Theories of Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Theories of Emotional Intelligence (EI) Discuss how intelligence and emotion are linked and refer to the differing theories that unite these features in order to assess their relevance for adults. Introduction In 1990, Mayer and Salovey wrote, ‘Emotional Intelligence‘[1] (E I) which gave rise to this concept as a medium of individual assessment that accurately describes the attributions for responses to successes and failures in life. In 1995, Daniel Goleman wrote his popular follow-up to this work, entitled, â€Å"Emotional Intelligence, Why it can Matter More than IQ. †[2] Here Goleman, expanded upon this concept and provided it with an often criticised[3] and lay version of the earlier notions of Mayer and Salovey. This paper, concentrates largely on the works of Mayer and Salovey and Goleman as a tool to establishing the inherent link between emotion and intelligence. This paper will therefore begin by giving an overview of the origins of the concept of Emotional Intelligence and how these two attributes of the human condition are linked. There will be a description and critique of the meaning, distinctive nature and importance of E I. Following this, there will be exploration of Mayer and Salovey’s four areas of E I, which are assessed on the basis of the MSCEIT ability test. These four areas will be compared with the five areas stated by Goleman and each will be critically assessed. Finally there will be a discussion of the practical applicability of E I to the education of adults and its relevance in various genres of the workforce. A. The Origins of E I 1. Emotion Mayer and Salovey stated that the traditional image of emotion is as a vice of human nature that is to be controlled as it was perceived to have the capability of fully possessing the individual to create â€Å"a complete loss of cerebral control,[4]† thus depriving him of his rationality. This was then turned on its head with the new concept of emotion as the motivating force which for the first time gave insight into emotion as an integral function of the human condition. Emotion is therefore a response mechanism whereby the appropriateness of its intensity has been determined through natural selection. 2. Intelligence The same professors then turned their attentions to intelligence, which they acknowledge the definition provided by Wechsler, which describes intelligence as: â€Å"the aggregate of global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment. [5]† 3. Emotional intelligence The concept of emotional intelligence was therefore created by Mayer and Salovey as a means of identifying types of intelligences that go further to identify the social context of intelligence beyond that of the conventional IQ intelligence. They did this because they noticed that the two concepts are not wholly separable but their work was largely unnoticed at the time of its publication in 1990. Indeed, it was not until Goleman’s publication in 1995 when the E I concept finally gained popular recognition. The reason for this was the appeal of everyday life, and adult referencing to the E I concept, which provided it with a more workable model for the lay person. B. The Link between Emotion and Intelligence 1. What is E I? Salovey and Mayer define E I as a subset of social intelligence, namely, the ability to understand, manage and manipulate the responses of others[6]. E I is a sub-set of this concept that is defined as the ability for the individual to understand ones own feelings and the feelings of those around them: â€Å"the ability to monitor one’s own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among the and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. †[7] The ability itself is a measurement of how an individual is able to make decisions based on their own and other’s personal, emotional responses throughout life. Goleman noticed profound differences in test groups of children in relation in simple temptation exercises when he referred back to his subjects fourteen years after the initial tests[8]. The result was a profound tangent of social maladjustment in those who acted on impulse and profound social adjustment in those who were able of overcome emotional urges. [9] 2. The Distinctive Nature of E I Unlike the conventional IQ concept, E I deals with emotion, which is given driver status as a key element to the personal influences that affect our lives. In contrast, the conventional IQ deals specifically with intellectual abilities such as dimensional perception, numerical ability, literacy and problem solving. Unlike emotional intelligence, the vital social dimension is not provided for. This means that IQ, although accurate in the determination of intelligence, provides no indication of success in life and emotional intelligence is a more complete picture[10]. 3. The Importance of E I Goleman’s writing on the subject of Emotional Intelligence has found its way into the main curricular of schools in deprived areas of the USA. An example is that of the New Haven, Connecticut Public Schools[11] with large scale unemployment and poverty. The result is an inherent need to diffuse the types of social problems that depressed areas such as these can create. The ability to understand ones own emotion, those of others around you and make decisions rationally based on these responses is vital to social wealth. This expands throughout all human, emotive concepts such as self esteem and confidence to interact with others, which inherently lead to improved abilities in leadership and teamwork. C. The three Areas of E I according to Mayer and Salovey in 1990 In order to fully understand the origins of E I, it is essential to draw upon the original three branch model of firstly, appraisal and expression, secondly, regulation and thirdly, utilization of E I that are present in the 1990 paper[12]. In 1997[13], these concepts were re-devised to encompass identification, use, understanding and management of emotion but they came after the publication of Goleman’s book, â€Å"Emotional Intelligence,† and contain the same broad concepts of the original 1990 paper. Another reason for scrutiny of the earlier work is that the 1990 text was the primary inspiration for Goleman. Explanation of the 1990 categories below does refer to the four branch model devised in 1997. 