Interest groups in the U.S. politics Essay Example for Free

Interest groups in the U.S. politics Essay The United States is a democratic country, which supports non-violent political and social movements, seeking different improvements in the U. S. domestic and international policies. That is to say, the requirements of interest groups are not always met, because whereas various types of interest groups are acknowledged, there still exist those factions, which have narrow social base and whose political presentation is limited in scope, as a rule, to financial interests of their members. For instance, the sugar lobbies (such as SIG) represent the opinion of 10, 000 -15,000 farmers, who call for the restriction of import of sugar and for the special social programs for sugar farmers. Such factions are usually intended as those with narrow interests and their founders and members lobby these interests in special moments and periods, when the atmosphere becomes more conductive for promotion –for instance, when they find out that the imported sugar does not fir into the international quality standards, or before the elections (Elhauge, 2002). Special interest groups are usually distinguished from â€Å"constituency-representing organizations, which have a broad social base, address a wide range of issues, and balance members’ interests with a strong commitment to the commonwealth† (Etzioni, 1990, p. 172). These organizations might pursue such non-financial interests as those related to social status, value issues in addition to financial ones, for instance the Urban League represents the interests of urban residents and seek environmental, social and political changes in large cities. â€Å"While the public views interest groups as threatening pluralistic democracy, the conventional wisdom of political science has seen them as beneficial† (ibid). In fact, it is possible to assume from the present situation, that the most beneficial activity is related to the constituency-representation. Furthermore, special interest groups are likely to bring problems to larger factions, due to dynamic interactions between political parties, movements and non-profit organizations. Small factions pursuing narrow goals are also more likely to use ‘black PR’ technologies, directed to changing public attitudes towards certain political parties and either to increase or to decrease loyalty rates. On the other hand, the eradication of small ‘narrowly-specialized’ factions is neither possible nor useful, as the statement that competing factions (Mcwilliams, 1988) are likely to reduce each other, is valid only for small groups, whose interests are temporary. On the contrary, constituency-representing organizations are more likely to produce long-term programs including political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of human life. â€Å"The balance between interest groups and the shared polity is maintained most effectively when the pro-community forces rise up, but not higher than, the level they are able to contain but not suppress interest groups† (Mcwilliams, 1988, A9). Moreover, the role of factions is viewed in the context of the historical development of the United States. Over the last three decades, the American political institutions have become less integrated, and the power of factions has increased. On the other hand, due to the growth of their number, it is much more difficult nowadays to maintain the balance between the main political course and the consent between the state and narrower interest groups (Etzioni, 1990). It would be also important to mention the functions of interest groups. First of all they serve as a supplementary force that intensifies the public opinion representation, especially during the electoral process. Moreover, they make the political process more receptive comparing to the electoral process, which is intended as a domination of majorities, while factions are more likely to have goals, which are cohesive with the main wishes of social and national minorities; and thus they serve as a mediating force standing between the person and the state. Interest groups are known to improve the disproportionate separation of the legislative and the executive branches, because their propositions of legislative changes are logically supplemented by similar propositions for the executive branch. Another important cultural function is associated with the growth of political consciousness and political culture as well as the amount of political