the term “essence” and the closely related term “idea” have been key terms in Western PHILOSOPHY.
Facticity
From
The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis
A term utilized by Heidegger to characterize the matter-of-fact, concretely individual aspect of human life as it is experientially lived.
Lebenswelt
From
Dictionary of Visual Discourse: A Dialectical Lexicon of Terms
The prescientific life-world, or the concrete world of everyday life prior to all theorizing, science and philosophy.
Nothingness
From
The Encyclopedia of Postmodernism
Nothingness is a term denoting the absence of essence or inherent existence in things. Every world philosophy eventually deals with the subject of nothingness.
The Absurd
From
A Dictionary of Philosophy, Macmillan
That which has no meaning, reason, or purpose despite a human need or prima facie appearance to the contrary.
Related Schools of Thought
Humanism
From
The Columbia Encyclopedia
Philosophical and literary movement in which man and his capabilities are the central concern.
Nihilism
From
The Columbia Encyclopedia
Derived from the Latin nihil, “nothing,” nihilism in ethical discourse is generally defined as the absolute denial or negation of values.
Phenomenology
From
The Columbia Encyclopedia
Modern school of philosophy founded by Edmund Husserl. Its influence extended throughout Europe and was particularly important to the early development of existentialism.
Postmodernism: Topic Page
Term used to designate a multitude of trends—in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology, and many other areas—that come after and deviate from the many 20th-cent. movements that constituted modernism.
Subject Guide
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Home page (more ionesco links below) the ionesco festival, a production of untitled theater co #61 rhinoceros: thick-skinned phenomenon 1936: the same year that eugene and rodica were married and his mother died, another writer, denis de rougemont, was in nuremberg. Existentialism like rationalism and empiricism, existentialism is a term that belongs to intellectual history its definition is thus to some extent one of historical convenience. Theatre of the absurd conventions eugene ionesco and jean genet (with some scholars including arthur adamov) o the beginnings of absurdism lie in the avant-garde experiments of the 1920s and 30s, existentialism refers to a particular view of the nature of man’s existence the existentialist believes that man. The title of the book comes from fondane’s essay “existential monday and the sunday of history”, itself explained by its epigraph from franz kafka’s diary: “you are destined for a great.
Existentialism in eugene lonesco's rhinoceros essay by flux, a+, november 1996 download word file, a main theme in eugene ionesco's, rhinoceros, is that true meaning resides in action rather than in mere words i like the view of existentialismgood job 1 out of 1 people found this comment useful. Eugene ionesco, as one of the most prominent writers of the theater of the absurd, had the purpose, in writing rhinoceros, of portraying absurdity in society, and promoting his existentialist views ionesco was a firm believer in the ideals of the absurd theater, and has been called the father of the absurd theater by many critics. Like “rationalism” and “empiricism,” “existentialism” is a term that belongs to intellectual history its definition is thus to some extent one of historical convenience.
Click the button above to view the complete essay, speech, term paper, or research paper how to cite this page existentialism essay notably in the plays of samuel beckett and eugène ionesco in the united states, the influence of existentialism on literature has been. A summary of themes in eugène ionesco's rhinoceros learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of rhinoceros and what it means perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Rhinoceros is existentialism through and through, where the main character is left isolated as the only human in a world that ionesco is definitely one of the kingpins of absurd theater, and i found rhinoceros to actually be the most 'normal', metaphorically obvious of the 3 plays here. This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of existentialism and humanism by jean-paul sartreit provides a thorough exploration of the essay’s content and arguments, as well as the context in which it was written.
Masters thesis online dissertation eugene ionesco buying a dissertation research proposal do founders need a business plan wsj homework help dissertation ionesco notes contre notes have improved writer essay check if essay is plagiarizedeugene ionesco’s existentialist views -eugene has been recognized as a leading writer in the. Eugene ionesco's rhinoceros: true means resides in action not words i awoke sweating breathing heavily, i glanced over at my clock and read the time. This paper states the term existentialism is impossible to define precisely and reviews themes common to virtually all existentialist writers the term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on s existentialism in the early 19th century major themes because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, the [. The influence of existentialism on the theatre of the absurd by jesmira bonoan what absurdity does really mean absurdity (noun ) the condition or state in which human beings exist in a meaningless, irrational universe wherein people's lives have no purpose or meaning in literature and philosophy.
Ionesco’s early plays dramatize an existential view of life and represent the beginning of his effort to create an abstract theater, transcending the limitations of realism and the explicit. The theatre of the absurd author(s): martin esslin the plays of samuel beckett, arthur adamov, and eugene ionesco have been performed with astonishing success in france, germany, scan- cruel a symbol of this fundamentally tragic view of human existence as jack (jack or the submission), who stubbornly resists the concerted urg-. A conversation with eugene ionesco the problem they dealt with was the existential condition of man, his despair, the tragedy of his destiny, the ridiculousness of his destiny, the. Existentialism and theatre existentialism is a concept that became popular during the second world war in france, and just after it french playrights have often used the stage to express their views, and these views came to surface even during a nazi occupation.
According to martin esslin, the four defining playwrights of the movement are eugene ionesco, samuel beckett, jean genet, and arthur adamov beckett is a prime example of an existentialist writer for the theatre of the absurd. The chairs by eugene ionesco home / literature / the chairs / your average everyday existentialist philosopher might have a few criticisms of the old man in the existentialist view, our lives have no purpose, making everything we do ultimately absurd this m the old woman. Theatre of the absurd, dramatic works of certain european and american dramatists of the 1950s and early ’60s who agreed with the existentialist philosopher albert camus’s assessment, in his essay “the myth of sisyphus” (1942), that the human situation is essentially absurd, devoid of purposethe term is also loosely applied to those dramatists and the production of those works.
Free essays available online are good but they will not follow the guidelines of your particular writing assignment if you need a custom term paper on college essays: eugene ionesco's rhinoceros: true means resides in action not words, you can hire a professional writer here to write you a high quality authentic essaywhile free essays can be traced by turnitin (plagiarism detection program. Existentialism (/ ˌ ɛ ɡ z ɪ ˈ s t ɛ n ʃ əl ɪ z əm /) is a tradition of philosophical inquiry associated mainly with certain 19th and 20th-century european philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. Existentialism and the theatre of the absurd english literature essay published: november 21, 2015 in this paper, my aim is to give a brief introduction of existentialism and to show how the theatre of the absurd has derived from and is influenced by the existential philosophy of sartre and camus.
2018. | http://hiessayfexk.blogdasilvana.info/eugene-ionescos-existentialist-views-essay.html |
An introduction to 19th and 20th century existentialism through a reading of philosophy and literature, with an emphasis on the concrete existence of the individual searching for a meaning to his or her life.
Extra Information
Extra Information:
3 hours.
Course Weight:
0.50
Breadth:
CATEGORY B
i
Subject Code: | https://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/Courses.cfm?CourseAcadCalendarID=KINGS_026496_1&SelectedCalendar=Archives&ArchiveID=138 |
4 edition of Existentialist ethics found in the catalog.
Published
1997
by Garland in New York
.
Written in English
Edition Notes
|Statement||edited with introductions by William L. McBride.|
|Series||Sartre and existentialism ;, 5|
|Contributions||McBride, William Leon.|
|Classifications|
|LC Classifications||B2430.S34 E94 1997|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||xviii, 382 p. ;|
|Number of Pages||382|
|ID Numbers|
|Open Library||OL1006705M|
|ISBN 10||0815324952|
|LC Control Number||96046538|
Sartre, generally acknowledged as the central figure of the existentialist tradition, made his best-known attempt to outline an existentialist ethics in Existentialism and Humanism, first published in In that work, Sartre argues that one is morally obliged to recognise the value of both one’s own freedom and the freedom of others. Existentialist ethics. [William Leon McBride;] -- "Ethics was Sartre's principal concern, beginning with his famous and complex treatment of "bad faith" in Being and Nothingness, and continuing through his massive posthumously-published Notebooks.
Existentialism believes that humans have no pre-ordained purpose. Therefore, each of us is free to choose how we wish to live our life, and what our life’s purpose shall be (Duignan, ; Guignon; Lawless). How to cite the above sources in APA format: Duignan, B. (). The history of western ethics. New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Simone de Beauvoir made her own distinctive contribution to existentialism in the form of an ethics which diverged sharply from that of Jean-Paul Sartre. In her novels and philosophical essays of the s she produced not just a recognizably existentialist ethics, but also a character ethics and an ethics for violence. These concerns, stemming from her own 5/5(1).
With reference to the seminal thinking of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre, the book is divided into two main chapters, one focusing on existentialist ontology and the other on existentialist ethics. Unlike most books introducing existentialism, ON EXISTENTIALISM is less concerned with presenting the reader with a wealth of detail. Additional Physical Format: Online version: Warnock, Mary. Existentialist ethics. London, Macmillan; New York, St. Martin's P., (OCoLC)
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A very brief book. It skims over Kierkegaard & Existentialist ethics book and then delves a bit more deeply into the confused and inconsistent fragmentary ethics of Sartre.
Inexplicably it does not so much as mention Simone de Beauvoir whose The Ethics of Ambiguity tried to make the ethics implicit in Sartrean existentialism more explicit/5.
Existentialist Ethics (New Studies in Ethics) th Edition by Mary Warnock (Author) › Visit Amazon's Mary Warnock Page. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author. Are you an author. Learn about Author Central Format: Paperback, Import. Books Advanced Search New Releases Best Sellers & More Children's Existentialist ethics book Textbooks Textbook Rentals Sell Us Your Books Best Books of the Month. Get fast, free delivery with Amazon Prime.
Prime members enjoy FREE Two-Day Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. There’s also a little book called Existentialism and Humanism which could be a good one to go on to from Nausea.
It’s a very short and very approachable primer of Sartre and existentialism, mainly from an ethical point of view. Article Summary. Central to existentialism is a radical doctrine of individual freedom and responsibility. On the basis of this, writers such as Sartre have offered an account of the nature of morality and also advanced proposals for moral conduct.
Important in. Abstract. Anyone writing about Existentialism ought perhaps to begin by trying to define what is being discussed.
Yet one may well feel apologetic for attempting yet another definition of this particular term, since the books on the subject are innumerable, and there is not one of them that does not start with an attempt at a new definition.
Beauvoir’s Existentialism is scattered through her many works, both literary and theoretical, including her classic feminist text The Second r, it finds it’s clearest and most rigorous form in her relatively underrated book The Ethics of title is intriguing and unattractive at the same time: The fact that an Existentialist talks explicitly about ethics.
EXISTENTIALIST ETHICS: GENERAL DESCRIPTION PHIL 4 - PM, Mon. and Wed. Bob Corbett, instructor. Existentialism is first and foremost a philosophical position. Jean-Paul Sartre, one of the leading figures in the movement claims that it is a philosophy for technicians (of philosophy) and professional philosophers.
Perhaps this is so. From an ethical point of view Abraham action was immoral, but for Kierkegaard faith and religion transcend reason and ethics. These considerations lead to the first basic idea of existentialism: reason is an inadequate instrument with which to comprehend the.
She argues that there is an existentialist ethics that can be derived from the commandment not to be in bad faith combined with some of the philisophical assumptions or conclusions of the existentialist worldview/5. Existential ethics originates in a worldview that has many of the features of an existentialist worldview.
It is a necessary worldview for one who is committed to discerning the truth about ourselves in the world, using our rational faculties to search for it and having the courage to face up to the truth when it is discovered.
William L. McBride Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University, is co-founder of the North American Sartre Society, and the first chairperson of its executive board.
His most recent publications include Social and Political Philosophy and Sartre's Political Theory. He was recently named Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the French Government, and has. Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced existentialism to America in Barrett speaks eloquently and directly to concerns of the s: a period when the irrational and the absurd are no better integrated than before and when humankind is in even greater danger of destroying its.
Seen by many as the founder of existentialism, particularly Christian existentialism. Key contributions: His analysis of religious experience, and the first developed analysis of many key existential concepts, including absurdity, anguish, authenticity, the weight of responsibility you bear for your choices.
Ethics - Ethics - Existentialism: At about this time a different form of subjectivism was gaining currency on the Continent and to some extent in the United States.
Existentialism was as much a literary as a philosophical movement. I recently finished Hazel Barnes’s book An Existentialist Ethics ().Barnes wrestles with the question of whether an ethics can be derived from humanistic, atheistic existentialism or whether instead such an existentialism is ethically agnostic or.
Wilson has stated in his book The Angry Years that existentialism has created many of its own difficulties: "we can see how this question of freedom of the will has been vitiated by post-romantic philosophy, with its inbuilt tendency to laziness and boredom, we can also see how it came about that existentialism found itself in a hole of its own digging, and how the philosophical.
Sartre, "Existential Ethics" 1. Explain what "existence precedes essence" means. What is the significance of the statement that "man is a being who hurls himself toward a future".
Explain why existentialists believe that "in choosing myself, I choose man". What causes anguish in humans. In what ways do we deny this anguish. Existentialist Thinkers and Ethics Book Description: Twentieth-century existential thinkers, critical of traditional, overly rationalistic approaches to ethics, sought to provide a better account of what it means to be human in the world.
Existentialist And Absurdist Themes In The Stranger English Literature Essay Perhaps the most important example of existentialism in the book is presented at the end of the novel when Meursault is sentenced to death, he faced it as an existentialist would have.
portrays many existentialist characteristics and actions throughout the. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence.
It holds that, as there is no .EXISTENTIAL ETHICS Existential ethics, as distinguished from situational ethics, refers to the contemporary attempt of Catholic theologians, especially in Germany, to work out a concrete, existential, individual ethics that will supplement traditional scholastic ethics, which they regard as limited to an abstract, essential, universal frame of reference.Ethics *immediately available upon purchase as print book shipments may be delayed due to the COVID crisis.
ebook access is temporary and does not include ownership of the ebook. Only valid for books with an ebook version. | https://haledukinolik.novarekabet.com/existentialist-ethics-book-9099yo.php |
Intermediate Philosophy Part 2: Nihilism, Phenomenology and Existentialism – Online
One unexpected outcome of the Enlightenment period was the rise of nihilism, a crisis of finding any real meaning in the emerging scientific worldview. The development of the new philosophical movement of phenomenology can be seen as, in part, a response to this crisis. Husserl sought to analyse the role of consciousness in constituting meaning in experience in a way which united our daily experience of the world with the scientific world view. The approach he developed was swiftly challenged in the name of a more embodied and historically situated account of meaning by the work of Heidegger, de Beauvoir, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. This course will explore how the emergence of phenomenology as a philosophical method came to be inextricably linked to the wider issue of Existentialism as a response to the urgent problems of the 20th Century.
Who is this course for
This is not a course for absolute beginners to philosophy. Students joining this course would benefit from having some previous experience of studying philosophy. Graduates of other humanities or social-science disciplines, however, with experience of complex theoretical frameworks, should find it very challenging yet potentially intellectually manageable to begin their philosophical studies with this course. All students will need to have reached at least Level 2 standard (equivalent to GSCE) in the English language.
What does this course cover
The course begins with four sessions on the history of the concept of nihilism. We start by looking at Gorgias' argument for why nothing exists, situating it in the context of Pre-Socratic philosophy. Then we look at modern discussions of nihilism in F.H. Jacobi, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Camus, Beauvoir and Deleuze.
In the main body of the course, we develop an account of the basic methods and concepts of Phenomenology and Existentialism, paying particular attention to how Husserl's Phenomenology became a discourse about Being (an ontology) in the hands of Heidegger. After exploring key ideas in Husserl's Phenomenology (eg. intentionality, the epoche, and phenomenological reduction), we examine the central doctrines of Heidegger's Being and Time (focusing on the difference between Being and beings, the analytic of Dasein and human temporality), and examine his approach to nothingness in the essay 'What is Metaphysics?' We will also assess the impact of the recently published Black Notebooks.
In the last third of the course, we turn our attention to French Existentialism. After an intensive introduction to the key ideas of Sartre's Being and Nothingness, we look at Simone de Beauvoir's development of Existentialist ethics, and Merleau-Ponty's attempt to rethink the Existentialist account of perception and embodiment in The Phenomenology of Perception.
The conceptual focus of the course is on being and nothingness, and so we conclude with a discussion of Emanuele Severino's The Essence of Nihilism and Badiou's Seminar on Parmenides, with the aim of integrating Pre-Socratic ideas about being and nothingness with Phenomenological and Existentialist approaches.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Analyse, compare and contrast different approaches to the philosophical problem of Nihilism
- Explain key concepts from a range of thinkers in the Phenomenological tradition (e.g. In Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty)
- Explain key concepts in Heidegger's development of phenomenology as an account of Being (e.g. the ontological difference, the analytic of Dasein and temporality) and assess the implications of this
- Apply the insights you have developed during the term to wider debates in philosophy.
What will it be like
The course is an interactive mixture of tutor exposition and class discussion. Extensive documentation will be provided throughout the course, and powerpoints covering the main points will be distributed after each session. There are opportunities for further discussion and reading outside of the class via the course's Moodle website.
We will assess your expectations of the course in the first sessions. Thereafter, you will be able to monitor your progress on the course through participation in class discussion, questions and answers and in-class exercises. At the end of the course, you will be able to measure your progress against the stated outcomes for the course.
What else do you need to buy or do
Notebook and pen, for taking notes in class. Students may find it helpful to have Robert Solomon's book Continental Philosophy Since 1750: The Rise and Fall of the Self (about £17.99), as useful background reading, but this is not a requirement of the course. Extracts from the work of some of the thinkers we are studying will be provided as preparatory reading at home, and exercises will be set as homework for some classes. Students who undertake the reading and exercises will find that they gain more from the course.
The central works referred to in this course are Heidegger's Being and Time and Sartre's Being and Nothingness. It is recommended that students acquaint or re-acquaint themselves with Heidegger's tome before the course starts. If you are completely new to Existentialism, you could start with Mary Warnock's overview, Existentialism.
What this course could lead to
This course is designed as the second of a series of three term-long courses, and therefore students can enrol on the Summer Term course to continue their studies. Students who are unable to continue onto the second part of the course will find this term a good preparation for general intermediate level courses in Continental Philosophy, German Idealism, or Existentialism at institutions such as Birkbeck or other colleges.
I've been to many Centres to study in London and the Mary Ward Centre is one of the nicest I've studied in.MWC student
Got a Question about this Course?
Contact The Departmental Administrator.
Why choose Mary Ward? | https://www.marywardcentre.ac.uk/course/intermediate-philosophy-part-2-nihilism-phenomenology-and-existentialism-online/?search=1&subject_id=175 |
Alternative education can provide a pathway to success for students who require a nontraditional approach. Alternative education is neither general education nor special education; rather, it is a setting or program where instruction is provided outside of the traditional school setting, with modifications made to class size, school day and/or delivery of instruction. Research on alternative programs is limited, and further investigation of factors that contribute to the success of students in alternative settings is warranted. New York State has lagged behind many other states in defining alternative education and providing alternative education options for students. The purpose of this comparative case study is to examine and identify factors that contribute to an effective alternative education program by examining existing programs and to address a gap in the research regarding alternative education programs specifically in New York State. After identifying two different established alternative programs that are considered to be effective, the researcher conducted observations, interviews and a document review in order to identify key effective practices. Three common themes were identified across both settings: collective commitment, embracing evolution and advancing advocacy.
Recommended Citation
Dragone, Elizabeth, "MAKING A DIFFERENCE BY BEING DIFFERENT: AN EXAMINATION OF FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENT SUCCESS IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 171. | https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/171/ |
There are a number of transportation issues that affect the transportation of fresh fruit and vegetable between different regions of the United States. One driving issue is federal and state regulatory policies and rules that affect the capacity of the transportation sector to adequately service the domestic and international markets for U.S. produced fresh fruit and vegetables. This symposium will provide discussion on the impact of those regulatory policies on fresh fruit and vegetable regional competitiveness issues.
