Bellinger and Transsexuals

Bellinger V Bellinger case might lawfully be epitomized as clear and unbiased reference to putative gender-sex differentiating and even opposition. Social role of an individual is what apparently regarded as a reflection of his/her inner, biological role. Male and female interact and represent themselves in their respective gender roles as they are accostomed to and as it is their only way to fully reveal their personality, gender role being an essential part to it.So far, within the academic notion of ‘sex’ or, if related to psychology, ‘sex identity’ two distinct and rather discrete categories, first denoting biological [inborn] components, second denoting acquired through socialization pattern of behaviour, were embraced to secure separate and considerate approaches. That gender role is a concept relating to second or ‘acquired’ group of elements is a fact which thus far scarcely entail any poisonous implication.If there be a game participant s to which are free to chose their gender role and are warranted, by the rules of the game, to be fully accepted at their new status, this status will for the purpose of the game mean a ‘carte blanche’ for any constructive self formation and assuming myriad of new social roles which spurrs the creativity of the participants. That game is very much alike a masquerade, where costumes and dresses are commonly known and recognizable and the owners of those costumes, impersonal as they are wearing their dominos, are treated as if being a true heroes.The rules of the game which sanctionize impersonation, in fact, inaugurate the spirit of mockery and futher creativity of individuals which, perdued by the cloak of assumed gender, depart further from the province prescribed by their sex role assigned as birth. In fact, this abstract situation or game is hardly ruled by any societal regulation or government statutues; it is inherently present in human communities which tend to di ssociate into a number of nuclear communiteis which develope their internal regulations and are characterized by certain margin of deviation.What really empowers the participants of that kind of abstract situation and actualize their further expansion is technical devices or ‘masks’ needed to successfully impersonate gender roles and special warrant that their will be accepted in their new acquired role. First creates the discourse of community, the accesability of technical devices draws the idea of the situation nearer to the partcipants; second creates continuum for their activity empowering scheme to expand and difining the extremities and limits of that expansion.Far from stating the internal driving forces which rule the participants when they ‘jump in the game’ I would like to underscore the dialectics between transsexuals and doctors which is accountable for re-asserting transexuals’ subjectivity, providing them with technical means which gre atly contribute to that subjectivity’s formation, and dialectics between transexuals and law. In Re Bellinger, several facts point out to the current state of limitations law and society encounter as regards patterns of cross-sexual behaviour and their possible legal implications.It is clear enough that Mrs. Bellinger since her unsuccessful marrige to a woman which resulted in devorce as early as 1975 led a sexually deviant subjective life which found its expression in wearing womans dress and acting as a woman. That pattern of behaviour is characterictic of transvestites or cross-gender individuals which find sexual and/or cerebral gratification in assuming a gender role of woman by partial of complete cross-dressing and often (which is conditioned by a degree of boldness of a cross-dresser) venturing out into public .As we also might know Mrs. Bellinger was rather radical in her endeavour and has completely assumed new gender role and, in fact, had disguised her male side u ntil eventually gone through gender re-assingment procedure. Although, for the purpose of present consideration the fact of her going through sex re-assignment treatment is immaterial as far as it may only indicate her being extremely persistent in assuming characteristics of wanted gender.The fact that she underwent operational treatment has no practical implications on the province of law concerned: it only designated that she been through treatment results of which are partially recognized by state and law in general and to that extent that she is entitled to correction of documents (passport, etc. ) That government corrects documents for the person which changed so profoundly that otherwise doing may impede his/her interaction with government and state services is absolutely reasonable practice.When individual wishes to change a name he/she is also entiltled to the correction of personal data in the passport lest there be any confusions of the personality of passport holder. Now the question is are there any material differences in the eyes of the law between situation when individual chose to ungergo operational treatment and having done so needs to have the personal data typed in passport (together with photograph) corrected and that when individual chose to change, say, her marriage status and needs to have her personal data (last name) corrected?I think, despite apparent difference of two cases, both of them involve substantial changes in person’s status which (changes) has to find their adequate reflection in official personal information. Initially, law is not concerned with changes or transformation person undergoes – it is only concerned with legal implications of those transformations or how they will affect legal status of individual should he participate in his new status within legal sphere.To participate within legal sphere, to put it accurately, mostly means to partake in complex of relations subject to regulation of specific la w or specific legal norms. Thus, though two cases are entirely different with respect to the nature of changes individual undergoes, legal implications of sex re-assignment procedure are somewhat limited by the current state of law which is reluctant to acknowledge validity of marriage between persons at least one of which participated to it not in his/her original sex, but has chosen to change that original sex and actually did so prior to the marriage .It follows that as regards [spicific] law of family, individual that enjoyed legal recognition in general (recognition through correcting personal data, including name which indicate gender), is incapable of fulfilment his/her rights springing from that recognition in particular case and with respect particular province of law.Thus, as far as nature of changes concerned apparently matters in the eyes of law, since it delegates rights upon person who changed the name as a result of personal wish and withholds the legal capabilities o f those rights fulfilment in the case with men who changed the name as a result of personal wish to change sex and thus appropriate more coming feminine name, it proceeds that the fact of general aprobation of the sex-reassignment procedure and its results, which finds its expression in registering individual as a woman and entails legal rights and prefenrences capable of fulfilment in specific provinces of law (pension age and, what is more important, the right to marriage), does not mean that general aprobation’s universal validity – it instead means some kind of contingent validity of general recognition of status.It practically means that general recognition is void as long as it does not entail recognition of persons rights in specific provinces of law (like labor law and family law). Particulary, the fact of gender re-assignment is immaterial to the case because neither it benefited the person any more than would do when testifying his/her expressed and extremal desire to posses the characteristics of opposite gender, nor it entailed some practical outcomes of government’s general recognition of the sex re-assignment fact when person was allowed to change a name in the passport. Thus far, I insist that Mrs. Bellinger was a transvestite which gone through gender re-assignment but the latter procedure did not qualitatively affect her legal status. As it is known from the case, the registrator did not ask Mrs.Bellinger about her gender status and Mr. Bellinger himself was not willing to inform him. So, it will be reasonable to presume that if at the moment marriage took place Mrs. Bellinger did not actually do gender re-assignment but instead prefered cross-dressing as transvestites do the registrator would hardly have more doubts about the gender of fiancee than he actually had. The difference between pre-operational and post-operational positions of Mrs. Bellinger was rather internal of character and laid deep in her self perception w hich apparently was tending towards further unification with all that constitutued ‘feminine’. Even at the time when Mrs.Bellinger still possesed secondary sexual atributes of male (penis) she also possesed a great deal of feminine traits and was very skilled at dressing woman clothes and make up. This allows for induction that it was not only after the operational treatment that Mrs. Bellinger did actually transformed in terms of gender as seen through public eyes. If transvestite looks skillful enough to pass the street and impart the idea of her ‘girlishness’ to every one looking at her, she, to certain degree, is a girl to herself at this moment and is, to absolute degree, a girl to society aroound her. When much of the things to visually transform boy into a girl was done and done with a good taste then nobody will distrust his/her feelings and venture to check her anatomical sex by pulling her skirts up.Thus, it is apparent that transvestite radiates feminine gender when in public eye which certainly does not go without further affirmation of [her]self in that believe. It follows that category of gender which comprise number of biological and non-biological or acquired elements is construed through and within societal perception of what that gender (male/female) should look like . If the society is misled and perplexed that only means that ‘gender identity’ of some of its members went awray. The latter conceive the idea of gender in the context of ‘self construction’, ‘self transformation’ and doctor actually aid them in perpetuating that belief in contigency of gender .That transvestite resort to special devices to assume the gender role and misled the society means that even without surgical treatment they may successfully socialize into society in the desired role and that actual sex reassignment does not have any implications other than on transvestite’s subjectivity and self per ception, that is, no practical bearing on societal perception. At this point, if law is only concerned with empowering adequate socialization (securing the equality of rights and principle of genral equity and equlity) of individual in his/her gender role, then it precribes equality of scope of right which pertain to inborn woman and that which pertain to person gone through sex re-assignment.On societal level, that equality is already established since everyone perceive trasvestite as a woman and naturally does treat her as a woman . Methodological problem here is that marginal transvestites which cross dress completely, live like women and express a strong desire to transform their bodies so that to alter their secondary sexual attributes into that which pertain to woman and, in whole, strive to unify with another gender totally abandoming their own original one, present a distinct group which needs both taxonomization and separate legal approach . As we said earlier, there will b e no virtual difference for the registrator whether Mrs. Bellinger would have been through surgical treatment at the moment of marriage or not.In the same manner, she will look equally feminine to people on the street before and after operation. The problem lays in her self