Commercial Dog-Breeding Facilities Essay Example for Free

Commercial Dog-Breeding Facilities Essay Pet shops give many people the impression of happy, eager, and healthy puppies that are in desperate need of a home and family. Sometimes people feel bad for the animals stuck in the small cages and decide they’re going to save or rescue them. People who buy these animals don’t realize that they’re supporting the commercial dog-breeding industry. Commercial dog-breeding facilities treat animals as a product; they are concerned with quantity and the profit they’ll receive instead of quality and the animals’ health. These facilities need to be banned for three reasons: to prevent further health deterioration of the animals; to preserve the lowering of breeds’ genetic traits which result from unregulated breeding; and they give reputable breeders a bad name. Before we examine specific issues surrounding professional dog breeders, first we should define some terms and give a general background of the problem. Many people have heard about the animal cruelty behind puppy mills; however, they have no idea about commercial dog-breeding facilities. The term â€Å"puppy mill† is used to describe large-scale dog breeding operations that place income over the animals’ welfare. Puppy mills don’t breed responsibly and the conditions they keep the animals in are generally illegal. Commercial dog-breeding facilities are also large scale breeding facilities that place the well being of animals below making a profit, yet these facilities are subject to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulating and enforcing of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) laws and regulations. The USDA regulates the breeding facilities with the minimum standards for the animals’ health; these are the same laws that are used for chickens, cows, pigs and other animals, which are slaughtered. The law requires that each animal is provided with â€Å"adequate housing, handling, sanitation, nutrition, water, veterinary care, and protection from extreme weather and temperatures† (USDA Animal Welfare Act). The USDA does not have the funds or proper training to enforce these laws, so most commercial dog-breeding facilities continue to thrive while their animals are suffering. The USDA also does not have any regulations for the facilities if they sell directly to the public, which includes online sales. These loopholes in the system cause for an unbalanced, irresponsible, and unhealthy system of dog breeding. Having seen that commercial breeding in general is a problem, let’s examine the first specific issue, that of the deterioration of dogs’ health at these facilities. Commercial dog-breeding facilities don’t keep the dogs’ health in mind, even in severe and life threatening cases. When it comes to animals’ health in these facilities, there are government rules and regulations with punishments for violators and repeat offenders. Inspectors must visit commercial dog-breeding facilities at least twice a month; if there’s a violation, they file reports and give out punishments to those who have violated the laws. A May 2010 audit report filed by the United States Department of Agriculture uncovers the truth of inspectors’ visits to commercial dog-breeding facilities: â€Å"Expecting that the dealers would improve their standards of care, the agency chose to take little or no enforcement actions against most violators† (USDA Animal and Plant Health 10). Inspectors wouldn’t choose to give any stipulation to violators, even when they were repeat offenders. Inspectors never followed up visits to ensure that the proper changes were made, nor did they make the proper amount of check ups required per year. The conditions of commercial dog-breeding facilities are disgusting and irresponsible, and the dogs are not properly brought up and cared for. The May 2010 audit report filed against USDA inspectors mentions an Oklahoma breeding facility that had numerous dogs infested with ticks; pages 11 and 12 feature shocking photos of the dogs taken by the inspector. The breeder had no records of any medical treatment ever given to any dogs, and if a re-inspection were to be given then there would be no way of knowing if the animals were really treated or euthanized. The inspector cited the breeder for an indirect violation, despite excessive ticks being a direct violation in the Dealer Inspections Guide. He told the breeder to take only eight of the infested dogs to the veterinarian. The inspector didn’t require any documentation of the treatment nor did he indentify which dogs needed treatment, so there is no way to know what happened to the dogs in the pictures mentioned above (USDA Animal and Plant Health 11-12) The dogs kept for use as breeding stock live their entire lives in the small cages, being bred too early, too frequently, and for too long. These dogs generally have the most severe health and behavioral problems. Franklin McMillan, DVM, is well known for his studies on animals affected by trauma; one of his studies compared dogs that were used as breeding stock in commercial dog-breeding facilities to dogs owned by the general public. The dogs were put through the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), which rate many psychological behaviors and their intensity. The C-BARQ is given an average of two years after the breeding stock dogs have been in their adoptive homes, with 76 different breeds and both sexes included. The breeding stock dogs were compared to a sampling of the dogs owned by the general public by matching their breed, sex, age, and neuter status. This test was conducted to see if the breeding stock dogs do actually consistently â€Å"display persistent behavioural and psychological abnormalities† (McMillan, Duffy, and Serpell). The results confirmed that the former breeding stock dogs did indeed have considerably higher behavior problems. It’s often argued that dogs used in commercial dog-breeding establishments have psychological issues and this has now been confirmed by this study. The dogs that are used as breeding stock are forced to spend their lives solely for production of profit, and when they no longer can produce they are usually euthanized. Commercial dog-breeding facilities do not provide the dogs they keep with adequate care; they leave the facilities unkempt and dirty, and don’t allow the animals exercise. The dogs not only have physical side effects but also psychological ones after being in crowded cages isolated from human contact. The inspections that are supposed to make sure the facilities are keeping up with the USDA regulations provide no help for the situation. It’s a rare case to have inspectors following the Dealer Inspections Guide with follow-ups, citing when necessary, and issuing violations. The inspectors have many weaknesses; there was no enforcement against violators, the inspectors didn’t follow procedure, they rarely provided any documentation or evidence, and they delayed telling breeders to send suffering animals for treatment (USDA Animal and Plant Health). Commercial dog-breeding facilities don’t keep the breeding stock dogs or puppies in sanitary conditions or keep them healthy; this is a direct violation of USDA regulations. Now let’s examine the second major issue surrounding dog breeders, which is that they lower the standards of the breeds. The American Kennel Club (AKC) is the largest purebred dog registry in the United States; people may pay up to thousands of dollars for purebred dogs that are AKC registered. The issue is that these AKC papers’ value is not what it seems; they do not guarantee that the dog is purebred, healthy, or within proper breed standards. Leslie LeFave, writer and dog enthusiast, states how breeders obtain AKC papers for their litters: Breeders send to AKC for a litter application. They then fill out this form with who the mother and father of the puppies are, with their AKC registration numbers, date of birth, and certificate number[†¦]The breeder then sends this paper work (litter registration) to AKC to add these puppies to their database and the breeder gets AKC papers and numbers for each puppy. No questions asked. (LeFave) The AKC papers only guarantee that an application was filled out and payment was received; the AKC does not check the breeders’ claims, including the breed, health, and number of puppies born. The AKC continues to hand out registration papers as the checks come in and more puppies are sold with AKC registered papers that don’t necessarily belong with them. Many people choose purebred dogs because of a specific look, and certain traits they desire in their companion. Commercial dog-breeding facilities’ only goal is to make money, so they will breed any dogs that match the certain looks typical of the breed without taking care to prevent diseases and inbreeding. This way of breeding only multiplies the chances of serious genetic disorders in each puppy and leaves the personality traits not even considered. LeFave explains how a responsible breeder chooses which dogs to breed: â€Å"Having quality dogs requires a breeder to invest money and time in their dogs. A good breeder does genetic health testing if available for their breed, and spends hours going over pedigrees and learning all they can about their breed.