Government programs and policies play a key role in agricultural markets. With the passage of acts like Sarbanes-Oxley and Food Safety Modernization, the expectation is government will play an increasing role. These papers examine how government policies ranging from immigration enforcement to sugar policy impact agribusiness firms.
The papers in this session examine leadership, employee recruitment, management transitions, and the impact of management on margins, all key factors in determining the success of agribusinesses.
There are many approaches that can be used by agribusiness firms to manage risk. This session examines how factors such as contract farming, disaster assistance, yield variability, and momentum profit.
Effect of Contract Farming on the Farmers' Average Return: The Case of the Grain Industry in the U.S.
The papers in this session examine a variety of issues related to pricing agricultural products. The papers include several studies that utilize willingness to pay methodologies and hedonic pricing techniques.
A Sugar Crossroad: Is Biomass an Opportunity or a Problem?
Pricing issues are relevant to the marketing, general strategy, and overall profitability of a firm. The presentation in this session present a variety of models and approaches used by agribusinesses to examine price formation and response. | https://www.aaea.org/2012am/preliminary-program/agribusiness-economics--management |
In the 1960s, a group of researchers observed a phenomenon they called learned helplessness. In a controlled study, they used electric shocks when dogs tried to leave their cage. Later the dogs were provided a way out, but they made no effort to escape. Apparently, they had learned that they were helpless. The fact that learning disabled children may become learned helpless in academic settings has been supported by numerous studies. Continual exposure to academic failure has been shown to contribute to learned helplessness, withdrawal, unwillingness to approach new tasks, and a lack of persistence. Like the dogs in the study, they may apply this maladaptive behavior to new situations where they are capable of academic success, but think their efforts are useless.
Other factors have been shown to contribute to this learned academic helplessness. Grouping students with a variety of disabilities under the tutelage of one teacher with generic training, excessive use of external reinforcement, lack of early identification of learning disabilities, a belief in a fixed static intelligence and a lack of reward for individual effort versus achievement are all important issues to consider.
Attribution Theory contains the underlying principles by which a person decides the causes of another person's behavior These perceived causes can be dispositional and internal or situational and external. People often determine whether a behavior is dispositional or situational by using three key factors: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness. Consensus refers to how most people act in a given situation. When consensus is low, behavior is attributed to dispositional or internal factors. When consensus is high, behavior is attributed to situational factors. Consistency refers to the degree to which people act in the same way on different occasions. Highly consistent behavior is attributed to dispositional factors. Distinctiveness refers to the extent to which people respond differently in different situations. If distinctiveness is low and people act similarly in different situations, behavior is attributed to dispositional factors. In general, if a behavior is unusual, it is attributed to the situation. If it is not unusual, it is attributed to the disposition. While this may hold true in a laboratory, people in real life are subject to many variables, so assigning attribution to any one factor is impossible.
It has been suggested that learning disabled students tend to exhibit less motivation and persistence in academic tasks. One school of thought is that academic failure is based on difficulties in the regulation of locus, stability and controllability. Self-bias also appears to play an important part in this attribution model. This model can easily be applied to children in school. The student who receives an "A" on a test may perceive himself to be bright and intelligent. The egocentric bias kicks in. He feels he was more central than may actually have been the case and is likely to be motivated to work hard for that "A" the next time. The student who receives an "F" on a test, following the same thought process of his "A" counterpart, might assume that he was central to his failure and see himself as stupid, the consequence being a decrease in motivation to study for the next test. The "F" student might, however, say things like "the teacher was biased, " "I was unlucky, " or "I didn't study," in order to avoid making a dispositional attribute of "I'm stupid." He could then view his behavior as controllable and unstable, and be motivated for the next test.
Students with learning disabilities are more likely to make external attributions for both success and failure than their non-disabled peers. Specificallv, they are less likely to attribute success to ability or internal, controllable, and stable factors and are more likely to attribute success to luck or external, uncontrollable and unstable factors.
Students with learning disabilities have lower global self concepts than non-disabled peers. This lowered self-concept was reported as early as grade three, and was found to remain stable through high school. Students with learning disabilities who were neither identified nor given special placement experienced lower academic self-concepts than those who were identified and specifically placed. Severely learning disabled students who received full-time special placement experienced increased academic self-concept, especially in reading.
Students with learning disabilities must he placed in situations where it is possible to experience academic success. The fact that 60% of illiterate adults are learning disabled is evidence of our present failure to educate this population. Early intervention is critical. As stated by Yale University professor Dr. Sally Shaywitz at a 1994 conference sponsored by NCLD in Washington, DC, "We can identify by age five which children will have difficulty learning to read and we know which teaching methods are most successful." Reading ability was chosen as a criterion for learning disability because eighty-five to ninety percent of school aged children with learning disabilities manifest specific reading or language based disabilities. It is also assumed that an inability to read would make academic success in other academic classes difficult if not impossible. Mainstreaming students with learning disabilities does not improve self-concept, but appropriate special placement and support services increase self-concept. Most teachers are not qualified to teach learning disabled students. Therefore, these students should be grouped outside of the mainstream for academic classes where multisensory and proven teaching techniques can be used. Students should continue in these academic settings until their reading levels are commensurate with their intellectual potential, and attribution retraining should begin as soon as possible. Students with learning disabilities should be taught how to set realistic goals, develop plans to achieve these goals, monitor self-behavior, and accept responsibility for goal directed activities. After specific attribution for success and failure of learning disabled students should not differ from that of their normally achieving peers.
Learning disabled students who are unable to achieve academic success can become learned helpless in academic situations. Attribution for academic success and failure can contribute to learned helplessness. If these attributions guide behavior, the attributions must be changed if behavior is to change. | http://www.ldonline.org/article/Learned_Helplessness_and_Attribution_for_Success_and_Failure_in_LD_Students |
In 2011, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT) published Charting a Course: Sustainable Water Use by Canada’s Natural Resource Sectors, which provided 18 recommendations for improving water management and governance.1 The report discusses and explores water forecasts, water-quantity data and information, policy instruments with an emphasis on water pricing, and collaborative water governance. It concluded that for Canada to ensure the sustainability of its water supply — which is crucial to the prosperity of its industries in the natural resource sectors — governments at all levels need to engage in collaborative models of governance, develop and publish a regularly updated national Water Outlook, and further explore the use of water pricing for the natural resource sectors to encourage conservation.
All levels of government in Canada share responsibility for water management and governance. As the major users of water, the natural resource sectors have a significant stake in water management as well. Many efforts are underway in different regions of Canada to improve water strategies, regulations and policies, and collaborative approaches. The recommendations set out in Charting a Course provide information and advice to help provinces, territories, and federal departments improve policy approaches and achieve their respective water management objectives.
In January 2012, the NRT convened a multi-stakeholder meeting with 50 Canadian water experts, government representatives, academics, and industry representatives.2 Participants from across the county discussed, deliberated, and ranked the recommendations in Charting a Course, suggesting ways to move the recommendations from argument to action.
In this report, the NRT summarizes these discussions, identifies key points, and brings forward what forum participants thought was most important. We report on how the recommendations can be strengthened and provide the top priority recommendations as identified by this national group of water experts. Participants went on to identify organizations or groups that might be able to lead or contribute to moving the recommendations forward. This report demonstrates that there is significant momentum to act on the NRT’s recommendations and sets out suggestions for what can be acted upon now.
See Appendix I for full listing of recommendations.
See Appendix II for the list of participants. | http://nrt-trn.ca/section-1-moving-to-action-nrt-national-water-forum-report |
Kenyan Diaspora Professionals: The ITARC (Mission Sep 2017 5 Counties)
The Kenyan Vision 2030 and implementation of its new constitution 2010, have energized its professionals abroad to contribute and give back to their beloved country in various ways. To achieve the goals of Vision 2030, all Kenyan economic sectors driving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) need to perform to their full capacity by firing from all their cylinders. This will lead to maximum economic growth, modernization, and improvement of its citizens quality of life. This requires a deliberate and urgent action plan towards improving and modernizing its healthcare systems. In fact, for country to deliver on goals of Vision 2030 Master Plan, it is imperative that the current healthcare systems be redesigned and configured to meet communities’ needs. Key to this effort is the participation of Kenyan professionals in diaspora; who most often find themselves meeting huge medical bills incurred by their aging and ailing parents as well as close relatives. Consequently, there is a need to develop healthcare programs and curricula that are community based and emphasize disease prevention model rather than treatment control. This approach demands educating, training, and retraining both healthcare providers and communities on modern methods and skills of fighting and controlling diseases that impact negatively the public health and communities state of health.
Responding to this need, a group of Kenyan diaspora professionals living in United States (USA) came together, founded, and registered a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization entity referred as Innovative, Technologies, Advancement, and Research Campus (ITARC). ITARC’s vision and goals is to empower communities through training and providing skills in health care services and management. The founders’ vision is to strengthen Healthcare Systems through capacity building and creation of effective health delivery forums to both communities in Kenya and other regions of Africa. Our long-term goals are to create community-based health care programs through training schedules, exposure and empowering healthcare providers, professionals, and public health officers. We believe this will result to a quality and affordable healthcare systems and programs that are relevant to communities and are effective in prevention of diseases. ITARC intends to teach communities how to address their own social and health care needs as means of ensuring clean and safe environment that is conducive to better economic returns and poverty eradication. We look forward to collaboration with people, communities, and organizations sharing our vision and goals in provision of modern healthcare services and mobilization of resources towards this effort. ITARC plans to partner with other like-minded international organizations to provide resources and ideas that empower communities for development. We will also engage with government healthcare policy makers at both national and county levels establishing policies that are critical for excellent healthcare to all citizens regardless of their social stratification, gender, and nationality.
To this end, ITARC is planning a medical and educational mission to Kenya next month (September 8th – 21st, 2017) which will cover Machakos, Nakuru, Loitoktok, Ruiru and Murang’a localities. During this mission, we intend to educate communities on various aspects of healthcare planning, such as disease screening protocols like breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and sugar level monitoring. Other health services like free mosquito nets (for prevention of malaria), eye examination, glaucoma screening, dental hygiene/care, and HIV screening will be provided if resources are available. Itarc is also going to donate books to schools in underprivileged areas. To facilitate for this mission, ITARC is organizing a fundraising dinner in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, August 19, 2017 and they are inviting all people (Kenyan and Non-Kenyan) of good-will to contribute towards this noble mission.
For more information call 443-844-6001 or contact Dr. Kangethe, [email protected]. Similarly, one can make donation online at www.itarcinc.org/Give_ITARC.html or
www.gofundme.com/Kenya-Medical-Mission-2017. | https://diasporamessenger.com/2017/08/kenyan-diaspora-professionals-the-itarc-mission-sep-2017-5-counties/ |
A deep dive into policy, some may say, can be dry. While it’s true that legislat
A deep dive into policy, some may say, can be dry. While it’s true that legislative acts, governmental rules and the processes made necessary by both may be uninspiring, many of these functions began as a passion for change.
You have examined some of the key policies related to the biggest social problems in society after first reflecting on your desire for change. This week, you begin to connect these two themes by focusing on the role of social worker in effecting social, political, and policy change and by more deeply exploring a social problem or issue and the policies that aim to address them.
Politics and policy are interrelated, as the ability to effect a broad social change is often through the halls of government. Many key policies you studied in this course and use in practice are the result of a long political journey. Social work and politics may seem to exist in different worlds, but one can inform the other in beneficial ways. In this Discussion, you examine the purpose of social work on the journey from social to change to political change.
Submit a 5- to 8-page paper that addresses the following:
The social problem/issue
Identify a social problem/issue you would like to address.
Describe the context—historical and/or contemporary—of society’s perception and approach to this social problem/issue.
What current research (including facts and statistics) supports the need to address the social problem/issue?
The policy
Identify a specific policy that addresses the selected social problem/issue.
Describe the historical context of the policy.
Briefly provide enough detail about the social, economic, and political circumstances that inspired action.
Include reputable references/resources to support current updates, implementation, and/or changes related to the policy.
The population and programs
Identify the population served by the policy.
What qualifies a client for inclusion in the policy?
What successful or widely accepted programs have come out of the policy?
In practice
What role(s) do social workers play in the success of the program?
Does the policy work in practice as intended? Why or why not?
Does the policy achieve its goals?
Social change
Does the policy contribute to social justice? How?
If not, explain how or why it does not contribute to social justice.
Identify opportunities for improvement in the policy.
Explain how you would go about improving the policy.
Sources
You must reference a minimum of eight scholarly references, which may include electronic government documents and reputable websites.
Your reference list should appear on a separate page, and it is not included in the 5- to 8-page requirement.
RESOURCE TO INCLUDE:
Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th ed.). Pearson Education. | https://buyqualityessays.com/a-deep-dive-into-policy-some-may-say-can-be-dry-while-its-true-that-legislat/ |
Inequities in health stem from structural inequities—the systemic disadvantage of one social group compared to other groups—deeply embedded in the fabric of society and encompassing policy, law, governance, and culture. Health inequities are in large part a result of historic and ongoing poverty, structural racism, and discrimination, and they can be mitigated by policies and community action in powerful ways.
Community-wide problems such as poverty, unemployment, low educational attainment, lack of public transportation, inadequate housing, exposure to violence, and neighborhood deterioration (social or physical) all shape health and contribute to health inequities. To address the underlying conditions and root causes of health inequities, new partners in education, transportation, housing, planning, public health, business, and beyond are joining forces with community members to promote health equity.
What is the role of the education community?
There is extensive research indicating a link between educational attainment (e.g., years of schooling or number of degrees obtained) and health indicators (e.g., life expectancy or death from disease). The effect is even intergenerational, meaning that the education of parents is linked to their children’s health and well-being.
Disparities in education mirror disparities in health. Over the last 40 years, in all regions of the United States, the gap in health—specifically in life expectancy—between people with high and low education has become wider.
Improving education can improve health in a number of ways:
Educational attainment is a predictor of health and can affect health outcomes depending on level of attainment. Policies and practices proven to increase academic performance and reduce education disparities are important to reducing health disparities. Also, education outcomes are substantially affected by health. Students who have unmanaged health conditions or live in conditions that contribute to hunger or chronic stress may have trouble performing in school.
To learn more about education as a determinant of health, click here.
New federal legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), recognizes the need for schools to embrace “whole child” strategies for improving educational attainment. The policy specifically acknowledges the importance of promoting physical and mental health and wellness as essential to reducing inequities in academic achievement. In this way, ESSA makes an important contribution to efforts to community-based work to reduce health inequities.
The law presents several opportunities to reduce health inequities through education.
ESSA:
To read more about the role of the educational system in promoting health equity, click here.
Each additional year of education leads to 11 percent more income annually, helping to secure safer working environments as well as benefits like health insurance.
The Eastside Promise Neighborhood example below works in the areas of education, employment, the physical and social environments, and public safety.
A community stakeholder group in the Eastside neighborhood in San Antonio, TX, identified problems in the local school system that included inadequate access to quality early education, low-performing schools, low graduation rates, and more. A proposal to address these issues was submitted, and in 2011, a nearly $24 million grant was awarded to launch the Eastside Promise Neighborhood (EPN), an implementation site of the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhood grant program.
EPN focuses on improving educational outcomes through many programs that provide educational and growth opportunities for children and youth—from early childhood through postsecondary education and career support. EPN coordinates with organizations from many different sectors to fund and support programs such as early childhood education centers, initiatives to promote secondary and postsecondary success, internship programs developing leadership capacity, and engagement with parents and caregivers, as well as many other initiatives in education and the physical environment.
EPN fosters a shared community vision for better educational and health outcomes, focusing on early childhood learning, health and wellness, education, and school and neighborhood safety.
Key outcome measures include nearly 76 percent of students saying they felt safe in school or traveling to school, and 82 percent of students graduating from high school.*
*2015 data reported by EPN.
The education sector is a key partner in promoting health equity. Working to tackle unemployment, concentrated poverty, and school dropout rates can seem overwhelming to communities, but when actors in the community— residents, businesses, state and local government, and other local institutions—work together across multiple sectors, communities have the power to change the narrative and promote health equity through enduring community-driven interventions. | https://www.nap.edu/resource/24624/educationforhealthequity/ |
The NIEIR Unemployment rate is calculated by adjusting the headline unemployment rate for excess take-up of disability pension. Increases in the headline unemployment rate tend to be followed by transfer of many long-term unemployed to the disability pension. This transfer does not affect the social security take-up rate since the unemployed people who are transferred are generally already in receipt of Newstart allowances. However in regions where NIEIR unemployment is significantly higher than the headline rate we generally find a disproportionately higher rate of Social Security take-up. Though the NIEIR unemployment rate adjusts for the shift of unemployed people onto disability pensions, the Social Security take-up rate for persons of workforce age also reflects other aspects of community crisis, such as sole parents.
The most rapid rises in unemployment have occurred in QLD Far North Torres, SEQ Sunshine Coast, NSW North Coast, QLD Wide Bay Burnet and TAS Hobart South. Of the major cities SEQ Brisbane City has had the fastest rise of unemployment. The rise in the NIEIR unemployment rate in SEQ Brisbane City is likely the result of a general economic contraction in SEQ, a slowdown in growth and its consequences on construction workers and the like.
to 2013. The primary driver of growth was the population of student age – hence relatively low rates of growth in rural regions and high rates in outer suburbs. The highest rate of growth was achieved in SEQ Sunshine Coast, closely followed by SEQ Gold Coast. In both these cases an element of institutional decision affected these growth rates, with new tertiary institutions taking advantage of growth in the student population. In one region a group of universities took advantage of locations at public transport nodes closely connected to the knowledge economy.
Larger regional centres will benefit from consolidation as regional population and employment concentrates in these centres. International investments in agriculture may drive agricultural initiatives. While agriculture will remain a foundation of many regional economies, it is likely that the trend towards consolidation of farms will continue. Regional economic development policies that encourage the development of new or realigned industry structures to strengthen regional capacity and retain critical mass will be important in creating new employment opportunities for young people.
How does this affect younger Australians?
Today it is much harder for new entrants to enter the job market and to gain full-time employment. The full impact of this reality has had a major effect on the lives and prospects of young people. Job shedding and a move towards part-time or casual employment has been more severe for young people aged between 15-24 years trying to find or maintain employment than for any other cohort. Young people are of course Australia’s employment future and are critical in maintaining the participation rate, particularly when the population is ageing and the average age for employees in sectors such as manufacturing, agricultural and construction is increasing. Among other things this is a recipe for losing skills and know-how.
The ups and downs of employment opportunities for Australia’s young people have become a serious structural issue with implications which will resonate long into the future. Since the GFC the employment prospects for young people have continued to decline. The current situation and the decline of employment opportunities for this cohort are stranding too many young people with little opportunity to learn work and job-ready skills. The financial and social costs to government and community will be high if the problem that young people are having in finding employment is not addressed.
Declining opportunities in manufacturing, structural changes to agricultural production, the decline in availability of lower skilled government employment and the significant decline in the number of apprenticeships across a range of industry sectors are all contributing to the decline of employment opportunities for young people in Australia. The trend to casual employment is having its impact on the prospects of young people, creating a general culture of insecurity as well as making it difficult for individuals engaged in casual employment to improve their higher-end skill sets.
In rural and regional locations trade skills are more likely to provide a direct pathway to local employment opportunities than professional pathways, which tend to be more convoluted and require movement away from the town in which people grew up. Both pathways to employment offer national opportunities with trade opportunities existing (though now declining) in resource-based regions, in mines or energy developments and associated infrastructure developments. Professional opportunities are more city-based with professional services trending towards consolidation in larger centres.
