Positivism: Strict Scientific Method

Positivism is a philosophy that stated that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can only come from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific method. The main thrust of the positivist research tends to follow certain scientific and measurable methods to conduct a research. A positivist approach is one that is considered objective, detached and if I may put that way, structured by the researcher's views who test a hypothesis.It is usually associated with quantitative data collection methods and statistical analysis. The positivist researcher try to be at a value free, unbiased and neutral in all respect while conducting the researcher under the assumptions positivism. â€Å"Using scientific method and language to investigate and write about human experience is supposed to keep the research free of the values, passions, politics and ideology of the researcher. This approach to research is called positivist, or positivist-empiri cist and it is the dominant one among the general public. (Anne B Ryan) Positivism sees social science as an organized method for combining deductive logic with precise empirical observations of individual behavior in order to discover and confirm a set of probabilistic causal laws that can be used to predict general patterns of human activity.On the same time positivism approach found to be inefficient when we include social structure of society, life complexity and other problem which can’t be covered when we try to use the quantitative methods to conduct the research. This scientific approach which positivism espouses is rightly thought to be inadequate when it comes to learning about how people live, how they view the world, how they cope with it, how they change it, and so on. †(Anne B Ryan) In the positivism only those topics has been selected those having a public sphere and with the blend of mathematical and technical advantage because research characterized by these norms considered to be efficient and reliable in the positivism playground. Marxism, relies on experiments and verification, objective experience, history, scientific logic and reasoning for acquiring knowledge.Marxism is wholly science oriented because truth based on experiments and verification is its basis — its entire structure rests on scientific experiments, and scientific truth. Marxism holds that on the question of knowing truth science is far more powerful than the power of an individual. Under Marxian approach it is only rational to depend upon science rather than on the belief Orientalism is a form of cultural studies in which the concept of orientalism or the difference between east and west is base of the theory.With the start of European colonization the Europeans came in contact with the lesser developed countries of the east. They found their civilization and culture very exotic, and established the science of orientalism, which was the study of the orie ntals or the people from these exotic civilization. In this process Europeans divided the world into two parts; the east and the west or the occident and the orient or the civilized and the uncivilized. This was totally an artificial boundary; and it was laid on the basis of the concept of them and us or theirs and ours. The Europeans used orientalism to define themselves.Some particular attributes were associated with the orientals, and whatever the orientals weren’t the occidents were. The Europeans defined themselves as the superior race compared to the orientals; and they justified their colonization by this concept. They said that it was their duty towards the world to civilize the uncivilized world. The main problem, however, arose when the Europeans started generalizing the attributes they associated with orientals, and started portraying these artificial characteristics associated with orientals in their western world through their scientific reports, literary work, a nd other media sources.What happened was that it created a certain image about the orientals in the European mind and in doing that infused a bias in the European attitude towards the orientals. This prejudice was also found in the orientalists and all their scientific research and reports were under the influence of this. The generalized attributes associated with the orientals can be seen even today, for example, the Arabs are defined as uncivilized people; and Islam is seen as religion of the terrorist. Another feature of orientalism was that the culture of the orientals was explained to the European audience by linking them to the western culture.