1. Appraising and Expressing Emotions in the self and others This is a double pronged notion of firstly identifying emotions in oneself and others and then using them to achieve a specific goal, which are facilitated through verbal and non-verbal communication. To understand others, perception is facilitated through body-language and empathy, all of which are key social skills. Mayer and Salovey state that clear communication of emotion is necessary in order to effectively convey feelings as well as be able to decipher emotive responses. The verbal version of clarity is therefore the use of coherent language as a way of expressing emotion. The non-verbal version of emotive expression is as far more widely used tool in emotive expression and appraisal as our specie is well adapted in the art of producing many facial expressions. E I is a recognition of the assessment level in ability to both express and empathetically decipher this non-verbal method of emotive communication. Empathy in particular is regarded by Mayer and Salovey as one of the most base and essential tools in any social specie[14]. 2. Regulating emotion in the self and others This is the process of understanding emotions in order to, ‘monitor, evaluate and regulate,’ them[15]. Mayer and Salovey also refer to the longer lasting ‘mood’ as a key facet of the emotional spectrum that also requires regulation. Moods and emotions tend not to be conscious decisions but are states of minds that the individual can learn from in order to ascertain for the future the precise environments and situations that will bring about these moods. This results in conscious efforts to either avoid or seek the behaviour that will trigger the mood. The complexity of this model is added to by further notions of social association so as to avoid jealousy and promote pride and also to more prominently recall positive mood stimulants as opposed to negative ones[16]. Further to this is the inherent desire to know full sorrow, which although somewhat baffling, is in its own right an educator as to the potential extent of profound joy[17]. Regulation of emotions in others is an essential tool for the workforce as it is key to the employer’s ability to pick out the best employees. This is determinable from indications such as appearance and grooming in the workplace, attention to work ethic, punctuality and contribution to the working environment[18]. 3. Utilization Utilization relates to the management of emotions and in the self. Mayer and Salovey refer to the varied ability in us all to ‘harness emotions in order to solve problems. ’[19] The mood that we are in will draw attention to different solutions that are dependent on a requisite mood as inspiration. This has the result that multiple moods create varied solutions that give way to skills in creativity, flexibility of planning and motivation. 5. The Meyer, Salovey and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) In 1999, Mayer and Salovey’s 1997 four branch model of Emotional Intelligence was developed from an earlier test to measure performance tasks that assessed the ability to perceive the intensity of emotion. The test takers are required to answer questions relating to the outcome of increased intensity of emotion and changes in mood and the predominant task is to therefore select the correct course of action in a given situation. This is the E I equivalent to the IQ test and is a clear indication of the technical stance of Mayer and Salovey. D. The five Areas of E I according to Goleman 1. Self Awareness This is very similar to Mayer’s observation of the identification of emotion in oneself. Goleman points to the maxim of Socrates, â€Å"know thyself[20]† as a major key to the fulfilment of life. ‘Metacognition’ or ‘Self Awareness,’ are essential in order for us to be able to recognise our emotions and, more importantly, the thoughts that these generate: â€Å"being aware of our mood and our thoughts about that mood,† Goleman, accurately draws upon the profound spectrum of differences that are inherent among us in our ability to be self aware. He states that, on the one hand, some of us can be engulfed by our emotive responses and others can be accepting of them but neither of these groups is active in the pursuit of escape from emotional extremity[21]. On the other hand, the self aware individual applies rationality to the emotion in order to aid in its diffusion[22]. 2. Self Regulation An awareness of the self is a fundamental requirement towards self regulation which will allow us, not only to ‘know ourselves,’ but also regulate or control our emotive responses. The afore mentioned, self aware group, who actively rationalise their emotions are the most sophisticated self regulators. Plato himself made the definition between, ‘passion’s slave’ and sophrosyne[23] or: â€Å"care and intelligence in conducting one’s life; a tempered balance and wisdom,[24]† The ability to temper such emotions as rage is regarded as the forefront emotions to which escape is sought. [25] 3. Motivation Positive thinking is a further sophistication of E I that extrapolates from Mayer and Salovey’s notion on seeking specific moods. Goleman uses the concept of ‘hope,’ whose intensity in the individual will determine the outcome following a failure[26]. In simple terms, the defeatist will be utterly demoralised whereas students of a high hope will have the will power to motivate themselves to try harder. High commitment to motivation through hope will most certainly yield a positive outcome. In addition, the status of flow, which Goleman describes as the ’zone[27]’ between boredom through lack of personal stimulus and overwhelming sensations intrinsic to acute difficulty is the exact wavelength that teachers should seek in order to obtain optimum motivation. The problem however is that this is profoundly difficult in large classrooms where the state of ’flow’ is different for each student. 