Previous NIEIR studies have described the demand by employers for higher skills from their employees, due in part to the growing technology and communication needs of industry. In the Internet and social media age it is likely that young people have acquired skills that with tweaking could be turned to the advantage of business. So in some ways it is perverse that the ‘online generation’ has such difficulties in finding employment. Employment has changed and the idea that a particular qualification undertaken at a particular point of time is sufficient for a lifetime of work is out of date. The requirement is for workers to have the capacity to reinvent their skill sets through a process of lifelong learning, continually adapting skills and capabilities to stay in employment, perhaps in completely different industry sectors and employment positions.
The Internet in rural and remote regions is an important tool in providing pathways to lifelong learning strategies, particularly with the growth in uptake of MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses). If current trends continue too many young people will be denied the opportunity to enter their first career, let alone adapt to the process of lifelong learning and employment.
Education and location are important factors in determining the prospects of young people in employment as are social status, networks and household wealth. It is also likely that those advantaged by location and wealth will benefit most from the Internet and the new employment opportunities this part of the economy provides. From an industry perspective innovation is also a key way of creating employment opportunities for young people as employment opportunities for young people in traditional industries and government employment decline.
As a policy objective it will be important to create opportunities for young people in employment in emerging industry sectors. This means sophisticated careers guidance in school and planning that needs to begin at an early age so the idea of employment and work are integrated into the educational process. Then it is about providing appropriate courses that, as far as possible, match future industry demand and skills. This is not to say there should be a ‘monoculture’ approach to education, far from it in a globalising world. The need is for well targeted education that also provides broader knowledge capabilities, creative, leadership and communication skills. How well teachers in school education are equipped to teach around the idea of future skills and work culture may be an issue that needs further thought including ongoing learning opportunities for teachers.
Australia’s link to the new knowledge economy needs to start with education. Education around the world, and that includes Australia, is in a transition. The vitally important tertiary sector, both in terms of knowledge exports and high quality education and training for Australians, is under pressure from global competition, educational technologies and government cuts to spending.
These trends are a concern, because to compete in the global knowledge economy, Australia needs more research, more development of intellectual property and more knowledge economy businesses. These things are facilitated by education.
The decline of manufacturing, particularly in the automotive industry, is also a concern because this has the potential to damage the nation’s research, innovation and knowledge diffusion capacity, with these things heading offshore along with the manufacturing industry. In a few years time every car you see on Australian roads will have been finally manufactured somewhere else with perhaps a few components from Australia.
This manufacturing workforce as well as the construction workers employed in the construction phase of the mining boom will need new employment opportunities. Where are these to come from? Government policies including those relating to retraining opportunities for manufacturing workers who lose their jobs in coming months and infrastructure development policies and investment will be highly significant. There is a close supply chain link between construction and manufacturing.
The failure of the knowledge economy to take hold in regions outside of central and inner city regions is another issue facing Australia, can broadband and training opportunities change this dogged reality?
NIEIR modeling indicates that delays by industry to adapt their business models to global and knowledge economy bench marks, and this includes education (and many other sectors), will have serious consequences for the economy. We should all take the opportunities from the knowledge economy very seriously.
The 2014-15 State of the Regions Report describes many of these issues and is available through the ALGA site. | https://nieir.com.au/nature-of-unemployment-in-australia/ |
Project management and its relation to long-term project success : an empirically based theoretical framework.
Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
12-2014
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Industrial Engineering
Committee Chair
Evans, Gerald W.
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Alexander, Suraj M.
Committee Member
Gupta, Mahesh C.
Committee Member
Rieger, Jon H.
Subject
Project management--Evaluation; Project management--Research
Abstract
Companies implement effective project management to successfully operate in turbulent market cycles and ensure the success of their endeavors. Project management is indispensable for most industrial sectors and is employed in a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. It can be considered as a management method that contributes value to a variety of organizations. Many practitioners and researchers have attempted to identify the causes of project failure, the factors of project success, and the criteria to gauge this success. There has been little agreement on what constitutes project success. In response to the widespread debate surrounding project success, several lists dealing with factors related to project success have been published. The lack of agreement on the definition of project success renders the quest to identify the factors that contribute to successful project implementation moot. Without knowing what constitutes success, we cannot know what contributes to it. Practitioners are interested in recommendations for implementing project success factors and the corrective or preventative actions that should be taken if the project fails to meet one or more project success criteria. Project management and related research are, therefore facing severe criticism for not fulfilling their contributory expectations within the management discipline. The purpose of this research is to identify relationships between the project management body of knowledge and short- and long-term project success. The project management body of knowledge includes nine knowledge areas: integration, scope, time, cost, quality, communication, risk, human resources, and procurement management and five project management process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing process groups) (PMBoK, 2004), while project success is related to budget/cost, schedule, customer satisfaction, user satisfaction, stakeholder satisfaction, project team satisfaction, strategic contribution of the project, financial objectives, technical objectives, performance objectives, commercial benefit for contractors, commercial benefit for customer, scope, personal growth, customer approval, profitability, and sales. This study is based on a self-conducted survey of 163 members of the Project Management Institute / German Chapter from October 8, 2013 to January 31st, 2014, who are project managers, project coordinators, or project team members. The business areas included in the survey are computers / information technology, construction, engineering, education, government, health care, manufacturing, software development, and telecommunications. Pearson chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests were performed to examine whether relationships exist between the project management body of knowledge and project success (short-term and long-term project success). The study revealed significant evidence of relationships between the outputs of the project management body of knowledge and short- and long-term project success. The study revealed also that project success depends on the project type, project size and project business area. The main contributions of this dissertation are: (a) an empirically based investigation of the relationship between outputs of the management processes and the project judgment criteria; (b) a closing of the existing gap in the literature regarding the link between factors that contribute to project success and ways to measure it (in previous studies project success criteria and success factors have been investigated in isolation); (c) a holistic analysis of the project management body of knowledge by providing an organized view of the outputs of each project management process that could influence short- and long-term project resulting outcomes; and (d) a framework for the analysis and improvement of project outcomes by using the theory of constraints.
Recommended Citation
Boudlal, Youssef Ait 1969-, "Project management and its relation to long-term project success : an empirically based theoretical framework." (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1730. | https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/1730/ |
This unit is for individuals working in administrative and/or support roles who require a basic knowledge of the processes relating to the organisation's business continuity requirements.
Business continuity awareness and planning help the organisation to identify barriers and/or interruptions and to determine how the organisation will achieve critical business objectives (even at diminished capacity) until full functionality is restored.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the business continuity management framework
1.1. Access the business continuity management framework, and related policies and procedures
1.2. Analyse the key elements of the business continuity management framework within the organisation to determine their impact
1.3. Within work role authority, contribute to the review of the business continuity management framework, policies and procedures
1.4. Participate in emergency response and business continuity management framework training and exercises as required
2. Support the organisation's business continuity strategies
2.1. Demonstrate an awareness of internal and external risk context relevant to the organisation
2.2. Review and provide feedback on the outcomes of the business impact assessment/s
2.3. Participate in risk treatment reviews
2.4. Identify and record the organisation's emergency response, continuity and recovery strategies
2.5. Identify own role and responsibility within the organisation's business continuity plan/s
2.6. Identify and report to management on any new or emergingrisk or incident
Required Skills
Required skills
communication and teamwork skills to:
provide feedback to appropriate personnel about the business continuity management framework and strategies
read, write and understand a variety of workplace documents
work effectively with diverse individuals and groups
learning skills to participate in training activities and to improve own knowledge and skills about business continuity management
planning and organising skills to identify risk factors and to take action to minimise risk according to level of responsibility
problem-solving skills to appropriately address identified risks treatments (within ownlevel of responsibility)
research and data collection skills to monitor and evaluate risks
technology skills to use the organisation's data and information management systems
Required knowledge
Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4360:2004Risk Management
Australian/New ZealandStandard HandbookAS/NZS HB221:2004 Business Continuity Management
organisation's policies and procedures, including business continuity strategies
overall operations of the organisation, including existing data and information systems
relevant legislation and regulations that impact on business continuity, such as OHS, environment, duty of care, contract, company, freedom of information, industrial relations, privacy and confidentiality, due diligence, records management
Evidence Required
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the following is essential:
demonstrated understanding of own role in relation to wider business continuity requirements in the organisation
demonstrated understanding of risk and the business continuity management framework processes and policies as they apply in the organisation
participation in contributing to improving business continuity management framework processes within the organisation
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure:
access to workplace documentation relating to risk management
access to business continuity management framework, business impact assessments and strategies
Method of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the participant
review of documentation outlining risk context and organisation's processes and outcomes
work based projects or case studies
scenarios
oral or written questioning to assess basic knowledge of Australian standards for risk management and business continuity
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended.
Range Statement
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Organisation may include:
commercial enterprises
community
government
non-commercial enterprises
not-for-profit
religious organisations
Exercises may include:
drills
scenario planning
Risk may include:
aeronautical
armed hold-up
biological
chemical
civil disturbance
disability/death of key person
economic
electronic
erosion
explosion
fire
fraud
hazardous materials
industrial accident
infrastructure failure
market failure
natural disaster
operational collapse - insolvency
pandemic
pollution
privacy and confidentiality
radiological/nuclear
robbery and/or major vandalism
sabotage
structure failure
terrorism
transport accident
war
water
weather/climate change
Business impact assessment/s may include:
breach/reduction of customer service standards
cost/impact on existing and/or increased finance
escalating losses over time
impact of loss of business/resources
loss of revenue
potential fines/penalties/litigation costs
reputation/brand damage
statutory/regulatory breaches
Risk treatment may include:
activating evacuation plan
activating lock down procedures
activating workplace emergency management plan
personnel working from home
relocation of facilities
resource replacement
temporarily suspending activities
transferring activities
Emergency response strategies may include:
contact lists to report incident/s
documentation/reporting/recording procedures
evacuation plan
location of evacuation assembly point
lockdown procedures
names and responsibilities of wardens
personnel instructions for evacuation
process for accounting for personnel
workplace emergency management plan
Continuity strategies may include:
action required to resume critical business activities
contact lists of critical personnel and stakeholders
counselling
critical business activities and prioritisation of when they can/need to resume
list of resources
relocation to alternative worksite
resource replacement
treatment for critical business activities
Recovery strategies may include:
damage assessment
process for assessing loss and filing insurance claims
relocation of business to original location
salvage and restoration of records, infrastructure and premises
Business continuity plan/s may include:
introduction
organisational details
objectives
purpose
critical business functions
assumptions
processes
activation and stand down
responsibility
version control and maintenance
operational requirements
critical success factors
interdependencies
outage times
compliance
people
structure
roles and responsibilities
contact details
continuity arrangements
accommodation
resources
workarounds and alternative solutions
continuity management tasks
communications
other plans
Emerging risk may include:
act of god
civil unrest
communication with third party, e.g. phone call of bomb threat
environmental - human
insufficient finance
insufficient insurance
news bulletins
pandemic
terrorist
Incident may include:
biological contamination
chemical exposure
detection of any of the risks as listed previously
fire
flood
Sectors
Unit sector
Competency Field
Industry Capability - Continuity
Employability Skills
This unit contains employability skills.
Licensing Information
Not applicable. | https://ntisthis.com/unit-display.php?code=BSBCON401A |
Using Return Migration As a Development Tool—Are the Right Policies in Place?
(September 2006) The conventional wisdom about return migrants is that they are retirees who always intended to return to their country of origin. They are generally not expected to contribute significantly to their home countries’ development, in part because they are older and are not working in the formal labor market.
Today, however, returnees are increasingly characterized by transnational networks, reflecting new migration circumstances that are evolving at the beginning of the 21st century.1 The globalizing effect of easy travel, fluid citizenship status, and rapid communications are key factors driving this change. As a result, today’s returning migrants are increasingly younger, more highly trained, and able to shuttle back and forth between their country of birth and their adopted country.
Skilled return migrants are poised to become more important to local government policy. And they hold the potential to help build global networks, forge further links between sending and receiving countries, and directly contribute to development efforts.
First Steps to Harnessing the Migration-Development Potential
Overall, a number of factors affect the development potential of returning migrants. These include their absolute numbers; motivations for return; relevance of their acquired skills to the country’s development priorities; legislative, economic, and social conditions in the country of origin; and the ways that government and informal networks help returnees reintegrate into society.2 A number of very good initial steps are being implemented to influence these factors and maximize the development potential of migrants.
Some of these initiatives work to match returnees’ skills with their home country’s development priorities. In the 1990s, the International Organization for Migration implemented a program called “Migration for Development” in several countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean that offered financial incentives and advertised “important vacant development positions” such as managers, engineers, and policy analysts for those contemplating return.3 Country officials have instituted innovative policy strategies to reach out to this skilled migrant pool. China and the Republic of Korea woo expatriate researchers back home with science “parks” designed to concentrate high-tech industries or science-related businesses. 4
In other cases, governments have implemented policies to facilitate the long-term re-entry of migrants. For instance, since 1993 the government of Jamaica has been working to identify re-entry problems, reduce red tape, and propose solutions to common bureaucratic obstacles that returnees face.5
Other policies target overseas workers. In the Philippines, for example, the government’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration supports an intergovernment agency referral system called the Replacement and Monitoring Center. The Center offers returnees job placement services, skills training, livelihood programs, and job opportunity assessments, and gives employers a database of skilled migrant workers.6
Returnees have also been encouraged to spend or invest in their homelands, often through partnerships with the government and the private sector. In Guyana, for example, the Guyana Office for Investment was established in 1994 to attract and facilitate increased investment to fuel the country’s economic growth through efficient and effective investor services. In addition to targeting foreign investors, the government wants to target expatriate Guyanese.
Recommendations for Further Government Action
While such initiatives are often good first steps, they are often difficult to implement or integrate into existing programs. Generally, these programs tend to be short-term and work best for migrants who were already contemplating return. Internationally, such programs have proved expensive and difficult to implement, and many have not been particularly successful in encouraging large-scale or sustained return. They also lead to tension with nonmigrants, particularly if financial incentives are offered to returnees, but are not available to nonmigrants.
A number of issues remain as governments continue to explore migration for development options. Three key considerations include:
- Identify evidence of the impact of migration and return on poverty reduction and sustainable development. Governments need to ensure that migrants are able to make real contributions to the country’s development. Returnees do not often invest their remittances to create widespread employment or larger benefits for others. Instead, they tend to be used for consumer spending, payment of debts, long-term investments such as individual education, and the building and improvement of homes. Governments need to better document positive multiplier effects of return such as the development of returnee-initiated programs that build local skills among the general population.7
- Work with nongovernmental partners to implement policies to overcome constraints to reintegrating return migrants and investing their resources. In addition to these government policies, a number of nongovernmental approaches can help harness migration for development options. Some sending-country NGOs have worked with their government to establish networks of expatriates in a host country that support migrant savings and alternative investment programs. In the Philippines, for example, local NGOs have helped migrants establish small-business ventures and local churches have launched microenterprise activities. These efforts reveal how important it is for social development workers, policymakers, and implementers, as well as migrants and their families, to work together to ease reintegration and harness development potential.
- Generate new alternative strategies to mobilize emigrants’ knowledge and expertise in support of development. Governments need to explore ways to invest in the infrastructure of the professional sectors from which the migrants originally came. For example, while Ghana badly needs nurses, lack of infrastructure and inadequate investment in that country’s health sector means that Ghanaian nurses who have qualified abroad are unable to find employment back home.8
On Sept. 14 and 15, 2006, high-level representatives of all UN member states gathered in the General Assembly to explore migration’s relationship to development. This dialogue will serve to examine the relationship between migration and development, especially poverty reduction, and to identify the best examples of where migration has worked for development.
The current wave of globalization is facilitating and intensifying return migration by encouraging flexible mobility and lifestyle patterns across borders, often among skilled migrants. Hopefully, these UN discussions will lead to policies that recognize the context of these new migration complexities. Governments need not take steps to promote widespread return migration because it will take place anyway, often for noneconomic reasons.9 The onus is on governments of sending countries to find effective ways to facilitate the long-term reintegration of emigrants who plan to return and to capitalize on the development potential of skilled migrants who shuttle between sending and receiving countries.
Roger-Mark De Souza is technical director of the Population, Health, and Environment Program at the Population Reference Bureau.
References
- Robert B. Potter and Dennis Conway, “Experiencing Caribbean Return: Societal Contributions, Adaptations and Frustrations,” in The Experience of Return Migration: Caribbean Perspectives, ed. Robert Potter, Dennis Conway, and Joan Phillips ( Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2005): 283-87.
- Said Quaked, “Transatlantic Roundtable on High-Skilled Migration and Sending Countries Issues,” International Migration 40, no. 4 (2002): 153-66.
- International Organization for Migration (IOM), Second Annual Report: Return and Reintegration Programme of Qualified Jamaican Nationals for Development (Washington, DC: IOM, 1996).
- UN General Assembly, International Migration and Development. Report of the Secretary-General (May 2006).
- Roger-Mark De Souza, “Trini to the Bone: Return, Reintegration and Resolution Among Trinidadian Migrants,” in Returning to the Source: The Final Stage of the Caribbean Migration Circuit, ed. Dwaine E. Plaza and France Henry (Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, 2006).
- Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos, The Development Potential of Migration (2000), accessed online at www.philsol.nl/org/ercof/DevPotential-mar00.htm, on Nov. 28, 2002.
- Quaked, “Transatlantic Roundtable on High-Skilled Migration and Sending Countries Issues.”
- Quaked, “Transatlantic Roundtable on High-Skilled Migration and Sending Countries Issues.”
- Roger-Mark De Souza, “No Place Like Home: Returnee R&R (Retention and Rejection) in the Caribbean Homeland,” in The Experience of Return Migration: Caribbean Perspectives, ed. Robert Potter, Dennis Conway, and Joan Phillips (Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2005): 135- 56. | https://www.prb.org/resources/using-return-migration-as-a-development-tool-are-the-right-policies-in-place/ |
What Are Organizational Subsystems?
An organizational subsystem is a group of employees who come together for a single work-related purpose that functions within the larger organizational system. There are many types of familiar organizational subsystems. These may include programs, projects, departments, teams and so on. They could also be informal collections of workers who decide to work together in certain activities in the company.
It’s important to identify these groups so you can establish a better organizational structure that is capable of managing activities down to the lowest level.
How Subsystems Are Structured
These subsystems have their own formal and informal rules, communication flow and structure. They also include certain processes, which may or may not be well defined, as well as the people behind them. The business’s efficiency as a whole is a reflection of the efficiency of its subsystems. With the proper flow of communication, workplace structure and office culture, a system can easily distinguish itself from others and lead in performance.
Ultimately, this is determined by the subsystems within that system, which have their own structures and cultures.
Types of Organizational Subsystems
There are many types of subsystems, going by different names. Two of the most common are departments and divisions. These are typically built into the organizational chart of the company. Retailers usually have departments for the different products they sell or the different regions where they operate.
Manufacturers, on the other hand, have divisions representing the different facilities and production processes at their factories. Another common subsystem is a project or a work team, which is a group of people working on project or activity in a specific area related to their work.
There are also informal subsystems. These aren’t defined by the company’s organizational chart and aren’t always permanent. They could just be a short interaction between employees from different projects or departments that are trying to solve a common problem. Even social interactions can be considered subsystems if they directly affect the workflow of the organization.
How Organizational Subsystems Can be Planned
The first step is to create an organizational chart and locate the particular subsystem within that chart, even it means giving it a new branch of its own. You can then define its objectives, processes, strategies and workflow. These should align with the overall objectives, strategies and workflow of the larger organization. Allocate resources to this subsystem based on its objectives and its importance within the greater organizational system.
How to Get Organizational Subsystems to Function Effectively
Remember that the success or failure of the entire organization depends on its culture, strategies, objectives and processes. This, however, depends on the culture, strategies, objectives and processes of the organizational system’s subsystems. These subsystems need to be directed just as much as the overall system and to be granted relevant cultures and objectives that align with those of the company as a whole. Each subsystem will tend to develop its own rules and culture, which contribute to its functioning, but they must also contribute to the overall success of the organization.