perception. Acute desire to get rid of the abhorrant organs which (desire) borders with risc of self-mutilation or suicide was invoked by Harry Benjamine as reasons for surgical treatment of a patient. ‘Benjamine patient’ thus requires separate taxonomical niche and might also require medical and in extremal cases surgical treatment which , thus, looks akin to emergency surgical measures applicable to unstable patient. Surgical vocabulary has penetrated the terrain once inhabited by psychopathological terminology.Treatment of such hard cases involving Marginal drive towards unification with other sex by arsenal of intense psychoterapy was rendered futile and changed for more radical, surgical and hor monal technologies. Although, it is within approach of psychoterapy that demand of sex change, which was crucial in disclosure of syndrome itself, was recognized to â€Å"cover over another form of subjectivity that are fundamentally destabilizing. † It follows that emergency approach within which syndrome of expressed gender dysphoria taken at its extremity is only capable of rectification through surgical treatment intended at partial or full removal of secondary sexual attributes posseses not its past persuasiveness.Rather, its thesis about demand for sex change which serves as signifier of the syndrome invites critics on the ground of its Although, â€Å"Benjaminian patient† as a product of doctors and patients dialectical development of â€Å"cohesiveness for a subjectivity [which] constantly [is] under threat of destruction† is very appealing to the law. The law may find its subject in the â€Å"Benjamine patient†. Thus created taxonomical niche ent ail various legal situations. Earlier, we considered the possibility of Mrs. Bellinger’s actual marriage (in terms of social recognition of their civil union) in case if she would not undergo sex re-assignment procedure and concluded that marriage will be not less socially valid under that conditions.What if in her place was another person who only occasionally cross dress and does not wish to play that social role of woman forever? It is very possible that she would pass the social test and misled the public with its look but the degree to which she really needs that social and legal recognition is, presumably, incommensurable to that of Mrs. Bellinger. In this case, the fact that individual has undergone surgical procedure may testify her commitment to the purpose of ultimate unification with opposite gender (along the lines of ‘Benjamine patient’ approach) as well as underscore the intricasy of her psychosomatic neurosis ( psychopathology approach).In any case , surgical treatment dialigns the group of Marginal transvestites from other, Nuclear ones . And similary to medicine which aids that marginal patients by delivering them from their detestable organs , law is called to facilitate their further socialization into society by resolving the internal pressure they feel as regards inability to lawfully participate in civil unions. That law is called upon to faciliate in internal self development and self apprehension is no new: it has incorporated norms securing the right of disabled and retarded which contribute to their self esteem and facilitate their internal development or prevents them from [the threat] of destruction of personality.But is not it that law pre-maturely intervene into the relations which are to be at first clearified and agreed upon by the medical specialists and only then passed into the sight of law? Whether it us true or not that if there are presently two groups each of which has its explanation on what marginal t ransvestism is and how it should be treated then law is bound to side with one of those schools since no mutual agreement was developed? ‘Benjamine patient’ is very appealing taxonomical category which directly and logically connect Marginal transvestism (springing from expressedly antipathic reaction to individual original sex) and gender re-assignment treatment (which is deemed to be the only plausible resolution to thus posed problem).But in the eyes of law transvestite which undergone sex re-assignment posseses no single distinct advantage as compared to that (transvestite) which did not been through that treatment. It is gender identity of individual that matters when considering the issue of legislative changes to Matrimonial Causes Act. In this respect, gender re-assignment procedure is not a conclusive step which defines those who are eligible for the right to marriage; it is only one of those steps which are directed by human identity and, through acquiring fur ther visual and material semblance, incrementally lead to unification with desired sex. This road may prove to be infinite.The position of gender re-assignment surgical procedure within the continuum of surgical procedures transexuals resort to allows for observation that transexuals, in fact, are continuously disturbed by abyss between them and ideal feminity (in case of men transexuals) and may never acquire bodily semblance enough to put their mind or gender identity at ease, that is to say that they are insecure in their feminity and their self apprehension is constantly impaired. Thus, it is impossible to render a transsexual somehow belonging to feminine gender solely on the ground of him/her being surgicaly treated. Rather, it is the expressed self apprehension as belonging to feminine gender that could make them what they want to be. This conclusion entails further ones.The most prominent of them is that pronounced desire to be a femine is what transsexual has and ever would have and the aim of the law is to state whether it is sufficient for granting them all rights pertaining to female sex. In context of right to marriage this pronounced desire has to somehow fit into the definition of marriage (marriage is void unless the parties are ‘respectively male and female' (Bellinger para 1) or that definition has to be changed because of certain cases which hardly fall within that definition but nevertheless seem to have direct bearing on the marriage. Clearly, transsexual which articulate her gender to be feminine in the marriage tends to have a wife role which will organically consort with other characteristic of feminity she tends to.In Re Kevin (validity of marriage of transsexual) [2001] Fam CA 1074 it was stated that there is no ‘formulaic solution' to determining the sex of an individual for the purpose of the law of marriage and â€Å"difference is essentially that we can readily observe or identify the genitals, chromosomes and gonads, but at present we are unable to detect or precisely identify the equally â€Å"biological† characteristics of the brain that are present in transsexuals† But to put right to marriage in direct dependance upon [determining] sex of person seems to be a dead end. The array of cases strating from Corbett v Corbett [1971] P 83 and ending with present case testifies that this approach is hardly efficient.The desicion in Goodwin v UK (2002) 35 EHRR 18 laid ground for re-apprisal of that approach. It reads that the Court found found ‘no justification for barring the transsexual from enjoying the right to marry under any circumstances'. Obviously, there are no such impedements springing from the law itself which would prospectively prevent Marginal transvestites from acquiring right to marriage provided that there be a legislative will of Parlament. That the perplexities of that problem partially and briefly stated earlier do prevent House of Commons from passing the bill also seems clear. At the same time, incentives coming out of European court are expressedly painted in colors of progressive and liberative legislative approach.Presently, I belive that formula which will satisfy ‘Europeans’ will involve legislation tending to antecede the resolution of academic debates as regards specific domains of meidine and, in fact, contribute to the progressive and enlighted resolution of those debates. In our case, present state of the law includes some deceptive provisions. It clearly states that parties to marriage are ‘respectively male and female' which seems to be consonant with the desire of Marginal transvestites as they tend to artificially acquire ‘maleness’ or ‘femaleness’. At the same time, law and the court do not seem to bother about priciseness of their rendering of that provision.So far, as it occures from the great majority of the cases, the court only have approached notions of ‘malenessâ⠂¬â„¢ and ‘femaleness’, construed them to signify biological sex and made efforts to elaborate measures of ascertaining that [original] sex. It is now clear that societal perception of gender does not co-incide with legal one. The court insures the degree of preciseness of that legal perception but apparently, the split between society which eyes Marginal trasvestite and sees a girl, Marginal transvestite which lives and strives to be a girl actually ever-approaching to it, and the Court which eyes Marginal transvestite through microscope and employes all kind of hromosomal tests and technical appliances to disclose that individual’s original and abhorrent side is enormous.Doctors almost at once sided with their patient and developed certain categories (at the beggining ‘Benjamine patient’ and then ‘gender identity disorder’) actually saling transvestites to state as transexuals – taxon compulsory and contigent in itself – which would underscore their unstability at the original gender and destabilizing subjectivity. Another school of medicine tries to buy that category back from the state pointing at the internal incommensurability and incohesiveness of it. It (school) actually speak out that state and society bought the thing which is not what it seems. And it is the time when gender and sex opposition is to reveal fully. As it might be construed from Bellinger case despite her successful effort to approach ‘feminity’ Mrs.Bellinger did not managed to approach ‘femaleness’ which under the present provisions of the law warrant her a right to marriage. Doctors appealed to progressiveness and humanity of legislator so that the latter might confer ‘femaleness’ upon transexuals even if only to save their subjectivity. Unattainable status of, say, ‘femaleness’ is mainly in charge of legal deadend with marriage rights of marginal transvestites. If sex-rela ted approach was changed for gender-related one (first signifies biological sex, second – gender role) within the provisions of the law it will greatly reduce that paintfull dialectics between transsexuals and doctors and transsexuals and law.Though, that changes ought to go with recognition of homosexual marriage. Transsexuals will never agree to register as homosexual family but this will reduce the degree to which marriage right depend on gender re-assignment procedure, which is immaterial to marginal trabnssexuals right to marriage. Number of words: 3558. References: Books: Changing Sex: Transsexualism, Technology, and the Idea of Gender by Bernice L. Hausman; Duke University Press, 1995 The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behavior, and Identity: A Handbook by Louis Diamant, Richard D. McAnulty; Greenwood Press, 1995 DNA and Destiny: Nature and Nurture in Human Behavior by R. Grant Steen; Plenum Press, 1996 Journal articles:Transvestism: A Survey of 1032 Cross-Dressers. by Richard F. Docter, Virginia Prince. Journal Title: Archives of Sexual Behavior. Volume: 26. Issue: 6. Publication Year: 1997. Page Number: 589+. Moving gaily forward? Lesbian, gay and transgender human rights in Europe. by Kristen Walker. Melbourne Journal of International Law, June 2001 v2 i1 p122 Paper articles: Law reports. (News) Daily Telegraph (London, England); April 17, 2003 Cases cited: Corbett v Corbett [1971] P 83 Re Kevin (validity of marriage of transsexual) [2001] Fam CA 1074 Goodwin v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 18 Bellinger v Bellinger [2003]2 FLR 1 Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21