4. Empathy This is one of the most fundamental of emotive skills[28]. This represents his designation of the attributes that Mayer and Salovey described in their account of the ability to recognise the emotions of others. Empathy is the awareness to register the pains and the joys of others, which Goleman determines as essential for the development of ability to caring for the feelings of others and solidifies relationships between family, friends and partners. Without empathy, serious deficits of human compassion are noticeable and these can manifest in sociopath behaviour, child abuse and other acts that are inherent in a lack of empathy. 5. Social Skills The ability to determine the social structure of ones surroundings is a key skill in the development of knowing the emotions of those around us and being able to shape them. Goleman refers to the specific model of an argument between two toddlers and their mother as an illustration of sophisticated handling of emotional perception in others at extremely young ages[29]. This is related to Mayer and Salovey’s concept of appraising, expressing and regulating the emotions in others in order to achieve a specific goal. The adult counterpart is what Goleman describes as the ‘mastery’ of being able to diffuse the extreme emotions of others. E. Critical Assessment of the works The concept that Goleman adds little to the insights of Mayer and Salovey is to ignore the importance of creating a general work that is accessible to the lay individual. Emotional Intelligence is a scientific study of the interaction of the emotional and rational portions of the brain and any attempt to communicate such study and findings to the general public is surely the ultimate goal of the social science of psychology! Education in this field provides the individual with a greater understanding of how they think and react to life and it is essential that such knowledge become just as integral to the well being of basic fundaments of life as are the more practical skills of reading and writing. Further to this, the concept that Goleman is suggesting that we ‘be nice’ is an overly simplistic summary of his writings. Goleman describes intricate flaws that can occur in the neurological communication between the emotive and rational portions of the brain. He accurately describes the effect that long or short term deficits in either emotional or rational awareness can have on the personality and social, interactive skills of the individual. Meyer and Salovey argue profusely that there is more to E I than the simple feature of being nice and far from being contradicted by Goleman, he extrapolates upon this point. This is accurately illustrated by Goleman’s constant reference throughout the five elements of E I to the subjective decision making that is determined by dominance by the mind of either the emotional or rational brain portions. The result is that an argument to be nice contradicts the internal and external factors related to awareness of emotion in ourselves and others that lead to profound differences in displays of characteristics such as niceness. Goleman argues that a normative balance and sophisticated grasp of the above five skills will lead to the most positive response to a given situation and lead to the greater success in present and future life. These positive responses are not confined to displays of nicety. This is merely a common fiction that results from external perception of constant nic eness in individuals who in reality are highly attuned to their E I and reserve negative emotions for extreme situations. F. The Practical Application of E I as it applies to the education of adults The application of good E I in the work place is of fundamental importance. All five elements of E I contribute to a rounded perception of both the self and others that ensures a sophisticated navigation through the roadmap of social interaction, in which sophisticated levels of E I act to facilitate successful completion of the task in hand. The following are two key examples of how this operates in adult life. 1. Military Sophistication the Canadian Armed Forces Livingstone, Nadjiwon-Foster and Smithers prepared a on the use of Emotional Intelligence in the leadership skills of the Canadian Armed Forces[30]. The Forces are an ideal premise from which to analyse E I as they draw upon the two key areas of social interaction that are dependent on E I, namely, leadership and teamwork but that such skills are essential in all adult groups. Livingstone, Nadjiwon-Foster and Smithers draw upon Mayer and Salovey’s later four branch model of E I and identified key uses for leadership such as idealized influence of the role model and inspirational motivation that create the role model and encourage teamwork under the proficient and respected leader. Further to this, individualised consideration through attention by the leader to the individual skills and needs of each team member are fundamental to the utilization of the full potential of a company of soldiers. The intellectual stimulation required in the location of ‘flow’ and tran sformational leadership as a tool for the creation of job satisfaction are also fundamental to efficient armed forces that thrive on teamwork and leadership. 