information in media, which represents a number of standpoints. At all times interest groups and political parties served an indicator of public consciousness and diversity as well as intensified political antagonism, especially in the most critical periods: for instance, during the Vietnamese military invasion, Carter’s position were actually weakened by interest groups, including the most peaceful youth movements, dissatisfied with the resolution of Iranian hostage crisis. As a rule, interest groups arise in the most conductive atmosphere (liberal or democratic regime), in which human rights and freedoms are declared. Political, economic and social factions can originate from professional unions or leagues (like social workers’ professional organization), which seek to represent the opinions of their professional group or their customers’ viewpoint (for instance, social workers nowadays initiate law enforcement and the adoption of certain legal acts as well as get directly involved in lobbyist activities). The discontent with government policies is another important recondition for the arousal of an interest group: political activity is actually determined by the existing economic and social policies, so it’s easy to predict, for instance, the activation of industrial unions, when under the pressure of ecological groups, the U. S. government or certain local authorities put additional taxation on enterprises, dealing with toxic substances or with oil and natural gas. It is also important to note that interest groups will exist as long as the democratic system exists, because it is impossible to satisfy the needs of the whole society with respect to its diversity. Consequently, those concerns, which have already been satisfied, are likely to be replaced by new demands. This means, human needs are immeasurable and never-ending, whereas material resources are limited, so the U. S. government today can provide only partial gratification of political claims. Furthermore, the issue of representation is also quite contradictory: on the one hand, the growth of diversity among political parties signifies positive dynamics in this sense, on the other hand, due to the increase of public consciousness, the diversity in worldviews has grown disproportionably to the number of existing factions, so that even small groups (families, local communities) seek social or economic support, but in this case we cannot speak about true representation, since their influence is insufficient to initiate the changes at legislative or executive levels. The representation of each citizen’s interests is a utopia, as at the present time only large (more than 100,000 members) interest groups can achieve representation, can be heard, if speaking figuratively. Furthermore, it is important to note that the complete representation is inhibited by the demands of the epoch, to which self-respecting factions are supposed to adjust. For instance, the ISN movement, whose leaders several years ago (in 2000-2001) called for the changes in the U. S.immigration policy and were representing the viewpoints of national and ethnic minorities, who live and work in the country (Elhauge, 2002), has changed its directions and now are trying to create more constructive basis for the U. S. foreign policy. On the one hand, it is associated with the events of September 11, which were close followed by the violations of Muslim minorities’ human rights. On the other hand, political changes forced this faction to make a more profound inquiry into the current state of affairs and to find the most acute concerns of the society. Similar dynamics can be noticed in a number of special and constituency-representing interest groups which removed irrelevant concerns and posed new questions, such as those related to women’s rights, ethnic minorities’ human rights, social security and intellectual property. As one can assume, certain interests remain overlooked or underrepresented, whereas the most ‘fashionable’ sociopolitical trends (gender equality) are overstated and therefore prioritized. Works cited 1) Elhauge, E. Does interest group theory justify more intrusive judicial review? Yale Law Journal, 2002, Vol. 110 2) Etzioni, A. Special interest groups versus constituency representation: Research in social movements. Conflict and Change, 1990, Vol. 8. 3) Mcwilliams, R. The best and the worst of public interest groups; from lifting up the poor to shaking down the elderly, Washington Monthly, March 1988, Vol. 20.