† No commercial dog-breeding facility cares about the long-term health of the animal; they will not check for serious diseases in the dogs used for breeding stock or in the puppies they’re selling. Commercial dog-breeding facilities are not responsible breeders; they produce unhealthy animals and deteriorate the breeds’ genetics and standards. Purebred dogs are more susceptible to genetic disorders because the large breeding facilities don’t take care to make sure the breeding gene pool is large, diverse, and free of the disorders common to which breed they’re breeding; therefore, many disorders carried, even those that are recessive, are amplified. Carrie Allan, a writer for All Animals magazine, has found in many studies that 30 to 70 percent of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (a small toy breed) will end up with Syringomyelia, a serious life threatening disorder. Syringomyelia is a disease in the spinal cord in which cavities fill with fluid near the brain; sometimes even the dog’s brain will swell past the skull. This is not uncommon for a purebred dog; they have many serious genetic diseases that the buyer is unaware of until their dog starts suffering. Commercial dog-breeding facilities do not screen for the common diseases or breed to prevent them. They are irresponsible, reckless, and create long-term problems with breed standards and traits. The third major issue with commercial dog breeding facilities is that their practices often bring disrepute onto reputable breeders. Responsible dog-breeders do exist, and they produce healthy and happy puppies that are true to their breeds’ standards. These breeders also know of the horrible situations commercial dog-breeding facilities keep their animals in, and they are also in the fight against them; they cause responsible breeders to lose more money, give them a bad name, and deteriorate the breeds of dogs they love. The law requires breeders to have kennel or vendor’s licenses, but many states and counties cut commercial breeding facilities breaks, not requiring them to have these licenses. The small responsible breeders, who only produce about twelve puppies a year, do not get any break, they must have licenses, and they must pay their taxes on the dogs. For example, in Ohio a report was given by Michael W. McKinney, the Public Information Officer for the Ohio Department of Taxation, on these vendors: â€Å"None of the 410 known dog breeding kennels in Holmes County with 11,033 dogs, including 41 with more than 50 breeding dogs each, have a vendor’s licenses.† (Allen). The state is not helping any small backyard breeder, but the large commercial ones, who should be required to have a license so that their dogs can be tracked and give an idea of their profits. When responsible breeders breed two dogs, they put a lot of effort into which animals they choose; they look at thei r family trees, they raise them in a suitable environment, and they make sure the animals are going to a home that’s a good fit. Purebred dogs have a significantly higher chance of carrying diseases, which is why good breeders make sure that the common diseases in the dog breed that they’re producing doesn’t end up in their litter. They have tests done to be sure the diseases aren’t present in the dogs they’ll breed; they make sure that the animals are healthy, then breed them, and also check each puppy before they sell them to ensure they’re healthy. For example, golden retrievers have a significantly high chance of developing hip dysplasia, a disease which causes improper developing of the hip joints, and a good breeder will prevent this as best as they can. Not only do puppies from reputable breeders have lower chances of carrying diseases, but also they are mentally healthier as well. When a dog is brought up in a family environment with daily exercise and its mother to raise it, it has a solid foundation to grow on. A dog that hasn’t been properly socialized can create many problems for an owner, which can include being aggressive to people and other animals. If the puppy were properly socialized then other people and animals would only be something the puppy has seen before and can coexist with. These breeders take a lot of time to make sure the puppies are brought up properly and don’t want to be associated with commercial dog-breeding facilities, which don’t provide the proper amount of care to their puppies. The reckless commercial dog-breeders give the wrong impression about the industry as a whole, and they cause high taxes for reputable breeders who aren’t doing it for profit but who want to see the breed they love thrive. Responsible breeders want their dog breed to be healthy as a whole; they don’t like having to see many beautiful, perfect dogs go to waste because of careless breeding, which produces a higher chance of disease in the breed. Large facilities make dog breeding seem like a product, while small, responsible breeders take great care to raise these animals for families. Commercial dog-breeding causes great stress and problems for responsible dog breeders, which are in it for the dogs, not a profit. We have seen that puppy mills and many large â€Å"government inspected† dog-breeding businesses produce ill dogs with degenerated breed traits and cast a negative light on the entire industry. Nevertheless, many people purchase puppies from these facilities because the canines are cheaper and the buyer feels he or she is â€Å"rescuing† the puppy, as if it were in a dog pound. Some people feel that commercial dog-breeding facilities may have negative sides to it but a responsibly bred purebred puppy is too expensive. Yes, many quality puppies can be up to thousands of dollars, and there is a reason for that. Responsible breeders don’t have a large-scale operation that shoots dogs out quick enough for a huge profit; they run their business out of their homes; they raise puppies with their family and put as much time and effort into breeding the right dogs as they do into raising them in the first weeks. The dogs from responsible breeders will not only have papers, but they’ll have papers that actually match up to them. These dogs will be healthy and of good genetic background, and that is what you’re paying for. If the problem is entirely money, then a shelter dog is the right choice; they are priced not for profit but for affordability and sustaining the shelters ability to stay afloat. From personal experience, I know that the local pound, Danville Boyle County Humane Society, a non-profit organization, provides animals at a very reasonable cost with many benefits for the owner. Not only is the buyer saving a life, but also all animals come spayed or neutered, de-wormed, with rabies vaccinations, and for dogs, they have the Bordatella vaccination (for kennel cough), and Distemper vaccination (for parvovirus). These vaccinations are for the most common diseases that leave animals at a very high risk of death. All of this is provided with your puppy for only $100, and for dogs and cats $75. Compared to the price of dogs from pet stores, online sellers and commercial breeders, that’s an unbeatable price, especially when they provide the animals already with proper health records. And many shelter animals are also purebred, not just mixes. A shelter is the perfect spot to go if you want an inexpensive and healthy animal. There is no reason for money to be the issue in acquiring an animal from a commercial dog breeding facility. If you don’t have enough, then a shelter or rescue organization is the perfect place, healthy and inexpensive. If you care about the background of the animal and want to show it, then dogs from a responsible breeder are much better suited for show; they will be able to provide you with a much better representation of the dog’s breed than a large scale breeding organization. You can see how those who believe that commercial dog-breeding facilities do not supply animals with the best living conditions, but provide them cheaper than reputable breeders are in the wrong. In the long run, dogs from large-scale facilities could end up with very expensive healthcare, having to buy a new dog, or even facing the heartbreak of being forced to euthanize it. Money is a big deal in our world right now, and buying a dog isn’t something that should add to that. Shelter dogs are cheaper, and dogs from good breeders are healthier, with much lower vet bills. In summary, commercial dog-breeding facilities are operations to produce maximum profit and leave the animals to fend for themselves; commercial breeders are leaving the important and necessary aspects of a good business behind. They are not making sure the animals involved are healthy and happy, they don’t mind when their â€Å"product’s† name is diminished, and they don’t care about other businesses, people, or animals harmed from their actions. Many of their dogs are euthanized, or have painful and serious diseases from their reckless breeding. Responsible breeders are getting a bad name from these facilities and shouldn’t be associated with them because they’re quite the opposite. And while buying a dog from a reputable breeder is more expensive than getting one from a puppy mill or online, the healthy dog will cause you much less in vet bills, and will be able to stick around till it’s old. Other options are shelter dogs, which are generally mixes and are much healthier dogs than purebreds, and rescue organizations, which can give you a cheap purebred with a much clearer background of where it came from. Commercial dog-breeding facilities don’t offer benefits to anybody involved in the industry; they provide unnecessary harm to many animals and people who don’t realize where their cute puppy actually came from. Not only are these facilities harming animals, but also our country as a whole, because they get tax breaks and are an unstable, unreliable industry that does shady work. These large-scale operations should be stopped and prohibited from business before more puppies are harmed, people are ripped off, and the country’s laws a re ignored. Works Cited: Allan, Carrie. â€Å"The Purebred Paradox.† Humanesociety.org. The Humane Society of the United States, May/June 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. Allen, Laura. â€Å"Ohio Giving Commercial Dog Breeders a Pass on Taxes.† Animallawcoalition.com. Animal Law Coalition, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. LeFave, Leslie. â€Å"About AKC Registration Papers and Pedigrees.† Itsmagicmaltese.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. McMillan, Franklin D., Deborah L. Duffy, and James A. Serpell. â€Å"Mental Health of Dogs Formerly Used As ‘Breeding Stock’ In Commercial Breeding Establishments.† Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135.1/2 (2011): 86-94. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. United States Department of Agriculture. The Animal Welfare Act: An Overview. USDA. May 2006: n.p. Web. 13 May 2012. United States Department of Agriculture. Office of Inspector General. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: Animal Care Program: Inspections of Problematic Dealers. Washington: USDA, May 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.