The accounting arm, for example, will likely encourage strict accuracy and quality control and have its own unique policies and controls that contribute to the success of the company as a whole.
References
Writer Bio
Nicky is a business writer with nearly two decades of hands-on and publishing experience. She's been published in several business publications, including The Employment Times, Web Hosting Sun and WOW! Women on Writing. She also studied business in college. | https://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-subsystems-41735.html |
This article explores how USAID’s Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) project, led by FHI 360 in Uganda (July 2014 to July 2019), implemented a multisectoral approach to family planning. APC found that helping district leaders appreciate the evidence creates ownership of problems and commitment to solutions, and that multisectoral partnerships are both possible and powerful.
Why does working with non-health stakeholders matter?
In Uganda, for many years the government has addressed FP as a high priority and committed itself to meeting the ambitious national goal of 50% modern contraceptive use by 2020. The total fertility rate (TFR) in Uganda, however, remains high at 5.4 children per woman—among the highest in the world (DHS Program STATcompiler). This rate is driven by various factors, including high percentages of unintended and teenage pregnancies, which average over 25% in various regions of the country. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) has grown significantly (up to 35%, from 18.2% in 2001), but at current growth rates in mCPR, the country will not meet its FP2020 goals. Therefore, much work remains to be done.
The Government of Uganda has recognized that increasing uptake of FP services requires addressing an array of underlying determinants, many of which lie beyond the health sector. The government, together with FP stakeholders, determined that one strategic priority in the 2015–2020 Uganda Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (CIP) was to “mainstream implementation of family planning policy, interventions, and delivery of services in multisectoral domains to facilitate a holistic contribution to social and economic transformation” (CIP Strategic Priority Number 4). The multisectoral nature of the CIP and the roles of different institutions are clearly defined, with the Office of the Prime Minister coordinating implementation of the CIP with assistance from the National Population Council. This underlines the need for all FP programs to effectively engage other sectors and stakeholders who may influence both the quality of and the demand for services.
The multisectoral approach also aligns well with USAID’s new strategic direction, the Journey to Self-Reliance, which emphasizes cross-sectoral approaches, including engaging with the private sector.
How did APC engage with non-health stakeholders?
The APC project in Uganda worked in five high-fertility (hot spot) districts (Figure 1) to address teenage pregnancy and barriers to uptake of FP. The project started by exploring social norms to identify factors that drive high fertility, teenage pregnancy, and low contraceptive use. Given the multidimensional nature of the factors identified―including economic, religious, and cultural factors; quality and access to FP services; and gender issues―the project applied a multisectoral approach at the district level to build ownership across sectors. Through partnership with the National Population Council, APC conducted a landscape analysis using FHI 360’s SCALE+ methodology (Figure 2) to identify stakeholders that would support FP interventions.
Key district leaders were trained on the Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development (RAPID) model, originally developed by Avenir Health with support from USAID’s Health Policy project. This training helped the districts understand the consequences of high fertility on different sectors―like education, health, and production—to increase awareness about the negative impact of high fertility on the country’s overall development. District multisectoral working groups were then formed, and they identified ways to address gaps in each of the FP CIP’s thematic areas. For instance, in Agago, the district planner championed the allocation of a budget line for FP in the district’s annual health budget. At one meeting, he indicated that he would not approve a budget without an FP line, because he was convinced about the contribution FP would make to the district’s development. He said he had “been transformed by APC and its programming.”
What did we learn?
Non-health stakeholders can support their communities’ access to information and services for family planning and contribute to program results.
Figure 3. Completed referrals made to FP services by multisectoral working group members
Helping district leaders appreciate the evidence creates ownership of the problem and commitment to solutions.
When members of the multisectoral FP working groups used the RAPID model to relate FP to the development challenges in other priority sectors, such as education and crop production, it reduced their negative biases toward FP use by women and transformed them into FP champions. Subsequently, all five districts developed collaborative FP Charters with practical commitments, such as allocation of budget and resources for FP in the district work plan and using radio airtime accorded to political leaders to mobilize people to use FP services.
Partnerships with non-health stakeholder groups are possible and powerful.
The gains from multisectoral partnerships can be sustained.
All the districts identified means to support the quarterly multisectoral FP working group meetings beyond the life of the project. In one district, funding for the meetings is being sustained through a community-based organization that belonged to the group. In another, the district health office has included the meetings in its budget. The remaining three districts plan to meet either before or after regularly scheduled local council meetings and/or district planning meetings.
The five districts that the APC project worked with can potentially be used as learning sites for other implementing partners in Uganda and beyond who may be interested in scaling up this multisectoral engagement approach.
For more information, see the contacts and links below: | https://knowledgesuccess.org/2020/04/10/a-multisectoral-approach-to-addressing-womens-barriers-to-family-planning-how-the-apc-project-did-it-in-uganda/ |
What does psychodynamic therapy focus on?
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in the client’s present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are client self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.
What is an example of psychodynamic therapy?
Some examples of behaviors and their explanations using psychodynamic perspective include: Obsessive hand washing could be linked to a trauma in childhood that now causes this behavior. Another compulsive behavior is hair plucking. Compulsively counting footsteps could be linked to an incident in childhood.
Is CBT a psychodynamic therapy?
The big schools of thought in therapy can be divided into psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy ( CBT ). Both are talk-based therapies that are highly effective for a number of issues and concerns.
What is psychodynamic approach to counseling?
Psychodynamic Counselling tries to help clients understand long-standing conflicts from the past which helps the client become more self-aware and bring what is unconscious into consciousness. It focuses on the fact that many of the personal troubles in life are the result of mental processes that are hidden from us.
What techniques are used in psychodynamic therapy?
The five tools and techniques below are common practice for many types of psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM ) The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, or DSM, is often referred to as the clinical psychologist’s Bible. Rorschach Inkblots . Freudian Slip. Free Association . Dream Analysis.
What can I expect from psychodynamic therapy?
In psychodynamic therapy , the patient is encouraged to talk freely about whatever happens to be on their mind. As the patient does this, patterns of behavior and feelings that stem from past experiences and unrecognized feelings become apparent.
What are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?
WEAKNESSES Determinist The psychodynamic approach is very determinist as it says that suffering childhood trauma will lead to abnormal behaviour in adulthood, however it ignores the influence of genes (biology), reward (behaviourism), and thinking patterns (cognitive approach ).
What are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?
One strength of the psychodynamic approach is that it takes both nature and nurture into account. This is a strength because it emphasises the importance of both. An example of this is that Freud’s assumption of childhood experiences focused on nurture whereas the ID, Ego and Super-ego focused on nature.
What is psychodynamic therapy best used for?
Psychodynamic therapy is primarily used to treat depression and other serious psychological disorders, especially in those who have lost meaning in their lives and have difficulty forming or maintaining personal relationships.
What are the pros and cons of psychodynamic therapy?
Cons of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Less structured than CBT. Longer term commitment required. Can be expensive (due to length of therapy ) Discusses childhood/personal history which some may not wish to do. Requires interpretation from the therapist – lacks objectivity.
Should I choose CBT or Counselling?
But while CBT therapists and clients work together to change a client’s behaviour or thinking patterns, counselling is less directive and through listening, empathy, encouragement and challenge counselling hopes to help the client to better understand themselves and find their own solutions to cope with the issues that
How is CBT different than psychodynamic therapy?
So, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy can be useful if you want are looking for a longer-term solution to the problems you are experiencing. In contrast, CBT is a brief, time-limited treatment therapy between 6 and 12 sessions focusing on specific goals but not your historical experience.
What are the key features of psychodynamic approach?
Perspectives on Psychology- The Psychodynamic approach – key features . Key features of the Psychodynamic approach are: Our behaviour and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences. Our behaviour and feelings are powerfully affected by the meaning of events to the unconscious mind.
What makes the psychodynamic approach unique?
The psychodynamic approach is unique in that it tries to assess a person’s psychological development according to their unconscious mind.
How is the psychodynamic approach used today?
Primarily used to treat depression, psychodynamic therapy can be particularly beneficial for those who have lost meaning in their lives or have difficulty forming or maintaining personal relationships. | https://www.paulguydurbin.com/therapy-blog/psychodynamic-therapy.html |
What is psychodynamic therapy?
With roots in traditional psychological theories by Melanie Klein and Sigmund Freud, psychodynamic therapy draws on the principles of object relations, self-psychology, and ego psychology. The psychodynamic approach to talk therapy was initially developed as an alternative treatment to psychoanalysis. It was designed to be less time-intensive, with a shorter duration and fewer sessions.
Psychodynamic therapy is similar to psychoanalytic theory in that it is an in-depth form of therapy to guide people to better understand themselves and what is going on under the surface. Psychoanalysis, which happens 4-5 times a week, tends to focus strongly on the fine details of how people relate to their therapist, others, and themselves. While it does that too, psychodynamic therapy does this to a lesser degree.
As a form of psychotherapy or talk therapy, psychodynamic therapy aims to address the foundation and formation of psychological processes and emotional distress. With the help of psychodynamic treatment, clients can improve mental health symptoms, navigate interpersonal problems, focus on their strengths and goals, and live more fulfilling lives.
Core Principles of Psychodynamic Therapy
In psychodynamic therapy, therapists help clients gain insight into their daily lives and present-day mental health concerns. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the psychological roots of emotional suffering. It helps clients engage in self-reflection and self-examination.
Essentially, the patient-therapist relationship, or therapeutic alliance, encourages patients to dive into problematic relationship patterns, behaviors, and beliefs in their life. During therapy sessions, psychodynamic therapists evaluate thinking and behavioral patterns that clients have developed over time. Although the structure of psychodynamic therapy will vary depending on the psychotherapist, most psychodynamic approaches involve:
- Focusing on the affect and expression of emotions. With the help of open-ended questions, transference, and free association, the psychotherapist helps the patient explore and discuss the full range of their feelings, unconscious conflicts, and conscious thoughts. The therapist helps the patient put words to feelings, including feelings that are difficult to acknowledge.
- Exploring attempts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings. Knowingly and unknowingly, patients develop defense mechanisms and unconscious processes to avoid painful thoughts and feelings. Psychodynamic therapists actively explore these attempts.
- Identifying recurring themes and patterns. Psychodynamic therapists work to identify recurring themes in patients’ life experiences, interpersonal relationships, thoughts, and feelings. Sometimes, a patient may be aware that these patterns and unconscious thoughts are self-defeating but feel unable to overcome them. In other cases, the patient may be unaware of these patterns until the therapist brings them to light.
- Discussing past experiences. Therapists explore early-life experiences, the relationship between the past and present, and how past experiences may shape the patient’s current feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. Ultimately, psychodynamic therapists aim to help patients overcome these past experiences and live in the present.
What should you expect during psychodynamic therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy sessions involve a collaborative approach between you and your therapist. During your first session, your therapist will ask about your medical and mental health history, whether you’ve attended therapy before, and what you’re looking to achieve in psychotherapy.
With help from your psychotherapist, you’ll feel encouraged to speak openly about anything that comes to mind, including current mental health issues, fears, dreams, and urges.
The goal of psychodynamic therapy is to help clients increase self-esteem, recognize their abilities, gain self-awareness, and communicate more effectively with their significant others. Psychodynamic theory assumes that chronic problems are rooted in the unconscious mind, and patients must bring these problems to light to experience relief. Thus, the client’s self-awareness is integral to discovering these unconscious patterns of thought and understanding how past experiences shaped them.
In many cases, clients may experience ongoing improvements after psychodynamic treatment has ended. Although brief psychodynamic therapy is sufficient for some individuals, others may find that long-lasting benefits come from long-term psychodynamic therapy.
Who can benefit from psychodynamic therapy?
Even if you’re not living with a mental health condition, you can still benefit from psychodynamic therapy. It is used to treat anxiety, mood disorders, including depressive symptoms and bipolar disorder, relationship problems, and work and career problems. It is also used to treat other serious mental health conditions, especially among individuals who have lost meaning and experience difficulty maintaining interpersonal relationships.
Research has shown that psychodynamic therapy can effectively treat substance abuse and addiction problems, social anxiety disorder, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychodynamic therapy can also help clients cope with painful feelings, low self-esteem, and unresolved conflicts by exploring past experiences.
Is psychodynamic therapy effective?
According to extensive research, psychodynamic psychotherapy is an effective treatment for a wide range of psychological disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, and stress. Even in brief-form psychodynamic therapy, the benefits of it continue to grow after treatment ends, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
In the study, American psychologist Jonathan Shedler, Ph.D., reviewed eight meta-analyses comprising 160 studies of psychodynamic therapy, as well as nine meta-analyses of other therapeutic approaches and medications, to demonstrate the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy. Dr. Shedler focused on effect size, which measures the amount of change produced by each type of treatment.
In one major meta-analysis of psychodynamic therapy, 1,431 patients with a range of mental health conditions demonstrated an effect size of 0.97 of overall symptom improvement. When researchers re-evaluated patients nine months after treatment ended, the effect size increased by 50 percent, reaching 1.51.
In his research, Dr. Shedler also noted that previous studies have not adequately captured the benefits that psychodynamic therapy aims to achieve. “It is easy to measure change in acute symptoms, harder to measure deeper personality changes. But it can be done.” Dr. Shedler concluded that when other types of therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT), are effective, it may be due to unacknowledged elements of psychodynamic theory.
In sum, Dr. Shedler’s research finds strong evidence that psychodynamic therapy is highly effective, and its benefits keep building over time, even after treatment has stopped.
How To Find a Psychodynamic Therapist
A psychodynamic therapist is a licensed mental health professional with advanced training in psychodynamic perspectives, Freudian psychology, and psychoanalytic theory.
Some psychotherapists take different approaches to utilize psychodynamic theory, for example, by combining elements of psychodynamic therapy with other types of psychotherapy. Alongside the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), some therapists also use the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM), rooted in psychodynamic theory, to assess mental health.
In addition to finding a mental health professional with training in psychodynamic therapy, it’s essential to search for someone you feel comfortable opening up to. Therapy is an intimate experience, and finding the right psychotherapist can make all the difference. According to the American Psychological Association, forming a therapeutic relationship can boost the success of your treatment, leading to better long-term psychological outcomes.
To find the right fit, reach out to a psychodynamic therapist through the Therapy Group of DC. Whether you’re living with painful feelings or looking to improve your interpersonal relationships, we’ll connect you to a mental health professional you feel comfortable with, in keeping with your personal preferences and requirements.
We know that reaching out for help can feel daunting, and we offer guidance every step of the way. One of our compassionate counselors, psychologists, or therapists will help you gain insight into your mental health and live a more fulfilling life. | https://therapygroupdc.com/therapist-dc-blog/what-is-psychodynamic-therapy/ |
QUESTIONS ABOUT VARIOUS THERAPEUTIC MODELS AND THEORIES:
Q: What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and how is it therapeutic?
A: EFT is a well-known therapy model that is linked with adult attachment, a profound developmental theory of personality and intimate relationships. This science has expanded our understanding of individual dysfunction and health, as well as the nature of love relationships and family bonds. EFT is best known as a cutting edge, tested and proven couple’s intervention.
Q: What is the Psychodynamic approach to therapy?
A: The psychodynamic approach includes working with the unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality. This approach states that events in childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, and in shaping our personality. Events that happened in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and cause problems as adults. Various evidence based theories within the Psychodynamic approach are Aderian, Attachment, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Depth, Object Relations, Reality, and Self Theory.
Q: What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy?
A: Unlike traditional forms of therapy that take time, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) focuses on finding solutions in the present time, and exploring the client’s hope for the future to find quicker resolution of their problems. Goal setting is at the foundation of SFBT. It can be used to treat people of all ages and with a variety of issues, including family dysfunction, abuse, addiction, and relationship problems. Though it’s not a cure for psychiatric disorders such as depression or schizophrenia, SFBT may hep improve the quality of life for those who suffer from this conditions.
Q: What is Hypnotherapy?
A: Hypnotherapy is a tool used as a form of psychotherapy treatment. It aims to coax subjects into a deep, meditative state that allows them to address their issues without distraction.
Q: What is Internal Family Systems (IFS), and is it an evidence based therapy model?
A: Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a psychotherapy model that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities of families within each person’s mental system. These sub-personalities consist of painful emotions such as shame, fear, and anger. Some of these sub-personalities are wounded parts. There are other parts that try to control and protect the person from the pain of the wounded parts. At the core of every individual is one’s core Self, which holds curiosity, centeredness, confidence and compassion. IFS focuses on healing the wounded parts and restoring mental balance and harmony among the various parts and the Self. IFS is a practice that invites both therapist and client to enter into a transformational relationship in which healing can occur. Internal Family Systems has been posted on the National Registry for Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) as an evidence-based practice since November 2015.
Q: What is Brainspotting and how is it connected to EMDR?
A: Brainspotting therapy effectively accesses the mid-brain, where we hold our trauma. This is usually accomplished by focusing on a single eye position at the beginning of the process. The therapist’s attunement with the client is very important. This model allows powerful breakthroughs to happen within a short period of time. Brainspotting was discovered in 2003 by David Grand, who was then a nationally known therapist and trainer in the field of EMDR. | https://janeneforsythmft.me/faq |
23 Mar 2015 05 May 2017
Social work involves working in profoundly emotional events in people's lives, its practice is demanding and challenging and perhaps one of its most unique qualities is the balance it holds between understanding and working with the internal and external realities of service users (Bower, 2005).
In 1935, Charlotte Towle, a pioneering social worker, deeply influenced the profession recognising that social workers needed to secure knowledge of human behaviour to understand service users. She distinguished between knowing people and knowing about people, suggesting the core of social work to be the interaction between the service user and the social worker (Towle, 1969). More recently, literature has expressed a continued relationship based approach to social work, which emphasises the importance of the social work relationship and the quality of the social work experience provided (Trevethick, 2003, Howe, 1998). Understanding how to best facilitate relationships and work with service users requires acquisition of knowledge from a range of disciplines, theories and skills (Strean, 1978, Hollis, 1964).
Trevithick (2000) discusses that the insight derived from psychoanalysis, the psychodynamic approach and its theories on the unconscious can assist the social worker in offering a framework for understanding complex human relationships. The approach has had a major impact on social work's development as theories on the unconscious have impacted on ways of working with service users (Pinkus et al, 1977)
The psychodynamic approach derives from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, a method of inquiry, theory of mind and body of research. Contrary to the prevailing thought at the time, where the assumption of psychology was that human behaviour was rational and the key to understanding human behaviour was to focus upon human consciousness, Freud (1936) believed that human behaviour was irrational and much of our personality, motives and behaviour were unconscious. Central to Freud's theories was the idea that certain experiences during childhood that are too painful to remember and are unconsciously repressed. According to Freud, these repressed thoughts give rise to states of anxiety or depressions which can be expressed in physical symptoms (Freud, 1986).
In the 1920's social work practice shifted dramatically as they began working in hospitals and clinics, extending their exposure to psychiatric thinking (Goldstein, 1995). In a publication in 1940, Annette Garret became one of the first social work authors to comment on the impact of Freud's work on social work theory and practice, advocating for psychoanalytical ideas to be used by social workers (Brandell, 2004).
Freud and his colleagues came to realise that symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders could be expressions of unconscious conflicting impulses and unresolved issues (BPS, 2007). They explored the idea of transference, the projection of unconscious feelings of unresolved issues from the service user onto the worker. The issues were connected to significant others in their past. The service user experiences the worker through this lens and sees the worker as if he or she is the person from their past. The unconscious remembers feelings from the past and projects them into the present. The feelings from service user to the worker are the transference and the workers feelings towards the service user are the counter transference. Freud noted that transference and counter-transference were experienced in the therapeutic relationship (Freud, 1986). This notion has implications for social work in that it allows the social worker to be aware of his/her unresolved issues that may impact on the working relationship with a service user and also allows the social worker to be mindful of hoe the service user is viewing the working relationship. Payne (1991) discusses how a social worker's unconscious feelings can be awakened while working with a service user who perhaps reminds him/her of an experience or time in his/her own life.