Health and Safety of Disposable Chopsticks | Experiment

Health and Safety of Disposable Chopsticks | Experiment Abstract I heard some stories about disposable chopsticks being dangerous and poisonous. And I wanted to find out myself whether it was true or not. I found out that certain types of disposable chopsticks have greater risks to be acidic and non-disposable chopsticks are much safer. My results were important because I could help raise the awareness of the risk of using disposable chopsticks. This awareness not only saves us from cancer or damage to body, but also helps make the world a greener place to live. Background Research This experiment is about Are disposable chopsticks safe to use? My hypothesis is that some disposable chopsticks may not be processed appropriately to be safe to use. I choose this project because many restaurants use disposable chopsticks and to test whether disposable chopsticks are safe or non-disposable chopsticks are safe. I really want to prove if my hypothesis is correct about various of chopsticks. For the safety of many people in the world who use disposable chopsticks, it might be better to use non-disposable chopsticks or the other way around depending on the results. The normal pH level water is 6.5 to 8.5 and below 6.5 the water is acidic, soft, and corrosive. The pH water level 8.5 and above is hard, but it can cause aesthetic problems. Chopsticks can be made of bamboo, wood, plastic, and stainless steel. Sulfur dioxide and hydrogen peroxide are used to bleach the wooden disposable chopsticks. Many people use disposable chopsticks all over the world for lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast. I hope my experiment will help raise the awareness of using the right kind of the chopsticks and improve the safety for many. Non-disposable chopsticks may be safer than disposable chopsticks, but it will depend on research and test data to prove. I dont want to get sick or get illness by using disposable chopsticks. So there is an importance of this experiment. Experiment Details Experiment Question What is the effect of production processes on disposable chopsticks? How does the improperly processed chopsticks affect our safety? What types of chopsticks are better to use? Experiment Hypothesis Are disposable chopsticks safe to use? My hypothesis is that some disposable chopsticks may not be processed appropriately to be safe to use. Ive heard that disposable chopsticks are put into bleach and this was brought to my concern. Experiment Variables Independent Variable The different types of chopsticks, different temperatures of water (hot and cold) and different soaking durations will be changing. Dependent Variable I am measuring the pH level of the water after soaking the chopsticks for certain duration for time. Controlled Variables The chopsticks will stay in the same glasses and the amount of water will stay the same as well. Materials and Procedures Materials Used pH Meter Disposable chopsticks- 4 kinds Stainless steel chopsticks Plastic chopsticks Hot water boiler Tap water Bottle drinking water Glasses Timer Computer Camera Scotch tape Procedures STEP 1: First, characterize the pH level of the tap water and bottle drinking water. Record the readings on paper. STEP2: Next, put hot water into glasses. Then soak four kinds of disposable chopsticks and two kinds of non-disposable chopsticks (stainless steel and plastic) into each designated cups for 30 minutes. STEP 3: Use the pH meter to measure the pH level of each designated water in the glasses. If below pH6.5, it could be acidic, soft and corrosive. STEP 4: Then repeat the above steps with additional designated period of times. STEP 5: Repeat the same procedures by using cold water in the glasses and record the results. STEP 6: In the end, we will compare the results of each design of experiments to find out whether the pH level for disposable chopsticks are different from the non-disposable chopsticks with various soaking times and water temperature. We can then conclude if it is safe to use disposable chopsticks or not. Also this will confirm if my hypothesis was correct. Challenges and Technical Issues The challenges I had during my experiment are as follows. 1. The electrode tip of the pH meter need to be in the water about 3 cm deep. Dipping too deep or too shallow will affect the readings somewhat. However, with some practices and getting familiar with the depth of the tip, it is not difficult to adjust. 2. The pH meter will take some time to stabilize the reading. Need to make sure the reading does not fluctuate for a few seconds. Then take the reading. The tip is to practice several measurements and take readings patiently. Experiment Results A. Baseline Comparison of Different Waters: 1. House tap water is on the hard side, pH level 8.30. 2. The difference of pH level between home tap water and drinking water is 1.21. 3. My experiment is using home tap water. So if using nominal pH level water or lower pH level water, the resulted pH levels would be proportionally lower. Water Type (pH) Home Tap Water 8.30 Bottled Drinking Water 7.09 Difference -1.21 B. Tested with Hot Water: 1. This experiment is more closely simulating the actual usage of the chopsticks (hot meals hot soup). 2. Both stainless steel and plastic chopsticks are very stable when soaked in hot water for an hour. So they are safe to use. 3. Plastic chopsticks are performing the best, with least changes in pH level. 