On the Ageing Population Essay Example for Free

On the Ageing Population Essay With the development of the advanced society, increasingly numbers of nations are facing the ageing problem. The aging population, the fraction of the population aged 65 and over exceeds 8-10%, has been universally recognized as one of the worldwide social issues in 21 century. We are ageing—not just as individuals or communities but as a world. In 2006, almost 500 million people worldwide were 65 and older. By 2030, that total is projected to increase to 1 billion—1 in every 8 of the earth’s inhabitants. Usually, the ageing problem would happen in the developed countries, however, some developing countries are facing the same problem as well. China, as the biggest developing nation, is facing serious ageing problem. According to 2010 census, China has already become an aging society, with 177.648 million elderly over 60 years old, about 13 percent of the total population. Depending on the report released by CASS (Chinese Academy of Social Science), the age of 65 in China will overtake that of Japan in 2030, which will make the world’s most aged society. Unfortunately, China is the only country with more than 100 million people aged over 60 in the world and the countrys economy is not well prepared for a rapidly expanding aging population. In such situation, China faces more difficulties than any other nations. Chinese current pension system, medical care system and social service sectors cannot meet the demands of all senior citizens. As we all know, in the past three decades, China created a miracle thanks to the largest cheep labor force in the world, which had contributed nearly 27 percent to Chinese economic growth. Nowadays, because of the increasing life expectancy and low birth rate (one child policy), the demographic dividend is gradually disappearing. According to statistics, compared with 2000, the scale of young Chinese labor force aged from 20 to 29 has already reduced about 15% in 2010, which will affect Chinese economy, as the number of potential workers, especially from rural areas, will shrink. Chinese government as well as the outside is worrying about that China will slow or even stop the developing pace on account of the shrink of labor force, since Chinese economy benefits a lot from the demographic dividend. How can we solve this problem effectively has been attached great importance by Chinese government. The Setting In the late 1970s, China has carried out one-child policy to control the population growth. With the launch of the one-child policy, Vice Premier Chen Muhua expressed his fear: â€Å"Young people under 30 years of age account for about 65 percent of the total population, or around 630 million. Some have already reached the age of fertility, and the majority of the remainder will do so within the next 10 to 20 years or so. If population growth is not controlled, it will reach a high peak, making it virtually impossible for the economy and our social institutions to cope with.† In that circumstance, China has put one-child policy into practice until now. There’s no doubt that one-child policy has played a role in contributing, along with urbanization, to a reduced rate of population expansion and the temporary creation of a population with a dependency ratio lower than it otherwise would have been. However, one-child policy as well brings some problems to our society. For instance, currently, China is undergoing a family restructuring process. The former pyramid shape is being replaced by an inverse pyramid. The typical Chinese family today can be classified as 4-2-1. 4 represents the parents and parents-in-law, 2 represents the husband and wife, and the 1 refers to the only child of the couple. And the center of the family is on the 1— the grandchild. The form of 4-2-1 family leads to the condition that the 2 have to prepare for both the older and the younger generations. To the 2, they have to take care of their parents and child both on material and immaterial life. At present, the 4-2-1 family structure is emerging and will replace the previous family structure in China. Moreover, the middle 2 have to shoulder all the responsibilities of their families. Besides, because Chinese current pension system, medical care system and social service sectors cannot meet the dem ands of all senior citizens, the children of these aged people have to shoulder more responsibilities. Policy Initiatives Based on the problem of ageing population, Chinese government has already launched a new policy to relieve the shortage of labor force market. If the couple matches certain conditions, they can have two babies. Here listed some conditions. Both parties are only child in their respective family; Their only child is diagnosed of having a non-genetic disease and unable to grow up to be a normal laborer; Either party is infertile but the wife becomes pregnant after having adopted a child legally; Remarried couples with the total number of children from previous marriages not exceeding one and so on. Furthermore, relaxing the requirements on emigration application can attract more immigrants to relieve the lack of labor force. Taking Canada as an example, Canada needs to attract hundreds of thousands of skilled workers from abroad to make up a labor shortfall. Since the 1990s, the federal immigration program has targeted people who have the experience and training that are in demand, incl uding medical doctors, nurses, cooks, electricians, welders and other professionals. It is also a good idea for Chinese government to attract some skilled immigrants. Although ageing population challenges a certain nation’s pension system, medical care system, social service and economy, it is not always about negative effects. From the bright sight, the occurrence of the ageing problem is a good opportunity for China to switch from a labor-intensive country to a technology-intensive country. Actually, ageing population itself is not horrible; the key point is how to respond it wisely. If the government can handle this problem effectively, ageing can also become a moment for the Chinese society to promote economy and realize the economic transition. Chinese government can not only be satisfied with the current situation â€Å"World Factory†, instead, it is time for us to transit to a technology-intensive country. Taking Finland as an example, Finland started its industrialization very late, in the early 20th century; Finland was stuck in the structural crisis of its leading industries forest industry, iron and steel, shipbuilding, textile and clothing. But, Finland used that chance and realized the transition successfully. Nowadays, although Finland is facing the ageing problem, it is still on the top list of worldwide competitiveness because of its pillar industry electronics. The well-known mobile phone brand – Nokia is the best proof of the successful transition of Finland’s economy. Finland people are proud of their advanced technology and eager to innovate. Compared with Finland people, Chinese people like to plagiarize and copy others’ ideas and products rather than innovate by ourselves. Copying and manufacturing blindly can not make us profit a lot to promote the economy and compete with other nations. There’s no doubt that such kind of countries lack the competitiveness in the world and the prospects for development. As we all know, the price of iphone 4 is from $499 to $699, but the cost of an iphone 4 is only about $188 or even less. The Apple Inc. let some developing countries to manufacture these components of iphone 4 and pay the workers less money, since the labor force in developing countries is very cheap. Though China benefits a lot from the cheap labor force, the wages of Chinese workers often do not follow international standards. As we can see that the one who master the core technology can earn more money, while the one who just copies and manufactures can only get a little money. Therefore, the lacking of labor force urges China to switch from a labor-intensive country to a technology-intensive country. In that case, China will be able to achieve more balanced and sustained growth in the future. In addition, since the aged, purely a group of consumers who have many demands can bring a lot of opportunities. Due to the unique background of China, the industries related to the aged will have bright prospects, such as health care industry, entertainment industry, tourist industry and etc. The consuming on account of filial piety can contribute a lot to China’s economy. Conclusion With the development of the advanced society, the proportion of older people is steadily increasing. And the emergence of ageing population will cause repercussions on the labor market, economic growth potential, public finances and other fields. At present, the ageing population is going to become a mass phenomenon in the near future, which will not only change the economy system, but also shake the base of society as such. To China, answering ageing problem correctly is of great urgency. Encouraging couples to have the second child and relaxing the requirements on emigration application to attract more immigrants to relieve the shortage of labor force are both the solutions to the ageing problem of China. Additionally, China can not be satisfied with gaining benefits through manufacturing products all the time. It’s time to do the economic transition with the wealth which we gained from the demographic dividend. Chinese government can invest much money to develop the technology, which will acquire better economic profits and development prospect. In that case, China will be able to achieve more balanced and sustained growth in the future. Although China has not well prepared for the ageing population, China can regard it as an opportunity to realize the transition of economy. What’s more, we should not treat the aged as a burden or a threat to our society. On the contrary, the industries which are related with the aged will be the emerging industries in the future. If Chinese government can solve the ageing problem effectively, the chances offered by ageing population can be used to their full extent, which will bring more opportunities to China.