Freud's theories relating to the unconscious show that rational human choice may be overridden by our unconscious inner conflicts (Brandell, 2004) and can aid us in understanding human behaviour. The theories encourage social workers to have an open mind when working with distressed service users, enabling them to individualise the person in their environment, suggesting that each service user is unique in personal experience, strength and weakness (Strean, 1993). Transference and counter transference recognise that both service users and social workers are human beings and that to work effectively together involves acknowledging the emotions associated with all relationships (Trevithick, 2000).
Schon (1983), Fook and Gardner (2007), Thompson and Thompson, (2008) advocate the importance of being a reflective practitioner. I feel that the psychodynamic perspective can assist social workers in acquiring the self knowledge it takes to become reflective. Trevithick (2003) describes this self knowledge as being what we learn about ourselves over time, including practice wisdom, our ability to be honest with ourselves about strengths and qualities while at the same time accepting our limitations.
However, Freud's theories have their limitations in respect of social work practice. As Freud used non scientific methods in his research, it is difficult to prove or disprove his ideas. Freud did not have any concrete data, but undertook many individual assessments, mainly with older upper class women and for this reason, his work is considered sexist (Mitchel, 1974) and also euro and ethnocentric (Robinson 1995, Trevithick, 2000) as the studies on white populations. Fernando (1991) suggest that Freud saw other cultures as primitive in comparison to western white society implying a racist slant and Strean (1979) goes further to state that Freud had limited cultural assumptions and deviations from this cultural norm were considered abnormal and worthy of his treatment. However, in spite of this, Cameron (2006) points out that the psychodynamic approach has been taken up in many cultural contexts, most notably in Latin America, India and Japan.
In light of criticism, however, the psychoanalytical concepts put forward by Freud and developed by later analysts have enriched our knowledge of mental functioning and human relationships and informs the relationship aspect of social work. It not only assists in informing the social work/service user relationship but also the relationships that service users have had in the past, experience in the present and will have in the future. Social work is about working with people and the psychodynamic perspective brings an extra skill of awareness into the mix.
Freud began to understand, through this stage development theory for children, that the child's relationship to parental figures is the prototype for all subsequent relationships in the child's life (Freud, 1986). These can involve emotions such as rivalry, jealousy, guilt, love and hate. Freud felt that our sexuality began at a very young age and developed through various fixations. If each stage was not completed, we would develop an anxiety and late in life a defence mechanism to avoid that anxiety (Freud 1986). Freud developed the first stage development theory which acknowledges the issue of attachment between mother and child, a theory which later would be developed by other psychoanalysts and disciplines. The traumatic effects of prolonged separation between mother and infant are widely recognised today and this has led to radical changes in the management of children in hospital (BPS, 2007). Later followers of Freud, such as, Erik Eriksen and John Bowlby, came to realise, particularly through their work with children, that experiences of early infancy, though lost to the conscious mind in adulthood, nevertheless live on in the unconscious and continually affect and shape relationships and behaviour in everyday life (BPS, 2007).
Bowlby (1951) developed Freud's theory, agreeing with Freud's emphasis on the importance of the child's attachment to the mother as a basis for later emotional relationships. His attachment theory describes how our closest relationships begin in infancy and set the stage for subsequent development. When the relationships are secure, they promote self reliance, confident exploration of the environment and resiliency in dealing with life's stresses and crises. Lack of secure attachment can lead to emotional problems, difficulty relating to others and a vulnerability to psychological distress (Sable, 2004, Bowlby 1951).
Bowlby believed that a mother inherits a genetic urge to respond to her baby and there is a critical period after the baby is born during which the mother and baby form an attachment. One of the most controversial aspects of Bowlby's theory was the claim that babies have an innate tendency to become attached to their primary caregiver, usually the mother, and that this attachment is different from other attachments. Any disruption of this bond in this period can have serious long term consequences. This has been criticised by other theorists who state that the attachment does not have to lie with the mother, it can be with any care giver (Schaffer & Emerson, 1964).
Mary Ainsworth, a psychologist devised a laboratory experiment called the "Strange Situation" (Ainsworth, 1978) which showed that Bowlby's evolving ideas could be tested and given a research base. A baby was observed in a set of seven situations, with the mother, with the mother and a stranger, with just a stranger and on its own. The baby's reactions were observed (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970). Ainsworth found that psychological health is related to the positive quality of these attachment experienced, both present and past and the personal meaning attributed to them. Psychological distress is perceived as a distortion of the attachment systems and symptoms of anxiety, depression or anger reflect the internalisation of adverse affection experienced resulting in dysfunction (Sable, 2004). The behaviour of the parents towards the child, whether they are sympathetic and respond to the child's needs is important and according to Ainsworth, the more parents accept the child on the child's terms, the more securely attached the child is (Ainsworth and Bowlby, 1965).
In applying Bowlby's theory to social work, we can see how social workers can construct an understanding of service users' early lives and guide managing the relationship in the future (Sable, 2000). Bowlby (1982) proposed that children internalise the relational experiences with their primary care givers during their first year and develop internal working models, which help to predict and understand our environment. The bond that we create with our primary care giver shapes how we respond to others in later life (Bowlby, 1982). Studies from Ainsworth (1967) and Ainsworth et al (1978) support this theory. In social work with children, it is common to see a child's challenging and disruptive behaviour being understood as an attempt to test whether adults are reliable or consistent than previous ones (Payne, 2005). The psychodynamic approach offers an explanation for relationship behaviour in the service users we work with.
Bowlby's attachment theory and the concept of resilience has also been used in social work with children to achieve positive outcomes for looked after children where care provided to looked after children aims to provide a secure base, self esteem and self efficacy (Gilligan, 1998). The policy document, Caring for children away from home (DoH, 1998) explains that children in the care system will often have had a long history of family problems and an emotionally turbulent life, leaving their personal development damaged and their capacity for basic trust in people severely compromised. This document highlights that social workers will have to work with service users who display patterns of insecure attachments. The ability for carers to provide secure attachment and emotional warmth is part of policy guidance in the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their families (DoH, 2000). Bowlby's attachment theory allows social workers to make the link between emotional development, behaviour and the quality of relationships with their carers (Trevithick, 2000). Howe (2000) states that attachment theory can guide and inform social work interventions with children. It can act as a framework of theory and patterns of thinking.
Bowlby's attachment theory can also help social worker's make sense of the way in which service users engage with services. Most social workers have worked with service users who say that they would like support but cannot make use of the services on offer. This difficulty can indicate experience of distress in early childhood and can be understood in terms of their history of attachment bonds (Howe, 1999). Some service users seek to exert control in the relationship with a social worker, perhaps refusing support or making unrealistic demands. Social workers could view this as the service user being difficult or alternatively with consideration to attachment theory this could be understood in terms of the service users previous experience of rejection from their carers which has left them cautious of accepting help (Trevithick, 2000).
In critical analysis of attachment theory, Schofield and Beek (2006) explain that although attachment theory can offer assistance, service users lives need to be considered uniquely, drawing on their wider environment, education, experiences of racism and economic background. For example, attachment to carers is central to working with looked after children but must be understood within a range of other factors (Schofield and Beek, 2006).
It can also be argued that attachment theory does not incorporate enough consideration of issues of oppression that result from differences of race, gender, culture, sexuality and social-economic factors (Milner and O'Byrne, 2002). In a society where due to globalisation, colonisation, immigration and asylum seekers, families are having to travel great distances to secure attachments, Bowlby's eurocentric theories do not go far in explaining cultures or social work from a black perspective (Robinson, 1995).
This highlights again that psychodynamic thought should not be used in isolation. Human nature is such that no one theory can account for the infinite range of difference amongst individuals. For example, difference in learning abilities and other problems in development such as autism can be mistaken for attachment disorders if examined in isolation (Rugters et al, 2004)
The central ideas of the theory used today are that the quality of close relationships (or attachments) has a bearing on personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but across the lifespan (Howe, 2001).
In conclusion, it is evident that there are weaknesses to a psychodynamic approach in social work. Theories of the unconscious can partly explain human behaviour but it fails to take into account environmental, social, economic factors and issues of culture and race. It is also deterministic in its approach and does not leave much room for agency and change. However, there is not just one body of knowledge used in social work practice. Social work knowledge is derived from different approaches but what they all have in common is that they do not originate from or are specific to social work itself, recognising that social work theory is a political and social process (Payne, 1997). Briggs (2005) states that the overall the contribution of psychodynamic research is to bring in another point of view which enhances the reflective psychosocial space in which social work takes places. Psychodynamic insights can in part assist the social worker in the difficult and complex human situations in which they are involved.
As a core component of social work, the ability to respond to people's emotional needs, to their impulse for emotional development and to the difficulties they experience in forming or maintaining relationships, the psychodynamic perspective can assist in giving us another point of view.
In terms of recent policy, high profile investigations since 2000 have highlighted the importance of effective relationship building in social work ( Laming, 2003 and Laming, 2009) These cases have caused nationwide concern beyond the professions and services involved, causing a frenzy of media comment and public debate, putting the social work profession under the microscope. Social workers need good observation and analytical skills in order to be able to understand the nature of the relationship between a parent and child, to understand signs of noncompliance, to work alongside a family, and to come to safe and evidence-based judgements about the best course of action (Laming, 2009).
As social work continues to be very much under society's microscope, it is essential that it encompasses a body of knowledge from a wide variety of disciplines, always remaining open to new theory and knowledge while considering perspectives from other professions.
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This page provides an overview of three of the main approaches used by professional counsellors, psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioural – there are many more approaches but these three are the most commonly practised.
While some professional counsellors use only one approach, others are more flexible and might use techniques from more than one method.
Although untrained people may possess and develop some skills that are desirable to a counsellor, if counselling plays a role in your work or personal life then you should undertake a recognised professional counselling course. You may also be interested in our introductory page – What is Counselling?
Psychodynamic counselling evolved from the work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). During his career as a medical doctor, Freud came across many patients who suffered from medical conditions which appeared to have no ‘physical cause’. This led him to believe that the origin of such illnesses lay in the unconscious mind of the patient. Freud's work investigated the unconscious mind in order to understand his patients and assist in their healing.
The Conscious – things that we are aware of, these could be feelings or emotions, anger, sadness, grief, delight, surprise, happiness, etc.
The Subconscious – these are things that are below our conscious awareness but fairly easily accessible. For example with appropriate questioning a past event which a client had forgotten about may be brought back into the conscious mind.
The Unconscious – is the area of the mind where memories have been suppressed and is usually very difficult to access. Such memories may include extremely traumatic events that have been blocked off and require a highly skilled practitioner to help recover.
Freud's main interest and aim was to bring things from the unconscious into the conscious. This practice is known as psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is used to encourage the client to examine childhood or early memory trauma to gain a deeper understanding – this in turn may help the client to release negativities that they still hold, associated with earlier events. Psychoanalysis is based upon the assumption that only by becoming aware of earlier dilemmas, which have been repressed into our unconscious because of painful associations, can we progress psychologically.
Id - The Id is the part of our personality concerned with satisfying instinctual basic needs of food, comfort and pleasure – the Id is present from (or possibly before) birth.
Ego – Defined as “The realistic awareness of self”. The ‘Ego’ is the logical and commonsense side to our personality. Freud believed that the Ego develops as the infant becomes aware that it is a separate being from it’s parents.
Superego – The Superego develops later in a child’s life from about the age of three, according to Freud. Superego curbs and controls the basic instincts of the Id, which may be socially unacceptable. The Superego acts as our conscience.
Freud believed that everybody experiences tension and conflict between the three elements of their personalities. For example, desire for pleasure (from the Id) is restrained by the moral sense of right and wrong (from the Superego). The Ego balances up the tension between the Id wanting to be satisfied and the Superego being over strict. The main goal of psychodynamic counselling, therefore, is to help people to balance the three elements of their personality so that neither the Id nor the Superego is dominant.
In contrast to the psychodynamic approach to counselling, childhood events and difficulties are not given the same importance in the humanistic counselling process. Humanistic counselling recognises the uniqueness of every individual. Humanistic counselling assumes that everyone has an innate capacity to grow emotionally and psychologically towards the goals of self-actualisation and personal fulfilment.
Humanistic counsellors work with the belief that it is not life events that cause problems, but how the individual experiences life events. How we experience life events will in turn relate to how we feel about ourselves, influencing self-esteem and confidence. The Humanistic approach to counselling encourages the client to learn to understand how negative responses to life events can lead to psychological discomfort. The approach aims for acceptance of both the negative and positive aspects of oneself.
Humanistic counsellors aim to help clients to explore their own thoughts and feelings and to work out their own solutions to their problems. The American psychologist, Carl Rogers (1902-1987) developed one of the most commonly used humanistic therapies, Client-Centred Counselling, which encourages the client to concentrate on how they feel at the present moment.
The central theme of client-centred counselling is the belief that we all have inherent resources that enable us to deal with whatever life brings.
Client-centred therapy focuses on the belief that the client - and not the counsellor - is the best expert on their own thoughts, feelings, experiences and problems. It is therefore the client who is most capable of finding the most appropriate solutions. The counsellor does not suggest any course of action, make recommendations, ask probing questions or try to interpret anything the client says. The responsibility for working out problems rests wholly with the client. When the counsellor does respond, their aim is to reflect and clarify what the client has been saying.
A trained client-centred counsellor aims to show empathy, warmth and genuineness, which they believe will enable the client's self-understanding and psychological growth.
Empathy involves being able to understand the client’s issues from their own frame of reference. The counsellor should be able to accurately reflect this understanding back to the client. You may also be interested in our page: What is Empathy?
Warmth is to show the client that they are valued, regardless of anything that happens during the counselling session. The counsellor must be non-judgmental, accepting whatever the client says or does, without imposing evaluations.
Genuineness (sometimes termed congruence) refers to the counsellor's ability to be open and honest and not to act in a superior manner or hide behind a 'professional' facade.
The Behavioural Approach to Counselling focuses on the assumption that the environment determines an individual's behaviour. How an individual responds to a given situation is due to behaviour that has been reinforced as a child. For example, someone who suffers from arachnophobia will probably run away screaming (response) at the sight of a spider (stimulus). Behavioural therapies evolved from psychological research and theories of learning concerned with observable behaviour, i.e. behaviour that can be objectively viewed and measured.
Behaviourists believe that that behaviour is 'learned' and, therefore, it can be unlearned. This is in contrast to the psychodynamic approach, which emphasises that behaviour is determined by instinctual drives.
Behaviour therapy focuses on the behaviour of the individual and aims to help him/her to modify unwanted behaviours. According to this approach unwanted behaviour is an undesired response to something or someone in a person's environment. Using this approach a counsellor would identify the unwanted behaviour with a client and together they would work to change or adapt the behaviour. For example, a client who feels anxious around dogs would learn a more appropriate response to these animals. Problems which respond well to this type of therapy include phobias, anxiety attacks and eating disorders. Behavioural counsellors or therapists use a range of behaviour modification techniques.
Once the unwanted behaviour is identified, the client and counsellor might continue the process by drawing up an action plan of realistic, attainable goals. The aim would be that the unwanted behaviour stops altogether or is changed in such a way that it is no longer a problem.
Clients might be taught skills to help them manage their lives more effectively. For example, they may be taught how to relax in situations that produce an anxiety response and rewarded or positively reinforced when desirable behaviour occurs. Another method used involves learning desirable behaviour by watching and copying others who already behave in the desired way. In general, the behavioural approach is concerned with the outcome rather than the process of change.
The behavioural counsellor uses the skills of listening, reflection and clarification, but rather than use them as a process of revealing and clarifying the client's thoughts and feelings, the skills would be used to enable the counsellor to make an assessment of all the factors relating to the undesirable behaviour.
Mediation Skills | What is Anxiety?
What is Stress? | What is Depression? | https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/counselling-approaches.html |
The concept Personality Development represents the subject, aboutness, idea or notion of resources found in University of Manitoba Libraries.
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Personality Development
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The concept Personality Development represents the subject, aboutness, idea or notion of resources found in University of Manitoba Libraries.
- Label
- Personality Development
ContextContext of Personality Development
Subject of
- A temperament theory of personality development
- Alterations of consciousness : an empirical analysis for social scientists
- Attachment and loss
- Attachment and loss
- Attachment theory and psychoanalysis
- Becoming who we are : temperament and personality in development
- Behavior genetics principles : perspectives in development, personality, and psychopathology
- Being no one : the self-model theory of subjectivity
- Beneath the crust of culture : psychoanalytic anthropology and the cultural unconscious in American life
- Body parts : property rights and the ownership of human biological materials
- Bridging separate gender worlds : why men and women clash and how therapists can bring them together
- Changing the self : philosophies, techniques, and experiences
- Character formation and identity in adolescence : clinical and developmental issues
- Confessions of a Medicine Man: An Essay in Popular Philosophy
- Conscious and Nonconscious Information Processing
- Conscious and Unconscious
- Counselling and the life course
- Creative Expression Activities for Teens : Exploring Identity through Art, Craft and Journaling
- Developmental theory and clinical process
- Developmental-systemic family therapy with adolescents
- Dialogicality in development
- Disorders of the self : a personality-guided approach
- Disorganized attachment and caregiving
- Divided minds and successive selves : ethical issues in disorders of identity and personality
- Emotion and adaptation
- Emotion, disclosure & health
- Emotional maturity : the development and dynamics of personality and its disorders
- Emotional problems of living : avoiding the neurotic pattern
- Empirical perspectives on the psychoanalytic unconscious
- Environment and Identity in Later Life
- Ethics in reproductive and perinatal medicine : a new framework
- Family and human development,
- Four stages of life
- From instinct to identity: the development of personality. --
- Gay, Straight, and In-Between : The Sexology of Erotic Orientation
- Harry Stack Sullivan's concepts of personality development and psychiatric illness
- Heart & mind : the practice of cardiac psychology
- Helping and healing : religious commitment in health care
- How expectancies shape experience
- Humanism and behaviorism : dialogue and growth
- Identification and character : a book on psychological development
- Identity and story : creating self in narrative
- Inside out and outside in : psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts
- Intimate Transformations : Babies with Their Families
- Knowledge as desire : an essay on Freud and Piaget
- Life experiences, development, and childhood psychopathology
- Life-span and change in a gerontological perspective
- Life-span development and behavior. --
- Lives across cultures : cross-cultural human development
- Lost virtue : professional character development in medical education
- Measuring self-concept across the life span : issues and instrumentation
- Medical illness and positive life change : can crisis lead to personal transformation?