4. All four kinds of the disposable chopsticks had pH levels lower by 1.53 to 2.15. Bamboo type 3 (PB)) of the chopsticks is the worst, pH level lower by 2.15. So these chopsticks could pose safety risks by using them with hot meals/ soup. 5. If the baseline water were not pH 8.30, instead of pH 7.09, then the pH levels of all four kinds of the chopsticks would be lowered to the even more dangerous acidic levels. So disposable chopsticks are relatively unsafe to use. 6. Bamboo 3 (PB) had the worst yellowish discoloration of water. Bamboo 1 (FL) and Bamoo 2 (GL) also had some yellowish discoloration. MATERIAL TYPE BASELINE 30 Min. Changes from 1 Hour Changes from (pH) (pH) Baseline (pH) (pH) Baseline (pH) Stainless Steel 8.30 8.95 0.65 8.89 0.59 Plastic 8.30 8.92 0.62 8.64 0.34 Bamboo 1 (FL) 8.30 6.45 -1.85 6.77 -1.53 Bamboo 2 (GL) 8.30 6.78 -1.52 6.47 -1.83 Wood 8.30 7.35 -0.95 6.77 -1.53 Bamboo 3 (PB) 8.30 6.09 -2.21 6.15 -2.15 C. Tested with Cold Water: Both plastic and stainless steel chopsticks were very stable within one hour, while all other 4 kinds of disposable chopsticks were starting to turn acidic in an hour. When chopsticks were soaked in water longer than 1 hr, they all turned more acidic, with disposable chopsticks worse. Soaking in water longer than 1 day, both 2 days and 4 days, the pH levels for most of the chopsticks were stabilized. Most of the changes happened within the first day. Bamboo 3 (PB) had the worst yellowish discoloration of water. Bamboo 1 (FL) and Bamboo 2 (GL) also had some yellowish discoloration. Data Analysis and Discussion It was predicted and confirmed that the disposable chopsticks would have lower pH levels, which could be acidic, than the plastic and stainless steel chopsticks after soaking in both hot and tap waters. One possible explanation for low pH readings is that some disposable chopsticks used sulfur dioxide and hydro-peroxide to bleach the chopsticks without appropriate cleaning during the production processes. In the hot water experiment, the results were more prominent, after 30 minutes to an hour we saw dramatic pH level changes on the disposable chopsticks. At the same time, both plastic and stainless steel chopsticks, the pH levels were very stable after one hour. The two worst Ph level changes were the third bamboo disposable chopsticks (-2.21 pH level, with the plastic bag wrapping) and the first bamboo disposable chopsticks (-1.85 pH level, with the Fu-Lu characters). The worst pH level reduction occurred at 30 minutes in hot water, not 1 hour. For cold water experiment, the pH level changes were at a slower rate than the hot water experiment as expected. Still the worst pH level changes with cold water are still the third bamboo chopsticks (-0.84 pH at 30 minutes -2.17 pH at 1 day) and the first bamboo disposable chopsticks (-0.71 pH -2.25 pH at 1 day). The pH level changes were stabilized after 1 day. Plastic and stainless steel chopsticks were also more stable on pH readings. The worst kind of the disposable bamboo chopsticks- type 3 (PB) also showed the worst kind of discoloration (yellowish) in both hot and cold water experiment. I further noticed both bamboo type 3 (PB) and bamboo type 1 (FL), the worst two disposable chopsticks have less density in the structure. This could confirm that if they are not cleaned well in the production processes, they could contain most unwanted chemicals (bad stuff) and easier to dissolved into hot (especially) and cold waters. My original question was that Are disposable chopsticks safe to use? My hypothesis was taken in the right direction because after figuring out both the observations of the hot and cold water experiments everything started to fit quite well. This is supporting my hypothesis that disposable chopsticks are not as safe. Moreover, if the baseline water were not pH 8.30 (tap water), instead of pH 7.09 (drinking water, difference of Ph1.21), then the pH levels of all four kinds of the disposable chopsticks after soaking in hot water would be even lower and in the more dangerous acidic levels. I will certainly recommend using either the plastic chopsticks or stainless steel chopsticks for hot meals and hot soups and avoiding using disposable chopsticks. Conclusion From my hot and cold waters experiment with both reusable and disposable chopsticks, I can conclude that its better to use the plastic or stainless steel chopsticks (reusable). The disposable chopsticks are relatively unsafe to use. We should avoid using both Type 3 (PB) and Type 1 (FL) bamboo chopsticks. Also refraining from using the disposable chopsticks will also save the bamboos, trees, forest and earth. Its not only healthy, but also environmental friendly. Recommendations This project was done with limited time and resources. The sample size of chopsticks and time interval may not be big enough, the calibration of the pH meter was not done with the sample of pH 7.01 buffer (lack of test sample sheet) and use home tap water (pH 8.30). I will recommend to future project leader to use bigger samples size of chopsticks, take more readings in shorter time interval, calibrate the pH meter with the right sample buffer and use bottle drinking water (pH 7.09, in the middle of the safe drinking water pH range) to perform the experiment. Work Cited PH Levels.Freedrinkingwater.com. 29 Sept. 2010 . Scary Disposable chopsticks. eats-time.blogspot.com. 29 Sept. 2010 . Experiment Notes: In a packet.