Notes Apush Chapter 16 a People and a Nation

Chapter 16 – Reconstruction: An Unfinished Revolution, 1865-1877 I. Introduction The end of the Civil War brought profound changes to the United States. Reconstruction changed some things, but it did little regarding social equality and political turmoil. In the end, the government established black suffrage, but this reform proved insufficient to remake the South or to guarantee human rights. II. Wartime Reconstruction A. Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan Lincoln planned for a swift and moderate Reconstruction process.Under his 10 Percent Plan, he proposed that as soon as 10 percent of the voting population in the 1860 election took an oath and established a government, it would be recognized. Replaced majority with loyal rule, promised pardons to ex-confeds B. Congress and the Wade-Davis Bill Congress was not happy Lincoln didn’t consult them. Responding negatively to Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan, Thaddeus Stevens advocated a â€Å"conquered province† th eory, the South waged war as a foreign nation, thus, they should be treated like one, and Charles Sumner advanced a â€Å"state suicide† theory.In July 1864, Congress passed the Wade-Davis bill by which the process of readmission to the Union was to be harsh and slow. Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill. Wade-David Bill- To reenter the Union 1. A majority of white males had to participate in government 2. To vote or be a delegate in Constitutional conventions they had to take an ironclad (oath saying they never supported the confederacy) 3. All ranks above Lieutenant couldn’t become citizens of the United States C. Thirteenth Amendment and the Freedmen’s Bureau Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865.On March 3, 1865, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands to aid southern refugees- provided food, medical services, schooling, and jobs for refugees. Petitions were started by women and the public, the amendment outlaw ed involuntary slavery and said the govn’t couldn’t change it The landscape was in ruins along with the economy, many families faced starvation III. The Meanings of Freedom A. The Feel of Freedom Many former slaves began to explore freedom by searching for family members or exercising their right of mobility. Others reacted more cautiously.Most settled as workers on their former farms or plantation but attempted to control the conditions of their labor. B. Reunion of African American Families Relying on the black community in the South, thousands of former slaves began odysseys to find family members. Ads were put in the papers. C. Blacks’ Search for Independence Many blacks tried to avoid contact with overbearing whites by abandoning their slave quarters and relocating their houses. Some even established all-black settlements. They wanted the sense of freedom D. African Americans’ Desire for LandNext to freedom, blacks wanted land most of all. Since they could not secure solid support in the North, however, few obtained their dream of independence. Blacks were given land but President Johnson took it away and gave it back to the Whites. They wanted a secure promise the land would still be theirs after they cultivated it E. The Black Embrace of Education Many African Americans eagerly sought an education. They paid $1-1. 50 a month for education if needed. They really wanted to learn. Federal aid and northern charity helped start thousands of schools for freedmen in the South.Many black leaders were very well educated; they established many universities and colleges alongside the whites. F. Growth of Black Churches In an effort to gain more independence from whites, African Americans established their own churches, which became the social center of their new freedom. Black establishments used to be hidden; now they could freely worship. The church was the wealthiest institution in Black life. G. Rise of the Sharecropping System Blac ks could not get credit, and sharecropping became widespread.Sharecropping was where the landowner would receive payment by the crop grown on their land, usually half would be given to them and the other half would be for the black farmer. Owners often cheated their tenants. The main crop was cotton which lost its value IV. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan A. Who Was Andrew Johnson? Johnson was the only senator from a seceded state (Tennessee) who refused to follow his state out of the Union. At heart he was really a Jacksonian Democrat, not a Republican. He believed in limited government and was a white supremacist. As a senator he favored the small farmers over the aristocrats. B.Johnson’s Leniency and Racial Views Johnson’s belief that black suffrage could never be imposed on a southern state by the federal government put him on a collision course with the Radical Republicans. C. Johnson’s Pardon Policy Johnson hoped to keep prewar leaders from participat ing in the Reconstructed South. Nevertheless, he ended up pardoning most of them and thus restored the old elite. People had to apply directly to Johnson for pardoning. He appointed his own governors to keep the old ones out of power. Only southerners who took the oath of loyalty could vote for or against reconstruction so there was little opposition in the votes.Unpardoned men and former slave couldn’t vote. Many former elites were returned into power, even the VP of the confederacy D. Black Codes Johnson’s pardons upset many Republicans, but the discriminatory black codes revealed the depth of southern defiance. Blacks had to abide by the rules of their landowners, almost returning them to their slave status. V. The Congressional Reconstruction Plan Congress had the power of admission of states. They believed they had the right to change and alter the reconstruction plans. What was the relationship between the South and Union now that the war happened?Conservatives b elieved that the South was conquered and it was subject to the rule of the conquering country. A. The Radicals The Radicals wanted to transform the South, and they were willing to exclude it from the Union until they had achieved their goal. By refusing to work with conservative and moderate Republicans, Johnson and the Democrats forced them to work with the Radicals. B. Congress Wrests Control from Johnson Congress worked to extend the Freedmen’s Bureau and to pass a civil rights law counteracting the black codes. Johnson vetoed these bills, ending hopes of compromise.This showed Johnson’s own racism against colored people C. The Fourteenth Amendment This amendment gave citizenship to freedmen, prohibited states from interfering with constitutional rights, declared the Confederate war debt null and void, barred Confederate leaders from holding state and federal office, and punished any state that restricted extension of the right to vote to black men. This was a major move in African American rights. It excluded women altogether in the right to vote and gained much protest from women’s rights groups. D. The South’s and Johnson’s Defiance, 1866At the urging of President Johnson, all southern states except Tennessee rejected the Fourteenth Amendment. Having won overwhelmingly in the 1866 congressional elections, Republicans decided to form new southern state governments. Johnson personally went and spoke about how Radicals were traitors for taking over reconstruction E. The Reconstruction Acts of 1867-1868 Congress set up five military districts in the South, guaranteed freedmen the right to vote in elections for state constitutional conventions, required congressional approval of all new state constitutions, and declared that southern states must accept the Fourteenth Amendment.First Reconstruction Act admitted all states back into the Union. F. The Failure of Land Redistribution Thaddeus Stevens (radical) failed to win appro val for his plan to confiscate and redistribute land in the former Confederate states. G. Constitutional Crisis Congress passed a number of controversial laws, including the Tenure of Office Act (gave the senate the power to approve changes in the president’s cabinet), by overriding presidential vetoes. Johnson proceeded to take several belligerent steps, including removal of Secretary of War Stanton and giving power to civil governments and the military.These all got vetoed by Johnson then overridden by a 2/3 vote in congress.. Congressional tyranny? H. Impeachment of President Johnson After Johnson removed Secretary of War Stanton, Congress impeached the president. This had been tried twice before. Although acquitted in the Senate, Johnson suffered politically. I. Election of 1868 Grant, a supporter of congressional Reconstruction and of black suffrage in the South, won the 1868 presidential election against Horatio Seymour. Republicans supported congressional reconstructio n and black suffrage in the South where Democrats supported white supremacy and denounced reconstruction J.Fifteenth Amendment In 1869, Radicals succeeded in passing the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibited denying the right to vote based on â€Å"race, color, or previous condition of servitude. † Voting rights of women could still be denied and other tests could be enacted to deny voting to other groups. With this many saw reconstruction as finished. VI. Reconstruction Politics in the South A. White Resistance Whites in the South resisted Reconstruction. Some denied freedom to their slaves, while others prevented blacks from getting land. B.Black Voters and Emergence of a Southern Republican Party Thanks to a large black voter turnout and restrictions on prominent Confederates, a new southern Republican