Parents Influenced on Their Children

influenced of parents to their children Parental Influences on Personality: A Comparison of Trait and Phenomenological Theories Stu Dent SS# 123-45-6789 Psych 210: Theories of Personality Dr. Cervone — Fall, 2001 Parental Influences on Personality: A Comparison of Trait and Phenomenological Theories A seemingly obvious fact about human nature is that our personality is influenced by our parents. Intuitively, it seems as if the way our parents raise us exerts an enduring influence on the nature of our personality.By teaching certain types of behavior and by punishing actions of which they disapprove, parents may significantly influence the behavioral and emotional styles of their children. This intuition, however, contrasts with a second one. Common knowledge tells us that siblings often differ greatly from one another. One brother may be outgoing, the other shy. One sister may be conservative, the other liberal. Since siblings have the same parents, and parents tend to treat t heir children similarly, such examples seem to suggest that parents’ style of child rearing might make little difference to the personality of their children.The question of parental influences on personality, then, is an interesting puzzle for scientific theory and research in personality psychology. Theories of personality have taken different viewpoints on the question of parental influences on personality. This paper addresses two theories that present contrasting views. These are the trait and phenomenological theories of personality. In the trait theories, the basic variables of the theory are people’s traits, that is, their â€Å"broad predispositions . . . to respond in particular ways† (Pervin & John, 2001, p. 26). Most trait theories try to identify a common set of traits that can be used to describe the personality of any individual. These â€Å"nomothetic† trait theories rely on the statistical procedure of factor analysis to identify dimensio ns that can be used summarize individual differences in personality traits. Researchers using this technique commonly identify a set of five trait dimensions. These Big Five personality traits include extroversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience (Pervin & John, 2001).Once one identifies a set of basic traits in this manner, a primary question is to identify where the traits come from. Why do some people have more or less of a given trait than others? Almost all trait theorists have sought biological explanations for variations in traits. People are seen to inherit a given level of a trait in the same way that they might inherit hair color or height. This viewpoint is consistent with findings on genetics and personality, which indicate that identical twins’ personalities are far more similar than would be expected by chance (Pervin & John, 2001).The trait theories, then, have an interesting implication for the question of parental inf luences on personality. If personality is defined in terms of personality traits, and if traits are thought to be inherited, then parental styles of child rearing would appear to have little influence on children’s personality. The only influence parents would have on their children’s personality is a biological one. They pass their genes on to their children. According to the trait theories, parents interpersonal interactions with their children would exert little effect on the child’s personality development.A very different view is put forth by proponents of phenomenological theories of personality. The primary focus of the phenomenological theories is the individual’s subjective experience of their world, that is, their phenomenological experience (Pervin & John, 2001). In particular, people’s subjective experience of themselves, or their self-concept, is seen as the core of individuals’ personalities. Among the most prominent of the phe nomenological theories of personality is the self theory of Carl Rogers (Pervin & John, 2001).Rogers contended that people’s psychological experiences are not determined by objective events in the world, but by their subjective interpretations of these events. These interpretations, in turn, are heavily influenced by a person’s self concept. Specifically, people may experience psychological distress when they cannot integrate their daily experiences with their sense of who they really are, as might be manifested by a person’s saying that â€Å"I just haven’t been acting like myself lately. † Alternatively, a person might feel guilty or depressed if their ctions do not meet their â€Å"ideal self,† that is, the person’s subjective sense of what they ideally should be like; in such circumstances, a person might report that â€Å"I’m disappointed with myself. † People’s self-views, then, are a primary determinant of their overall experiences. With regard to the question of parental influences, Rogers’ phenomenological theory has a very different implication than that deriving from trait theory. According to Rogers, self concept, like other aspects of phenomenological experience, is not inherited but instead develops gradually as people interact with the world and the other people around them.Rogers suggests that people develop a positive self-concept if they experience â€Å"unconditional positive regard,† that is, if people consistently respect and accept them for who they really are. People who experience unconditional positive regard, then, should have a positive view of self that enables them to approach daily activities in an open-minded, psychologically flexible and creative manner. In contrast, less positive personality development occurs if people experience â€Å"conditions of worth,† that is, if other people establish criteria, or conditions, for what is valued be havior.Such individuals may experience a more negative view of self that leads them to approach life activities in a more cautious, tentative, self-critical, and unconfident style. Since parents are generally the major source of influence in the early years of child development, the extent to which parents display unconditional positive regard to their children, as opposed to imposing conditions of worth, should influence long-term personality development. A primary question, then, is how one might be able to test these theories one against the other.Since personality theorists are attempting to development conceptions of human nature that can be evaluated by objective empirical evidence, it should be possible to marshal scientific evidence that bears on the relative merits of the two theories. For the question of parental influences on personality, one key source of evidence would be longitudinal studies, that is, studies that examine the same individuals across a long period of ti me. Ideally, such work would measure aspects of child rearing early in life and determine whether they predict personality characteristics as measured later in life.Such a study has been conducted by Harrington, Block, & Block (1987). They studied a large group of people at two points in time: early childhood and adolescence. During early childhood, the researchers obtained measures of the degree to which each child’s parents exhibited a â€Å"Rogerian† style of child rearing, that is, a style in which few conditions of worth were imposed on children and, instead, children were accepted for who they are and were allowed to explore the world freely. There were two such measures.One was a self-report of parents’ child-rearing styles, and the other was an observational measure in which researchers observed parents interacting with their children and coded whether the parents acted in a prototypic Rogerian manner. They two measures were combined into an overall inde x of Rogerian child rearing. In adolescence, the researchers obtained a measure of creativity. Teachers were asked to rate the degree to which the research participants, who were their students, approached tasks in an open-minded, creative manner.Since the researchers had measures on the same individuals at two points in time, they were able to determine the degree to which the childhood measure of parenting style predicted the adolescent measure of creativity. The finding strongly supported Rogers’ theory of personality development (Harrington et al. , 1987). Just as Rogers would have predicted, children whose parents treated them in a Rogerian style turned out to be adolescents who were judged as being more creative. Child rearing style was a statistically significant predictor of creativity.Importantly, this was true even when the researchers controlled for a measure of intelligence that also was obtained during childhood. It is not merely the case that intelligent childre n were treated in a Rogerian style and also were creative. Instead, even controlling for intelligence, parental child rearing predicted creativity. In evaluating the two theories, the results clearly support Rogers’ phenomenological perspective, as noted above. Children’s experiences of alternative parenting styles seem to have influenced a significant aspect of their personality and to have done to in exactly the manner Rogers would have anticipated.In contrast, the results conflict with the trait theory position that personality characteristics are largely inherited and that aspects of the environment that are shared by multiple siblings, such as parental child rearing style, exert little influence on personality characteristics later in life. Since the work of Harrington et al. (1987) was conducted a number of years ago, one might ask how trait theorists, in light of these results, could maintain their view that parental styles of child rearing exert little influenc e on personality. The results would seem to provide objective evidence against their theories.One possibility is that trait theories are focusing only on specific, narrow aspects of human personality, and that parental child rearing styles exert an influence on other aspects of personality that trait theorists have overlooked. Recall that, as described above, the core variables of trait theory are people’s average tendencies to exhibit general styles of emotion or behavior. It is noteworthy that none of these personality trait variables addresses people’s self-concept. Although trait theorists surely do recognize that people have self-concepts, they seem to have eliminated the notion of self-concept from the core of personality.Self-concept is not a â€Å"personality structure† in their view. This seems hard to defend, since people’s views of themselves are such a central feature of psychological experience. By focusing on overt styles of behavior, rather than the inner psychological life of the individual, including his or her views of self, trait theories may be missing an important aspect of human nature. The development of a stable conception of oneself and one’s personal qualities is a critical feature of personality, and it may be one that is shaped to a large degree by interactions between children and their parents. References Harrington, D. , Block, J. H. & Block. J. (1987). Testing aspects of Carl Rogers’ theory of creative environments: Child-rearing antecedents of creative potential in young adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 851-856. Pervin, L. A. , & John, O. P. (2001). Personality: Theory and research (8th ed. ). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Notes (Your paper would not have these notes; these notes merely are intended for members of the class. They correspond to the circled numbers in the margins of the text. ) 1. This was a rare instance in which I wanted to quote directly fr om another source, in order to get the precisely correct definition on the term.To indicate that the material is taken directly from the textbook, I put the passage in quotation marks and included the page number in the book that contains the original material (p. 226). Note that you have to take these two steps even if you take only a few words from the other source. Even though it was only 7 words, Pervin and John wrote those words, not me, so they have to be in quotes. Otherwise, the material would be plagiarized. Any material that comes from another source and that appears in your paper has to be in quotation marks, and you must include the page number on the book or journal that contains the original material.In general, you should have very few passages of directly quoted material. The words in your paper should be yours, not somebody else’s. 2. This paragraph is a useful one for this paper assignment. Perhaps the most difficult part of the assignment is to figure out h ow specific, concrete research findings relate to the general, abstract ideas of the personality theories. You should make clear to the reader how the study that you review relates to the two theories. 3. When writing the paper, you should provide some information about the type of study your are reviewing, as in this paragraph, and then should review the results.