Ferdinand Magellan :: essays research papers

Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480, in a stone farm house in Portugal. His father's name was Dom Ruy Magellan, and his mother's name was Donha Alda De Mesquite. His father was a Portuguese nobleman and owned a large amount of land. He was also a sheriff, an honorary position awarded for distinguished service to the crown.Ferdinand's brother was named Diago De Sousa, a name he took from his wealthy grandmother, his sister was named Isabel Magellan. His family seemed to care about each other and respected one another. His family owned cows, sheep, hogs, and goats and fields of wheat, rye, corn and vineyards full of grapes. Ferdinand and his brother and sister had to help the tenants (people that rented and farmed the land), raise the animals and harvest the crops. Ferdinand went to school at a monastery. Both his parents died when Ferdinand was only ten years old. At the age of twelve, he was sent to live at the court of Queen Leonora and John II of Portugal. His older brother, Diago, had gone to court two years earlier. His cousin, named Francisco Serrano also twelve years old, came at the same time as Ferdinand did. At court Ferdinand learned music, dance, horsemanship and how to handle weapons, in addition to academic subjects such as reading, writing and religion. Also he learned algebra, geometry, astronomy and navigation. After he had worked at court for a few years, he started checking the supplies for the ships going to India. This was work for the India House, run by the monarchy. India house was the agency for overseas trade. Magellan heard reports of new discoveries brought back by returning ships. It was here that Magellan learned practical aspects of navigation from the sailors and by helping outfit the ships he learned about rigging, repairing, armaments and supplies.In 1495, John II died, and his brother-in-law, Duke Manuel became king. Duke Manuel did not like Ferdinand, so even though Ferdinand wanted to sail, it was not until 1505 that he finally got his chance. In 1505 Magellan sailed to India under the leadership of Captain General Almeida, and set up Naval Bases along the way. They set their first base up at Kilwa, and the chief there had promised to be nice to sailors coming through, and said each time sailors came through, he promised to give some gold to the King of Portugal.

child development Essay -- essays research papers

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE KEY FEATURES DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS,AND EXPLORE THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORIES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT. INTRODUCTION When infants are born they want to be loved and cared in what ever relationships they are with their caregivers, so that they could survive and could feel sense of security and warmth , which without a caregiver is impossible ,talking about caregivers ,mother would be the primary source of forming an infant’s first relationship by whom the baby would take his first leap towards his growth and development and would keep continuing making his advances further in many domains of psychological development , whether social or cognitive. Some key features which play an important role in his early psychological development are meshing, imitation, and scaffolding . But which theoretical approach of development would imply in infant’s early psychological development , will it be behaviorism, nativism, constructivism or social constructivism or will they over lap with one another in their implication thus it would be analyzed and explored during the mother and infant interaction and behaviour in different processes like imitation, scaffolding etc but what are these processes? And how they influence and play an important role in types of psychological development (social, cognitive, and in language development) KEY FEATURES OF INFANT FIRST RELATIONSHIP Meshing is one of the key features of relationship in mother –infant interaction. Behaviour of both an infant and mother are meshed together. The common situation of meshing is witnessed when a smooth conversation between two people is going on and each person waits for his turn taking either to speak or to listen, this indicates mutual action happening simultaneously. Trevarthen(1993) called it as â€Å"co-regulation† the aspects of turn taking and synchronizing, furthermore he described them through speech and non verbal behaviour, such as nods, eye contacts and body movements, moreover he puts in by saying neither a caregiver nor the baby needs to be skilled at the management of these kind of interactions. So this could mean that in early mother-infant interaction the infant share true dialogues with his mother which are named as pseudo-dialogues and further give the baby an effective role in his interaction to experience relatedness. Therefore the infant begins to form... ...gful conversation like dialogues and which happened due to the baby being very active within his physical and social environment ie by his mother and by bringing toys and books as objects to his experience. Model of transactional period is described by contructivist ,piaget as when a child has its own active role within his development and that what it all sums up towards the implication of all theoretical approaches as well as regarding the three important key processes of early infant relationships. CONCLUSION: Thus it can be concluded evidently that the key features in infant’s first relationship are meshing, imitation and scaffolding .Moreover they play a vital role in the early psychological development for example in the process of meshing we discovered the early development of language skills and in imitation the cognitive development etc. When it comes to the implication part we can evidently say more than one theorectical approach over lapped with the other theory. To sum it all up we discovered that the three key processes of meshing , imitation and scaffolding also fall into the transactional model described by Piaget as when a child is active within his development.