Liberal Intergovernmentalism

Liberal Intergovernmentalism What choice for Europe? Reflections on agency and structure in Liberal Intergovernmentalism ABSTRACT This article examines how the relationship between agency and structure is dealt with in Liberal Intergovernmentalism, a prevailing theory of European integration. It demonstrates that, contrary to the widespread view that it is agency-centred, Liberal Intergovernmentalism is in fact a highly structuralist theory in the issue areas it claims to explain best. In these areas integration is ultimately explained in terms of developments in economic structures, leaving no room for agency and ideas. The article also shows that, despite the importance it ascribes to changes in economic structures, Liberal Intergovernmentalism fails to theorise their possible causes. Keywords: Liberal Intergovernmentalism; Moravcsik; Agency; Structure; Integration theory Over the past two decades Andrew Moravcsiks Liberal Intergovernmentalism (LI) has established itself as one of the prevailing theories of European integration. Elegantly combining a liberal theory of preference formation with an intergovernmentalist theory of interstate bargains and a functional theory of institutional choice it explains European integration as the outcome of a series of intergovernmental negotiations. More than any other contemporary theory of integration LI and its application in empirical analyses has provoked discussion in the field of EU studies. Opinions are divided between those who admire LI for its parsimony and predictive power and those who feel that its account of regional integration misses out on too much of importance. Either way, hardly anyone would dispute that it continues to be a theory that it is necessary to relate to in one way or another in theoretically informed work on European integration. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the liberal intergovernmentalist explanation of integration from a meta-theoretical perspective. More precisely, it will be systematically analysed how the relationship between agency and structure is dealt with in LI. Any theorys account of the social world, or delimited parts of it, is based on a particular, albeit often implicit, conceptualisation of the agency-structure relationship and whether or not this conceptualisation is convincing impacts greatly on the quality of the theorys account of social phenomena and change. There is thus much to be learned about a theory, in this case LI, from examining its underlying assumptions with respect to agency and structure. This is even more so because appearances can be deceiving: as it will be argued in this article, LI which appears and is widely assumed to offer an agency-centred account of European integration, turns out to do the opposite on closer scrutiny. In addition to this introduction and a conclusion the article is divided into seven sections. The first two sections set the stage for later analyses by briefly introducing LI and the question of the agency-structure relationship, while also accounting for their respective significance. The following three sections examine how the agency-structure question is dealt with at each of the three stages of LI: preference formation, interstate bargaining and institutional choice. Against this background section six critically examines the liberal intergovernmentalist explanation of European integration before section seven discusses the political implications of LI. 1. Liberal Intergovernmentalism Andrew Moravcsiks Liberal intergovernmentalism (LI) was first presented in the early 1990s and later elaborated and applied in a string of publications of which the monumental book The Choice for Europe (1998) contains the most detailed exposition and test of the theory. LI is presented as a framework for synthesising theories into a coherent account of regional integration. The latter is explained as the result of ‘a series of celebrated intergovernmental bargains (Moravcsik, 1993: 473). More precisely integration is seen as the outcome of a three-stage process where: (1) national interests or goals arise in the context of domestic politics; (2) governments bargain with each other to further their national interest; and (3) governments make an institutional choice to secure credible commitment once a substantive agreement has been reached. LI quickly became a focal point in debates on how to theorise European integration and it has subsequently kept this position. According to Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig (2009: 67), LI ‘has acquired the status of a â€Å"baseline theory† in the study of regional integration: an essential first cut explanation against which other theories are often compared. In their view, ‘it has achieved this dominant status due to its theoretical soundness, empirical power, and utility as a foundation for synthesis with other explanations (2009: 67). To be sure, not everyone would agree with this latter sentiment. As alluded to in the introduction, several scholars have criticised the theory for painting a too incomplete or even misleading picture of the European integration process and the ‘empirical power of the resulting analyses has often been questioned (e.g. Diez, 1999; Smith, 2000; Wincott, 1995; see also Cini, 2007: 112-14 for an overview of some critiques of LI). In asmuch as relatively few scholars besides Moravcsik appear to wholeheartedly embrace LI (Pollack, 2001; however, cf. Laursen, 2002), it is probably fair to say that it has acquired its status as a â€Å"baseline theory† as much because of its perceived weaknesses as because of its strengths. Similar to Waltzs (1979) neorealism LI is a parsimonious and bold theory that lends itself to accusations of neglecting or underestimating the significance of important parameters in the case of LI for instance transnational business groups and activist supranational institutions. Indeed, LI does this deliberately, seeking ‘to simplify EU politics, stressing the essential and excluding certain secondary activities (Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig, 2009: 68). Hereby it follows the neo-positivist recipe for theory construction, according to which theories should take the form of simplified models that can support efforts to make generalisations by singling out as few variables as possible and account for the causal relations between, and the relative weight of, these variables. Falsifiable hypothesises are derived from such theories and subsequently tested against reliable empirical data. On the basis of such tests, theories can then be further refined or occasionally discarded. (1 ) Testing LI is precisely what Moravcsik sets out to do in The Choice for Europe. Here standardised hypotheses derived from LI and competing (albeit for the most part artificial) theories are tested against an overwhelming amount of empirical data in five cases studies. Needless to say, LI comes out on top as the theory with the by far greatest explanatory power. More generally, The Choice for Europe constitutes an example par excellence of research informed by neo-positivist methods and standards. In its early pages Moravcsik informs his readership that the book ‘eschews ad hoc explanation and seeks instead to discover what is generalizable about EC history (1998: 2) and that it ‘is based on methods which, while far from ideal, generate more rigorous, transparent, objective, and reliable tests of competing theoretical claims about European integration than have heretofore been conducted (1998: 10). The bulk of studies of EC decision-making are criticised for biased data se lection and for relying on ‘citations to secondary sources themselves drawn from journalistic commentary or still other secondary sources (1998: 10). In contrast to this, Moravcsik claims to have backed ‘potentially controversial attribution of motive or strategy †¦ by â€Å"hard† primary sources (direct evidence of decision-making) rather than â€Å"soft† or secondary sources (1998: 10, see also pp. 80-84). (2) 2. Agency and structure The question of how to conceptualise the relationship between agency and structure is arguably one of the most important questions facing social scientists (Archer, 1995: 65). This is due to the importance of agency and structures in the social world and to the fact that it is impossible to offer explanations of events in the social world without appealing to some understanding of their relationship. As mentioned in the introduction there is thus much to be learned about the nature and quality of substantive theories from examining their underlying assumptions with respect to this relationship. Yet the way the latter is dealt with is also important for political reasons, to which we will come back in section 7 below. â€Å"Agency† denotes the ability of agents, whether individuals or groups, to act upon situations and it ‘implies a sense of free will, choice or autonomy that the actor could have behaved differently (Hay, 2002: 94). Agency should thus not be confused wit h concepts like â€Å"individuals†, â€Å"actors† or â€Å"agents†: without anticipating the conclusions of this article too much, a theory can refer to plenty of agents, while not allowing for any agency. â€Å"Structure†, on the other hand, refers to the relational context within which agents operate. Structures define the range of options available to agents. Nowadays the vast majority of scholars agree that both agency and structure matter: phenomena and developments in the social world issue not from either one or the other but are a product of both. If this is the case then it is necessary to break with the two ways of conceptualising the relation between agency and structure that have traditionally been dominant within social theory, namely structuralism and individualism. In their pure versions these positions either picture agents as marionettes (structuralism) or as omnipotent puppet-masters (individualism) (Archer, 1995; XXXXX). However, knowing that both agency and structure matter does not in itself take us far. To make a difference the insight needs to be incorporated into substantive theories and this is by no means an easy task. This contributes to explain why many theories end up offering reductionist explanations of the specific social phenomena they are meant to render intelligible. In the discipline of International Relations (IR) a debate over the â€Å"agent-structure problem† was initiated in the late 1980s by scholars such as Wendt (1987) and Hollis and Smith (1990). Later, and certainly no less interesting contributions to this debate