3. Sales Sales instils a third prong of skill sourced from E I and is highly useful for the adult world. This is the power of persuasion. In no other profession is the skill of establishing fast rapport and engaging in emotional sale through the rapid identification of a buying need more profound and acute than in the sales environment. This is because the hard sale technique, unlike the widespread application of E I for teamwork and leadership, requires the sales person to utilize persuasion in order to harness the emotional impulse. This carries with it a more passionate and more definite decision to make a purchase. Conclusion Analysis of both Mayer and Salovey and Goleman have revealed two outcomes. Firstly there are two versions of the E I concept of which the former is both intellectualised and scientific and the latter, by Goleman, is simplified and popular with greater reference to real scenarios as a tool to illustration. Secondly, it is emphasised that both schools are in harmony and each fulfil the two different yet essential goals for the use and teaching of E I, namely, a technical framework from which to develop further intellectual discourse in the highly relevant application of E I to adult life and secondly, a popular outreach those same adults which facilitates them with the opportunity to soul search their own personal endeavours with Emotional Intelligence. Bibliography Articles Mayer, J. D. , DiPaolo, M. T. , Salovey, P. (1990). Perceiving affective content in ambiguous visual stimuli: A component of emotional intelligence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 54, 772-781. Salovey, P. Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185-211. D Wechsler, â€Å"The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence,† (Williams and Wilkens, Baltimore, 1958) N. Cantor and J. F. Kihlstrom, â€Å"Social Intelligence: The Cognitive Basis of Personality, in Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 6P (Shaver, 1985) 15-33 Holly Livingstone, Maria Nadjiwon-Foster Sonya Smithers â€Å"Emotional Intelligence Military Leadership, Prepared for: Canadian Forces Leadership Institute (March 11, 2002, as represented by the Minister of National Defence) Salovey, P, C. , Mayer, J. D. (1993). Emotional intelligence and the self- regulation of affect. In D. M. Wegner J. W. Pennebaker (Eds. ) Handbook of mental control (Pp. 258-277). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Mayer, J. D. , Stevens, A. (1994). An emerging understanding of the reflective (meta-) experience of mood. Journal of Research in Personality, 28, 351-373. Salovey, P. , Mayer, J. D. , Goldman, S. , Turvey, C, Palfai, T. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed. ) Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 125-154). Mayer, J. D. , Salovey, P. (1995). Emotional intelligence and the construction and regulation of feelings. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 4. 197-208. Mayer, J. D. , Salovey, P. , Caruso, D. R. (2000) Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed. ). Handbook of Human Intelligence (2nd ed), pp 396-420. New York: Cambridge. Mayer, J. D. (2000). Spiritual Intelligence or spiritual consciousness? Journal of Psychology and Religion, 10, 47-56. Text Books D Goleman, â€Å"Emotional Intelligence, Why it can matter more than IQ† (Bloomsbury, 1995) Salovey, P. , Sluyter, D. J. (1997). Emotional development and emotional intelligence. New York: Basic Books and Mayer, J. D. Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey D. Sluyter (Eds). Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Educators (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books. Steve Hein, â€Å"E Q For Everybody† (1996) Full text available at http://eqi. org/eqe96_1. htm Video Daniel Golemen Presents: Emotional Intelligence: A new vision for Educators (Video) (National Professional Resources Ltd, 1996) Footnotes [1] Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9 185-211 [2] (Bloomsbury, 1995) [3] See Steve Hein’s article at http://www. eqi. org/hrcom1c. htm [4] Salovey, P. Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, at p187 [5] D Wechsler, â€Å"The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence,† (Williams and Wilkens, Baltimore, 1958) [6] ibid 4 at p 190 [7] N. Cantor and J. F. Kihlstrom, 2Social Intelligence: The Cognitive Basis of Personality, in Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 6P (Shaver, 1985) at pp 15-33 [8] D Goleman, â€Å"Emotional Intelligence, Why it can matter more than IQ† (Bloomsbury, 1995) chapter 3 [9] ibid [10] ibid chapter 6 at pp 80-83 [11] See â€Å"Daniel Golemen Presents: Emotional Intelligence: A new vision for Educators (Video) (National Professional Resources Ltd, 1996) [12] ibid 1 [13] See Salovey, P. , Sluyter, D. J. (1997). Emotional development and emotional intelligence. New York: Basic Books and Mayer, J. D. Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey D. Sluyter (Eds). Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Educators (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books. [14] ibid 1 at p 192 [15] ibid 1 [16] ibid 1 at p 195 [17] ibid 1 at p 196 [18] ibid [19] ibid 1 at p 199 [20] See Goleman chapter 4 [21] ibid p 48 [22] ibid [23] See Goleman at p 56 [24] Quoted from the translation of the ancient Greek by Page DuBois. See Goleman at p 56 (ch 5) [25] Goleman at p 59 [26] Goleman at p 89 [27] Goleman at pp 93-95 [28] Goleman at Chapter 7 [29] Goleman at pp 111-113 [30] Holly Livingstone, Maria Nadjiwon-Foster Sonya Smithers â€Å"Emotional Intelligence Military Leadership, Prepared for: Canadian Forces Leadership Institute (March 11, 2002, as represented by the Minister of National Defence)

Plts Unit 1

