Boy Scouts of America vs. Dale

At a time when the United States government is doing all it can to do away with discrimination based on race, age, gender, and religious persuasion in all aspects of the American society, the Boy Scouts of America should not be allowed to exercise discriminatory practices in the process of accepting its members. In this connection, the United States Supreme Court may have erred in its decision with regards the discrimination case filed by James Dale against the Boy Scouts of America in 1992.James Dale’s scouting life started at a tender age of eight when he was accepted as a member of Cub Scout Pack 142 of the Monmouth Council in 1978. By 1981 Dale was already a Boy Scout. In 1988, he was awarded one of the highest honors in scouting – the Eagle Scout rank – after seven years. The following year, 1989, his application for adult membership was approved, becoming an â€Å"assistant scoutmaster of Troop 73† in the process. Between 1981 and 1989, his performan ce as a Boy Scout was nothing short of exemplary (Cornell University Law School, n. d. ).His troubles began when he attended Rutgers University where he immediately acknowledged that he was gay and became the â€Å"copresident† of the alliance of gays and lesbians in the university. In 1990, in his capacity as copresident of their alliance, Dale attended a seminar which confronted the psychological as well as health needs of teenage gays and lesbians. During the seminar, Dale was interviewed regarding his gay advocacy. The Monmouth Council finally learned about his being gay after the interview was published sometime in July 1990, complete with Dale’s picture.That same month, his membership with the Monmouth Council was immediately revoked because, according to James Kay, the council executive who advised him about the revocation, the â€Å"Boy Scouts specifically forbid membership to homosexuals† (Cornell University Law School, n. d. ). The case that ensued sho wed that the country’s courts did not agree whether the Boy Scouts of America was justified in revoking the adult membership of James Dale.Dale first brought the matter to the New Jersey Superior Court in 1992. In his complaint, he claimed that the revocation of his adult membership by the Monmouth Council on the basis of his being gay was in violation not only of the â€Å"public accommodations statute† of the State of New Jersey but also the common law. He alleged that the public accommodations law of the state â€Å"prohibits, among other things, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in places of public accommodation† (N.J. Stat. Ann.  §Ã‚ §10:5-4 and 10:5-5 West Supp. 2000 as cited in Cornell University Law School, n. d. ). However, the decision of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey favored the Boy Scouts, stating that the New Jersey law on public accommodations could not be applied in his case because the â€Å"Boy Scou ts was not a place of public accommodation,† that it was, in fact, a private entity and thus was not covered by the public accommodations statute.The Chancery Division also declared that the position held by the Boy Scouts in relation to ‘active homosexuality† was very clear, therefore, it could not be forced to accept active homosexuals like Dale into its membership as provided for by the â€Å"freedom of expressive association† of the First Amendment.It also stated that the common law was likewise inapplicable since the appropriate policy of the state of New Jersey was contained in the public accommodations law and not the common law (Cornell University Law School, n. d. ). In the first instance of disagreement which underlined the case, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court reversed the Chancery Division’s ruling, stating that the Boy Scouts was covered by the public accommodations law.In revoking Dale’s membership, the Boy Scouts, th erefore, violated the law. Sometime later, in affirming the ruling of the Appellate Division, the New Jersey Supreme Court said that the Boy Scouts of America â€Å"was a place of public accommodation subject to the public accommodation law, that the organization was not exempt from the law under any of its express exceptions, and that the Boy Scouts violated the law by revoking Dale’s membership based on his avowed homosexuality† (Cornell University Law School, n.d. ). The New Jersey Supreme Court also addressed the Boy Scouts’ claim that its federal constitutional right â€Å"to enter into and maintain †¦intimate or private relationships †¦ [and] to associate for the purpose of engaging in protected speech† had been violated when the public accommodations law was applied to the case.According to the court, the Boy Scouts is not private enough to deserve the constitutional protection of intimate association for several reasons: first, it is a r ather large organization; second, its purpose is characterized by inclusiveness, not exclusiveness; and, third, it allows and even invites outsiders to attend their meetings. The court agreed with the Boy Scouts that its activities are geared towards encouraging the members’ moral development.Nevertheless, it is of the opinion that the Boy Scouts do not group together for the express purpose of denouncing homosexuality as immoral (Cornell University Law