included Doty (1997), Bieler and Morton (2001) and Wight (2006). The debate has done much to clarify and in many cases criticise the ontological and epistemological assumptions underlying mainstream IR theories, particularly Waltzian neorealism (Waltz, 1979). In EU Studies a similar debate has not taken place, and although in particular some constructivist scholars, have taken an interest in the agency-structure relationship (e.g. Wind, 2001), a comprehensive study of the way the most important theories of European integration and governance deal with it has yet to be published. However, it seems to be a widespread view among EU scholars that many of these theories privilege agency over structure. For instance, Risse ( 2004: 161) writes that the ‘prevailing theories of European integration whether neofunctionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, or â€Å"multi-level governance† are firmly committed to a rationalist ontology which is agency-centred by definition. In a similar vein, other scholars have noticed ‘the ahistorical and structure-blind assumptions underlying intergovernmentalism (Hix, 1994: 9) and observed that in LI ‘agents are, implicitly or explicitly, considered primary actors ultimately determine the shape of overall structures (Christiansen, 1998: 103). In the next sections, the validity of this widespread view will be examined through an analysis of the way the agency-structure relationship is dealt with at each of the three stages in LI. 3. National preference formation The first stage in explaining the outcome of intergovernmental bargains is to account for the national preferences, which are defined as ‘an ordered and weighted set of values placed on future substantive outcomes †¦ that might result from international political interaction (Moravcsik, 1998: 24). This is done by means of a liberal political economy theory of preference formation, according to which national preferences arise in the context of domestic politics, where national government leaders form them on the basis of the preferences and actions of the most important societal groups. Most important among these are domestic producers: ‘The systematic political bias in favor of existing producer groups and against those, notably consumers, taxpayers, third-country producers, and also potential future producers, stems from the formers more intense, certain, and institutionally represented and organized interests (1998: 36). The state is conceptualised as ‘a rep resentative institution constantly subject to capture and recapture by societal groups (Moravcsik, 1997: 518). Because governments have an interest in remaining in office, they need the support from coalitions of domestic actors. The policies pursued by governments are ‘therefore constrained by the underlying identities, interests, and power of individuals and groups †¦ who constantly pressure the central decision makers to pursue politics consistent with their preferences (ibid: 518). In other words, ‘[g]roups articulate preferences; governments aggregate them and it is through this process that ‘the set of national interests or goals that states bring to international negotiations emerges (Moravcsik, 1993: 483). To evaluate the way the agency-structure relationship is dealt with at this stage in LI it is clearly crucial to understand the origins of the preferences of societal groups. Some of the early critics of LI suggested that the theory fails to account adequately for this. For instance, it was pointed out that ‘the origins of such interests are exogenized (Risse-Kappen, 1996: 56) while others claimed that in LI ‘interests are not structurally derived (Caporaso and Keeler, 1995: 44) and even that they ‘emerge mysteriously (McSweeney, 1998: 101). Had it in fact been the case that LI leaves completely open the question of where the preferences of societal groups come from it would have allowed for an agency-centred perspective on preference formation. That is, preferences could have been formed on the basis of all sorts of ideas and individual inclinations. However, this would have seriously undermined the parsimony and explanatory power of the theory and hence it was in fact never left open where preferences come from. As Moravcsik has made clear, LI perceives preferences to be directly caused by structural circumstances, more precisely economic structures: ‘I employ a structural theory of those preferences. My structural approach†¦employs trade flows, competitiveness, inflation rates, and other data to predict what the economic preferences of societal actors and therefore governments should be (Moravcsik, 1999b: 377). In other words, economic preferences are derived from economic structures: societal groups organise and articulate their preferences ‘on the basis of calculations of net expected costs and benefits resulting from the introduction of new policies (Moravcsik, 1993: 489). It follows as a logical implication that ‘shifts in preferences should follow the onset and precede the resolution of shifts or trends in economic circumstances (Moravcsik, 1998: 50). The assumption that economic structures translate directly into specific preferences is made possible by the rationality assumption underpinning LI. The widespread view that LI is agency-centred is related to this assumption that individuals, groups, governments and even states are rational. This begs the question of what â€Å"rationalism† precisely entails, especially as some scholars have suggested that Moravcsik fails to spell this clearly out (Christiansen et al., 2001: 4). In a recent piece Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig (2009: 68) put it as follows: ‘Rationalism is an individualist or agency assumption. Actors calculate the alternative courses of action and choose the one that maximizes (or satisfies) their utility under the circumstances. Collective outcomes are explained as the result of aggregated individual actions based on efficient pursuit albeit subject to the information at hand and uncertainty about the future. Despite the qualifications at the end of the quote it is clear that whatever this uncertainty pertains to it is not to the consequences of the actions of agents: agents are assumed to be very well-informed about these because, as Moravcsik has put it himself, in ‘a world in which the future consequences of actions are unknown †¦ LI would make little sense (1995: 626). This is an important manifestation, because the more it is assumed that agents know the future consequences of their actions, the more it must also be assumed that they are fully informed about the context in which they currently find themselves. It is quite simply logically inconceivable that an agent can somehow know the future consequences of his or her actions without having perfect or very close to perfect information at hand at the moment of the action itself. Moravcsik is thus significantly underplaying the strength of his rationality assumption when stating that ‘it takes no position on whether states are fully informed, though a framework in which states are assumed to be informed generally performs well (1998: 23). Why not walk the plank? Surely states and other agents can safely be assumed to be blessed full information if it has already been established that no or very few unintended consequences will follow from their actions? At the end of the day the rationality assumption boils down to the view that agents are utility-maximisers with clearly ordered preferences who are (almost?) fully informed, also about the future consequences of actions. However, it should not be concluded from this that LI is an agency-centred theory as the conventional wisdom has it. As we have seen above, preferences are derived from economic structures not just in the weak sense that structures are important in relation to preferences but in the strong sense that they alone dictate preferences (albeit with a minor qualification to which we will return in a moment). Because the rational agents are assumed to be so well-informed their actions become predictable once their structural environment has been mapped. Indeed, only structures matter here inasmuch as ‘[p]references are by definition causally independent of the strategies of other actors (Moravcsik, 1997: 519, see also 1998: 24-25). Moreover, ideas are for the most part not allowed to play any role in relation to preference formation. It is worth dwelling on this for a moment. On one hand, Moravcsik does not hesitate to acknowledge the importance of ideas, as when he proclaims that they ‘are like oxygen or language; it is essentially impossible for humans to function without them (Moravcsik, 2001: 229). On the other hand, ideas do not play a very prominent role in LI, which is also recognized by Moravcsik when he writes that ‘[i]n the LI account of integration, ideas are present but not causally central. They may be irrelevant or random, or, more likely, they are â€Å"transmission belts† for interests (Moravcsik, 2001: 229). The only reason why Moravcsik can correctly maintain that in LI ‘[s]ome national preferences are grounded in ideas (1998: 23) is because some importance is ascribed to the latter in issue areas where the material consequences of policy initiatives are more or less impossible to calculate. For instance, he mentions ‘questions of European institutions and common foreign policy as issues where governments/states will generally not to be under strong pressure from societal groups to pursue particular policies, which creates some room for government leaders to act on the basis of ‘ideologies and personal commitments (Moravcsik, 1993: 494; see also Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig, 2009: 85). According to Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig (2009: 76), ‘LI best explains policy-making in issue areas where social preferences are relatively certain and well defined. In the core areas, like trade, agriculture and monetary policy, ideas are not assumed to influence preference formation at all. When it comes to ‘insignificant, exceptional and speculative issues like those mentioned above or the Open Method of Coordination (ibid.: 85) where the preferences of societal groups are less clear and strong, and where the explanatory power of LI is thus recognised to be limited, ideas are conveniently allowed to play a role. To recapitulate, in LI no importance is ascribed to ideas in the explanation of what is (correctly) considered to be the ‘substantively important issues (ibid.: 85) in the European integration process: here economic structures do the job alone. (3) 