Cultural differences between Korea and US Essay

There are so many differences that can be discussed about our culture (united States) and South Korea. We could discuss their values, etiquette and customs, or business etiquette and protocol. I would like to detail my discussion to the cultural differences pertaining to the United States Business Etiquette and Protocols. Let me begin by saying that we could argue that overall because America is considered the â€Å"Melting Pot† of all cultures that although we have Korean Americans there is still a great difference than the South Koreans. South Korean relationships and communications are vastly different than those in America. They prefer to do business with people that they have a personal relationship with. So if you wish to engage, it would be in your best interest to be introduced by a third-party. A relationship with a Korean is developed through informal social gatherings that often involve a considerable amount of drinking and eating. Individuals who have established mutual trust and respect will work hard to make each other successful. South Koreans treat legal documents as memorandums of understanding. They view contracts as loosely structured consensus statements that broadly define agreement and leave room for flexibility and adjustment as needed. South Koreans are extremely direct communicators, under no circumstances insult or to criticize in front of other people. Sensitive matters may often be raised indirectly through the intermediary that first made the introductions. They are not averse to asking questions if they do not understand what has been said or need additional clarification. This is a culture where â€Å"less is more† when communicating. Respond to questions directly and concisely. Since there is a tendency to say, â€Å"yes† to questions so that you do not lose face, the way you phrase a question is crucial. It is better to ask, â€Å"when can we expect shipment† than â€Å"Can we  expect shipment in 3 weeks?† since the question requires a direct response. On the other hand, United States style of communications and handling relationships are much different. A business conversation may take place during meals, however many times you will find more social conversation taking place during the actual meal. Meetings may be arranged as breakfast meetings, luncheon meetings, or dinner meetings depending on time schedules and necessity. Generally a dinner, even though for business purposes, is treated as a social meal and a time to build rapport. United States communication styles include the offer of a firm handshake, lasting any where from 3-5 seconds, upon greeting and leaving. It is customary to maintain good eye contact during the handshake. If you are meeting several people at once, maintain eye contact with the person you are shaking hands with, until you are moving on to the next person. Eye contact is very important during business and social conversations in America; it shows interest, sincerity and confidence. If you are meeting with a good friend, you may briefly embrace. Although in larger settings, like being in a large city requires that you use a more formal the behavior. Introductions include one’s title if appropriate to include full name. Business cards are generally exchanged during introductions, and a smile is considered a sign of friendliness.

ToolsCorp Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ToolsCorp Corporation - Essay Example This they do through newspapers by having a special edition on selected days of the week. Though the company has some good foundation in places like Canada not to mention the United States, they have a plan to broaden operations to wider markets. Thus, they seek to have a vibrant business plan that would have the role the program on a large scale. SWOT Analysis: Strengths ToolsCorp Corporation is a well-recognized company especially in Tennessee and almost 80% percent of the people are well aware of the company. Furthermore, a good number of those living in the United States know the company. In this sense, the company has got a well-structured base because of the majority of the people who know about the company. Many people who deal with a variety of tools have a liking for the company tools because the company stocks everything needed by the customers. In this respect, the customers have a reliable source where they get the products. This makes the company on the brink of stepping into the next level. ToolsCorp Corporation is a company that is known by the quality of the products it produces and also, has a loyalty that is very high and competitive. The company has got a distribution network that is organized and structured. Everywhere in Tennessee, the company has got connections in terms of outlets. These outlets become the major link points in reaching out to the rest of the places (Fine, 2009). This makes the company to be at an advantage based on the ability to reach to many customers. ToolsCorp Corporation also sells the products at wholesale and retail. The customers are able to get the products at a relatively lower rate. This makes it possible for the retailers and the wholesalers to buy in bulk from the company because of the lower rates. The products are able to serve the interest of almost all the people who seek to have the products. Free consultancy is given to anyone who buys from the company. ToolsCorp Corporation also has an online operating system where people can access information on the tools that are produced by the company. The company also has innovative methods of producing products based on the needs and expectations of the consumer. The company would seek to build more on the quality of the products for the sake of expansion to other markets. The company builds the tools with the environment in mind so the tools do not degrade the environment. The market prices are fair compared to other companies. These strengths are key in having the company go full scale into conquering other markets (Rath, 2007). The company also uses mainstream media to advertise the company products. These include newspapers, television, magazines and stereo. Weaknesses ToolsCorp Corporation in different instances has faced stiff competition from competitors. This has sometimes made the company sales to decline. This has made the company to suffer losses in unprecedented rate. The company also suffers from poor marketing methods. Even t hough the company tries a lot of advertisements, they fall short in meeting the high standards of advertisements. This has been a major problem as many of the company’s competitors use this loophole to win other customers. The production tools used by the company sometimes take time before they are delivered. This slows down production. It is not possible for the company to sometimes reach out to other

[Banking and Management] Assess the advantages and limitations of Essay

[Banking and Management] Assess the advantages and limitations of universal banking OR all purpose financial institutions - Essay Example tional economic investments, the Chinese banking sector has undertaken the strategies of integrating investment services, advisory and underwriting service, home finance and asset management under the same umbrella of the commercial services provided the banks. The universal banking service offered by the Chinese state-owned banks has certain advantages as well as the limitations. On one hand, the aspect of universal banking enables the banks to increase their sales revenues and profitability by catering to the investment demands of the worldwide markets apart from the commercial services. The limitations of offering universal banking products and services lay due to the fluctuation of international economic conditions and the fluctuation of interest rates, exchange rate that would increase the risk exposure of the investment services. The concept of universal banking includes a wide range of financial services provided by the banks in order to cater to the regular banking as well as the investment needs of the customers. The aspect of â€Å"all purpose financial institutions† is related to offering comprehensive service to the customers that also help the banks to diversify the risk of their business. The various banking products and solutions that are offered under the system of universal banking includes savings and deposits accounts, loans and credit services, management of assets, investment service, underwriting services, financial analysis, advisory services, processing of payments, etc. However, banks may choose to offer specific products and services in a universal banking system depending on their specializations. The Chinese banks have been recently named by a magazine as the one of the world’s largest and profitable banks in the world (Linda and Julapa, 2000, p.33). However, this does not mean that the Chinese banking sector is more resilient to the complexities of international economies. Although developments in the Chinese banking sector have

Macroeconomic indicators of India and Vietnam Essay

Macroeconomic indicators of India and Vietnam - Essay Example The working population of Vietnam is composed of a young, easy to develop labour force. Considering the high labour available at both India and Vietnam, foreign investors can invest in the food manufacturing sector, as the agricultural inputs are readily available. Through investing in food manufacturing, the investors will benefit from the readily available unskilled and semi-skilled labour force. In Vietnam, the improvement of the regulatory environment has fostered the credibility of the business environment, but corruption and the unequal implementation of regulatory standards is still hampering business development. As a former colony of the British, India has a large English-speaking and highly educated labour force. The agricultural sector of Vietnam is highly competitive, and the economy also draws a lot from the light industry and the aquaculture sectors. For instance, Vietnam is among the largest rice and coffee exporters in the world. Due to the high potential of the agric ultural sector of Vietnam, investing in food manufacturing is likely to be encouraged by the government since it forms part of the transition to high-value production. Vietnam offers a higher level of â€Å"ease to do business,† which draws from the favourable nature of the licensing policies of the country. The policies on obtaining a business license and those on taxation are favourable to new market entrants. The ease of entry will help investors enter the Vietnamese economy easily, as well as enhance the economic potential of the agricultural sector. In outsourcing business, a well developed transport system plays a key role since better transport networks improve the distribution of goods from inland factories to... This paper presents a modern comparative analysis of the national economies of India and Vietnam with respect to their respective investment attractiveness to the foreign investors. India and Vietnam are the seventh and thirteenth largest countries in the world respectively. India is the world’s second-largest country by national population. Vietnam has a working class expansion, among the 18 and 27 years group. India is among the fastest growing economies in the world, with a GDP that averages 9 percent for the four economic years before year 2012. In the case of Vietnam, the 20 years of economic change and reforms have changed the Vietnamese economy into a dynamic, fast-growing emerging economy. The Indian economy has risen into a global leader in business processing, technology, pharmaceuticals and telecommunication industries. Demographic statistics are critical in determining the working population, prospects of national consumption and future employment profiles. From the labour profile of Asia and India, investing in food manufacturing will be a good investment for the two economies. Investing in food manufacturing will be efficient, as the inputs for food processing are available, and labour is available at India and Vietnam. The factors that limit investing in India and Vietnam include the poor transport network, external shocks, and the demand for the economies’ goodsA number of recommendations are presented for the Indian and the Vietnamese economies to enhance the competitiveness