Unit 1- Preparing for an Apprenticeship 1. What are the components of your Apprenticeship? |1. 1 What are the components of your Apprenticeship framework and what is the relevance of each? |Functional Skills Level 1 (English & Maths) – this provides basic skills that will be | |required in day to day activities and support you in life, learning and work | | | |Employment and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills Level 2 (PLTS) | |5 units – Personal learning and thinking encourages the development of being able to generate ideas, tackle problems and find solutions,| |work independently or within teams and understand legal and organisational requirements . | | |Certificate in Healthcare Support Services Level 2 | |9 units (5 mandatory, 4 optional) – The purpose of this qualification is to | |guide and assess the development of Knowledge and skills relating to the health | |workforce. This qualification confirms competence in a range of healthcare support | |se rvice skills. | |1. Describe how each component will be assessed | |Functional Skills Level 1 (English & Maths) | |This is assessed by completion of online or paper based tests achieved within agreed timescale of the first 6 months. | | | |Employment and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills Level 2 (PLTS) | |5 Units | |This is assessed by completion of the PLTS workbook, which is to be completed with YAS training. | | |Certificate in Healthcare Support Services Level 2 | |9 Units | | | |This is assessed through work based learning. Demonstrating knowledge and performance within set criteria using a variety of methods , | |such as: Observations, Work Products, Case Studies, Professional/Guided Discussion). | |1. 3 Describe the purpose of the apprenticeship agreement | | | |This relies on the learner to be very motivated and dedicated to achieve the milestones set. This also relies on the employer providing | |opportunities for learning and guidance to the learner. |The trainin g provider establishing the learners strengths and individual learning style in order to support with efficiency of capturing | |evidence to support achievement of the framework within the timescale set. | 2. Be able to set goals for the coming year. |2. 1 Describe the importance of meeting deadlines | | | |By meeting deadlines this keeps the learner on track with the programme, therefore doesn’t fall behind and have to catch up with work | |that should already have been completed. By agreeing targets on a monthly basis it also encourages the learner to maintain motivation and| |efficiency with meeting targets. | |2. Describe the importance of being organised | | | |Being organised will make the programme a lot easier for everyone involved. This will help me to achieve deadlines set, maintain good | |motivation, enjoyable work etc. | | | |All of this should ensure successful completion of the qualification | |2. 3 Create targets for own skills development and completion of the Apprenticeship. | | |To complete work within deadlines set | |To be organised in all aspects of work and placement | |To maintain a professional appearance at all times | |To uphold a professional attitude/manor | |To adhere to the trust uniform/dress code | |To treat people as individuals and respect their dignity. | |To work cooperatively within teams and respect the skills, expertise and contributions of my colleagues. | 3. Understand the progression routes. |3. 1 What sources of information are available regarding progression routes? | | |If I am wanting to progress into a different job role I can seek advice from my team leader/manager at the base station I am working at. | | | |Information for these roles are available from the YAS intranet or the internet (google). | |3. 2 What are the possible progression routes within YAS? | | | | | | | |There are many different progression routes to possibly go down after completion of the PTS apprentiship.Some of which are; | |â⠂¬ ¢ Band 3 PTS driver | |†¢ Assistant practitioner | |†¢ Paramedic | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

American Government And Rights

The individual freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment are widely regarded as essential to the maintenance of a democratic system. Specifically, the First Amendment states the â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The First Amendment freedoms protect the legitimacy of philosophical, political, and ethical pluralism.The concept of pluralism entails tolerance of diversity in social, political, and religious points of view, that is, acknowledgement that different judgments on these subjects all have a right to be held and advocated. Karen O’Connor, author of the book American Government: Continuity and Change states that students must be able to understand how the American government was able to develop so that they can understand how the Am erican government evolved over the years (O’Connor & Sabato, 2009).This paper looks at the different issues in the area of civil liberties encompassing women’s rights, affirmative action, and suffrage, at the same time, maintaining that these constitute vested rights of a higher order than economic or social values because civil liberties constitute the essence of the democratic political process itself. Constraints of Congress over bureaucracy The power relationships between Congress, interest groups, judiciary and bureaucracy were discussed in Chapter 12 of Politics in America by Thomas Dye, Tucker Gibson and Clay Robison.He outlined several checks employed by Congress in terms of the bureaucracy that include its function in confirming appointments, conducting committee hearings on programs in the implementation and formulation phases, oversight functions which come in the form of congressional inquiries on the operations of the civil services and more importantly Co ngress use of the power of the purse or its discretion on the allocation of appropriations in checking the bureaucracy.Other constraints of Congress over the bureaucracy is manifested in statutes that include â€Å"The Administrative Procedures Act of 1946† (APA) which mandates government instrumentalities to place proposed rules in the Federal Register, solicit comments, and hold hearings. In addition, the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 (FOIA) provides citizens a formal route for compelling agencies to give out information, with some broad exceptions. Interest groups serve as lobbying agents of bureaucracy and act as watchdogs of society for erring bureaucrats.Interest groups are called upon for their policy recommendations in congress and bureaucracy. The judiciary deliberates on cases dealing with alleged overstepping of authority and they can issue injunctions on programs