School, n. d. ). Because of the foregoing reasons, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that retaining Dale as a member of the organization would not be violating the â€Å"right of expressive association† of the Boy Scouts since his membership would have no significant effect on how the members would be performing their duties and obligations.The court further explained that it would be to the best interest of the State of New Jersey to actively participate in the process of eliminating discrimination and all its harmf ul consequences. Finally, it stated that it rejected the reference made by the Boy Scouts to Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston in its attempt to justify its revocation of Dale’s adult membership.According to the court, the Hurley case could not be made a precedent to decide the case for the Boy Scouts since â€Å"the reinstatement of Dale does not compel Boy Scouts to express any message† (Cornell University Law School, n. d. ). When the issue was elevated to the United States Supreme Court, a polarized America surfaced. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), together with some other interested parties, submitted briefs of amici curiae which urged the United States Supreme Court to affirm the decision made by the New Jersey Supreme Court.Taking the side of ACLU and, thus, Dale, were the states of New Jersey, New York, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Vermont, Washington, Atlanta City, and the â⠂¬Å"American Association of School Administrators, American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, American Jewish Congress, American Psychological Association, American Public Health Association, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, Deans of Divinity Schools and Rabbinical Institutions, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Society of American Law Teachers, [and] Roland Pool† (ACLU ProCon. org, n. d. ). Their side was argued by Evan Wolfson who was assisted by Ruth E. Harlow, David Buckel, Jon W. Davidson, Beatrice Dohrn, Patricia M. Logue, Thomas J. Moloney, Allyson W. Haynes, and Lewis H. Robertson (ACLU ProCon. org, n. d. ). If several organizations and parties sympathized with the cause of Dale, there were also those who believed that the Boy Scouts of America was right in excluding him.Those who decided to file their amici curiae and urge the United States Supreme Court to reverse th e New Jersey Supreme Court were: â€Å"Agudath Israel of America, American Center for Law and Justice, American Civil Rights Union, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, California State Club Association, Center for the Original Intent of the Constitution, Christian Legal Society, Claremont Institute Center, Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, Family Defense Council, Family Research Council, Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty, Individual Rights Foundation, Institute for Public Affairs of teh Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Liberty Legal Institute, National Catholic Committee on Scouting, National Legal Foundation, Pacific Legal Foundation, Public Advocate of the United States, United States Catholic Conference, [and] John J. Hurley. † Their case was argued by George A. Davidson who had the assistance of Carla A. Kerr, David K. Park, Michael W. McConnell, and Sanford D. Brown (ACLU ProCon. org, n. d. ). The U. S. Supreme Court agreed to review Dal e’s case on January 14, 2000. By April 26, 2000, oral arguments were heard and two months later on June 28, 2000, in a final show of disagreement among the courts of the country, it handed down a decision reversing the New Jersey Supreme Court, thereby agreeing with the Boy Scouts of America that James Dale should indeed be excluded from its membership. The U. S.Supreme Court decision showed just how divided America was, on the issue, by registering the slimmest of margin with a 5-4 decision (Scouting For All, n. d. ). Even the political leaders of the country were divided on the issue. A few days before the U. S. Supreme Court was to come out with its decision, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13160 which banned discrimination against homosexuals. The 2000 party platform of the Republican Party, on the other hand, contradicted the executive order by supporting the Boy Scouts of America (Tax Analysts, 2000). In effect, the U. S. Supreme Court declared that the Boy Sco uts of America (BSA) is an organization which is private enough to be able to decide whether to accept or reject homosexuals. Some quarters, however, question this decision.They assert that if BSA is indeed private, it should stop accepting government support like tax exemptions and direct funding subsidies. For instance, between 1997 and 2001 alone, the Pentagon provided BSA Jamborees with assistance in the tune of $6 – $8 million. Now, if it wants to continue enjoying these subsidies, it must be honorable enough to honestly pronounce itself public and stop discriminating gays. As Linda Hills of ACLU appropriately expressed, â€Å"The Boy Scouts can’t have it both ways†¦If they truly are a private †¦organization, free to engage in any form of discrimination they choose, then they are not entitled to a government subsidy† (McElroy, 2005).