Integrated system design for cloud enterprise network and a secure Essay

Integrated system design for cloud enterprise network and a secure BYOD - Essay Example A cloud enterprise network is a network that leverages cloud services for an organization to enable organizations to store and transfer information through a closed network. Cloud enterprise networks only require the organization to have an internet connection and either wired or wireless private physical infrastructure (such as computers and mobile devices). A cloud enterprise network allows employees to access files, applications and printers from any location and on any device. BYOD is a phrase that has gained wide adoption in reference to employees who bring their personal devices to work in order to use them for connectivity and use on the company’s secure corporate network. Employees use their own smartphones, PDAs, laptops and tablets for use at the workplace. Surveys indicate that allowing employees to use their personal devices to access the organization’s private information and applications contributes to an increase in convenience and productivity of employees (Hayes & Kotwica, 2013, 26). An integrated computing system is a system involving an organization combining component subsystems with software applications both functionally and physically to function in coordination. Organizations use the integrated computing system together with their cloud network in BYOD to store information as well as transfer files in a secure way. Unauthorized persons are restricted from accessing organizations’ integrated computing systems through different measures. Security of the organization’s network is an important factor to consider in the implementation of BYOD (Hayes & Kotwica, 2013, 28). Despite the fact that using personal devices for BYOD causing security concerns, many organizations that have adopted BYOD implement a security policy for their networks to assist their respective Information Technology teams to quell such concerns. Organizations have implemented several measures to boost their BYOD security. Such

Investment Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Investment Risk Management - Essay Example Laura and Rubia (2012) says that in a practical setting, typical risks faced by financial institutions include defaults on loans provided by the firm, losses on investment securities and failure of business undertakings on a supplementary party owing certain obligations to the affected party. In this case, it is acknowledgeable that financial companies face numerous risks in operations. Therefore, risk management involves developing appropriate measures to curb and minimize effects of these typical circumstances. Laura and Rubia (2012) says that after developing appropriate measures, risk management moves into implementing and procedures meant to facilitate the realization of pre-determined risk management goals. In contemporary business environments, the financial industry faces substantial effects from volatility in micro-economic elements. This means that, economic trends play a significant role in either boosting or inflating portfolio, and investment securities held by a given c ompany. This type of risk is largely inevitable, as micro-economic elements of a business environment depend on the specific region that a business organization operates. In an event that America undergoes high inflation rates and a negative economic growth, then the financial industries operating within the US will feel the pinch of inflation. In this regard, financial institutions experience unprecedented risks during turbulent economic times. According to Allen (2012), it is inherent to acknowledge the fact that turbulence within an economic environment causes financial uncertainty; which requires intervention from risk management practices. Financial volatility and associated risks became pronounced with adoption of electronic trading in security markets. In modern automated markets, threats from data and information theft features as one insecurity element facing the financial industry. Trends suggest that there is a potential risk of exposure to data breaches coupled with iden tity theft experienced by financial institutions. Allen (2012) agrees that despite risk trends suggesting an increase in security breaches, financial companies do not put enough measures to counteract data theft. In a practical sense, failure to address these risks presents huge risks and challenges to the financial industry. In order to evaluate the effect of negligence in financial risk management, we will appraise the case of Lehman Brothers. In September 2008, Lehman Brothers, which is one of the most prestigious participants in the Wall Street market, admitted having filed for bankrupts amid negotiations with potential buyers. According to Teather, Treanor, & Wearden (2008), Lehman Brothers postulated that the protection move aimed at safeguarding its assets. However, the collapse of the huge financial company was a result of the credit crunch coupled with profound effects from sub-prime crisis. Lehman was a victim of the credit crunch, which refers to a situation where lenders provided limited on no money to borrowers. In 2008, there was a significant economic recession across the world. As a result, lending financial institutions froze their money in order to minimize risks associated with the uncertain economy. According to Teather et al. (2008), Lehman Brothers could not borrow enough money to sustain its business operations; hence opted for a bankruptcy protection. Apart from

Jesus Image of Himself as the True Vine. John 15; 1-11 Essay

Jesus Image of Himself as the True Vine. John 15; 1-11 - Essay Example The sap in the vine gives power to the branch so that it may bring forth fruit and thus, detaching the branch would mean the end of the fruit bearing ability of the branch. He explains further that every fruit bearing branch is pruned so as to enhance its fruit bearing potential. The Gospel of John according to John Donahue’s commentary does not narrate the stories of Jesus in parable form like the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke for the reader to decipher meaning, which makes it different from them in this respect. Though the Gospel is symbolic, yet it is simple and in many instances, Jesus explains the spiritual lesson like in this instance. Jesus wanted to bring the Spiritual message across to the disciples about the importance of abiding, stressing the same in 5 where He says, â€Å"for without me you can do nothing†, and it would also be worthy to note that the word abide is repeated seven times between verses 1 to 12. Just as a detached vine cannot bring forth f ruit and is not worthy for any purpose pertaining to fruit bearing other than to be thrown into the fire, thus also was Jesus teaching His disciples that their fruit bearing potential depended on their abiding in Him at all times (Michaels, 1998). The parable also is a continuation of His last words and instruction which He had started in John 14, before he was crucified, rose up again and was taken up to heaven and thus has very great significance in the continuation of the ministry He had started and which was to continue without Him being physically present with His disciples (Nissen& Pedersen, 1999). Just as the fruit bearing ability exists in the vine and not the branches, Jesus wanted to drive the point home in verses 5 to 7 that their victory pertaining to the bringing forth of fruit lay by the disciples’ abiding or remaining in Him. In other words, it implies that He was going to produce His fruit in them, since they were now the body of Christ. Jesus talks about His abiding in the love of the Father in verse 10, and challenges His disciples also to abide in His love. He desires to establish a relationship with His disciples, which is based on abiding, just as is the case of His relationship with the Father (Moloney& Sacra, 1998). Jesus has done this by obeying the commandments of the Father and would like the same repeated in His relationship with His disciples, in other word, fruit bearing was to be enhanced as the disciples maintained their relationship with Jesus. The Father would be glorified as Jesus said in verse 8 when the disciples bore much fruit, and this would signify that they were Jesus’ disciples. Since there was poor to bring forth fruit in Jesus, it meant that just as a branch automatically brings forth fruit as long as it is on the right tree, multiplication was going to be automatic and also was the production of other fruit was required of the disciples. Concerning the notion of cutting of branches that did not bear fr uit as narrated in verse 2, this is more of a warning to the disciples that their failure to abide in Christ would make them unfruitful and thus make them liable to be removed by God. Jesus was speaking these words to eleven of His closest disciples because at this time, Judas had already left the group to prepare to betray Jesus. Jesus reminds the disciples that they are to abide in Him at all times and not only when it was convenient for them (Michaels, 1998). The verse also speaks another type of cutting that would enhance

A Small Apartment Full of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Small Apartment Full of Life - Essay Example We lived in this small apartment for three years, and it was considered the gloomiest time of my life. Although this place was physically uncomfortable to live in, it helped me understand a meaningful value of life. While we were living in a small apartment, I realized that physical possessions make our life convenient and comfortable, but sometimes they hinder us from future planning. Before we could move to the small apartment, we lived in a decent-sized three-bedroom house with a beautiful garden that had trees and flowers. We could invite people to our home to brag. We had a spacious bathroom that was big enough to accommodate a bathtub and a laundry machine. While we lived in the big house, I could not undertake house chores, but sometimes when I had confrontations with my father, he would ask me to seek out unwanted plants in the garden as a punishment. Besides living in a big house, I wore quality clothes and shoes which I asked my parents to buy for me. I lived as if these expensive materials are all about life, and they presented me as a valuable person. I had never taken a chance to thank my parents for what they had done for me. Instead, I took it all for granted. I felt confident and proud of having material objects, but the confidence and the material wealth all seemed to deteriorate when the material possessions ended. The shift from a big house to a small apartment was caused by the failure of my father’s business. After working for 15 years for a small appliance company, my father decided to start his own business. He opted to start the factory using inheritance money from his mother to produce organic fruit juice. I remember one day he brought some pear juice in a pouch and asked us to taste it. The juice contained 100% organic fruit juice that was healthy for human consumption. However, the taste of the juice was not that attractive to many of its consumers. Being a father of three children, my father had a noble idea of providing healthy organic fruit juice, which unfortunately was not successful.