of a particular government agency. Under the system, several safety nets were instituted to mitig ate potential abuses by the bureaucracy as stated in the Constitution. Reforms in the bureaucracy will succeed when it is implemented in a sustainable manner and with a good dose of political will. The latter is based on prioritizing the needs of the majority and that which is geared towards the common good.It is imperative that government officials regard themselves as public servants and not politicians; in this context they are transcending a myopic perception of their responsibility because they are primarily considering their constituents’ interest above anyone and anything else. The U. S. Constitution The U. S. Constitution has adopted an expanded meaning of the U. S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment to incorporate progressively more of the guarantees in the federal Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights limits the national government’s criminal law and trial procedures only in federal courts.Most crimes, however, are violations of state law, and most crimi nal trials are resolved at that level. It is only through the ambiguous phrase of the Fourteenth Amendment that â€Å"no State shall deny any person life, liberty or property without due process of law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that the U. S. Constitution imposes any restriction on state criminal procedures. The Constitution creates factions among the three branches though the separation of powers. A faction running Congress may face a rival in control of the presidency and the executive branch. Controlling both might face a truculent judicial branch of holdovers from an earlier regime.The separation of powers and checks and balances assure that no one group will be able to dominate the national government. Conflicts or possible corroboration for dominance comes with the encroachment by one branch to another or with duplication of functions. The Constitution established a structure that the mutual relation by all the branches would keep them in their proper places. (Madison, The Federalist 51, Cigler, 1998 ). The creation of three different branches chosen in different ways at different times ensures that policy will be made through bargaining and compromise.Regardless of the separation embodied in the Constitution, the different branches will actually share powers. The checks and balances set up very little dependence between the branches. The permanent tenure of appointments in the Judiciary reinforces its independence from the other branches. The Constitution provides the deviation in the principle of equality to fortify the judiciary. It also admitted the weaker one posing threats or committing encroachments to other branches among the three. The lifetime term of magistrates destroys any possible dependence to the conferring authority.(Madison, The Federalist 51, Cigler 1998). The division into different departments of the legislature chosen in different ways and with different principles of action ensures a level playing field with the executive. Conflicts were expe cted to occur from time to time between the legislative and the executive. The division in the legislature is to balance the weight of its authority and fortify the executive’s (Madison, The Federalist 51, Cigler 1998). The separation of powers impedes the influence of those who have less by ensuring that if this group gains access to one branch, that branch will be checked by another branch.The Constitution provides that â€Å"influence to government should be proportionate to property (Hofstadter, The Founding Fathers: an Age of Realism, Cigler 1998). † If small landowners succeed in getting support from one branch, the other branch could demand for other checks and balances, a sufficient evidence of property ownership. Election policy The Constitution’s election policy ensures that the working class and others who have less, uniting as a majority, could not gain influence in the government.The Philadelphia Enterprise had no intention of extending liberties to those without properties (Hofstadter, The Founding Fathers: an Age of Realism, Cigler 1998). Only white males â€Å"with property and principle† were allowed to vote. The Constitution staggers elections to bring into the national government new issues as they arise over time. The necessary actions that often include bargaining and compromise have been addressed prior to elective officials seeking of new mandate. The staggering of elections makes it impossible for the masses to quickly and easily influence the government.The right to vote was not provided by the Constitution. The Convention was not interested to extend liberty to the ‘men without property in principle’ back home. The people they meant were in â€Å"consent of the people† (Hofstadter, The Founding Fathers: an Age of Realism, Cigler 1998) as the foundation of the government were actually the small landowners – men with small properties who were categorized as stakeholders proportionat e to their assets. The hard truth is, not just suffrage but all other rights were not mentioned and defined in the Constitution.According to statistics, only 54%, an alarmingly low number, of eligible voters cast their ballots in the last four decades of presidential election (Carleton, n. d. ). Apparent civilian apathy is happening especially among those from the low-income bracket and those belonging within the age bracket of 18-25 years old. Why don’t these people vote? The numbers of reasons cited are: â€Å"They feel ignored by politicians; they feel their vote doesn’t really count; and they say that they don’t get the kind of information they need to make an informed decision (Clinton, 2000).I will state three reasons why the people of America should vote: it is our privilege; it is our right; and it is a hallmark of our culture of representative democracy. Voting is a privilege because it is not everybody’s birthright to participate in the selecti on