New High School Principal Essay

I agree with many of the points Prager makes in â€Å"New High School Principal: A Speech every American High School Principal should Give.† It is absolutely time for a change to return back to the values and foundation our nation was built upon. It seems as though they have been gradually lost over the years. This is especially seen in the school system of America. In my opinion, the most shocking part of the article is when Prager states, â€Å"Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.† When United States citizens do not know the words, by heart, to honor their country, we know there is a serious problem. The main problem began when our country began to incorporate every other culture into our own culture. I agree with Prager’s idea that, â€Å"Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties.† If the Gay Club wants to meet, that’s fine; however, the school should not have to be responsible for supporting it. School clubs should be based on education and the expansion of knowledge that leads to advancement in classes. Nowadays, school clubs have turned into nothing more than a social get-together. â€Å"I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine†¦ No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue.† Who doesn’t know that smoking causes cancer and other potentially life threatening diseases? Who doesn’t know that abstinence is the only real way to prevent pregnancy? This is knowledge that every high school and middle school student already knows. Time that could be put towards mathematics, science, and arts is wasted on this information because parents have failed to teach their children personal responsibility so it is now the obligation of the teachers. Before the ideas in this article can be implemented upon the school system, they must first be carried out upon society. It is essential that our country return back to the ways our forefathers intended it to be. This is one based on the virtues of honesty, integrity, responsibility, and accountability. Until someone can take a stand and actually deliver this speech to every single school across America, I unfortunately do not see any change in the future.

Reparations in The United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reparations in The United States - Essay Example According to the study  the life challenges the African American are facing today are because of slavery, and the life they underwent during slavery.  This is because they were taken from their homes in Africa, and abused in America by a regularity that ruined the structure of their families, as well as destroying the individual. When the American decided to end slavery,   the African   American were left with nothing, denied education, segregated making them experience a lot of economic challenges. Compared to the Europeans, the African American remained disadvantaged in the society, and it is said that they are likely to remain like that until the government compensates them.From this essay it is clear that the provided welfare and affirmative action, as well as other effort established to address socio economic challenges of the African Americans have been too small.These efforts have failed because the society has failed to tackle the main challenge affecting the African American people. This is because of racism and discrimination they present to the African American people.  To some extent the social welfare programs were established   for good intentions. However, have largely contributed to the isolation of the African American people, and further destroyed the African American society. Furthermore, the established programs only benefited other people leaving out the African Americans.   Ã‚  ... Compared to the Europeans, the African American remained disadvantaged in the society, and it is said that they are likely to remain like that until the government compensates them.7 3 The provided welfare and affirmative action, as well as other effort established to address socio economic challenges of the African Americans have been too small.8 These efforts have failed because the society has failed to tackle the main challenge affecting the African American people. This is because of racism and discrimination they present to the African American people.9 To some extent the social welfare programs were established for good intentions. However, have largely contributed to the isolation of the African American people, and further destroyed the African American society. Furthermore, the established programs only benefited other people leaving out the African Americans.4 Supporters for reparations noted that, reparations were not going to promote dependence. However, they were going to offer the African American people an opportunity to develop their own economic foundation and become independent.10 According to McCarthy, reparations were meant to restore past injustices, to amend the harms imposed, and to socialize their victims. This is because several existing African Americans went to isolated schools that had limited resources. In other circumstances where they went for higher education, then it was upon them to choose a black collage or not attend college at all.11 The African Americans experienced discrimination in job appointments, and they experienced poor access of information. They were categorized as second class citizens in the United States. McCarthy noted that this reparation took two forms the collective compensation and collective

War on Terror Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