- Men in groups : insights, interventions, and psychoeducational work
- Men, women, passion and power : gender issues in psychotherapy
- Moral motivation through the life span
- Moral status : obligations to persons and other living things
- Mosaic of despair : human breakdowns in prison
- Necessary but not sufficient : the respective roles of single and multiple influences on individual development
- New directions for student leadership
- New directions for youth development
- On becoming a psychotherapist : the personal and professional journey
- Past, Space and Self
- Paths to successful development : personality in the life course
- Perfectionism : theory, research, and treatment
- Personal, social, and emotional development of children
- Personality and learning theory
- Personality development : theoretical, empirical, and clinical investigations of Loevinger's conception of ego development
- Personality development in individuals with mental retardation
- Personality development. -
- Personality dynamics : an integrative psychology of adjustment
- Personality in young children
- Personality pathology : developmental perspectives
- Personality types and culture in later adulthood
- Plasticity of development
- Please understand me II : temperament, character, intelligence
- Practicing feminist ethics in psychology
- Psychoanalytic perspectives on developmental psychology
- Psychological perspectives on human diversity in America
- Psychosocial development during adolescence
- Self-Esteem, Recovery and the Performing Arts : A Textbook Guide for Mental Health Practitioners
- Self-esteem : paradoxes and innovations in clinical theory and practice
- Self-esteem : paradoxes and innovations in clinical theory and practice
- Self-esteem and Adjusting with Blindness : The Process of Responding to Life's Demands
- Self-esteem and meaning : a life-historical investigation
- Self-relations in the psychotherapy process
- Sexual orientation and mental health : examining identity and development in lesbian, gay, and bisexual people
- Social learning and personality development
- Studying lives through time : personality and development
- Tapestry of cultural issues in art therapy
- Temperament and development
- The Body and the Self
- The Course of life : psychoanalytic contributions toward understanding personality development
- The Self in Neuroscience and Psychiatry
- The caldron of consciousness : motivation, affect, and self-organization : an anthology
- The developing person through the life span
- The developing person through the life span
- The developmental psychopathology of eating disorders : implications for research, prevention, and treatment
- The incomplete adult; : social class constraints on personality development
- The magic years : understanding and handling the problems of early childhood
- The power of feelings : personal meaning in psychoanalysis, gender, and culture
- The pregnant virgin : a process of psychological transformation
- The psychodynamics of gender and gender role
- The psychology of birth : the foundation of human personality
- The psychology of perfectionism : theory, research, applications
- The ravaged bridegroom : masculinity in women
- The role of the father in child development
- The self on the shelf : recovery books and the good life
- The seven ages of man
- The sexual century
- The vertical labyrinth : individuation in Jungian psychology
- The woman in the body : a cultural analysis of reproduction
- Transpersonal psychology in psychoanalytic perspective
- Treatment of the borderline adolescent: a developmental approach. --
- Unconscious wisdom : a superego function in dreams, conscience, and inspiration
- Understanding Women in Distress
- When self-consciousness breaks : alien voices and inserted thoughts
- Wit And Its Relation To The Unconscious
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The psychodynamic perspective is based on the work of Sigmund Freud. He created both a theory to explain personality and mental disorders and the form of therapy known as psychoanalysis. The psychodynamic approach assumes that all behaviour and mental processes reflect constant and unconscious struggles within person. These usually involve conflicts between our need to satisfy basic biological instincts, for example, for food, sex or aggression, and the restrictions imposed by society. Not all those who take a Psychodynamic approach accept all of Freud's original ideas, but most would view normal or problematic behavior as the result of a failure to resolve conflicts adequately.
Compare and contrast any two perspectives in psychology. This essay is going to discuss the comparisons and differences between the psychodynamic and the behavioural approaches to psychology. The essay will look at the way both approaches explain the cause of mental illness and depression and how they would treat it. The psychodynamic perspective was introduced by Sigmund Freud and in contrast with the behavioural approach he completely ignored the science surrounding the subject and instead tried to get into the minds of the individuals and try to make sense of the way they see the world. Freud believed that the mind was like an iceberg with the majority of it being hidden away, he called this the unconscious part of the mind.
Running Head: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction This paper is intended to discuss the psychoanalytic theory as developed by Sigmund Feud. The paper will also discuss the differences between the relational and isolated-mind view of human and emotion distress. I will also discuss the Heinz Kohut’s psychology of the self. I will also take time to highlight the differences between a theory that understands emotional distress as emanating from the inside of the patient alone versus theories that understand distress as emanating from the relational contexts in which self objects needs are not being met. Further still, I will discuss the differences between the theories that see the patient’s behavior as coming from patients mind alone versus the theories that see the patient as reacting to his/her environment.
For example, one psychologist may use descriptive psychopathology to which will strive to provide answers for symptoms or mental illness. Either way, psychopathology is formally used to study mental illness or the distresses which may be affecting an individual. The issues of the abnormal psychology will assist in the study by the way we would use it in the attempt to capture interest, trigger concerns, and demands our attention. It also brings us to form and ask certain questions pertaining to any study. Psychopathology is not the same as psychopathy, which has to do with antisocial
In this analysis we will look at two specific parts of analyzing psychodynamic theories. First we will discuss how psychodynamic theories affect individual personalities and finally we will explain how psychodynamic theories influence interpersonal relationships. Psychodynamic Theories Affect Individual Personalities All of the psychodynamic theories mentioned in this paper lean more to the side of being limited rather than having strength, primarily in regard to the development and effects of individual personality. A dissimilar outlook exists on the definition of personality, the driving force behind development, cause and effect, and what exactly influences it and whether it can be altered. The psychodynamic theories consist mainly of Alder’s individual psychological theory, Horney’s psychoanalytical social theory, Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, Klein’s object relations theory, Sullivan’s interpersonal theory, and Jung’s analytical theory (Feist & Feist, 2009).
In the play area, there are a mini slide, monkey bars, a see-saw, a mini carousel, and a swing. You can see on Cleo’s face how excited she is. Her expressive large eyes are widely open, with radiant smile. Once Cleo is removed from her stroller, she walks to the mini slide trying to figure out how she can climb to the top. Cleo has trouble figuring it out at first; however, she observed other kids and finds the steps
Analysis of Hamlet using this criticism reveals the mental states of the characters, especially Hamlet. Hamlet’s sanity, or insanity, is undoubtedly one of the most argued discussions in literature, but the psychoanalytic criticism proves one undeniable matter. Hamlet suffers from an Oedipus complex. Hamlet and Oedipus from Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, have striking similarities which augment Hamlet’s Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex is a psychoanalytic theory which encompasses the idea of unconsciously desiring the parent of the opposite sex, while desiring to eliminate the parent of the same sex.
Piercy analyzes the girl from birth and uses a detached, expecting tone to portray her normality. In lines two through five Piercy creates a bitter tone when talking about the toys her parents presented her as a child. Piercy's tone can also seem as if she is disgusted because she talks about the “dolls that did pee pee” and uses a sarcastic alliteration when she said “lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (2-4). At this point it is clear the child is a toddler or in adolescence since she plays with these toys that little girls are expected to pay with at that age. The first stanza abruptly ends with “You have a great big nose and fat legs.” (6).
How does Sigmund Freud’s concept of ‘The Uncanny’ assist us in appreciating the psychological neuroses explored in Jekyll and Hyde? The concept of ‘The Uncanny’, as explored by Sigmund Freud, is a theory that can often be found in works of literature intended to scare and unsettle the reader. For instance, the notion of ‘The Uncanny’ is commonplace in 19th century gothic literature due to the ability it has to create a feeling of unease, particularly among the repressive society at the time. ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ written by Robert Louis Stevenson during that era, makes use of the idea of repression and plays on fears of the repressed being revealed. Throughout his essay ‘The Uncanny’, Freud refers to the german word ‘heimlich’ which means secretive and concealed.
She’s not looking to be at the top of the heap; she just wants to be in her own little niche. She’s the team player, the one who is always ready to lend a hand. Think Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, Melanie Griffith in Working Girl, Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act, Fiona in Shrek. The FREE SPIRIT: eternal optimist, she dances to unheard tunes. Playful and fun-loving, she travels through life with a hop, skip and a jump, always stopping to smell the flowers and admire the pretty colors. | https://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Freuds-Psychoanalytic-Theory-Relation-Carroll-Lewis-3494.html |
Two of the coolest aspects of Level 3 in culinary school are coming up with an amuse bouche, a small bite to be eaten before an appetizer, and learning about sous vide and low temperature cooking. Everyday, we're given a few random ingredients that were available in the store room and as a team [of four] come up with an amuse bouche that uses at least two of the ingredients of the day and anything in the kitchen a la Iron Chef (much smaller scale, of course.) I have to say my class is extremely creative and have come up with some really innovative and delicious amuses.
I think the ingredients for these amuses were shrimp, lime and something else I can't recall. Our teacher claimed these dishes to be the best amuses he's seen/tasted in a long time.
I didn't make these but thought they were so adorable. The ingredients available were grapes, farmer's cheese, olives and black truffles.
While we didn't get to try sous vide and low temperature cooking first hand, the instructors did a great job demonstrating the difference between sous vide and low temperature cooking as well as the advantages over conventional cooking methods. Sous vide cooking usually consists of putting food products into plastic bags and vacuuming sealing the bags to which further cooking can take place....i.e. in a low temperature controlled container. The eggs shown before were poached via low temperature method to different temperatures to show the difference stages of cooked egg. It was pretty cool to see how big a difference one degree makes. | http://www.chefjenndoan.com/2009/04/amuse-bouche-and-sous-videlow-temp.html |
Chef de Partie
The Chef de Partie is responsible for one particular section in a kitchen, such as butchery, pastry, fish or sauces. They may be in charge of this section by themselves, or control a small team. They are the third in command in a large kitchen.
Job Summary
- Oversee the preparation, cooking, and presentation of culinary dishes
- Direct chefs in their section in preparing
- Carry out orders handed down to them by the sous chef and head chef
- Manage and train any Commis Chefs or apprentices working in their section
- Help develop and create new menus
- Enforce strict health and hygiene standards in the kitchen
- Trouble-shooting any problems that may arise
- Manage budgets
Skills required
- Experience in a kitchen
- Well organised
- Comfortable working in a high-pressure environment
- Advanced skills and knowledge in kitchen techniques
- Knowledgeable about your specialty
- Attention to detail i.e. measuring ingredients, portion sizes
- Ability to manage a team
Qualifications and Training
You can work your way up the kitchen by taking the apprenticeship route as well as studying for an NVQ or SVQ. Most Chef de Parties will have spent a couple of years working as a Commis Chef and have at least NVQ/SVQ Level 2.
Other useful qualifications include:
- City & Guilds diplomas in cookery
- BTEC or HND in cookery
- A foundation degree in culinary arts
- Any health and safety and food hygiene courses
Salary Expectations
A Chef de Partie can expect to earn between £18,000 and £25,000 a year with the average salary around £19,000. | https://careerscope.uk.net/industry/roles/kitchen/item/chef-de |
Food Safety Resources
The resources below provide specific food safety processes that operators can follow in order to meet the requirements of the Food Premises Regulation.
What has changed?
The Food Premises regulations were recently modernized. The previous regulation prescribed cooking temperatures for named products, while the new regulation states that, “all food be processed in a manner that makes the food safe to eat”.
What does this mean?
This outcome-based approach provides operators with the flexibility to choose a processing method which will satisfy the regulation as well as their cooking preferences, as long as the end result is a “safe product”.
How is “safe product” determined?
Follow proven time / temperature tables from a reputable source, such as:
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food & Rural Affairs (Meat Plant Guidelines) h
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Manual of Procedures)
Create and follow a food safety management plan that incorporates HACCP-based principles and best practices for the specific process, such as:
- Ontario Food Premise Reference Document, 2019
- Health Canada, Food Safety for First Nations People of Canada: A Manual for Healthy Practices, 2012, for the preparation of First Nations and Indigenous foods:
Are there any other requirements?
The operator is responsible for documenting the recipe and training all food handlers on the new documented procedure. TPH also recommends the use of logs to record time and temperature.
Can you provide an example?
Under the previous regulation, an operator wanting to cook 100% beef hamburgers would have to cook them to a minimum temperature of 71°C. Under the new regulation, and using OMAFRA Time / Temperature tables, hamburgers may be cooked from a minimum 54.4°C for 112 minutes to 71.1°C for 1 second.
What are these products?
Gyros, donairs and shawarmas are meat products (beef, chicken and/or lamb) which are chopped, flaked, ground or minced and restructured into a “cone”. They are generally cooked on a vertical style broiler, and cones may be on the broiler for a substantial amount of time.
What are the risks of this type of product?
The potential for food-borne illness is higher than other prepared meat products because of the preparation method used. Generally, meat is sliced or shaved from the exterior of the cone and served to consumers while the interior of the cone is still raw. There is potential for raw product to be served to consumers. .
How do I ensure my product is safe?
Use meat from inspected and approved source
- Freeze meat cones immediately after preparation and remain frozen until placed on the broiler.
- Use a few small cones throughout the day rather than one large one.
- Use a clean, sanitized knife or slicer to cut the exterior of the meat cone when it is cooked.
- Cook cones continuously, even while slicing.
- Do not turn off the vertical broiler to slow down the cooking of the cone.
- Complete a secondary cooking step before serving sliced product. This can involve ovens, grills, broilers, microwaves and any other method which will heat the food for a safe temperature / time combination.
- Use a thermometer to confirm / measure the effectiveness of the secondary cooking step. This may mean an infrared thermometer or a probe thermometer with a thin sensor.
- Serve meat immediately after secondary cooking or store in a hot holding unit at least 60°C (140°F); or cool quickly to 4°C (40°F) or less for storage.
What do I do with leftover product?
At the end of a day, partially cooked cones CANNOT be kept intact for future use. If the operator is consistently left with large amounts of product remaining at the end of the day they should reduce the size of the cone being used.
Food safety concerns of meat slicers
In 2008, an outbreak of foodborne illness caused by Listeria bacteria claimed the lives of 20 people and resulted in one of the largest recalls of food products in Canadian history. The subsequent investigation traced the bacteria to meat slicing equipment.
Disease-causing bacteria can grow on equipment and utensils when they are not properly cleaned and sanitized. Listeria bacteria are particularly difficult to control because they multiply in cold temperatures, where other bacteria do not.
Clean and sanitize meat slicers to prevent the spread of bacteria
Clean and sanitize meat slicers used at room temperature at least every four hours to help prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria like Listeria.
Cleaning is the removal of visible food debris, grease and other materials. This may require the use of physical energy (scrubbing), heat or chemicals.
To sanitize means to treat by a process in which bacteria are destroyed to a safe level. This is done with chemicals meant for use around food, or with heat (hot water at 77ºC or 171ºF).
How to clean and sanitize meat slicers
Meat slicers are dangerous machines to use and to clean. Always follow your workplace safety procedures when using or cleaning equipment and when working with chemical sanitizers. The following suggested steps are not meant to replace the manufacturer’s or your workplace’s approved policies and procedures.
- 1. Unplug the machine (use a lockout box where necessary)
- Set blade control at zero
- Wear safety gloves when cleaning blade
- Remove excess food waste by wiping or pre-rinsing
- Disassemble the machine
- Use hot detergent solution to clean machine surfaces
- Rinse to remove loose food waste, grease and detergent
- Sanitize machine surfaces with a 45ºC (113ºF) solution of (follow the sanitizer directions for mixing):
- chlorine (100 to 200 mg/L; or 4 to 8 mL of 5.25% bleach per litre of water)
- quaternary ammonium (up to 200 mg/L)
- iodine (up to 25 mg/L)
- Allow to air dry, if possible, otherwise use clean paper towels
- Reassemble machine and cover when not in use
Portuguese Style Custard Tarts (Nata or Pastel de Nata) are individual-sized pastries with a filling made with eggs, cream, and sugar in a flaky crust.
How are they made?
When Portuguese Style Custard Tarts are prepared, raw custard filling is poured into the pastry and then cooked in a very hot oven (550°F-700°F) for 10-12 minutes. This method kills vegetative pathogens and creates a crust on the surface of the tart. This dry surface crust and the pastry crust protect the moist filling from contamination.
These products may be left unrefrigerated for up to 24 hours after production if prepared as described.
Why not all custard products?
Custards are generally considered a hazardous food and must be refrigerated. This document provides an exemption for this specific product only. Custards that are sliced, custards larger than single serving, and custards cooked below the noted temperatures MUST be refrigerated after preparation.
Limitations
Portuguese Style Custard tarts may be left unrefrigerated for 24 hours after production only if the following conditions are met:
- The process and recipe used is substantially similar to that described above.
- Sanitary conditions in the premises are maintained to adequately protect food from contamination.
- No grade “C” or ungraded eggs should be on the premises, and the premises must not have a history of using ungraded eggs.
- The tarts must be stored in a manner that is highly unlikely to puncture the crust or pastry.
- After 24 hours, the products must be frozen, refrigerated or discarded.
Does Toronto Public Health allow the public the use their own containers at food premises?
Food premises set their own policy regarding customer/client supplied containers. They may decide to encourage or ban the practice, and this can be entirely their decision. Any policy that is decided on must not conflict with the Food Premises Regulations. Particular care must be used in addressing overfilling and spill situations.
What if I’d like to use my own container and the premises will not accommodate me?
Toronto Public Health has no role on any retailer’s decision in this area. Some retailers ban the practice due to perceived liability from improperly sanitized containers being reused.
What about Child Care Centres: Can they discourage customer supplied containers?
Child Care Centres must have written, site-specific policies. This policy may include any condition which does not conflict with the Food Premises Regulations. Particular care must be used in addressing overfilling and spill situations. Child Care Centres must have utensils available if employing a “bring your own container” policy.
Are there any regulations surrounding this practice?
As per the Food Premises Regulation, premises and people using their own containers must be aware of sections addressing spills and cross-contamination:
8. (1) All equipment, utensils and multi-service articles that are used for the preparation, processing, packaging, serving, transportation, manufacture, handling, sale, offer for sale or display of food in a food premise shall be:
(a) of sound and tight construction;
(b) kept in good repair;
(c) of such form and material that it can be readily cleaned and sanitized; and
(d) suitable for their intended purpose.
8. (2) Equipment and utensils that come into direct contact with food shall be:
(a) corrosion-resistant and non-toxic; and
(b) free from cracks, crevices and open seams.
26. (1) All food shall be protected from contamination and adulteration.
Sous vide is a food preparation process using vacuum sealed plastic bags to cook food within a water bath kept at a very consistent and precise temperature. The process may also include vacuum packing foods on site by utilizing appropriate equipment and food grade packaging. Sous vide is becoming increasingly popular, especially among high-end restaurants in large urban cities like Toronto. It can be used cosmetically to retain vibrant colors of food products and change the texture of the food to something that would not be attainable through conventional means.
What is the concern?
Sous vide cooking can utilize low-temperature, long-time cooking. Toronto Public Health recognizes this and will allow sous vide food processing under the following conditions:
Process Requirements
- All kitchen staff involved with sous vide processes should be Certified Food Handlers and should have specific training in sous vide. These staff should be aware of the “come up” time as well as cooking time. Come up time is the time it will take for food to reach a specific internal temperature after being immersed in the water bath. It is recommended that staff cooking sous vide is limited to minimize any risk to food safety.
- A written copy of all recipes utilizing sous vide techniques in the establishment should be available at the request of the Public Health Inspector. Recipes will demonstrate evidence-based processes to ensure all hazardous foods are safe as per O. Reg 493/17 section 26(2).
- Toronto Public Health recommends thinner portions of food are used so that heat transfer is rapid. Some foods may not be suitable for sous vide cooking, such as whole birds and minced meats.
- Vacuum pack foods in a single layer and avoid overlapping. Once opened, a package should not be re-sealed. Packages should be fully immersed in hot water bath and should not be able to float (this indicates too much air in package).
- No potentially hazardous food may be processed in water bath temperatures lower than 55°C. For chicken products, the lower limit is 60°C.
- Food premises using processes where temperatures are lower than those indicated in the Ontario Food Premises Regulation should have an additional kill step (i.e. searing) before service.
- All sous vide food that is not ready-to-eat or to be processed further, should be cooled using an ice water bath to below 3°C within two hours and should be reheated to above 60°C before serving. Reheated sous vide foods should be served immediately.
- All refrigerated sous vide products must be stored below 3°C until reheating.
- All sous vide pouched foods stored under refrigeration must be clearly labelled with date, time, discard date and identity.
- Raw sous vide foods should not be stored in refrigeration for more than two days. All sous vide foods that are to be served immediately should be consumed within four hours of cooking.
- Fish prepared sous vide style should be frozen first for parasite control
- Sous vide prepared foods should be stored up to a maximum of seven days.