of a country’s leaders. Suffrage is being mandated by the laws of the land and conferred among its people; it can be constrained to some areas or to some part of the population. In fact in our history, this right is used to be reserved to the wealthy, white males of society. Thus, let us not forget that Martin Luther King Jr.marched from Selma to Montgomery Alabama, magnifying the voting issues, which led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were also the women suffrage fighters who suffered persecution and loathe until the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been ratified. In come countries, like Afghanistan, electorates will walk for days before reaching their precinct, some would even line up for hours in order to cast their votes. More than two centuries ago, our founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence setting us free from the British rule.â€Å"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governmen t. † These are the words written and immortalized by the Thomas Jefferson, a former president and one of the founding fathers. The phrase â€Å"consent of the governed† marked the cornerstone of our democracy. When we vote, we acknowledgement the principles by which our sovereign state adheres to – we are demonstrating to the world that we live in a free nation and are proud of it. Women’s right movement In the aftermath of suffrage, white women’s racial attitudes ranged from intolerance to neglect to engagement.At one extreme, the resurgent Ku Klux Klan established a Women’s KKK, which in 1924 claimed a membership of a quarter million. More typical was the dismissal of race by younger radicals such as Alice Paul, the charismatic leader of the self-identified feminists, who had helped revive the U. S. suffrage movement. Borrowing the militant tactics of the British suffragettes, they had chained themselves to the White House fence and survive d hunger strikes in jail. This refusal to acknowledge racism recurred in the anti-Semitism of the women’s movement.Like African Americans, Jewish women had formed their own clubs in response to exclusion from white Christian organizations. Although Jewish women supported suffrage more often than other groups, the suffrage movement had ignored their cultural life when it scheduled conventions and parades on the Jewish Sabbath. Voting is an obligation because it is a direct participation to determine the welfare of the nation. During Elections, every voter is a statesman, carrying a personal responsibility of choosing the best persons to run the country. â€Å"It is the most powerful tool that we have . . . vote does everything . . . It wins wars. It loses wars.† say country artist Ronnie Dunn (Barbieri, n. d. ). The women’s right movement during the Progressive Era was concerned with women suffrage. In the 1800s women were becoming more educated, their roles were slowly shifting as society gradually adjusted to intellectual women who knew politics and other concerns previously under the male’s domain. This awakening period made most of these educated women question the norms, especially their lack of stand during elections. The movement at this time was focused on the right to vote, as the fighters believe that winning suffrage will just be the beginning of other women’s right in the society.It was also a struggle to prove that women can be just as good as men. In the 1960s, however, women’s right movements cover a broader scope. It was also called the liberation movement. Liberation in a sense that women were deemed as caged by the rules set by society. Gaining suffrage is not enough when a woman’s full potential as an individual is not met. Before the 1960s, women could not pursue a career, nor venture into affairs that were considered unfashionable for a lady, such as politics and business.Her main concern is the home, taking care of the family and always exuding that feminine grace and aura. The leaders of the movements rebelled against this painted picture of the woman, insisting that they have far greater substance to be considered as mere â€Å"beauty objects† and â€Å"sex objects† (Sawhney). At this time, the enlightened woman welcomed the arrival of the contraceptive pill, legalization of abortion and career life without the feeling of guilt. Male chauvinism was also deeply criticized. Affirmative Action There is perhaps a need to establish goals in affirmative action plans on that basis.It would be good to note that our organization undertakes recruitment efforts to ensure that underutilized minorities and women are represented in the applicant pool. The proper equal employment opportunity is the core concept that harmonizes the diversity and Affirmative Action efforts. It is a fact that management acknowledges that everyone must have that equal access to employment opportunities. It has been our long standing goal to prohibit discrimination based on different characteristics. If there are Affirmative Action policies, then the company can have clear guidelines on how this would best be implemented.We need to take concrete steps that are taken not only to eliminate employment discrimination but also to attempt to redress the effects of past discrimination. Indeed, the underlying motive for affirmative action is the principle of equal opportunity, which holds that all persons with equal abilities should have equal opportunities. Affirmative action programs differ widely to the extent to which they attempt to overturn discrimination (Encyclopedia of Small Business, p. 1). Some programs might simply institute reviews of the hiring process for women, minorities, and other affected groups.Other affirmative action programs might explicitly prefer members of affected groups. In such programs, minimum job requirements are used to create a pool of quali fied applicants from which members of affected groups are given preference. Affirmative action affects small businesses in two main ways. First, it prevents businesses with 