War on Terror - Research Paper Example War on Terror The interest that this author had in joining the military began when as a senior at Whetstone High School in Columbus, Ohio. During the autumn of 1988, Eddie Johnson, a former classmate, came home from Marine Boot Camp and visited the school. Standing tall in the hallway Eddie was shaking hands with all the teachers and students commanding the space around him with ease and confidence I had not seen from him previously. It was amazing to see the Principal; standing beside him beaming proudly. Eddie had just completed 8 weeks of hell at Parris Island, SC and he was looking fit, and trim in his shiny new Marine Uniform. One glance at him it was apparent that those same qualities which Eddie displayed should be exhibited in more young men. As this author compared himself to Eddie, it became clear and apparent that if he could endure and carry on through such hardships and trials, so too could anyone determined to succeed. Shortly after that day, this author mustered up the inner courage and went and talked to the Marine Recruiter and signed up. Two weeks after that point in time, graduation from high school had taken place and the long and difficult path of becoming a Marine lay ahead. From entering boot camp a young know-it-all and emerging a hardened warrior forged by blood, sweat and tears, it became apparent that United States Marines must value the rights and desires of others above their own. In this way, the development of an appreciation for guarding and providing the frontline of defense became to be born. Yet serving one’s country is not just a decision that is right only for this author; rather, serving our country should be vitally important to every citizen. The war on terror knows no bounds and is being fought each and every day on our soil as well as abroad. The struggle between radical Islamic sectarian beliefs and the principles of free societies have been on a collision course for quite some time now. Due to the fact that so many fanatics believe so strongly that their narrow-minded interpretation of religion is the â€Å"true† and â€Å"right† way, a glut of active and willing volunteers from many of the most poverty stricken regions of the planet has come to exist. Many nations that are controlled by radical elements of fundamentalist Islam practice cultural and ideological hegemony in these countries; thereby having a low tolerance towards different religions or views being practiced of promoted. In order to gain further control, many of these radical fundamentalists have splintered off and chose to use terrorism to achieve their ideological goals. Many American have always taken the concepts introduced by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights for granted; believing that â€Å"all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness†. This belief has often come with a level of comfort that we are safe; that everyone likes our country and most importantly that bad things do not happen to good people because we have a right to be happy. This sheltered and wholesome belief system, although admirable, was shaken to its very core within the recent past. On September 11,

Does popular culture (e.g. comics, films, and music) help us to Essay

Does popular culture (e.g. comics, films, and music) help us to understand world politics better Discuss by using relevant examples - Essay Example It is not an issue of popular culture causing political ideologies and actions. Therefore popular culture is not something that someone can say explains the state of a person nor does it make persons think in specific ways. It neither manipulates nor mirrors what individuals do rather people live through it hence no one will be compelled to imitate actions of popular culture. Popular culture in essence refers to artistic, cultural expressions of different genres such as theater, music, dance visual art, the film industry, and literature. In the present age, these cultural activities have been found to play a significant role in shaping the political reasoning in various parts of the world. Popular culture does not have a distinct definition of what it entails and different people have their understanding of the exact meaning of popular culture. John Street refers to it as a product of mass production arising from production companies to achieve high mass sales (1997). The primary focus of popular culture is the means of production distribution and consumption. Thus, popular culture is said to be a form of entertainment that is available to large numbers of people, or that is mass produced. Music production is the most common genre of mass production in popular culture; hence the mass aspect becomes the defining characteristic of popular culture. It is about euphoria of the masses and so is politics explaining the base where both hold joint feature. It is the very reason popular culture is impacting on politics in the world today. The agents that play a role in spreading the music that is television and radio reach far more masses, and their liberalization has helped facilitate emergence of new popular cultures that did not have space in state-controlled media. For instance, the rise of hip-hop music in the 1990s in African states was down to liberalization of media. These celebrities command large following among the youths who are the