Party controlled the state constitutional conventions of 1868-1870. C. Triumph of Republican Governments Republican victory in the South meant that for the first time black citizens gained political office. Southern Republicans worked to build white support for the party. D. Industrialization Republican governments tried to industrialize the South, but higher taxes for that purpose drew money away from education and other reforms.E. Republican Policies on Racial Equality Economic progress remained uppermost in the minds of most southern blacks. They accepted segregated facilities in return for other opportunities. F. The Myth of â€Å"Negro Rule† Southern Conservatives used economic and social pressure on blacks as well as inflammatory racist propaganda to undermine congressional Reconstruction. G. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags In their propaganda, Conservatives labeled northerners seeking economic opportunity as â€Å"carpetbaggers† and white southerners who supported the Republicans as â€Å"scalawags. H. Tax Policy and Corruption as Political Wedges Although an increase in taxes was necessary just to maintain traditional services, Repub lican tax policies aroused strong opposition. The corruption with which Republicans were charged was often true. I. Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan terrorized black leaders in an effort to curb their support for the Republicans. J. Failure of Reconstruction A number of things brought about the collapse of the Republican regimes, forcing them out of office before they instituted social and economic reforms. VII.Reconstruction Reversed A. Political Implications of Klan Terrorism Congress passed two Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871 in an effort to counteract Klan violence. The laws were enforced selectively. Congressional opponents of these laws charged that Congress was infringing on states’ rights. B. The Liberal Republican Revolt Although Grant won reelection in 1872, the revolt of the Liberal Republicans in conjunction with opposition from the Democrats reinforced Grant’s desire to avoid confrontation with white southerners. C. A General AmnestyIn 1872, Congress offere d amnesty to most remaining former Confederates, and in 1875 it offered a watered-down Civil Rights Act that the Supreme Court eventually struck down. D. Reconciliation and Industrial Expansion Both industrialization and immigration surged in the years immediately after the Civil War. Then came the Panic of 1873. E. Greenbacks Versus Sound Money Many Americans wanted to keep â€Å"greenbacks† in circulation, but Grant, along with many Congressmen, industrialists, and financiers, supported sound money. F. Judicial Retreat from ReconstructionSupreme Court decisions, by narrowing the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment and by denying equal rights, encouraged the northern retreat from Reconstruction. G. Disputed Election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877 The disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden resulted in the Compromise of 1877, effectively ending Reconstruction in the South. H. Betrayal of Black Rights and the Exodusters Tens of thousands of southern African Americans felt betrayed by the election of 1876 and decided to leave the South where they could no longer hope for equal rights.

Let's Be Lefties for a Day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Let's Be Lefties for a Day - Essay Example What is it like to be a left-hander in a world of right-handers? (I am a right-hander). To explore this, I woke up one morning and posed a restriction on my right hand by enclosing a ping-pong ball in my right hand and tying it up tightly with a sock. I began brushing my teeth. Noticing that the angles of brushing were going awry, my right hand subconsciously tried to assist. No, I told myself and desisted. (After a couple of hours, I could still detect a faint trace of bad odour). Then, bathing was an absolute horror. My sock got wet in a matter of seconds. I had to sign some cheques and write a letter before leaving for office. The result, on paper looked like a child’s scrawl. My daughter tossed me a ball and I ended up overbalancing and falling on the floor, not to mention missing it completely. We also observe people who do not elicit the same treatment meted out to us. For instance, I remember my college days when we had a guy who was good at studies. He would lock himse lf up and stick to academics. He would not join us in sports, dating or drinking. We used to snigger behind his back. He was considered ‘abnormal’. Was it right on our part to label him thus? All of us know the answer. People who do not conform to their peer-set’s so-called norms and practices are often scorned. But the attitude is not right. One cannot expect everyone to fall into the majority.