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, and physical capability in practices relating to hiring, compensating, promoting, training, and firing employees.Second, it allows the state and federal governments to favor women-owned and minority-owned businesses when awarding contracts, and to reject bids from businesses that do not make good faith efforts to include minority-owned businesses among their subcontractors (para 2). The interpretation and implementation of affirmative action has been contested since its origins in the 1960s. A central issue of contention was the definition of discriminatory employment practices. The discriminatory employment practices as listed by the Department of Administration and Equal Opportunity (p.1) include: gender identi ty, sexual orientation, race discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation. As the interpretation of positive discrimination evolved, employment practices that were not intentionally discriminatory but that nevertheless had a â€Å"disparate impact† on affected groups were considered a violation of affirmative action regulations (Encyclopedia of Small Business, section 2).Another central issue was whether members of affected groups could receive preferential treatment and, if so, the means by which they could be preferred. This issue is sometimes referred to as the debate over quotas. Nevertheless, even if people say that minorities now use Affirmative Action as a means to get promotions that they do not deserve, still, management can be more meticulous in taking all aspects into consideration. Everything being equal, people must not be rewarded because they fall into a certain class of people. That is not the original purpose of Affirmative Action.Conclusion Currently, the United States is the most powerful nation on earth. It wields great influence in the international scene as no other country can and this emerges because of the country’s wealth as well as its strategic global alliances. The government projects an image of international sentinel against the â€Å"bad boys,† the terrorist and the extremists. It also assumes within its control the task of defending the underdog against the supposed bullies, which are the nations ruled by tyrants or those that coddles communists and terrorists.One hundred years ago, the United States was just an emerging super power, while enjoying the growing wealth from its industrialist economy. As expected, there is a huge difference between the United States’ international standing in 1906 and today. As the US gains more wealth, it also earns more voice and authority in international af fairs. References Affirmative Action. Encyclopedia of Small Business. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2009 at:

How to Make a Fruit Battery

If you have a piece of fruit, a couple of nails, and some wire, then you can generate enough electricity to turn on a light bulb. Making a fruit battery is fun, safe, and easy. What You Need To make the battery you will need: Citrus fruit (e.g., lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)Copper nail, screw, or wire (about 2 in. or 5 cm long)Zinc nail or screw or galvanized nail (about 2 in. or 5 cm long)Small holiday light with 2 in. or 5 cm leads (enough wire to connect it to the nails) Make a Fruit Battery Heres how to make the battery: Set the fruit on a table and gently roll it around to soften it up. You want the juice to be flowing inside the fruit without breaking its skin. Alternatively, you can squeeze the fruit with your hands.Insert the zinc and copper nails into the fruit so that they are about 2 inches (5 centimeters) apart. Dont let them touch each other. Avoid puncturing through the end of the fruit.Remove enough insulation from the leads of the light (about 1 in. or 2.5 cm) so that you can wrap one lead around the zinc nail and the other lead around the copper nail. You can use electrical tape or alligator clips to keep the wire from falling off the nails.When you connect the second nail, the light will turn on. How a Lemon Battery Works Here are  the science and chemical reactions regarding a lemon battery (you can try making batteries from other fruits and from vegetables): The copper and zinc metals act as positive and negative battery terminals (cathodes and anodes).The zinc metal reacts with the acidic lemon juice (mostly from citric acid) to produce zinc ions (Zn2) and electrons (2 e-). The zinc ions go  into solution in the lemon juice while the electrons remain on the metal.The wires of the small light bulb are electrical conductors. When they are used to connect the copper and zinc, the electrons that have built upon the zinc flow into the wire. The flow of electrons is current or electricity. Its what powers small electronics or lights a light bulb.Eventually, the electrons make it to the copper. If the electrons didnt go any farther, theyd eventually build up so that there wouldnt be a potential difference between the zinc and the copper. If this happened, the flow of electricity would stop. However, that wont happen because the copper is in contact with the lemon.The electrons accumulating on the copper terminal react with hydrogen ions (H) floating free in the acidic juice to form hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms bond to each other to form hydrogen gas. More Science Here are additional opportunities for research: Citrus fruits are acidic, which helps their juices to conduct electricity. What other fruits and vegetables might you try that would work as batteries?If you have a multimeter, you can measure the current produced by the battery. Compare the effectiveness of different types of fruit. See what happens as you change the distance between the nails.Do acidic fruits always work better? Measure the pH (acidity) of the fruit juice and compare that with the current through the wires or brightness of the light bulb.Compare the electricity generated by fruit with that of juices. Liquids you can test include orange juice, lemonade, and pickle brine.