The Christian Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Christian Tradition - Essay Example The New Testament Christians also believe that they descended from the old Testament prophets and cannot deviate from such a believe in one true God since it worked well with their ancestors who were favored by God over other surrounding nations. There is also a belief that God will accept all who will come to believe in Him and renounce all other gods they have been worshiping (Grenz 75). Just like the Old Testament Christians, the modern Christians also believe that the Invisible God has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus is the messiah or the savior who is God’s own son and divine in nature (Harris 40). The bible in the gospel of John chapter 3 and verse 16 refers Jesus as God’s only begotten son who He gave to come and die for the forgiveness of sins of many. The New Testament Christians believe that Jesus died and resurrected to redeem us from our sins and this is for all who will believe in Him (Bible 823). Jesus is therefore the pillar of Modern Christians because their faith is totally based on Him. He is believed to be the Head of the church and the King of all creation hence Christians have to confess that Jesus is Lord to receive the salvation that comes from Him. Jesus is believed to have the divine nature in Him and He himself is God. In the gospel of John chapter 17 and verse 21, Jesus calls Himself the Son and God the Father to bring a distinction in His form. However, He declares that He the Son and God the Father are one (Bible 840). The New Testament Christians also believe that there is the indwelling spirit who guides them in their daily walk with God. Before Jesus left this world to go and be with the father, He promised to leave His disciples a helper and that is the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John chapter 14 verses 16 and 26, Jesus declares the Holy Spirit coming from the Father and coming to represent Him in the world and

Experiential Accounting Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Experiential Accounting - Personal Statement Example I expect to learn from experiential accounting how to analyze financial information in order to make better decisions. The knowledge I gain from this course will help me become a better investor. I also expect to be exposed to the double entry journal system that accountants use on a daily basis. I hope to gain a good understanding of the four financial statements and learn the significance of GAAP rules. A trusted business advisor must be honest, reliable, and have the utmost ethical standards. The advisor must have lots of knowledge about business evidenced by a solid educational background such as holding an MBA degree. This person must have great communication skills and analytical abilities. He must be an active listener. A trusted advisor must build close relationships with the client based on a bond of trust. The advisor must keep confidentiality in all business affairs with the client. The advisor must also charge reasonable rates for his

Personal Work Environment Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Work Environment Paper - Essay Example Such studies support experts' claims that communication is indeed "the lifeblood of any organization" (p. 2). Business organizations agree that there are many ways of communicating. These are the channels of communication, or where the communication will take place. Thus, choosing the right channel and the appropriate form for business messages is a communication skill. Channel involves the issue of what should be put in writing and what should be communicated orally. Will messages be communicated by fax Telephone E-mail Face-to-face exchange When communicators agree about the channel, they can avoid misunderstandings. Such misunderstandings may seem trivial, but these can be significant in closer analysis. In the United States, according to business communication guides, efficiency, clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and accountability are the keys to making the right communication channel. For example, a telephone call may be the fastest way to get clarification, but you may need something in writing before you can act. In my opinion, face-to-face meeting is still the "best channel" to use when doing official business communications. ... Presently, business organizations could meet through videoconferencing. This method simulates live, face-to-face interaction, although people attending the "meeting" may be thousands of miles apart. Yet, videoconferencing could not provide the energy provided by participants who shares the space, and there is always the threat of technological glitches (Roebuck 2001, p. 4). In addition, memos, e-mail, networked intranet bulletin boards, printed reports, and other written documents are the most common channels of written communication within companies. Memos, in particular, play different roles in different cultures and organizations. In North American businesses, memos are the standard channel of communication from superiors to subordinates, subordinates to superiors, and employees at the same level. In addition to that, memos can also be written to file or as reminders to oneself. They can be formal or informal in tone. When informal, a memo is a convenient way of communicating information in writing-so there is a record of it-without the weight of a formal document. However, memos at this time are already commonly sent by e-mail (Varner & Beamer, 2004). As a means for sending feedback from employees to management, memos (especially e-mail) excel-at least where feedback is expected by managers. Feedback is not easy for managers to gather if subordinates are not used to giving it. Managers who don't solicit feedback will not receive as much as those who do. Memos may not be the best channel in these situations. Face-to-face exchanges, in which a wide range of nonverbal signals can be sent along with the worded message, may be a better choice. With the advancement of