Ma Joad as Leader in The Grapes of Wrath :: Grapes Wrath essays

In a crisis, a person's true colors emerge. The weak are separated from the strong and the leaders are separated from the followers. In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family, forced from their home in Oklahoma, head to California in search of work and prosperity only to find poverty and despair. As a result of a crisis, Ma Joad emerges as a controlled, forceful, and selfless authority figure for the family. Ma Joad exhibits exelent self-control during the sufferings and frustrations of the Joad's journey. Ma knows that she is the backbone of the family, and that they will survive only if she remains calm. Ma keeps her self-control when Ruthie tells some children about Tom's secret. The family becomes nervous and enraged over the situation, but Ma restores order by handling the situation in a calm and collected manner. If Ma were to ever show fear, the family would most likely collapse. For, "Old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the family will assume everything is all right. Most members of the family openly express their doubts or fears. Ma may be just as frightened as the rest of the family, but she always maintains a front for the rest of the family. When Ma had fears, "She had practiced denying them in herself." This extraordinary self-control helps to keep the Joad unit together and alive. Ma, like all leaders, must be forceful for things to work in her favor. Numerous situations occur in which Ma must be forceful or relinquish her role as the head of the family. Her forceful leadership occurs once when the family, without Ma's consent, agrees to leave Tom and Casey behind to fix the Wilson's car. Ma feels this will break up the family and uses a jack handle to prove her point. It is at this point Ma replaces Pa as the official head of the family. Ma's forceful leadership also surfaces when she threatens a police officer with a frying pan and when she decides for the family to leave the government camp. In both situations Ma must use force to achieve her objectives; in both situations, she emerges victorious. Eventually, Pa becomes angered because of his loss of power to a woman and says in frustration, "Seems like times is changed.

Education Background

Qian Zhang 151 Washington Ave. Apt. E, Rutherford, NJ, 07070 (660) 541-2361 [email  protected] com Objective To obtain the Assistant position. Education Background Bachelor of Science in Financial Management, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO * GPA: 3. 59, December 2010 Curriculum of Financial Management Finance—Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Business Law I, Fundamental of Business Finance, Intermediate Finance Management, Financial Institutions, Investment Principles, Selected Cases in Finance * Accounting—Accounting I & II, Tax Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I, * Math—College Algebra, Calculus, Economic Mathematics, Statistics * Computer Science—Computer and Information Technology, MIS, * Management—Principles of Management, International Business, Managerial Communication, Operations Management, Human Resources Management, Organizational Behavior and Theory, Negotiation, Business Society, Organizational Policy and Decisi on-Making Awards and Scholarships * Northwest Transfer Scholarships every semester referred to GPA and campus activities * Edward Jones and Company Award Scholarship of Finance department * Society of International Ambassadors Scholarship Award * Nominee of the Outstanding Student of the First Student Organization and Leadership Award Work Experience Office Coordinator ~ Business/International and Intercultural Center, Maryville, MO August 2009 – December 2010 Improved the cooperation between university and international partners, assisted the supervisor on all kinds of projects and meetings * Provided support for partners and students by sending information and documents and communicating with international students, giving them advice and introducing regulations * Developed and updated webpage information for international partners, potential and current students * Scheduled, hosted and attended various visits, meetings and banquets * Worked with coworkers and other functio nal departments or work independently on the projects, and followed up on the progress and feedbacks of projects * Organized the hiring event, including filtering CVs and interviewing candidates, * Coordinated orientations, prepared training programs and trained new employees * Communicated with all international organizations time from time to make sure all activities are undergoing with regards to the bylaws of Northwest Missouri State University Accounting Assistant, Full Time Intern ~ eGTran Inc. , Camarillo, CA June 7 – July 30, 2010 * Prepared journal entries for accounting supervisor Keyed in data from forms, correspondence, reports, and other documents * Maintained accounts of internal departments and external agencies and did budgeting * Maintained and updated records of monthly and quarterly financial statements such as Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Income Statement and Statement of Retained Earnings, prepared payroll * Worked with other departments to adjust all accoun ts timely and effectively * Did some other agendas as assigned by supervisor Translator~ Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth College, Maryville, MO September- December 2009 * Translated English documents and class categories into Chinese * Volunteer as a translator of the communication activity between USDA and Ministry of Health P. R. China Office Assistant ~Business/ Intercultural and International Center, Maryville, MO June – August 2009 Received, answered phone calls and scheduled appointments * Assisted other staff and other departments on various projects and assignments, provided supports with office machines, such as fax machine, scanner, copy machines * Promoted to be the Office Coordinator Leadership Activities and Volunteer Experience * Leader of Student Orientation – Assisted and guided new students * Leader of Junior Achievement – Hosted business classes and organized related activities * Secretary of International Student Organization—Held annual banquet and organized various activities to help international students communicate with American communities * Member of Delta Mu Delta, International Honor Society in Business Administration * Member of Financial Management Association * Member of Asian Student Association * Currently studying CFA contents Skills Language—Native in Mandarin (Chinese Proficiency Certificate holder), Fluent in English (both written and spoken), Basic in Japanese * Computer—Microsoft Office Suite Interests * Reading—Learn various knowledge from books * Sport—Exercise to make body strong * Fine Arts—Is fond of Chinese calligraphy * Travelling—Experience diverse cultures and adapt myself with different environments References * Dr. Chi Lo Lim, Chairman of Marketing and Management Department, Northwest Missouri State University 660-562-1758 * Dr. Jeffrey Foot, Director of International and Intercultural Center, Northwest Missouri State University 660-562-1367 * Caroline Merker, Controller of eGTran Inc. , 805-482-1088