4. International bargains Once the national preferences have been formulated, national decision-makers bring them to the intergovernmental bargaining table. At this second stage LI applies an intergovernmentalist bargaining theory in order to explain the outcome of negotiations. As the primary interest of the governments is to remain in office, they have a clear incentive to defend the national interest in the negotiation. Accordingly, ‘[t]he configuration of domestically determined national preferences defines a â€Å"bargaining space† of potentially viable agreements (Moravcsik, 1993: 496-497). The outcome of a concrete negotiation, however, not only reflects the different national preferences but also the relative bargaining power of different states. Moravcsik defines power in terms of asymmetric interdependence: ‘Bargaining leverage stems most fundamentally from asymmetries in the relative intensity of national preferences, which reflect †¦ the relative costs of agreements to remo ve negative externalities (ibid.: 1993: 499). This means that ‘[t]he power of each government is inversely proportional to the relative value that it places on an agreement (Moravcsik, 1998: 62). How, then, is the agency-structure relationship dealt with at this second stage? Or to put it differently: how much freedom does government leaders have to pursue their own preferences or ideas (agency) and how much are they constrained by their context (structure)? First, the answer to this question depends on the issue area. As mentioned, governments are severely constrained by domestic societal groups in core areas: here they can only act within a narrow â€Å"bargaining space† which limits their freedom considerably. In more marginal (non-economic) issue areas this space widens and government leaders enjoy more freedom to pursue their own agendas. Second, any particular government is constrained by the bargaining spaces of other governments. The nature of these determines the extent to which a government leader is capable of realising national interests. Finally, the outcomes of previous bargains serve as the status quo ‘with respect to which societal actors and gove rnments calculate preferences and alternatives to agreement (Moravcsik, 1995: 612). As mentioned above, the outcome of a concrete bargain reflects the relative bargaining power of each state. As bargaining power is defined in terms of asymmetric interdependence it is, in fact, derived from the very same structures as national preferences. These structures determine how attractive a potential policy is to societal groups and thus governments and consequently they also determine the relative bargaining power. Relative power is thus ultimately decided at the structural level not at the level of agents. This brings us back to the point that was raised in the previous section, namely that the rationality assumption underpinning LI does not serve to render it an agency-centred theory. To be sure, there are plenty of agents in LI, and there is no denying that the theory belongs to the tradition of â€Å"methodological individualism†. But by substituting real agents with ‘calculating machines who always know what they want and are never uncertain about the f uture and even their own stakes and interests (Risse, 2009: 147), LI effectively ends up with no notion of agency at all, at least not in its account of integration in core issue areas. That it is apparently unnecessary to study the interaction between state representatives in order to explain the outcome of a bargain tells it all: the creativity, charisma, persuasiveness and negotiating abilities of particular agents are insignificant in LI. By assuming that agents are identical in the sense of being rational it is possible to derive the outcome of bargains simply by looking at the context in which it takes place. This makes LI a structuralist theory also in its second stage. To be sure, the structuralism of LI differs from conventional structuralism inasmuch as the former retains a focus on agents and their free choices. But the point is that the â€Å"methodological individualism† of LI and other rational choice theories does not entail a genuine notion of agency in that a free choice is neither free nor, indeed, a real choice, if it is always already given by the context in which the agent operates (see also Hay, 2002: 103-104; Tsebelis, 1990: 40). (4) 5. Institutional choice Once governments have reached substantive agreement in a bargain, they set up institutional arrangements in order to secure it. At this third stage LI adopts a functional theory of institutional choice according to which governments pool or delegate authority in order to ‘constrain and control one another (Moravcsik, 1998: 9). Authority is â€Å"pooled† when governments for instance agree to take decisions in an issue area by means of qualified majority voting in the Council, whereas â€Å"delegation† refers to the transfer of authority to more or less autonomous supranational institutions (ibid.: 1998: 67). Pooling and delegation are ‘viewed as solutions to the problem of â€Å"incomplete contracting,† which arises when member governments share broad goals but find it too costly or technically impossible to specify all future contingencies involved in legislating or enforcing those goals (ibid.: 1998: 73). By pooling or delegating, the credibility of the commitment to the substantive agreement that has been reached is enhanced. But by giving up authority in an issue area governments clearly run the risk of being either outvoted by other governments (pooling) or of being overruled by supranational institutions (delegation) in future cases. Hence, ‘[t]he specific level of pooling or delegation reflects a reciprocal cost-benefit analysis: governments renounce unilateral options in order to assure that all governments will coordinate their behavior in particular ways (ibid.: 1998: 75). LI predicts that pooling and delegation will vary across issues and countries. Again, the preferences of societal groups are crucial: ‘Governments transfer sovereignty to commit other governments to accept policies favored by key domestic constituencies (ibid.: 1998: 76). As accounted for above the preferences of societal groups are seen as structurally determined, at least in the core issue area s. In the end the governments institutional choices thus become rather mechanical, following more or less automatically from the circumstances in which they are made. According to LI, international institutions are ‘passive, transaction-cost reducing sets of rules (Moravcsik, 1993: 508) that for instance serve to provide states with information ‘to reduce the states uncertainty about each others future preferences and behaviour (Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig, 2009: 72). Somewhat surprisingly, Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig link the existence of such institutions to â€Å"unanticipated consequences† of actions, proclaiming that LI also assumes the existence of the latter: ‘If unanticipated consequences did not exist, there would be no need for international institutions to elaborate â€Å"incomplete contracts† to begin with. The reason for institutions is precisely to elaborate agreements and credibly lock in compliance against defection by future unsatisfied governments (2009: 75). This, to be sure, is a somewhat unorthodox and problematic use of the concept. When, for instance, historical institutionalists are talking about unintended or unanticipated consequences in the context of European integration, their argument is that supranational institutions and policies tend to develop in ways not originally envisaged and subsequently not approved of by member state governments (Pierson, 1996). Due to â€Å"path dependency† and other mechanisms such institutions and the course of the integration process can become impossible for governments to control. Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig clearly have something altogether different in mind when they talk about unanticipated consequences. In fact, what they are talking about can more accurately be denoted ‘anticipated but undesired outcomes. These arise when rational governments anticipate that there is a risk that other rational governments will not comply with the substantive agreement that has been reached in an intergovernmental bargain. To avoid this undesired outcome governments agree on an institutional arrangement to create certainty. On this view, institutions (being ‘passive, transaction-cost reducing sets of rules) only contribute to minimise uncertainty by eliminating the risk of undesired outcomes (see also Moravcsik and Schimmelfennig, 2009: 72) it is unthinkable that they can develop and behave in ways not intended by governments. At the end of the day, it is not unintended consequences that LI assumes the existence of but rather the ability of governments to ver y accurately predict the consequences of their substantive agreement and on this basis chose the most suitable institutional agreements. This dubious assumption can obviously only be made if it is held, as LI does, that agents are blessed with more or less perfect information, also of future outcomes of their actions (see also Pierson, 2004: 115-XXX). 6. What choice for Europe? ‘the motivations and coalitions underlying national preferences in specific decisions reflected the economic interest of sectors as predicted by their structural position in global markets †¦ any feedback must take the form of changes in economic structures, not ideas (Moravcsik, 1999b: 382) The liberal intergovernmentalist explanation of regional integration ultimately comes down to developments in economic structures and it is therefore logical and appropriate that Moravcsik (1998: 501) refers to it as a ‘structural perspective. Although the concept of â€Å"economic structures† is not defined as clearly as other LI concepts, it basically appears to denote the phenomena that economic indicators are expressions of, examples being trade flows, inflation rates, wealth and competitiveness. The method is thus to use economic indicators as expressions of the economic structures determining the preferences of agents. For instance it reads that ‘Taken together, capital mobility, trade flows, and inflationary convergence provide a prima facie explanation of the progressive shift in national preferences away from, then back toward, exchange-rate cooperation over the two decades following the collapse of the Bretton Woods. This period saw an increase in economic openness and, beginning in the late 1970s, convergence toward low inflation (Moravcsik, 1998: 48) But what caused this and other shifts in economic circumstances? What explains the timing of such shifts? Considering the enormous importance it ascribes to economic structures it would be completely reasonable to expect LI to address and tentatively provide a theoretical answer to such questions. But it doesnt! In all fairness, Moravcsik