Leadership in the Movies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership in the Movies - Coursework Example This paper presents an analytical paradigm of leadership approaches. A typical illustration of how this paradigm functions is shown in the film Twelve O’Clock High. The 1949 movie is about the Second World War and how an unsuccessful bomber troop was made triumphant by Brigadier General Savage. Plot Summary General Frank Savage, in this narrative of the first phase of bombing attacks over Germany, is ordered to lead a disastrous bomber team after a commanding officer is dismissed. A great deal of the narrative focuses on Savage’s great effort to make the team highly disciplined despite of several and major losses. Real battle footage is included in this vividly told war story. The American 918th Bomber Group has recently accomplished another assignment. The performance of the 918th is depressing. The group is enduring major crew fatalities and aircraft damages. The poor performance of the 918th stands in contrast with the achievements of other bomber units. Consequently , the 918th experiences weak motivation and a status as ‘The Hard Luck Unit† (Lay & Bartlett, 1980, 19); thus starts the archetypal film about the Second World War. Savage, after reaching the 918th Bomber Group, observes that there are weak levels of obedience and discipline. The soldiers show almost no concern for military civility and are frequently intoxicated. Savage promptly evaluates the records of assistant leaders. He finds out that Air Executive Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ben Gately has a good record. But Savage is forced to order an arrest of Gately because he is missing from his position. When Gately is arrested, Savage criticizes him for abandoning his assignment and for being personally accountable for the failure of the prior commanding officer. Savage dismisses Gately from the position but refuses to recommend his reassignment. Rather, Savage proclaims, â€Å"I’m not going to pass the buck†¦ I’m going to keep you right here† (Lay & Bartlett, 1980, 14). Savage afterward relocates all of the nonconformists of the 918th unit. Even though the decisions of Savage may seem to be humiliating, he is going on the right direction. His charismatic leadership style is usually aggressive, drastic, and transformative, often working as a change catalyst. Savage exhibits a supernatural intuition. He recognizes Gately can be a very effective leader, but one who requires motivation. The aspiration of Savage is for Gately to turn out to be a self-actualized individual, to emerge from a self-centered to altruistic character and be instilled with well-formed work principles. Savage displays transformational inclinations of a charismatic leader. By granting Gately the opportunity to regain his good reputation as a leader, Savage finally guides him to a deep empowerment position. Gately in time realizes his decisions and attitudes strongly influence the group’s capacity to effectively complete its assignment. Charismatic Le adership’s Transformational Traits Future leaders will confront numerous circumstances where in they will have to adopt transformational traits of a charismatic leader. Numerous leaders of the future will come to believe that

The Role of Technical Teacher Education Essay Example for Free

The Role of Technical Teacher Education Essay Countries of the world are classified as developed or under developed based on the level of education of its citizenry and their ability to use knowledge, skill and attitude to translate scientific ideas in attending to the problems of mankind. Technical education is the right kind of education that is capable of training individuals to translate ideas into products that will assist mankind to do things with ease. The teaching of technical subjects is conducted by the technical teacher. This paper is of the view that the technical teacher who is properly trained and is working under ideal environment can train younger generation that will be free of poverty, achieve universal basic education, empower women, reduce child mortality, combat HIV/AIDS and develop global partnership, thus achieving the MDGs target. The paper made recommendations among which is for the MDGs to adopt the bottom to top mode of funding and the need for the MDGs to integrate provision of funds particularly for purchase of training tools, equipment and infrastructure for technical teacher training. Introduction Education is seen as an agent of development in any society of the world, that is why societies that are educated are looked at as developed societies and less educated as underdeveloped societies. This is so because the developed societies use education to develop things that will solve prevailing problems of mankind in the form of products of technology. These products are developed by citizens of these countries using skills, knowledge and attitudes acquired through training in sciences and technical based subjects. It is in realization of these facts that the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) (2004) stressed that, science and technology shall continue to be taught in an integrated manner in the schools to promote in the students the appreciation of practical application of ideas. This type of education if acquired will provide students with sellable skills that can be used to generate job opportunities and alternatively reduce poverty. It  should however be noted that, training cannot take place unless there are teachers that are properly trained in technical teacher training institutions to impact the required skills, knowledge and attitudes in the students. That is why Olaitan (1986) sees the teacher as an agent of changing people attitudes, beliefs and values using the right technique. Similarly Adeoye (2008) noted that the teacher is the king-pin of quality in education and development of the society. In the same light Garba (2002) posits that the success of technological development of any nation begins with the quality of technical teachers as no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers (FRN, 2004). The millennium development goals (MDGs) is a global strategy aimed at