Equipment Requirements
- The food premises should only use commercial equipment that is designed for sous vide purposes.
- All equipment used for sous vide should be cleaned and sanitized after every use. Follow cleaning instructions for all equipment, including immersion circulator. Hot water sanitation (77°C) recommended for circulator and water basin used.
- Pouches, bags, sacs, etc. used for sous vide must be food grade and designed for sous vide use. Glass jars are acceptable for sous vide use for sauces or other foods that do not require a vacuum seal.
- The vacuum sealing machine must be able to package foods to achieve an appropriate anaerobic environment.
- An immersion circulator or larger water bath system designed for sous vide should be used. It should never be overloaded which may increase the “come up” time. Once the cooking process has begun, additional sous vide items should not be placed into the hot water bath as this will lower the set temperature and items will not be properly cooked.
- An accurate probe thermometer is required in order to check internal temperatures as deemed necessary. The probe thermometer should be cleaned and sanitized between uses to prevent cross- contamination.
- Sealing tape designed for sous vide purposes should be utilized to ensure the puncture left by the probe thermometer properly re-seals. This will ensure that water does not seep into the pouch and/or creates an aerobic environment.
Other considerations
Food premises may utilize sous vide techniques for both hazardous and non-hazardous foods.
The food pathogens of greatest concern are Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes. A food premises may process food using sous vide methods, provided proper controls are in place and staff are adequately trained. The food items must be carefully monitored to control for temperature, water activity and pH. As always, care must be taken to prevent cross-contamination, ensure proper food handling techniques and personal hygiene
Sushi rice is a ready to eat preparation of rice commonly used to make sushi and maki rolls. It is usually made by mixing cooked rice with sugar, salt, and rice vinegar. Sushi rice is generally consumed as a component of another food product. This document refers to the rice only. Sushi or maki rolls made with raw fish are hazardous foods and must be held according to the Food Premises Regulations.
What is the concern?
Sushi rice is a potentially hazardous food unless the pH is below 4.3 due to the risk of Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. However, makers of sushi rice may want to maintain it at or near room temperature as sushi is traditionally served warm (at approximately 30°C) for ideal taste.
Process
At premises where the rice pH is not checked routinely, Toronto Public Health will enforce the “two hour rule”. Sushi rice m After two hours, the product must be reheated to the original cooking temperature, refrigerated or frozen.
The two hour limit will only be permitted if the following criteria are met:
- Foods are clearly marked with the time at which they were removed from temperature control and with the time at which they must be discarded.
- Cooking and cooling processes, where applicable, must meet legislated requirements.
- Foods are at or below 4 ºC or at or above 60 ºC at the starting time.
- Sanitary conditions in the premises are maintained to adequately protect food from contamination.
- A written food safety plan that addresses the use of time as control is in place and available to the Public Health Inspector for review upon request.
Premises must test at least weekly for pH of sushi rice, and who have results consistently below pH 4.3 would be allowed to hold sushi rice without temperature control for eight hours.
Other considerations
Premises who wish to go beyond this requirement can engage the services of a private lab to run a challenge study on the product. A properly conducted challenge study will have its conclusions reviewed by Toronto Public Health. Any changes in recipe or preparation after acceptance necessitate submission of a new study. | https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-programs-advice/food-safety/food-safety-for-businesses/food-safety-resources/ |
Nick is catering development manager for St Austell Brewery, responsible for developing the menus for 24 pubs, inns and hotels across Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
A classically trained chef, Nick works closely with local producers and suppliers to create new dishes using top-quality local ingredients. He is inspired by local chefs Nathan Outlaw and Paul Ainsworth, and enjoys developing dishes with new techniques and equipment such as sous vide and smoking guns. | https://blog.lawsonshop.co.uk/events-occasions/flavour-fest-presents-nick-hemming-st-austell-brewery/ |
What Does a Sous Chef Do?
Find out what a sous chef does, how to get this job, and what it takes to succeed as a sous chef.
Find out what a sous chef does, how to get this job, and what it takes to succeed as a sous chef.
A sous chef is a junior-level position in the kitchen hierarchy. They typically report to the head chef and are responsible for managing a team of cooks, overseeing daily operations, and preparing food for service.
Sous chefs may also be tasked with creating menus, ordering supplies, developing recipes, and maintaining inventory lists. In many cases, they’re expected to take on additional responsibilities as they gain experience and prove themselves capable of handling more challenging tasks.
A sous chef typically has a wide range of responsibilities, which can include:
Sous chefs’ salaries vary depending on their level of education, years of experience, and the type of restaurant they work in. They may also receive benefits, such as health insurance, 401k contributions, and paid vacation days.
The employment of sous chefs is expected to grow faster than average over the next decade.
Demand for high-quality food in restaurants and hotels will continue to drive demand for sous chefs. As restaurants and hotels seek to differentiate themselves by offering high-quality food, they will need sous chefs to oversee the kitchen staff and ensure that food quality remains high.
Related: In-Depth Sous Chef Salary Guide
A sous chef typically needs to have the following qualifications:
Education: A sous chef needs to have a minimum of a high school diploma or GED. Many employers prefer to hire candidates who have completed a culinary arts program or culinary degree. These programs typically take two years to complete and include courses in culinary arts, food preparation, baking and nutrition.
Training & Experience: Sous chefs typically receive on-the-job training from their current or previous employers. This training can last for a few months or a year, depending on the establishment’s requirements. During this training period, sous chefs learn about the establishment’s menu, procedures and standards. They also work closely with other kitchen staff, such as line cooks and dishwashers, to learn how to work together to prepare meals.
Certifications & Licenses: While certifications are not usually a requirement for the role of sous chef, they can show an employer that you are a trustworthy and competent professional.
Sous chefs need the following skills in order to be successful:
Leadership: A sous chef is a leader in the kitchen, and they often have a team of cooks and other kitchen staff working under them. This means they need to be able to direct and motivate their team to complete tasks and maintain a high level of quality in the food they prepare. They also need to be able to delegate tasks and responsibilities to their team members.
Communication: Sous chefs must be able to communicate with their team and other kitchen staff. They must be able to clearly relay information to their team and explain any changes in the menu or other kitchen procedures. Sous chefs should also be able to communicate with the executive chef and other kitchen staff to ensure that the kitchen is running smoothly.
Organization: Sous chefs are responsible for managing the kitchen and ensuring that all food is prepared in a timely manner. This means that they need to be organized and able to prioritize tasks. Sous chefs should be able to organize their time and the kitchen space to ensure that all food is prepared in a timely manner and that all food is stored properly.
Time management: Sous chefs often have many responsibilities, so time management is an important skill for them to have. They often have to manage the time they spend on each task, so they can complete all of their duties in a timely manner. They may also have to manage the time their team spends on each task, so they can complete their duties on time.
Multitasking: Sous chefs often have many responsibilities, so it’s important for them to be able to multitask. They may be preparing several dishes at once, so they need to be able to switch between tasks quickly and efficiently. They may also be responsible for managing the kitchen staff, so they need to be able to delegate tasks and check in with their team while still completing their own duties.
Sous chefs typically work in commercial kitchens that are hot, noisy, and fast-paced. They often work long hours, including evenings and weekends, and may be required to work overtime on short notice. Sous chefs typically work under the supervision of a head chef or executive chef and are responsible for supervising the kitchen staff, preparing food, and ensuring that the food meets the highest standards of quality and presentation. Sous chefs must be able to work well under pressure and be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. They must also be able to maintain their composure in a fast-paced and often chaotic environment.
Here are three trends influencing how sous chefs work. Sous chefs will need to stay up-to-date on these developments to keep their skills relevant and maintain a competitive advantage in the workplace.
The Rise of the Celebrity Chef
The rise of the celebrity chef has been a recent trend in the culinary world, as more and more chefs are becoming famous for their unique dishes and cooking styles. This trend is likely to continue, as more and more people want to eat food that is prepared by someone they know and trust.
As a result, sous chefs will need to be able to work with and learn from these celebrity chefs in order to stay ahead of the competition. They will also need to be able to create dishes that reflect the chef’s style and vision.
A Focus on Local Ingredients
Local ingredients are becoming increasingly popular among chefs, as they allow them to showcase the unique flavors of their region. This trend is likely to continue as more and more diners become interested in where their food comes from.
Sous chefs can capitalize on this trend by developing relationships with local farmers and suppliers. This will allow them to source the freshest ingredients possible and create menus that are truly unique.
More Attention Paid to Vegetarian and Vegan Options
As more and more people become vegetarian or vegan, restaurants are beginning to pay more attention to providing options for these customers. Sous chefs can take advantage of this trend by learning how to prepare delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes.
In addition, sous chefs can help to promote these options by talking to customers about them and making sure that they are listed on the menu.
A sous chef career can be a great way to start your culinary career. As a sous chef, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from more experienced chefs and develop your skills in a variety of areas. You may also be able to move up the ladder and become a head chef or even own your own restaurant someday.
To become a sous chef, you’ll need to have at least 2-3 years of experience working in a kitchen. You should also have a strong understanding of cooking techniques and be able to work well under pressure. Additionally, it’s important to have good communication skills so that you can effectively communicate with both your team and your customers.
Related: How to Write a Sous Chef Resume
Sous chefs typically start out as line cooks or prep cooks. With experience, they move up to positions such as lead cook or senior cook. The next step up is sous chef. After that, the next rung on the ladder is executive chef. Some sous chefs eventually open their own restaurants.
The best way to advance in this career is to get a job in a large restaurant with a good reputation. There, you will have the opportunity to work with experienced chefs and learn from them. You should also take advantage of opportunities to attend cooking classes and seminars. In addition, keeping up with the latest trends in the culinary world will make you more marketable and help you advance in your career. | https://climbtheladder.com/sous-chef/ |
The Mechatronics, Mirrors and Lighting group specializes in automotive technologies that are driving the future of mobility. Combining a deep systems knowledge to develop unique vehicle access experiences, intelligent visions systems and advanced automotive lighting technologies, MML's expertise light the path to innovation, safety and styling.
Role Summary
Oversee the Material delivery system and observes proper utilization of machineries to ensure completion of maintenance procedures and organization. MDT is responsible for inspecting/verifying all certified material. MDT must have mathematical understanding calculate material dry time and calculate material usage per production run. Other duties of machine operators include proper documentation of machines, cleaning, etc. Will work on special projects requiring hands-on mechanical aptitude. Will work with the production, maintenance, and engineering to install or integrate new or changed components.
Key Responsibilities
- Strictly follow operating instructions to ensure product quality.
- Troubleshoot material delivery system for leaks and the ability to repair minor break downs of equipment
- Ensure material is staged and clear (dry) for production in accordance with production schedule
- Consciously abide by management regulations of safety and production to ensure a quality product
- Maintain precise and accurate material reporting log
- Maintain material delivery system and injection molding machines based on 5S management standards
- Responsible for inventory accuracy: Drying Hopper, Silo, and boxed material
Key Qualifications/Requirements
- High School diploma or equivalent with the ability to learn quickly. Basic math/reading skills including using decimals, fractions, geometry, etc.
- Demonstrated mechanical aptitude (i.e. to perform set-up of equipment, etc.) with ability to read and interpret blueprints/schematics.
- Knowledge of materials used in processes with or ability to obtain a forklift license to move materials, equipment, etc. High degree of manual dexterity with the ability to lift 40 pounds or more to change molds and tools, move materials, machines, etc.
- Good communication and interaction skills to interact with internal contacts with the ability to work without direct supervision.
- Demonstrated problem solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot processes and equipment.
- Basic knowledge of computers, equipment, tools, and paperwork associated with job including thorough understanding of standard work, in-process control sheets, and customer driven quality requirements.
- Minimum 2 years setup experience.
- Ability to operate the overhead crane.
Additional Information
Awareness. Unity. Empowerment.
At Magna, we believe that a diverse workforce is critical to our success. That’s why we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We hire on the basis of experience and qualifications, and in consideration of job requirements, regardless of, in particular, color, ancestry, religion, gender, origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability or gender identity. Magna takes the privacy of your personal information seriously. We discourage you from sending applications via email to comply with GDPR requirements and your local Data Privacy Law. | https://jobs.magna.com/job/DUNCAN-Material-Delivery-Technician-NE-29334/558377617/ |
Digital gastronomy, aims to incorporate computers in a kitchen to assist chefs in having even more creative engagement in how they execute their ideas using computer technology.
Amit Zoran, who runs the Hybrid design lab at The Hebrew university of Jerusalem, has created technology that will allow chefs to push their culinary boundaries with machines such as a 3D printer that prints out a paste to create noodles and pasta,a laser machine that cooks in a resolution of pixels and using a modular molde which creates multiple shape structures.
These machines do not aim to replace chefs but rather aid in bringing their creative ideas to life.
If you’re a fan of Heston Blumenthal known for his use of molecular gastronomy in his cooking, from his infamous snail porridge to a sorbet that cannot melt, then this intriguing technology is definitely something you should check out.
ALSO READ: | https://www.food24.com/say-hello-to-digital-gastronomy-a-mathematical-method-of-creating-and-serving-food/ |
A Sous Chef role is required to work at a busy pub located between Bradford and Leeds in West Yorkshire
Role:
A high volume, fresh food pub which seats 100+ covers is recruiting for a Sous Chef to become one of the senior chefs working in the kitchen. The pub offers a variety of dining options with menus featuring dishes prepared from fresh, seasonal ingredients to create traditional pub meals with modern twists; tapas dishes; light bites; Sunday lunches and afternoon teas. As Sous Chef you will be expected to be capable of working across the sections in the kitchen whilst also supporting the Head Chef with their role including running shifts when necessary.
Requirements:
A Sous Chef who has been working in properties where you were creating solid, British dishes with a knowledge of modern cooking and serving techniques is required to take on this role. The ability to work across the sections in the kitchen whilst also assisting with the leadership of the junior chefs and supporting the Head Chef with the kitchen management is needed for this role.
Benefits Include:
*This is a permanent role*
If you are interested in this position or would like information on the other positions we are recruiting for or any temporary assignments please send your CV to [email protected] and our consultant Tony Papa will do his utmost to assist you in your search for employment.
In line with the requirements of the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996, all applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. Documented evidence of the eligibility will be required from candidates as part of the recruitment process. | http://www.chefresults.co.uk/index.php/job/sous-chef-tp11490/ |
We’re down to the knockout stages of the competition! This week our remaining chefs took on team-based tasks, invention tests and a showstopper challenge. See how they got on.
Week five signals the true beginning of the competition – many good chefs have fallen by the wayside over the last four weeks, and we’re left with the twelve strongest competitors. The opening rounds always single out the strongest, most confident chefs, but this part of the series tests other intangibles – their leadership, communication skills and ability to work as part of a team.
This week saw our chefs take on an invention test first – Marcus and Monica gave them a huge range of ingredients but took away the sous vide water baths in the kitchen, forcing the competitors to show off their mastery of traditional cooking techniques. Next, they divided into two teams to tackle a three-course meal for maritime charity Trinity House and the Royal College of Physicians. Twelve contestants started the week, but only eight finished it – read on for some of the things we learnt this week.
Braising is an easy, delicious way to cook meat and vegetables – once you’ve got it ticking away, you can leave it happily bubbling away for hours until everything is tender. It pays to check on your braise every now and again though – if you don’t have a pot with a tight-fitting lid, your braise could end up over-reducing and burning. Matthew nearly met disaster with his ox cheeks, but he saved it just in time.
There was a lot of classic French cooking going on in the MasterChef kitchen this week – we saw classics like pomme dauphine, pomme soufflé, and a spectacular poulet en vessie from Matthew, where chicken breast is cooked inside a pig’s bladder. The beauty of modern techniques like sous vide is that you can achieve great, consistent results, but sometimes, there’s nothing quite like proper, old-school, classic cookery.
There are lots of desserts where at some point you combine eggs with a hot liquid – often it involves infusing cream, then combining that cream with eggs. If your cream is too hot, it’ll scramble your cold eggs when the two are combined, as Michelle found out when making her crème brûlée. The trick is to let your cream cool a little, then temper your eggs by adding a splash of the cream first – this brings the whole egg mixture up to temperature, so the eggs don’t scramble when you mix in the rest of the hot liquid.
The second team conjured up a starter based around a confit piece of sea bream. The idea was to confit and then crisp up the skin, but as Marcus pointed out, that’s almost impossible to do with confit fish. What confit does give you is beautifully soft, flaky flesh – check out our confit guide for more.
Making a cherry mousse in the final round, Elizabeth was unfortunate to split her mousse when she folded her cream into a cherry mixture that was too warm. As a result, the mousse never set, splitting and becoming grainy instead. Check out our guides to see how to do it the right way. | https://gbc-site-cdn.azureedge.net/features/masterchef-the-professionals-2018-week-5 |
- This event has passed.
Sous Vide Class 2-27-2021
February 27, 2021 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm$47.00
Sous Vide, or cooking with an immersion circulator, uses precise temperature control to ensure exact level of doneness for perfect restaurant results every time. Food is sealed in a plastic pouch and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times which tenderizes the meat and cooks the food to the same temperature from edge to edge. This class will introduce guests to sous vide cooking, equipment needed and recipes to try.
Cancellation Policy
We know that life happens for everybody, therefore having a cancellation policy is necessary. All classes may be subject to cancellation or rescheduling by Julie’s Table. Every effort to accommodate changes and/or refunds will be made should this occur.
A class must have a minimum or 4 registered guests. Otherwise, the class will be cancelled and money refunded.
In order to keep our classes comfortable, class size is limited. Your class registration reserves your spot and must be paid in advance. A one-week notice is required for cancellation of any class. If you do not cancel by telephone at least one week in advance of the scheduled class, no refund will be issued. Please feel free to send a friend in your place.
Please call us at 325-234-9988 or 325-469-3320 with any questions, concerns, or cancellations. | https://halfmannfarms.com/event/sous-vide-class-2-27-2021/ |
Mulled wine is a traditional spiced wine, usually flavored with cinnamon, raisins, orange, and star anise. It is often served warm but can also be chilled. Using the sous vide infusion process prevents any flavor loss that normally occurs when the wine is brought to a boil, resulting in a more flavorful, nuanced mulled wine. You can also lower the temperature to 131°F (55.0°C) for a lighter version. I like to use a heavy wine, like a Merlot, Chianti, or Cabernet Sauvignon. You can also easily scale this recipe up to use a whole bottle.
If you would like more information about the modernist techniques, ingredients, and equipment used in the mulled wine infusion recipe you can check out the following.
Combine all the ingredients, including the red wine, in a sous vide bag or Mason jar then seal and place in the water bath. Heat the infusion for 1 to 3 hours.
Strain the mulled wine and serve.
Prepare an ice bath with 1/2 ice and 1/2 water. Remove the bag or Mason jar from the water bath and place in the ice bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the mulled wine and store in a sealed container.
Mulled wine is a traditional spiced wine, usually flavored with cinnamon, raisins, orange, and star anise. Using the sous vide infusion process results in a more flavorful, nuanced mulled wine. | https://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com/info/modernist-recipes/more/mulled-wine-infusion-recipe |
Nunataryuk is a Horizon 2020 project which investigates the impact of permafrost thaw in Arctic coastal areas .
Marine litter is everywhere and unfortunately, the Arctic Ocean is no exception. While there has been a tremendous increase in public and political awareness, large knowledge gaps still remain regarding the impact, extent and fate of plastics in the environment. The University of the Arctic's Thematic Network on Arctic Plastic Pollution, lead by GRID-Arendal, aims to improve the coordination, communication and development of research, partnerships and collaborative action on marine plastic pollution in the Arctic.
The network’s objective is to foster knowledge exchange and networking among experts of the many different disciplines that have a bearing on plastic pollution. The complexity of the issues related to monitoring, and actions for combatting plastic pollution, make it clear that an interdisciplinary and cross-border approach is required for improving environmental impact assessments, source identification and solutions to the problem.