Psychology assignment Essay

Conformity involves a change in behaviour or opinion in order to fit in with a group. This may be family or peers (a membership group) or it may be pop and sports stars (a reference group). This group can be either a majority or a minority group. (S-cool Student Site)  Two processes have been identified in causing people to conform (Deutsch and Gerard (1955)), these are normative influence which often comes from peer pressure such as fear of rejection and wanting approval and informational influence which is the fear of looking unintelligent and believing others know better especially with something unfamiliar or difficult. There have been many studies done by psychologists into why people conform two examples of which are Zimbardo et al (1973) and Moscovici et al (1969) which are described as follows:  Zimbardos aim in his Stamford prison experiment was to examine conformity to social roles and expectations in other words to see the effect of making ‘good’, ‘normal’ people into prisoners and prison guards.  The procedure for the experiment was that twenty-four middle class male students who were mentally sound in tests and without any criminal convictions were paid fifteen dollars a day and divided into prisoners or guards by the flip of a coin. The prisoners were arrested at their homes, blindfolded and taken to the psychology Department of Stanford University that had been converted into a realistic prison. From there the prison regime was established, the three guards were given khaki uniforms dark glasses and wooden batons, the prisoners were issued uniforms and put into cells. They were informed that no physical aggression was permitted. The participants were then left to their roles of either prison guard or prisoner. The findings of the study were that the prison guards became more and more verbally and physically aggressive. The prisoners rebelled against the guards after only one day and fire extinguishers were used to control the prisoners. The prisoners became depersonalised and suffered emotional depression, one prisoner had to be released after only one day and two more on the fourth day. The study was abandoned after only six days instead of the planned fourteen. Zimbardo believes that the study demonstrated the powerful effect roles could have on people’s behaviour. The participants were ‘playing the role’ that they thought was expected of them in particular the stereotyped view of how prison guards behave. In other words they were conforming to an ‘unofficial script’. The prison environment played an important part in how the guards behaved as none had shown sadistic tendencies before the study. The study has been criticized because of the lack of informed consent the participants had and the humiliation and distress experienced by the prisoners. Zimbardo was also criticised for acting the role of ‘prison superintendent’. In Zimbardos defence he only found out himself late on that he had the backing of the police to do the arrest and there was no time to tell the participants. He also couldn’t really tell them what was going to happen without it becoming unrealistic. The study was stopped early and the participants had no lasting effects from the study, after extensive debriefing and follow-ups years later. Infact they revealed they had learned an important lesson in that we can all be overwhelmed by social influences. Zimbardo himself now acknowledges that he shouldn’t of acted the role of superintendent but still believes that there should still be an independent monitor in this sort of research so that not only are the participants protected valuable information can also be acquired.