reducing poverty, hunger, insecurity, gender inequality, achieve universal basic education, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development. This paper is of the opinion that the achievement of the MDGs can best be aimed at if the right quality and quantity of technical teachers are produced. The paper therefore discusses technical teachers preparation and production in Nigeria, the MDGs and the objective relating to education, the role of technical teacher education in realization of MDGs target, Factors affecting technical teacher education in realizing the goals of the MDGs and recommendation were offered. Technical Teacher Preparation and Production Programme in Nigeria. There is always the need to create an awareness of the problems, which arise in a particular profession and to improve on the level of competencies for dealing with such problem (Adetunji and Victor (1997) that is why the National Policy on Education (2004), indicates that, teacher education shall continue to be given major emphasis in all educational planning and development, it further stated that teacher education shall be structured to take cognizance of changes in methodology and the curriculum, by ensuring that teachers are fully exposed to innovation in their profession. This is most needed by the technical teacher because of the dynamic nature of the world of technology and its effect on the teaching of technical subjects. Ali (1992) stressed that with the advert of the 21st century technologies, the requisition of sound academic knowledge and professional skills are fundamental in the training of teachers, especially in the use of modern methods and technologies for teaching their subject area. Foel and Fritz (1998) noted that teacher education is experiencing new formats that combine conventional (Traditional education delivery system) with evolving technology in order to transfer knowledge to students. That is why Goro (2000) call for a new look at the training of teachers, especially the technical teachers because the present educational system’s particular concern is that teachers must be oriented towards development of practical skills in the trainees. The technical teacher is he who is a master of the trade, in the same manner is able to impart the correct and up-to-date skills (Olaitan 1986), in a similar view Dambe and Garba (2007) looked at the technical teacher as a teacher who posses practical and theoretical knowledge of his vocation, has clear understanding of the student he teachers, and ensures that he increases in the knowledge of his field at all time. The training process of a technical teacher therefore calls for a balance of theoretical and practical knowledge. In a bid to train teachers that will posses the required knowledge that Ali (1992) looked at training the technical teacher, by using the concurrent cause approach, where professional trade skills and academic content are pursued in parallel. This mode of training is the most popular approach used for technical teacher training. However, another school of thought was that the technical teacher should first be practically skilled in that subject matter before embarking on pedagogical skill acquisition. Goro (2000) shares the same view as he indicates a support for post graduate training in education after a professional training in trade. Whatever the approach, the emphasis should be on striking a balanced knowledge that will enable the teacher impart the required skills in an appropriate manner. This is necessary because the success or failure of technological development of a society begins with the quality of manpower (teachers) responsible for training the technology teachers. Olaitan (1996) looked at the technical teacher training in Nigeria to include the formal and informal training. The informal is done at the home or family level, and the apprenticeship level, the graduates of which will be serving as masters to train others. However, the formal training of teachers is in three stages, the Nigeria certificate in education (NCE) which prepares teachers for teaching in junior secondary schools. There is also the graduate and postgraduate technical teacher education programme. In the same view Abdullahi and Sa’i (1998) pointed out that technical teacher training is provided in three stages namely the postgraduate, the bachelor and the Nigerian Certificate in Education (Technical) levels. There are however two modes of preparing technical teachers at the NCE level for teaching in the junior secondary schools’ the two modes are in agreement with two vocational administrative theories of dual and single controls (Olaitan 1996). Accordingly, the single control is a situation whereby technical teacher education is housed in institution that are offering purely technical teacher education courses e. g. Colleges of Education (Technical), whereas the dual control is when technical education Porgramme are run in the same institution with other courses like arts, social studies, history, pure science as obtains in conventional colleges of education. Students of Technical Education Programmes at the NCE level are expected to take courses from general area in Technical/Vocational Education, general Education, Education and Entrepreneurship Education, and are later expected to specialize in one area before graduation. Students are further expected to spend twelve (12) weeks of industrial attachment (NCCE 2002) after graduation; the products are expected to teach introductory technology at the junior secondary school level. As of now there are twenty five (25) Colleges of Education offering NEC (Technical) courses in Nigeria. (NCCE, 2007). At the graduate and post graduate levels, the training of vocational technical teachers take place in the Universities. As at now the