Activities are intended to support the Arctic Councils priorities in the North and to contribute to the long-term goal of reducing marine litter in Arctic waters and coastal areas. The network will focus on increasing quantitative and qualitative knowledge about marine litter in the Arctic, as well as the impact plastic has on biodiversity. This includes supporting the current work on marine plastic pollution conducted by the Arctic Council such as strengthening the communication of both on-going and future activities focused on marine litter.
Status: In progress
Type: Polar
Programme: Polar and Climate
Nunataryuk is a Horizon 2020 project which investigates the impact of permafrost thaw in Arctic coastal areas .
A series of policy assessments for different global mountain regions is being produced by GRID-Arendal and UN Environment.
The project highlights both the challenges and the solutions for sound waste management in mountain regions.
The project delivers products of Earth Observation data to understand and monitor changes to ecosystems.
Mountains cover 25 percent of the world’s land surface, and directly support 12 percent of the world’s population living within mountain...
The Arctic region is being affected by multiple pressures and drivers of change both from within and outside the region... | https://www.grida.no/activities/468 |
Neilson, A. (2018). Considering the importance of metaphors for marine conservation. Marine Policy. 97:239-243.
Here at OceanBites, we make it our mission to translate scientific journal articles into something more accessible, more digestible. Science communication revolves around finding the compelling story and engaging an audience. The tools at our disposal to do this are deceptively simple, though, and some communicators are taking note that the choice of language can have unexpected and unintended consequences, like causing delays when action is needed instead.
Language, both written and spoken, allows us to share complex information—mostly by creating imagery between a communicator and their audience that is commonly agreed upon. For example, if I were to describe a child as a smaller version of a human (provided you had ever encountered an adult human, or remembered you were once a child yourself) you should have an image in your head close to what I have in mine. This example is relatively simple, though, so what happens when the subject matter is something foreign, or complex? The result could be as minor as a slight image mismatch between the communicator and the audience, to as major as the linguistic struggle between Arrival’s Louise Banks and the heptapods…or the confusing symphony between humans and aliens in Close Encounters, if you’re more a fan of classic sci-fi.
While the ocean isn’t outer space, it is still perceived by many people as something alien. This disconnects us from something vital to our planet’s health, and Alasdair Neilson has been quite vocal about it. His article, published in Marine Policy, highlights how language—specifically metaphors (things representative or symbolic of something else)—used to describe marine conservation issues have created misconceptions that damage the effectiveness of some conservation efforts.
He cites the metaphor “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and describes how in today’s language, it creates mental imagery that does not accurately depict the real problem. Garbage, litter, refuse…these are all words that in a terrestrial setting remind you of torn plastic bags, crumpled aluminum cans, or spoiled food. Often, people imagine a garbage heap floating in the ocean when this term is used—but that’s hardly the case at all. The garbage patch is largely made up of pollutants and degraded plastic pieces, smaller than a couple centimeters. It also doesn’t float on the surface; rather, it hangs suspended a few meters below, or (especially in the case of pollutants) enters the food chain. Larger items exist out there, but it’s a far cry from a junk pile you’d find on land.
But comprehension isn’t always restricted by the mismatch of reality and mental imagery—understanding can be limited if a selected metaphor is culturally irrelevant, or has become redundant over time. Neilson mentions how British fishermen used to refer to cod as “gold” or “their bread”. These metaphors make much more sense when the audience is aware of the historical significance of cod, and the subsequent collapse of the population. This example also highlights another issue: while gold today is still valuable, bread is not always a metaphor for something precious. One metaphor’s meaning may persist while another’s may fade and become obsolete. This loss of meaning over time adds more complexity to how science communicators reach audiences.
Generational gaps in language become apparent, regional knowledge comes into play, culturally-centered phrasing crops up, and science communicators are left navigating the best path to convey their stories. Our goal is to share information that is not exaggerated or misrepresentative of the facts, while still imparting the significance of a finding using language that the broadest audience can understand. In cases where awareness needs to be raised for restoration or mitigating actions, this becomes even more important. In the simplest terms, science communicators cannot just be literal translators—there is an element of familiarity with culturally-significant images and history that comes with the territory.
Neilson discusses that some progress has been made as scientists are learning to create networks for sharing local knowledge between communities, policymakers, and interest groups. Meanwhile, public perception research—a field dedicated to examining the “knowledge, interest, social value, attitudes, and behaviors” of groups of people with respect to a topic—would be an excellent area to further test how targeted metaphors (instead of clichés and outdated terms) could impact the public’s response to environmental issues.
At the end of the day, language will never be perfect and there will likely always be a slight mismatch between all of our mental imagery, but we are taking steps to shrink that difference. We try our best, but we understand our metaphors don’t always work—but if any of you in our audience know of some that are effective, please share! | https://oceanbites.org/communication-woes-are-we-speaking-the-same-language/?shared=email&msg=fail |
When we consider the vastness and complexity which astronomers have revealed to us with regard to the starry heavens, we must often have been struck by the want of proportion between this particular view of the universe and the views which we take as regards other matters. Here we deal with distances utterly beyond the conception of the most soaring imagination, and with time periods on a corresponding scale of immensity. Nor is it only in the starry heavens that we see such vastness and infinite variety. In the stratigraphical scale of geology we find the same immeasurable extent both of time and space; in reviewing the animate kingdoms of Nature the same infinite variety and complexity confronts us. Everywhere we explore, it is the same.
Yet, in comparison with this, how feeble, how small-scale, how timorous, are our theories and speculations on such topics as the origin of man and the creation of worlds! That in a universe of such illimitable range and such viewless perspective, man should have appeared at an epoch which by comparison we may fitly describe as yesterday — this balks our sense of proportion. Again, consider the microscopic scale of our daily round, compared with the vast size and duration of the visible universe. But yet again, it is with our own mind that we conceive this vastness; and how great and how small is man! Great enough to comprehend his own littleness, small enough to marvel at this greatness. Verily this which we know as ourself cannot be but a minute fraction of our real self. Have we not then a greater self, whose range of experience is commensurate with the vastness of this universe whose outer shell we can contemplate with our eyes? Many people have asked themselves this question, glimpsing what must be the truth; yet such a speculation is after all but a first crude guess, a leaping at one bound from the finite to the infinite. Nature is far more complex than that; it is too simple to say that man has just a mortal and an immortal part, and no degrees or stages between. Man is a slowly evolving creature. There are many planes of nature, many universes interblended with each other; and man has many stages of conscious existence, corresponding with all these various planes in the universe, so that he is capable of living consciously in many states. There is more than one "heaven'; there are many heavens — many mansions in my Father's house.
People may talk about being practical and living in the world in which we find ourselves; but, as said, we have reached a stage where our intellectual speculations have outsoared our ordinary life, and an adjustment between the two is due. It is not too much to say that we are living in a state of infancy, with most of our possibilities undeveloped, and in ignorance of what we really are. And people, so fond of hypnotizing themselves to sleep with a catchword, will say that human nature is always the same. This either amounts to saying that things which don't change don't change, or to saying that we cannot grow. Human passions may remain the same, but that does not prevent us from mastering them. And after all what is human nature? We cannot dogmatize on this until we have explored its possibilities.
Our ordinary daily consciousness is limited to earth; but there are actually within us faculties which extend beyond the earth, and whose home is in the greater systems of which the earth is but a part. But those higher faculties are for the most part latent; they are not present to our awareness. Yet it is within the power of any man to enter on that mysterious path of self-evolution by which the light of his inner selves can be focused upon the screen of his conscious awareness, so that he will thereby attain a larger consciousness and transcend the limits of the ordinary personal earthbound life. Though humanity as a whole evolves slowly and will not, as a whole, attain such stages for a long while, yet individuals can and do outstrip other individuals belonging to the same human family. On earth today, and constituting part of our present mankind, are men who have attained these heights in previous cycles of evolution, and who are here now for the purpose of acting as torchbearers to those who are to follow them. And also, the mankind of this earth includes people in many different stages of evolution; even in a great modern city are grouped together people wearing the same clothes, and yet differing vastly in the stage of evolution which they have reached. Such is the complexity of Nature. Who then can say where he himself stands, or where his fellow man stands?
The idea of familiarizing the world with these ideas can hardly be overestimated, because the world has been kept back for so long by ideas that discourage progress, whether they be religious dogmas or scientific dogmas tending to give man a paltry view of his own nature and powers. When we have once vividly realized the possibility of attainment, we have already taken a long first step to an ultimate realization of the actuality. For our mind has made a call upon the light within, and a ray can be shot down which will at once begin its clarifying work on our minds and our lives.
Physically speaking, man is very small, the universe very great; but true greatness is not measured by physical proportions. | https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/forum/f16n01p03_little-man-and-his-big-universe.htm |
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and marveled at the vastness and complexity of space? You are invited to take a deeper dive into the mind-blowing world of astronomy. At the end of this course, you will walk away with the knowledge to answer the following questions:
Note: This course is not hosted on the Starbucks Global Academy platform. After enrolling, the course content will direct you on how to complete registration for this content. Check the ASU Earned Admissions website for course availability. | https://courses-ap.starbucksglobalacademy.com/courses/course-v1:AP+AST111+2020/about |
Marvellous and mysterious awe
President Bill Clinton said that there were two kinds of people—those that have seen the Taj Mahal and those that haven’t. I suspect he was highlighting the stunning beauty of the place rather than suggesting that people who have seen it are a breed apart.
President Bill Clinton said that there were two kinds of people—those that have seen the Taj Mahal and those that haven’t. I suspect he was highlighting the stunning beauty of the place rather than suggesting that people who have seen it are a breed apart.
But I came away from my visit to the Taj a changed person, if not actually a different one. Seeing the magnificent monument gave me a transforming emotional experience. I was awed.
Awe is a “goose-bumpy” feeling we get in the face of something that vastly exceeds our expectations – something that challenges our understandings or images and theories of how things are or of what is possible. Conscious and unconscious expectation shape almost all of our behaviour. We do not respond to the world that is, but the world as we expect and predict it to be. Our brains have evolved to work this way to avoid being overwhelmed by the ‘real’ world’s detail, complexity and pace of change.
Our brains have also evolved to adjust our mental ‘models of the world when these provide faulty or inadequate expectations and predictions. Awe is one of processes or mechanisms our brains use to do this.
Lying as it does in the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear, awe is an experience that is intense, transcendent and mind-boggling and not one we are likely to have every day.
Perhaps because it is a relatively rare and sometimes mystical experience, awe was ignored by science until the beginning of the 21st century. Psychology professors, Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt, changed that by identifying the features of awe that set it apart from other positive emotions, such as wonder, happiness and amusement. Awe, they point out, is experienced when we perceive that we are in the presence of or vastness (or immense ‘goodness’) – in the presence of something that both defies our current understandings and imaginings and humbles us. The actual or measured scale of the vastness is not what matters; it is how it seems to us that is important. If vastness is perceived, then vast it is, regardless of whether the vastness relates to physical size or another dimension such as force, power, achievement, leadership, altruism, heroism and, of course, beauty in all its natural and created forms. Vastness, like beauty, is in the eye (or mind) of the beholder. If you perceivevastness, then the vastness is real for you.
The perception of vastness is one of two aspects of awe that set it apart from wonder and other emotions. The second aspect is the need to come up with a new theory or mental model to make sense of what we are experiencing. This is the need for accommodation. Simply refining or adjusting theories to embrace new information or facts is not enough.
I learned this from another of my experiences of awe, one that occurred at the end of a long day of trekking in Nepal. I arrived at a small saddle, the final hurdle of the day, and there in front of me was the immense eastern face of Mt Dhaulagiri rising the best part of 6000 metres from the valley of the Kali Gandaki River. I was overwhelmed and I remember exclaiming, It can’t be true!. Time stopped for me as I was totally caught up in the scene. I sensed immensity beyond the scene itself, something to which I was connected in the core of my being and something that I had to acknowledge in my understanding of the cosmos. I felt humbled and deeply conscious of my “smallness” and relative insignificance. My self-understanding was not simply refined; it was given a new dimension. I came away from the experience with a new concept or mental model of myself and my place in the cosmos. I have no idea how long I remained there, utterly transfixed (I can still get goose bumps recalling it). When I finally made my way to the camp, I had completely forgotten my fatigue and my mood had lifted. Somehow the world seemed a better place.
Awe is often spoken of in the same breath as wonder, but the two are different (contrary to what dictionaries may indicate). They are alike in one important respect, however; both originate in amazement. Amazement works in both awe and wonder to arouse our interest, curiosity and desire to explain the unexpected, and to adjust our knowledge accordingly. The energy for this work comes from the powerful drive in all of us to resolve uncertainty. While uncertainty in small measure can be stimulating, exciting and even thrilling, in larger measure it can be very stressful. That is why our brains are programmed to seek the comfort of certainty. Awe and wonder serve this purpose by stirring us to “fix” our knowledge so that the unexpected is explained and certainty is restored. Along with love, the need to resolve uncertainty makes the world go round.
Awe is called a positive emotion for good reason. The strong feelings of pleasure that accompany it arise from activity in the brain’s reward or dopamine pathway. Even a brief experience of awe is noticeably mood-lifting and likely to leave a positive after-glow that makes the world seem, for a short time at least, more interesting and attractive.
Awe is arguably the most potent of the positive emotions. It stimulates the mind and spirit in ways unmatched by any other emotion. A healthier and more wholesome way of achieving a restorative high is hard to imagine.
The difference between awe and other positive emotions such as aesthetic pleasure, happiness and amusement can actually be observed. The genuine (Duchenne) smile that is a feature of these other emotions rarely appears with awe. The typical outward signs of awe are raised inner eyebrows, a bright-eyed stare, an open mouth, a slight forward jutting of the head and an inhalation of breath. These signs all indicate heightened attention, alertness and mental arousal – just what a larger-than-life encounter would be expected to evoke.
No one knows for certain, but scientists have suggested that awe helped our species survive in two ways:
- making us smarter by sharpening our ability and motivation to seek knowledge and understanding (and so limit the burden of uncertainty) and
- making us more caring by inclining us to be empathetic, generous and co-operative and better equipped to foster cohesive communal life
There is a good case for both suggestions. Awe makes us smarter in several ways:
- It stimulates curiosity, which supercharges learning by activating regions in the brain associated with motivation, understanding and memory.
- It fosters the development of information gathering skills by motivating us to be thorough and analytical in evaluating information, for example.
- It provides the building blocks of a disposition to be curious.
- It fosters the development of interests
Awe makes us more caring by leaving an intriguing emotional legacy – an afterglow of goodwill and selflessness. There are at least three strands to the link between awe, kindness and caring behaviour. First, the emotional lift from awe makes us feel better about ourselves. You have probably noticed yourself that when you are in a good mood, you are friendlier and more open and accepting of others. Second, awe has the effect of absorbing us into the present moment and diminishing our awareness of the passing of time. As a result, we perceive that we have more time available for others as well as ourselves. This lifting of time pressure enables us to be more generous in providing for the rights, needs and concerns of others. Third, by shrinking us down to size, awe enables us to see ourselves more objectively and realistically in relation to others. This, in turn, helps us to identify with other people, to see the world more from their point of view, and to empathise with them.
Awe is an emotion that contributes to the greater good as well as to individual well-being. As awe makes us happier, it makes us kinder, which leads to a win-win situation – a win for us and a win for others. It is no accident that the study of awe is given high priority at the Greater Good Science Centre within the University of California, Berkeley. | https://connectwithnatureguide.com/marvellous-and-mysterious-awe/ |
Seacamp Association, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to marine science education. Our mission is to create awareness of the complex and fragile marine world and to foster critical thinking and informed decision making about man's use of natural resources.
We are one of the few organizations in the United States providing experiential education in marine studies to students aged 8 to 21 years old. As a residential summer camp and educational facility, Seacamp Association offers extended sessions of hands-on, interactive education, taking advantage of the variety of marine environments surrounding the campus.
In the past thirty years Seacamp Association has developed and continuously refined an educational program which offers a range of subjects, a high degree of student participation, and an intense experience that is both action-packed and safe. We've seen the enormous impact that field observation and research has on students, demonstrating, as no classroom lecture can, the connections between living things on land and in the ocean and the complexity of the ecological, social, cultural, and economic issues facing the world's citizens.
The summer camp for 12 to 17 year-olds began in 1966 and emphasizes marine research and exploration using snorkeling and scuba skills as well as the more traditional camp activities of sailing, lifesaving, windsurfing, photography, arts and crafts and campcraft. In 1970 Newfound Harbor Marine Institute evolved to provide a marine studies field camp for public and private schools, teaching snorkeling skills used to study the coral reef, shallow bay, and mangrove communities.
To date more than 200,000 students have participated in sessions at Seacamp. The Association's scholarship program provides support to students from as far as Russia and as near as neighboring Keys.
Seacamp Association has built a fleet of eight, flat-topped trimarans. We have designed rigorous training programs for our instructors and counselors focusing not only on marine biology and ecology but also emphasizing the development of teaching techniques, water safety, first aid, and boat operation skills.
In the coming years Seacamp Association aims:
We hope you enjoy this glimpse of the Seacamp commmunity. For those browsers who are alumni of our programs -- Institute, Seacamp, or staff -- we are delighted to be able to keep in touch via Seacamp Association's home page.
For answers to specific questions please don't hesitate to contact us at: | http://seacamp.org/mission.htm |
A new report by the Nereus Program, an international interdisciplinary research programme aimed at predicting future oceans, highlights how climate change will affect the sustainability of global marine fisheries in the 21st century.
The report, entitled Predicting Future Oceans: Climate Change, Oceans & Fisheries (pdf, 1.2 MB), puts together findings from oceanography, ecology, fisheries and social-economics.
It concludes that climate change and ocean acidification, along with overfishing and habitat destruction, will lead to a decline in fisheries in many regions and alterations of marine biodiversity and food web structure.
"The types of fish that we will have on our dinner table will be very different decades later compared to now," says Dr. William Cheung, University of British Colombia Associate Professor and the Co-Director of the Nereus programme.
"Fisheries will be catching more tropical species of a smaller size, and that will affect fish supply through our domestic and oversea fisheries as well as imports"
Dr. William Cheung, co-Director of the Nereus programme
Improved framework needed
The report communicates the urgency and complexity while
having concrete appeal to policy makers and other stakeholders. It argues that an improved framework for global ocean governance will be needed to ensure sustainable fisheries in the future.
"Global marine ecosystems have already been largely altered by overfishing,” says Dr. Daniel Pauly, Professor at the University of British Columbia and an advisor to the Nereus Program.
"This report clearly points out that any solution needs to deal with the CO2 problem as well."
Conventional science not enough
Dr. Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, the co-founder of the Nereus Program, warns that "we are at a critical point" and that if no effective measures are taken against the current problems facing the oceanic environment, human beings will no longer be able to sustain its economic activities, much less its existence.
He argues that the critical state of the world's oceans requires interdisciplinary approaches and extensive capacity building through comprehensive programmes like Nereus. Stockholm Resilience Centre is part of the Nereus Program on behalf of Stockholm university.
Download the report here (pdf, 1.2 MB)
ABOUT THE NEREUS PROGRAM
The Nereus Program is a global interdisciplinary initiative between the Nippon Foundation
and the University of British Columbia. It was created to further our knowledge of how best
to attain sustainability for our world’s oceans.
In addition to the Nippon Foundation and UBC, the programme is comprised of several other partner institutions, including the University
of Cambridge, Duke University, Princeton University, Stockholm University, United Nations
Environmental Program-World Conservation Monitoring Centre and Utrecht University.
Contact Dep. Science Director Henrik Österblom for more information about Stockholm Resilience Centre's contribution to the programme. | https://stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-07-01-a-much-different-dinner-plate.html |
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