Week 5 assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 5 - Assignment Example The cultural change that was introduced in the company turned around its near bankruptcy position with the assumption of Ricardo Semler, Antonio Semler’s son, a Harvard educated man. He implemented drastic change upon assumption as the new CEO of Semler. Upon assumption as the new CEO, Ricardo Semler fired two-thirds of the top management of Semler & Company and that included many close friends of his father. This would not have been possible under his father because Antonio Semler did not separate work from his personal relationships. The new set-up of the company was also a socially responsible to do to save the company and to introduce a new kind of company culture which is a total departure of the old autocratic style of leadership of the company. The young Semler felt that the old autocratic leadership thwarted people’s motivation and creativity. Thus, he decided that the authority to make decisions at Semco to be more evenly distributed to be more responsive and competitive in a globalized economy. In the process, he dismantled the rigid bureaucracy and structure of the company to make it more flexible based on the new three values of the company – employee participation, profit sharing and free flow of information. And to emphasize the change, even the name of the company was changed from Semler & Company to Semco. There were a lot of changes that can be considered drastic if it will be compared to the old leadership. Strategy wise, among them product was product diversification and the creati on of Nucleus of Technological Innovation (NTI). Leadership and ethical perspective was also changed to democratic and participatory to the point that employees can already direct themselves- set their own budget, even their own salaries and even the hiring and firing decision of both employees and managers and above all to make the company a professional and ethical business

Video game violence Essay Example for Free

Video game violence Essay Video Game Violence Law Poses Questions, is an editorial located in the online magazine V Planet. Vance Velez, the author of the controversial issue, opposes the Washington law involving specific forms of video game violence, which is on the verge of being passed in the Legislature. He successfully persuades his audience that the Washington law limits people’s rights and that they should take a stand against the proposed law. His audience includes people who are in favor of the Washington law, concerned parents, and adult video gamers that oppose the Washington law, who are, in his definition, those 18 or older. Those who are in favor of the law may include politicians, or mothers who can relate to influential violence on children. Adult video gamers are those who enjoy playing video games as a favorite pastime, just like golf or aerobics, for most Americans. â€Å"Its no argument that video games are becoming more violent†, states Velez. â€Å"Many parents and politicians oppose the violence; some even want to get these kind of video games banned. † A politician who opposes this specific form of violence is Mary Lou Dickerson. Mary Lou Dickerson is a State Legislator who has proposed a law to restrict certain violent material in video games. The proposed law, which is quoted in the editorial, states: Levies a fine up to 500 dollars on anyone who rents or sells to someone 17 or younger computer games in which the player kills or injures a human form that is depicted as a public law enforcement officer. Police officers and firefighters are included in that classification. † Velez addresses many flaws in the proposed law in detail and also explains some consequences that may occur if the law is passed. Vance Velez is the author of many editorials that appear on this online magazine. His broad knowledge of video games allows him to pinpoint the main problems of the law. He successfully persuades people that are in favor of the law, that it may, in the long run, actually harm our youth. The authors main argument throughout the editorial is backed by issuing a series of examples how many games that do not endanger young children, may be banned because of a faulty law. He mentions that passing the law will limit people’s rights and may also act as a gateway law, to limit others rights. â€Å"If they take away our right to have fun and view what we enjoy, then what else will they take away when violence is still present in our society? † Vance Velez explains in detail why people should oppose the Washington law on video games. Although he does introduce and define many terms involving video games, he expects the reader to at least have some knowledge about video games. He addresses many games, like Simcity and Grand Theft Auto, which have been in the mainstream lately; therefore, readers must be up to date with video games and must be familiar with certain type of video games in order to understand the author’s references. Velez addresses adult video gamers and let’s them know that their precious games may be lost, so he urges them to take action and protest this pending law. Velez opposes the Washington law because it violates people’s rights. Velez stand that taking away things mature Americans enjoy would be a crime in itself because it violates the Freedom of Speech rights. In his definition a mature American is a person who knows right from wrong. He states, â€Å"The Washington law, because it’s built on fear of the unknown and lack of communication, fails to recognize the freedom of speech rights. † The author uses logos by referring to people’s values of their rights. The author opens the first paragraph with a question, Whats the right way to protect children from violence? He appeals to those who are against video game violence and lets them know that he wants safety for our youth with the use of good reasons. He gains trust from this audience by showing he wants things for the better. His definition of children includes those who have a sense of right and wrong but are still easily influenced. He believes that video games arent harming children; its some other factor that is the reason why video games are harming very young kids, such as lack of parent guidance and discipline. Velez talks about this later on in his editorial. He then uses pathos to appeal to the feelings of concerned parents, and those who are in favor of the Washington law, as he states, â€Å"This is the fourth time that politicians have tried to pass laws regulating violent content in video games. † This audience sees how helpless and unsuccessful the government is when it comes to passing these types of laws. This audience feels sorry for the government, they sort of look down at them shame. Those who are in favor of the Washington law may begin to think that people who can’t make up their minds organize our country. They may start to question the proposed law and wonder if it too, will fail. Velez quotes Mary Lou Dickerson, who explains what the state legislator actually thinks about video games in response to a lawsuit. The lawsuit filed today against Washingtons ban on sales or rentals of cop-killing games to children comes as no surprise. Certain elements of the video-game industry clearly want the right to sell any game, no matter how brutal, racist or sick, to any child, no matter how young. Velez rebuts this argument by initially stating it’s in violation of Freedom of Speech rights. â€Å"Politicians are actually trying to ban violent video games which are a pastime that many adult Americans enjoy. † By adult, Velez states that he means, â€Å"Those people who are 18 or older. † He persuades this audience to take action by standing up against the law. Velez remarks, â€Å"Taking away an individuals right to have fun and enjoy video games can be argued as a violation. † The author is addressing adult gamers when he states this because they have the ability to stand up against such laws. The author’s statements threaten adult gamers and make them have a sense of danger that their lives are being controlled. Velez begins his argument by mentioning games that are â€Å"harmless†, in his opinion, which may be banned because they violate the grounds of the Washington law. His example of the game Simcity, appeals to logos and ethos by explaining how an educational game would be in violation of the law. He says, â€Å"In the game of Simcity, you can cause a minor disaster in your city by causing a tornado, an earthquake or a flood. These disasters can destroy the police station or fire department, which would be in violation of the proposed Washington law. † His audiences are those who are for the Washington law and concerned parents when he explains how â€Å"innocent† games, according to Velez, are the victims of the proposed law. He persuades them by making them realize not all â€Å"violent video games† are harmful to children. I think if this audience is familiar with the game of Simcity, they would agree that it is not a violent game, but the author makes them realize that their values will be lost if the law passes, by the use of pathos. Many video gamers would find this offensive because they arent able to enjoy their â€Å"innocent† games. The audience’s emotions are being involved in this paragraph with the use of pathos. The author’s ethos is clarified once his familiarity and expertise with video games begin to show and as he introduces situations that are possible once the law is passed. In another example of a harmful video game, the definition according the Washington law, Velez introduces the game Rampage, where giant gorillas and lizards destroy cities, similar to King Kong. The author explains that in the game the animals are capable of crushing police stations and police cars. Rampage, which attracts gamers between the ages of eight and sixteen, would be in violation of the Washington law. The author introduces the silliness of the Washington law. He makes the audience realize that highly fictional characters arent harmful to children; however, he states, â€Å"In the governments eyes, they will make children grow up to be terrorists. † Velez describes the many holes the proposed law contains. Those who are for the Washington law are persuaded with logos in this situation because they believe it is only fair for children or even adults to have fun if the game is completely safe. They may also think of other forms of entertainment that may also be involved with this kind of law. They imagine other situations where law enforcement officers are portrayed or killed, such as in numerous movies such as, â€Å"Robin Hood† and â€Å"Lethal Weapon†. Why arent these issues being addressed? Are video games that much worse than violent movies and plays? In his last paragraph, Velez explains his beliefs involving the problems of violent video games. His finger points to government and most importantly, the childrens parents. He explains that parents have the responsibility to judge what their child sees and hears. Some adult audiences might find his accusation offensive and may get turned off by his remarks, because they are blunt and obtrusive. An example of this is when he remarks, â€Å"The parents should be responsible enough to monitor their children and make sure that that particular game does not enter the console (videogame system) itself. † Reasonable adult audiences may actually listen to hear what the author is trying to get across. His use of logos appeals to those who are in favor of the Washington law because he makes them think about how parents could be the source of the problem. They may agree that parents need to be on the look out for what is safe and unsafe for their children. Velez explains that parents allow children to play violent video games that influence children to do harm which portray video games as the main source of the problem. â€Å"Its easier to blame an image or machine than it is to blame people†, Velez said. The â€Å"parent† problem may make more sense to his opposing audience if they arent biased and read the editorial with an open mind. In conclusion, Vance Velez was very familiar with his topic, which gave him enough credibility to persuade those in his audience who are in favor of the Washington law, to think twice about their position and possibly accept his belief, that passing the Washington law is a mistake. He’s also successful at convincing adult gamers, those 18 or older, to take action against the proposed Washington law. His arguments were well thought out and convincing by using logos and pathos. However, his alternative to the Washington law was a bit broad and didn’t really include a solution. He identified the problems that might occur if the law is passed, such as the loss of Freedom of Speech Rights, but he had no feedback on how else to deal with the situation. I believe author’s overall argument was persuading even though he didn’t include a proposed solution.