The accounting Profession Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The accounting Profession - Assignment Example The article provides an analysis of the SWOT analysis for Deloitte. It provides information on the performance of the company in the auditing field of business. The analysis is very helpful for the reader in the sense than one gets to understand both the internal and external environments of the company that influence its performance. The internal environment relate to strength and weaknesses whereas the external environment relates to issues such as opportunities and threats. Litigation support and fraud accounting are both areas in the field of forensic accounting. However, there exists a difference between the two areas. Litigation support involves the forensic accountant giving opinion about existing facts or facts that are yet to be uncovered. On the other hand, fraud accounting involves making investigations to unmask cases of fraud on the company books of accounts. The difference arises from the fact that a forensic accountant only provides an opinion in the case of litigation support whereas he gets involves in making investigation in the case of fraud accounting. This means that a forensic accountant has a passive role in litigation support and an active role in fraud accounting. The most important skill is working experience gained from everyday accomplishment of forensic accounting tasks. This skill is very crucial because the longer a forensic accountant has been in the profession, the greater the ability to handle various challenges related to everyday tasks. Experts comment that despite an accountant gaining knowledge in internal controls, accounting and auditing, taxation, and business operations the most important thing is maturing in the profession. Maturing is achieved by a forensic accountant spending a great deal of time performing tasks related to his or her profession. A forensic accountant should also have adequate training in relevant fields to his or her profession

Quality Function Deployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Quality Function Deployment - Essay Example QFD also differs in the fact that it concentrates more on adding new features and components according to customer needs and expectations rather then simply focusing on eliminating features or components not required by the customer. The QFD institute describes QFD as a comprehensive quality design method that: The following essay will start with a brief look on the evolution of QFD and its expansion to the rest of the world. This will be followed by a discussion on the framework of house of quality (HoQ) as well as the elements that forms part of the HoQ. The next sections will then cover the advantages and the benefits offered by the method which will be followed by a discussion on the drawbacks of the method. The roots of QFD can be traced back to United States in 1940s with the emergence of 'value engineering'. Due to limited reources at General Moters (GM), alternative designs were considered and it often resulted in better product and lower cost. This led the management at GM to investigate and develop effective ways to improve value and resulted in launching of the program 'value analysis' (VA) in 1947 with tremendous success. In 1954, Department of Defense's bureau of Ships embraced a similar approach in it procurement activities and named its programme 'value engeenering'. However, Jiang, Shiu and Tu mention that even though the initial concept of quality originated in the United States, early industrial applications predominantly took place at Japanese companies (30). After the World War II, Japan's industry was devastated and Japanese begun rebuilding the industry with the help of Americans. Quality was given a significant importance, leading to the establishment of statistical quality control in Japanese manufacturing industry. The quality management activities at the time were concerned with quality of the product during the manufacturing process or after. During this time, Professors Shigeru Mizuno and Yoji Akao focused on developing a quality assurance method that would integrate customer satisfaction into the product even before the product was manufactured. Based on this concept, Mizuno and Akao subsequently published their first book on the topic in 1978 (Jiang, Shiu and Tu 33). In 1966, Mr Kiyotaka Oshiumi of Bridgestone Tire in Japan was presented with a process assurance items table. This table had a fishbone diagram showing the links from the substitute quality characteristics, which were converted from true qualities (customer needs), to the process factors. A further field of 'Design Viewpoints' was later added to this table. (Akao and Mazur 21) Although the idea was presented to various companies for trails, it did not generate much public interest at the time. Akao and Mazur mention that the approach at the time was still inadequate in terms of setting the design quality (21). However, this changed with the creation of quality chart by the Kobe Shipyards of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry in 1972. Their table indicated the true quality (customer needs) in terms of function and then showed the relationship between these

Marketing to consumers in saudi arabiawhich facets of their multiple Article