the paper :: essays research papers

Chinese Space News Marks 10th Consecutive Successful Launch of Long March Yesterday's ChinaStar-1 launch was the 52nd launch by Chinese Long March rocket and the fourth by a Long March 3B, the country's most powerful launch vehicle. Long March experienced 3 failures in 1995 and 1996. The successful launches in recent two years will undoubtely strengthen Long March's position in the competition of global launch market. The Long March 3B placed the 2984 kg ChinaStar-1 into an orbit of 201x85732km with 24.5 degree inclination. The Lockheed Martin built satellite has 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders. It will be finally placed into the geostationary orbit at 87.5 degrees East longitude by Lockheed Martin in next few days. Next in line will be the Sinosat-1 built by the French group, Aerospatiale, for an official Chinese client. That launch, also by a Long March 3B, is expected in July.  [May 30, 1998] Long March 3B Successfully Launched ChinaStar-1 Long March 3B successfully launched ChinaStar-1 today, CCTV, the Chinese official television station announced today. This is the fourth launch and the third successful launch of Long March 3B, the most powerful rocket in China. Chinastar-1 was built by Lockheed Martin and will be operated by China Oriental Telecommunications.  [May 29, 1998] APT Satellite Holdings See Revenue Growth Hong Kong Satellite operator APT Satellite Holdings sees revenue growth this year despite a reduction in the satellite transponder services in Asia due to the economic slowdown. The current leasing rate for the company's third satellite, Apstar-IIR, was now at 25 per cent. But it was expected to increase more than 50 per cent by the end of the year, APT chairman Xie Gao-Jue said. The group planned to launch Apstar V or one big satellite to replace Apstar I and Apstar IA, which run out in 2004 and 2006 respectively. APT Satellite was also negotiating with a mainland firm to develop a direct broadcast satellite system, though no decision has been reached. The group's current financial status was rated "healthy" on a gearing ratio of 42 per cent. Direct effects of the Asian currency crisis were said to be minimal as the firm's revenue is in US dollars.  [May 24, 1998] AsiaSat 4 Launch Put on Hold Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings (AsiaSat) yesterday said it was postponing the launch of AsiaSat 4 due to a decrease in demand for telecommunication services from satellite transponders. "We will evaluate the project at the end of this year and hoped it can be launched in the year 2000,'' chief executive officer Peter Jackson said.

Language in Our Lives :: essays papers

Language in Our Lives Have you ever wondered who taught you to talk the way you do? People learn to talk and express themselves everyday of their lives. Starting from the day you were born you used language or some form of it to communicate with those around you. As a baby you usually show your displeasure with your new surroundings by crying, and if you don’t the doctor will make sure you do. Everyday we express our point of view to others in some form of language. Whether it is through verbal communication, written discourse or through body language, you can tell if a person is upset, angry, or happy. We as human beings don’t realize how much language has to do with our lives. How can you determine if one of your friends is angry with you? Is there a different tone to their voice? Do they have a stern look on their face? Of course they do, your friend feels the need to express their anger to you by these different forms of language. Where do we learn to use these different forms of la nguage? How are our uses of these languages shaped? The three main contributing factors to how we express ourselves through language come from our schooling, our friends, and most of all from our families. Going to school can teach you many things, even more than you can imagine. Who would know that in school you could actually learn a whole new vocabulary? This never seen before vocabulary will only come out in writing and besides that will be hidden deep among the depths of your subconscious. Truly, school can teach you more than just random information. Schooling has a huge affect on language you use in a daily basis. The only place where I was ever taught that the way in which I spoke was wrong. When I look back at the time consuming vocabulary work and the never-ending readings, I now realize how I benefited from them. I may not me the best writer, but I do have a plethora of words to share. Where do you think you learned that you’re not doing good you’re doing well, and who taught you that a coma should be placed here, or that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, without these helpful teachings I don’t know where we would be at.

Psychoanalytical and Feminist approaches to D. H. Lawrences Sons and L

Psychoanalytical and Feminist approaches to D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers Psychoanalytical and feminist approaches are two relatively recent critical responses towards literary texts. When applied to D. H. Lawrence's Son's and Lovers, both can be insightful yet problematic at the same time. The theories of psychoanalysis, primarily identified with Sigmund Freud, can be applied to imaginative literature and art in general, in order to study their manifest and latent content, in the same way as Freud studied dreams. Literature clearly lends itself to such a study, since, like dreams, the most significant meaning often lies below the conscious surface narrative of a text. Feminist approaches towards literature are concerned with the portrayal of female characters. Lawrence's representation of women in his work has been admired by many readers for it's insight, women among them, and has been strongly attacked by others for its prejudiced male perspective. Classic psychoanalytic criticism applied the theories either to the author, or his or her characters, which were seen as internalised images that have come from the author's unconscious. The high autobiographical content of Sons and Lovers lends itself to this type of study. Also, if works of art are taken to be disguised expressions of an infantile wish driven into the unconscious, as Freud suggests, then Sons and Lovers is doubly of interest. It is about the fundamental infantile wish that all boys have and repress, according to Freud, the wish of Oedipus to kill their father and marry their mother. Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex and of its frequent effect of psychical impotence, of which Paul is a classic victim, offers a valuable key to a coherent unde... ...the whole picture, since each perspective has its own priorities, and several need to be incorporated in order to fully realise all of the characters and understand the true workings of the novel. Works Cited and Consulted Finney, B. (1990). Penguin Critical Studies: Sons and Lovers. Middlesex: Penguin Group Kuttner, A. B. (1969). A Freudian Interpretation (1916). In Gmini Salgado (Ed.), D. H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers A Selection of Critical Essays 1969 1994. Hampshire: Macmillan Press. Lawrence, D. (1996). Sons and Lovers (1913). M. Daly (Ed.), London: Everyman Lucy, N. (1997). Postmodern Literary Theory: An Introduction Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Millett, K. (1996). Sexual Politics (1969). In Rick Rylance (Ed.), Sons and Lovers: New Casebooks. New York: St. Martin's Press. Pope, R. (1998). The English Studies Book. London: Routledge

Unit 20: Promoting Health Education- P1

Unit 20: Promoting Health Education- P1 In this unit I am going to explain three different approaches to promoting Health Education the three approaches I am going to explain are Mass Media, Community development and Two way Communication. The first approach to promoting Heath Education is Mass Media. -Mass media-any written, printed, visual, electronic, auto-visual media developed to reach mass audience and the public. -Audience segmentation-division of a population into a more homogenous groups based on similarities in attitudes, beliefs and knowledge. This allows greater impact of the message. It is used mainly in promoting Health Education to raise public awareness about a particular problem or issue, Stress the ill-effects of unhealthy behavior and the benefits of preventive behavior. Mass Media can be found anywhere and everywhere. Just a few of the many different types of Media are, Television, Radio, billboards, Posters. There have been many different effective National health campaigns such as: Physical activity, diet, smoking, heart disease, sexually transmitted infections and mental health. There are many different ways of approaching promoting health education such as, planned campaigns and advertising. This has the advantage of targeting a wide target audience and may be tailored to meet specific objectives. Unpaid publicity, this may be low cost campaigns that may seem to provide greater credibility to the target audience. Mass media can use many different approaches to promoting health education. Some of the ways you could promote health education is fear, some campaigns use fear to get the message across and for it to have effect such as, smoking and the effects such as cancer. An Example of a mass media campaign used to promote health education is the NHS Anti-smoking campaign that featured a number of media approaches such as very graphic posters and television advertisements such as The ‘I’d do anything’ advertisement. These types of advertisements are designed to motivate smokers to quit and by featuring the children of smokers singing â€Å"I’d do anything† from the musical Oliver with the endline: â€Å"Your kids would do anything for you. Why don’t you stop smoking for them? I think that this type of approach would have a very positive outcome with a number of people giving up smoking, The outcomes from this NHS campaign would be measured by Engagement and response, Daily/weekly call figures, Number of NHS Quit Kits ordered and Web stats – unique visits, time spent on site, number of page views Another mass media approach would involve health