Analyse Evidence For Case Linkage In Criminal Profiling Psychology Essay

Analyse Evidence For Case Linkage In Criminal Profiling Psychology Essay For thousands of years inferences of a persons characteristics from their thoughts, motives, and actions have been made (Canter Alison, 1997) although the application of these inferences to criminal investigations was first done in the 1970s by the FBI (Egger, 1999). Offender profiling, now known as behavioural investigative advice, is the process of providing inferences of likely offender characteristics based on crime scene information (Canter Alison, 1999). Case linkage is now more commonly known as linkage analysis which is the process of identifying whether or not a series of crimes have been committed by the same offender using crime scene behaviours (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). Case linkage produces similar fact evidence in legal cases so that offenders can be charged with numerous offences (Ormerod, 1999). Case linkage can also allow all relevant crime scene information to be pooled thus making the use of investigative resources more efficient (Grubin, Kelly, Burnsden, 2001). The practices of case linkage and offender profiling have overlapping as well as separate assumptions. Case linkage and offender profiling both use theories from personality psychology and the assumption underlying the practices of both offender profiling and case linkage is consistency (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Regarding offender profiling, individuals need to be consistent in their actions for there to be similarity associations between an individuals behaviour and characteristics (Mokros Alison, 2002). In reference to case linkage, this consistency refers to the offender exhibiting similar behaviours each time he or she offends (Canter, 1995; Grubin et al., 2001; Woodhams, Hollin, Bull, 2007). If offenders were not consistent in their offending behaviour, then it would not be possible to determine which single offender committed the crimes on the basis of their behavioural similarity. An additional assumption underlying the practice of offender profiling is homology (Alison, Benne ll, Mokros, Ormerod, 2002). This assumption states that offenders who commit crimes in a similar style will have similar background characteristics (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Therefore, offenders who have different crime scene behaviour will have different characteristics. According to Woodhams and Toye (2007) an additional assumption underlying the practice of case linkage is behavioural distinctiveness. This assumption refers to the actions of an individual serial offender being different to other offenders committing similar crimes. This paper will now discuss the evidence for the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling. Then methods to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling will be presented. Finally, a conclusion will be reached as to whether there is enough evidence to support the assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling to produce valid and useful results. Case linkage and offender profiling: Behavioural consistency Behavioural consistency is an assumption that underlies the practices of case linkage and offender profiling. Psychological research has defined behavioural consistency as the repetition of particular aspects of behaviour if the same offender engages in the same type of offence again (Canter, 1995). Conversely, criminological research has defined behavioural consistency as the probability that an individual will repeatedly commit similar types of offences (Farrington, 1997). With regard to case linkage, it refers to the hypothesis that people are consistent in their behaviour across situations and the consistency assumption of offender profiling implies that the behaviour of one offender must be more consistent than the behaviour between all other offenders (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Behavioural consistency has been investigated by personality psychology studies and the hypothesis has been confirmed that people produce similar behaviour when they are faced with situations with similar psychological meaning to them (Mischel Shoda, 1995). There is also supporting evidence that offenders commit crime in a consistent manner. For example, Farrington and Lambert (1997) showed that offenders are consistent in the choice of crime type. Furthermore, offenders have been shown to be consistent in their behaviour across robbery (Woodhams Toye, 2007), arson (Santtila, Fritzon, Tamelander, 2005), burglary (Bennell Canter, 2002), homicide (Salfati Bateman, 2005), and sexual assault (Grubin et al., 2001). Therefore, there is evidence of the consistency assumption that underlies the practices of offender profiling and case linkage. Case linkage: Behavioural consistency and distinctiveness A necessity in proving consistency for investigative purposes is that an individuals behavioural variation must be less than others to be investigatively useful which Woodhams and Toye (2007) named distinctiveness. An example of this behavioural consistency is that Jack the offender always robs a bank at gun point which is 100 percent consistent. Although if the majority of other bank robbers also rob banks at gun point then it cannot be concluded that Jack has committed the burglary in question. This consistency can be tested by predicting whether two crimes are committed by the same offender (linked) or by two different offenders (unlinked). Grubin et al. (2001) combined behavioural consistency and distinctiveness and found that linked crime and unlinked crimes are able to be reliably distinguished using behavioural consistency and distinctiveness theory. Using this approach, research with robberies and burglaries by Bennell and Jones (2005), have also shown that linkage status can be accurately predicted. Cervone and Shoda (1999) have researched personality psychology and found that people consistently exhibit individual differences on some personality traits in similar situations which provides support of case linkage (Bennell Canter, 2002). Although a review by Biesanz, West, and Kwok (2003) showed that personality psychologists and investigative psychologists examine consistency and distinctiveness differently. Shoda (1999) states that personality psychologists see individuals as demonstrating similar trait-related behaviour in different situations and although peoples behaviour does change in different situations they remain relatively stable compared to other people. For example, if person B is more aggressive in one situation than person A, then in different situations, person B will always exhibit more aggressive behaviour than person A although they both exhibit different levels of aggression in different situations. Although personality psychologists are able to observe beha viour in highly controlled experimental conditions, the same cannot be done by investigative psychologists. Instead they use behavioural signatures, modus operandi, or psychological themes to determine the support of the behavioural distinctiveness and consistency assumptions which will be discussed next. Behavioural signature Hazelwood and Warren (2003) state that signatures are ritualised actions that are not necessary to commit or conceal the crime but are unique fantasies and drives of the offender to commit the crimes. These actions aid case linkage as they will be consistently exhibited in all of an offenders crimes (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). There is some evidence for the existence of signatures in serial homicide and rape (Hazelwood Warren, 2003), although there is no empirical evidence. One reason for this is that signatures may not be identified at crime scenes due to victim reactions or other situational factors (Douglas Munn, 1992). Furthermore, Labuschagne (2006) states that foraging animals and body decomposition may disrupt the crime scene. Finally, it is difficult to separate the offenders behavioural signature from the modus operandi (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). From the evidence presented above, behavioural signatures may only exist in particular types of relatively rare crimes such as fantasy-driven, interpersonal, and serial violent crimes in specific situations. Therefore there is not enough evidence to support the use of behavioural signatures to determine behavioural consistency and distinctiveness as part of case linkage for all crimes. Modus Operandi (MO) Douglas and Munn (1992) state that the MO of offenders are the behaviours that an offender exhibits to commit the crime. Although greatly used by police in the past (Douglas Munn, 1992), MOs can change over the course of a crime series (Hazelwood Warren, 2003) due to factors such as unavailability of victims, victim reactions, interruptions, education, experience, and maturation (Hazelwood Warren, 2003). Despite the above findings, depending on the MO behaviour being observed there are sufficient levels of distinctiveness and consistency to make case linkage possible beyond chance levels e.g. rape (Grubin et al., 2001) and commercial robbery (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Bennell and Jones (2005) found that although an analysis of property stolen during serial burglaries had a moderate level of linking accuracy, an analysis of distances between crimes produced much higher accuracy scores. The authors found that the closer together the burglaries, the more likely that they were committed by the same offender. Bennell and Canter (2002) have found that MOs which are brought to the scene by the offender such as where the offence took place (offender-driven) versus what was stolen (situation-driven), are the most stable and distinct. Seeing as some behaviours are more consistent and are therefore more accurate at predicting case linkage allows analysts to be more efficient in only using the most consistent behaviours and also more accurate at predicting linkage (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Psychological themes Consistency can found in an offenders crimes despite differences in MO as when using the thematic approach consistency is defined at a more general level related to the function of the behaviour as opposed to discrete behaviours. For example, Salfati and Bateman (2005) state that when an offender cuts or tortures the victim, this behaviour suggests an expressive theme and the murder was part of an emotionally fuelled assault. Whereas when the victim is sexually assaulted or the body is posed, this behaviour demonstrates an instrumental theme and the aim of the murder was to achieve sexual gratification or something else beyond the murder. The research into consistency and distinctiveness regarding psychological themes is promising (Salfati Bateman, 2005) although when more stringent criteria to assign crimes to predominant themes, the results are not as convincing (Bateman Salfati, 2007). Woodhams et al. (2007) have argued that measuring consistency using the psychological themes approach to case linkage has limited use when offenders are not able to be easily categorised into predominant themes. The authors also state that this approach may be too general to be used for identifying different offenders although it can be argued that this depends on the type of crime as it may be more applicable for rare crimes compared to more common crimes. Even though there is evidence that offenders crime series demonstrate behavioural distinctiveness and consistency as discussed above, crime analysts and police investigators may not be able to link crimes. For example, Canter et al. (1991) state that it is difficult to correctly identify crime scene behaviours appropriate for case linkage as attention may focus on behaviours that are not distinct or not stably exhibited. Methods to combat the problems of case linkage Cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, logistic regression analysis, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis are analytical strategies employed to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practice of case linkage. Each of these strategies will be detailed next. Cluster analysis Cluster analysis places the crimes on a plot where the shorter the distance between plots the greater the similarity there is between the crimes (Green, Booth, Biderman, 1976). The closer the crimes are together the more likely they are to be linked. The study by Green et al. (1976) found this analytical approach to be highly successful at linking the crimes of three burglars. Although there are some drawbacks to this method as it is not yet determined as to what specific distance suggests that the crimes are linked. Across-crime similarity coefficients Woodhams and Toye (2007) state that across-crime similarity coefficients quantify the degree of behavioural distinctiveness and consistency between two crimes. Woodhams and Toye (2007) used the Jaccard coefficients to see whether pairs of robbery crimes were linked based on the similarity of offence behaviours. Seeing as this coefficient ranges from 0 to 1, a large coefficient reflects a greater amount of across-crime similarity. In relation to the assumptions underlying the practice of case linkage, small similarity coefficients associated with different offender crimes suggests behavioural distinctiveness. Conversely, large similarity coefficients are associated with same offender crimes suggests consistency. Woodhams and Toye (2007) found that compared with unlinked crime pairs, linked pairs had greater similarity in behaviour exhibited between offences committed by the same criminal than between offences committed by different offenders. In addition, the difference between linked and unlinked crimes was significant for overall and within each behaviour. These findings support the offender behavioural consistency hypothesis underlying the practices of case linkage as well as offender profiling. Logistic regression analysis Bennell and Canter (2002) state that logistic regression analysis can be used to produce predicted probabilities that crime pairs are linked. This is done by combining the values of predictor variables such as across-crime similarity scores related to entry method, characteristics of the target, and the property stolen. Woodhams and Toye (2007) used logistic regression analysis to determine whether robberies were linked and produced accurate linking decisions. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis The measures of linking accuracy described above are threshold specific in that the accuracy score is only relevant when a specific decision threshold is used. To counter this problem, ROC analysis can be used in addition to these measures (Woodhams Toye, 2007). ROC analysis quantifies the level of linking accuracy associated with lining cues (inter-offence distance) or case linkage tools (e.g., cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, and logistic regression analysis). This method is not affected by the decision threshold that was used to determine whether or not the crimes were linked. Studies using ROC analysis have set suitable decision thresholds for linking purposes as well as producing valid measures of linking accuracy (e.g., Bennell Jones, 2005) demonstrating that methods such as logistic regression used in conjunction with ROC analysis can accurately link serial crimes. Offender profiling: Homology Despite different methods of profiling being multi-disciplinary and overlapping, the approaches can be segregated into three broad categories: clinical practitioner, statistical, and criminal investigative (Wilson, Lincoln, Kocsis, 1997). The FBI model is a criminal investigative approach and it is the most common. It is used in USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Holland amongst others. The work of Babcock, Boon, and Britton (Copson, Babcock, Boon, Britton, 1997) is an example of the clinical approach whereas David Canters (Canter Heritage, 1990) work is representative of the statistical approach. In the past, the FBI model has been criticised for being based upon opinion and intuition rather than fact and solid methodology which lacks the element of psychological theory (Canter Alison, 1999). Now it takes more of a scientific approach by publishing empirical findings. The clinical practitioner approach emphasises its use of psychological, psychiatric, clinical, or mental health research or knowledge. Finally, the statistical approach infers psychological processes and characteristics of offenders using the multivariate analysis of behaviour at the crime scene as well as other crime scene information (Canter Alison, 1999). Pinizzotto and Finkel (1990) state that professional profilers first assess the type of criminal act with reference to individuals who have committed similar acts previously. Then they analyze the crime scene, the victims background, and any possible suspects. Next profilers establish the possible motivations of all the individuals involved. Finally, a description of the offender is created from the characteristics identified with such a psychological disposition. Homology is an assumption that underlies the practice of offender profiling and suggests that similar offence styles are associated with similar background characteristics (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Thus offenders with similar offence behaviours have similar background characteristics. The complex relationships between a given action and a given characteristic are made to profile clusters of background features from crime scene actions to develop a psychological picture of the suspect (Alison et al., 2002). These relationships involve multivariate forms of prediction in which specific sets of actions are linked to specific sets of characteristics. Although the results of these analyses are not convincing when tested (Alison, 2002). Alison et al. (2002) state that current offender profiling methods rely on an outdated understanding of personality and the trait approach. Alison et al. (2002) found that the homology assumption is not supported as it uses global traits, or broad personality types, which are unlikely to be useful in predicting criminal behaviour. These traditional personality trait theories suggest that all offenders behaviours are affected in predictable ways (deterministic) and that behaviour remains stable despite different environmental influences (nonsituationist) (Alison et al., 2002). Furthermore, Mischel and Peake (1982) demonstrated that global trait theories fail to allow predictions of behaviour across specific situations. Alison et al. (2002) suggest that it is unlikely that the classification of offenders into broad personality types would enable the profiler to relate clusters of sociodemographic characteristics to different types. Profilers often make inferences about offender characteristics that are not appropriate for a psychological definition e.g. age, ethnicity, marital status, gender, degree of sexual maturity, and possible reactions to police questioning (Alison et al. 2002). Woodhams and Toye (2007) tested the homology assumption by identifying three different styles of robbery behaviour and investigated whether commercial robbers with different offence behaviour styles were significantly different to each another on ethnicity, employment, previous convictions, age, and distance to crime. No significant differences were found which suggests no support for the homology assumption. The homology assumption has also been investigated using regression analyses to determine if certain offence behaviours can reliably predict offender characteristics although there has been little support found for the homology assumption (Tonkin, Bond, Woodhams, 2009). For example, Mokros and Alison (2002) investigated rapists and defined homology as a positive linear relationship between the similarities of crime scene actions and similarities in background characteristics of the offenders. The researchers investigated whether similarity in personal characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, age, employment status, marital status, criminal record, and education) was correlated with similarity in offence behaviour. No linear relationships were observed with similarity in behaviour. Therefore there was no evidence found for the homology assumption. Despite this lack of evidence for the homology assumption, there has been success with homicide (Salfati Canter, 1999), burglary, assault, robbery, actual bodily harm and violent disorder (Farrington Lambert, 2000), and sexual assault (Santtila, Ritvanen, Mokros, 2004) offences at determining offender characteristics from crime scene behaviour. In summary, using bivariate predictive analyses, relationships between specific characteristics and actions have been found (Aitken et al., 1996) although it has been argued that these are simplistic compared to the profiles that have been produced over the years (e.g. Pinizzotto Finkel, 1990). Alison et al. (2002) state that a direct link between offence behaviour and offender characteristics is unlikely to exist because of the influence of the situation effecting offence behaviour. In addition, the authors state that profilers often make inferences regarding offender characteristics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and age) from behaviour that is not appropriate according to Bem and Allens (1974) personality theory. Therefore, the research into the homology assumption has been less supportive (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Interestingly, there have been many reviews of profiling based on the opinions of detectives about the usefulness of the advice that they received, the overall opinion was th at the advice was of use (Woodhams Toye, 2007). Methods to combat the problems of offender profiling and case linkage A method to combat the problems of the assumptions underlying the practice of offender profiling and case linkage is for police forces to enter crime scene information (including motivational and behavioural characteristics) into databases. The Violent Crime Case linkage System (ViCLAS: Collins, Johnson, Choy, Davidson, Mackay, 1998) is the most popular of the databases and was first used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to profile offenders and identify serial offenders. This system can record 200 items of information from each crime scene which analysts can search when a new crime is committed. This system is widely used in the UK and assists offender profiling as well as case linkage by providing a way to manage the mass of information although there is little research on its effectiveness. Beauregard (2005) states sharing information between investigators and researchers is a way to develop offender profiling as it standardises data reliability. Alison et al. (2004) state that this pragmatic profiling (sharing information, investigative advice, and profiles) is the way forward for profiling and case linkage. Yokota, Fujita, Watanabe, Yoshimoto, and Wachi (2007) have even developed a computerised profiling system that takes in the details of an offence and produces the offender characteristics. Finally, Alison et al. (2002) suggest that a theoretical framework that emphasizes the importance of Person X Situation interactions in generating behaviour may be more productive. Recent research by Goodwill and Alison (2007) has included these aspects into predictive analysis of offender characteristics from crime scene information and stated that the relationship between offender characteristics and the crime scene may be influenced by other aspects of the crime. Therefore, using the contemporary trait perspective would include contextual details that effect behaviour and thus make inferences from crime scene behaviours more valid and useful. Conclusion In summary, there is evidence highlighting problems with the consistency, homology, and behavioural distinctiveness assumptions underlying the practices of offender profiling and case linkage. Regarding offender profiling, ignoring contextual and situational variables of offending makes homology and consistency unreliable and possibly invalid. The simple behaviour and characteristics approach to offender profiling is not adequate. It may be argued that a significant component of offender profiling is based on intuition rather than scientific research (Pinizzotto Finkel, 1990). On conclusion of the evidence for homology, the practice of offender profiling does not include current psychological theory and therefore would not be appropriate for use in court as expert witness evidence. The homology assumption has not seen as much research as the behavioural consistency and distinctiveness assumptions. There is greater support for the consistency and distinctiveness assumptions underlyin g the practice of case linkage when additional measures are used to improve validity and usefulness. Methods to improve the practices of case linkage and offender profiling include the use of databases, pragmatic profiling, and automation. Methods to improve case linkage include cluster analysis, across-crime similarity coefficients, and logistic regression analysis. These analytical techniques improve the practices of case linkage and offender profiling as they are able to accurately handle large amounts of data. The drawback to many of these approaches is that they do not specifically state what probability level should be used to determine whether or not crimes and behaviours are linked. These measures of linking accuracy are threshold specific in that the accuracy score can only relevant when a specific decision threshold is used. To counter this flaw, ROC analysis has proven to accurately link crimes when used in conjunction with these methods. It is important to have valid assumptions underlying the practices of case linkage and offender profiling as incorrect advice could mislead a police investigation and be costly in financial and human terms. Greater research is desperately needed into the effectiveness of the use of databases to assist case linkage and offender profiling. These databases are in widespread use despite a lack of research on their effectiveness. Word Count: 3814