Marketing to consumers in saudi arabiawhich facets of their multiple identities do they use when - Article Example Despite the fact that cross border trade of various entities like people, products, ideas, etc. have resulted in cultures getting mixed up and losing their core identity, yet the foreign element in the home culture has not fully revamped the local culture anywhere in the world; the glimpse of the home culture remains there no matter how much the foreign culture influences it. However, this phenomenon does lead to the outcome that culture is no more a static variable but is dynamic and continues to grow as embedding of culture takes place. This dynamicity and the cross border trade has actually led individuals into behaving differently in a differing set of circumstances or simply put, they tend to portray different culture or cultural identities in different situations. Observations reveal that this is a major issue with immigrants in particular as they face dual challenge; adapt to the local environment and retain their identity. Subsequently, the arising phenomenon leads to the out come that consumers tend to utilize varying facets as they come across different situations. The purpose of this research is to analyze and differentiate between situations and circumstances that make consumer use one of the facets and prefer one over the other defining a varying consumer and consumption pattern. This research is to be conducted in the environment of Saudi Arabia. In particular, this research is aimed at investigating and highlighting the cultural variables that derive the process of marketing communication, perception of quality of service, and choice of consumption in the various categories of products and/or services. Consider the example of a young lady in Saudi Arabia; the first consideration when going out would be towards religious concerns in terms of meat and choice of restaurants. The same lady would definitely move beyond religious considerations when choosing an institute to study, for example. Even when the female goes towards shopping, the consideration and precedence for fashion and societal acceptability might be on the higher side. Similarl y, her attraction to an advertisement may be totally opposite to what her clothing or religion or institute depict her personality to be. Understanding, comprehending and investigating the variables that derive these patterns of choice and consumption is the underlying aim of this research. Saudi Arabia has a different and unique set of characteristics that are associated with its dynamics and other variables. Some of these are listed as below: Firstly, the population constitutes various nationals present, and some of them tend to be influential due to the background or their strength. Secondly, the fact remains that Saudi Arabia is an expatriate driven economy, and the expats there have strong affiliation with their nations as they cannot gain the citizenship status therewith. Thirdly, Saudi Arabia nationals have this tendency of traveling overseas and interacting with individuals from various customs, backgrounds, religions, cultures, norms, etc. Another point of consideration is the tremendous growth that is currently

Personal narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal narrative - Essay Example He wanted to study English to help with his university coursework. My motivation was more casual. I was simply interested in learning a little spoken Thai and a little about Thai culture. I wasn't interested in learning to read or to write Thai. This narrative will concentrate on the application of Cambourne's prerequisites of learning to my language exchange experience. These prerequisites, or conditions of learning, are immersion, demonstration, expectation, responsibility, approximation, employment, response and engagement. As noted by Cambourne, these conditions of learning do not exist in isolation. Rather, these conditions are intertwined. A learner's ability to approximate the target behavior, for instance, may be difficult or impossible absent immersion or demonstration. That said, the eight conditions set forth a clear analytical framework for assessing my Thai-English language exchange. Immersion refers to the depth and the comprehensiveness of the learning or literacy experience. It refers to the extent to which the learner is saturated by the learning experience. It also involves, in important ways, questions of authenticity. In my case, immersion was gravely lacking. As a result, it was difficult to approximate the modeled behavior, the spoken Thai, and my expectations were consequently diminished. My instructor was a native-speaker of Thai. He was well-educated and well-prepared for our lessons. From the point of view of immersion, however, he was my sole authentic connection to the Thai language. In the background, during our lessons at the coffee shop, there was English music playing on the radio. Everything, from menus to posters on the wall to the conversations at adjoining tables, was in English. Trying to focus on my Thai lessons was at times a distraction. It seemed external to the physical and cultural environment. In short, the lack of the immersion element affected in a significant way my total learning experience. The lack of authenticity and the lack of a broader learning exposure to the learning goals left me feeling a bit hopeless about learning to speak Thai. Demonstration: Creating Realistic and Practical Situations The second condition of learning, the demonstration prerequisite, concerns the modeling of the target behavior. This modeling may be formal or informal. My Thai instructor was rather creative in this respect. He brought magazines to our meetings and used them as teaching aids. I recall one lesson where we studied shopping and prices. He brought a clothing catalogue, a Thai silk catalogue, and a Thai cooking book as teaching aids. He handed me a worksheet in which he had typed English inquiries such as, "How much is a coke", with the Thai equivalent written alongside in English script. He modeled the correct pronunciation, made relevant grammatical distinctions, and created a salesperson-customer role-play for the clothing and silk catalogues and a waiter-customer role-play for the Thai cooking book. We took turns playing each of the roles. This was one of the most beneficial aspects of my learning experience. I was able to demonstrate what I had learned in a fairly realistic way. The context in which I was able to demonstrate my knowledge, based upon my instructor's models, was also quite practical. My instructor downplayed the theory in his presentation and modeling. As we were