educators working to encourage healthy lifestyles and wellbe ing by educating individuals and communities. They create awareness on subjects that can prevent diseases, injuries, and other health problems. Health educators attempt to prevent illnesses by informing individuals and communities about health-related topics, such as proper nutrition, the importance of exercise, how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, and the habits and behaviours necessary to avoid illness. The advantages of using mass media to promote health education are that you can raise important issues and create awareness about them. Mass media is also a good way to get people thinking about and discussing the issues, it is also a good way of reaching a large audience and a scatter gun approach can be used. On the other hand there are a few disadvantages of using mass media to promote heath education, such as cost effectiveness. Mass media can be very cost effective and have high costs such as advertising. A Scatter gun approach and it may not be as effective as a direct approach. Sometimes you cannot tell who the message is coming from and it is only one way communication. You also can’t see the outcomes or tell if it has been effective for a very long time. Overall I believe that the use of mass media in health promotion is widely used. It can be used locally, regionally and internationally. But the outcomes of some mass media campaigns are yet to be realized and to be proven as successful or unsuccessful. Mass media is one of the main approaches used in health promotion and its lack of success may be due to its oversimplification or segmented view of health and well-being. The second approach to promoting Heath Education is Community development. -The process whereby people who are marginalized or living in poverty work together to identify their needs, create change, exert more influence in the decisions which affect their lives and work to improve the quality of their lives, the communities in which they live, and the society of which they are part. Community development involves changing the relationships between ordinary people and people in positions of power, so that everyone can take part in the issues that affect their lives. It starts from the principle that within any community there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used in creative ways, can be channeled into collective action to achieve the communities' desired goals. Community development is used to promote health education because the problems can be directly targeted and hit. Community development is used to target issues such as environment issues, housing, crime, pollution, support and isolation. By improving these issues you can improve the health issues that have become a consequence, Such as smoking, alcohol, drugs, stress, exercise and crime. See diagram below: A further approach to community development could involve a multiagency approach. The multiagency approach could involve the Government, local authorities, health trusts, the police, schools and other agencies all co-operating to achieve one outcome within a community. You can promote heath education by targeting an individual group such as children, young people, families and the elderly. It would involve the entire agency’s working together effectively, putting children, young people and their families at the centre of decision making in order to meet their needs and improve their lives. An example of using community development to promote health education could involve starting a group meeting in a local community centre and doing sport activities. Or the local council providing free health facilities for the community such as Hall Classes that could vary from aerobic sessions or keep fit sessions that could involve using the wide range of equipment available at all the sports centers throughout the borough. The session aims could be to develop fitness, weight control, balance, and coordination, fun and group interaction. There are many advantages of using community development to promote health education such as working to improve people’s living environment. Providing a joint effort that brings the community together. It can also improve self esteem and make people have a â€Å"can do† attitude and empowers the community. It is also effective because it can be done on an effective small scale. I. e. 1-1 or 1-10 and you can be given the feedback automatically. Another benefit may be that it is not cost effective because you could use resources from the mass media such as: leaflets, posters or videos. On the other hand the disadvantages of using community development to promote health education are having to have a number of people that are committed for it to have an effect, and some people within the community may have a negative attitude and feel as if change is not possible. Others may depend on other people to fix the issues and you may not be able to evaluate the outcomes to see the effectiveness. Another problem may be that the message may not reach everybody within the community or people may hold back on their feelings or opinions. Overall I believe that Community development is an effective way of promoting health education because it can be used within a community to target a specific area or health problem that may need attention, such as poor housing. I believe that by addressing the main problems you can also target the health problems that have become a result of this. The final approach to promoting health education is two-way communication. -Two-way communication uses communication to negotiate with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding. Two way communication is used to in promoting health education mainly to discuss health issues that may affect certain individuals. Two way communication involves one person having a thought then sending that message to the person who is concerned. The receiver then processes the message and gives the feedback. This cycle continues until a positive outcome has been achieved. Two way communication works by only addressing it to a certain individual whom it may concern such as a doctor to a patient. Its effectiveness depends on the way it is addressed to the receiver because people with different ages may need to be spoken to differently such as a young child would be spoken to in a different tone of voice or manner compared to an adult. Two way communication is used to promote health and social care in many different ways. It involves basic talking and listening, this can be a very effective simple way of making a positive change. Body language can also contribute to the outcomes of health promotion because if the health promoter shows open, positive body language and shows interest in the feedback they are receiving. This will show a positive attitude and may have a positive effect because the person who it concerns will feel supported. Two way communication could also be used in the form of leaflets, letters or posters detailing some basic information about the health promotion. Two way communication can also be used to promote health education presented as E-communication by using Email, Facebook and Video. An example of using two way communication to promote health education could involve Voluntary Organizations promoting a health message within a school such as an anti-drugs campaign. The Public Health Agency run an anti drugs campaign called ‘Your body, your life, your choice' this campaign was acknowledged that young people had to make up their own minds about drug use. The campaign works to provide young people with accurate information on the dangers of drugs, and to influence the attitudes of young people so that they are prepared and taught not to experiment with drugs. The target audiences for this campaign are 10-13 year olds and 14-17 year olds and parents. There are many advantages of using two way communication to promote health education. An advantage of using two way communication is that it can be used on a very cheap, small scale basis such as a 1-1 or a 1-10, you can also be given direct feedback. Sensitive issues can also be discussed between two people. I also think that it is an advantage that the target audience can be chosen to meet the specific health promotion needs, such as aiming an anti-cannabis campaign at 16-19 year olds. On the other hand I think that the disadvantages would be that it may not have the same effectiveness as the mass media approach because it is only being used on a small scale. I also feel that it is very limited at what health promotions can be used for what audience. Another disadvantage is that I feel that it would be hard to stress the delayed gratifications to the audience and I think that people would rather choose the instant gratifications. Overall I think that using two way communication to promote health education is a good idea because it can be used on a small scale and private, sensitive issues can be discussed. I also think that it is a good effective way of promoting health education because the issues can be targeted and hit where it will make the biggest impact such as in schools. On the other hand I think that this way of promoting health education may not be as effective as the mass media approach because the mass media approach can reach a wider audience. Health Promoters Health promoters work to promote a positive attitude about keeping healthy, living a healthy lifestyle, preventing illness, and preventing any existing illness from becoming worse. Health promotion covers many different health issues such as diet, obesity, smoking, exercise, alcohol, preventing heart disease, cervical screening, breast screening, sun and health ect. Health promoters can be found both local and nationally an example of a local health promotion is Refresh Free leisure, Anyone who lives, works, is in full time education or whose GP practice is in Blackburn with Darwen qualifies for free leisure. This campaign depends on the use of mass media, two way communication and community development. An example of a national health campaign is the NHS Anti smoking campaign, this is a national campaign because it was used across the country and across Ireland and Scotland. This campaign mostly depended on the use of mass media but also used two way communication and community development to create a more effective outcome. An example of a international Health promoter is, The World Health Organization (WHO) this health promoter is the coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, and monitoring and assessing health trends.