five Universities of technology namely, Federal Universities of Technology, Akure, Bauchi, Minna, Owerri and Yola are running degree and postgraduate programmes in Technology Education and other Vocational areas. Other Unversities such as Ahmadu Bello Unversities Zaria, Benin, Calabar, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Uyo, and Ibadan run degree and postgraduate programmes in vocational technical education. It should be noted however that, some colleges of education are currently running programmes leading to the award of a bachelor degree in Technical and vocational Education as affiliate colleges of Universities (NCCE 2002). The millennium Development Goals (MDGs) The vision of developers of the MDGs was on the general concern to do away with problems affecting the citizens of their nations. That is why they aimed at creating strategies towards reduction of poverty, hunger, diseases, increase access to education, health, housing and sustainable management of the environments resource. In the development of the MDGs and strategies for achieving the goals, 189 countries of the world met in New York in September 2000, and signed the millennium declaration which has come to be globally known as the millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The primary goal of the leaders of these nations in developing the MDGs is to address the problems facing fellow men, women and children such as abject poverty and dehumanizing conditions to which more than a billion people across the world are subjected to. (Umar, Suleiman Adamu, 2009). Accordingly Dung-Gwon (2009), noted that the MDGs have 8 goals, each has one or more targets and several indicators. He further report that, in 2002, there were 18 targets and 48 indicators. In 2007, 4 more targets were added. To this effect, countries of the world have also added their own targets and indicators to meet their aspiration. This is so because the levels of development of various nations are not the same, so also prioties vary among nations. The MDGs is therefore, a general blue print for development of nations of the world. Dung-Gwom (2009) states that the general MDGs goals statement across the nations are as follows: 1. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieving universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and women empowerment 4. Reducing child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership The general goals of the MDGs have within it three that are education related. Iyortyer (2010) noted that, the three goals that mainly impacts on the education sector are: Achieving Universal Basic Education (Goal 2) Promotion of gender parity or equality (Goal 3) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (Goal 6) Three goals out of eight focusing on education surely indicates that a priority to education is a step towards the attainment of other objectives, as stated by Iyortyer (2010) that education is an instrument for development of any nation, an antidote to poverty and the key for unlocking natural resources. In spite of these and the laudable goals and strategies towards achieving the MDGs in Nigeria, records still reveals that much is desired. In line with this Ibrahim (2006) states that, Nigeria Millennium Development Goals Report for 2004 and 2005 shows that Nigeria is far off the mark in terms of implementation of many goals of the MDGs. Similarly Igbugo in Umar, Suleiman and Adamu (2009) asserted that, there is a serious doubt if Nigeria can achieve the MDGs by the target 2015. So also Igbuzor (2007) reported that even though Nigeria is a signatory to the MDGs, it is yet far from achieving the MDGs, furthermore he maintained that it is lack of political will that is the greatest stumbling block to the achievement of the MDGs, in Nigeria. Based on the MDGs report and personal observations of the indices it is clear that much is desired. This paper is of the opinion that provision of training that equip the individual with saleable skills will greatly lead Nigeria to the achievement of the MDGs. Role of Technical Teacher Education in Realization of the MDGs Technical teacher education programme is a programme that train teachers of technically based trades who are expected to teach in junior secondary schools and technical colleges. The product of which are the country futures engineers and inventors. The role of technical teacher in the achievement of MDGs will be discussed in line with the eight MDGs as follows: 1. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Even though report of MDGs 2005 shows slide decline in poverty from 65. 5% in 1996 to 54. 4% in 2004. Much is still desired as the 54. 4% is still high and should attract concern bearing in mind that Nigeria is a rich country with poor citizenry. With a technical teacher programme that is able to produce highly trained technical teachers. The teacher should be able to train future generation of students that will possess the required skill in various trades. The skill acquired will create jobs that will make the individual either self employment or be employed by any employer of labour. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) indicates that, technical education is a means of preparing for occupational field and a means of alleviating poverty. 2. Achieve Universal Primary Education The MDGs report 2005, shows that there is great improvement in literacy level, however, Iyortyer (2010) revealed that the target of the MDGs indicators maintain that adult literacy rate for 15-24 years will improve to reach 89% in 2015. While gender equity and equitable access to basic and continuing education for adult will be pursued towards meeting up the target. To achieve this target, there is the need for teacher that will be responsible for teaching of craft, poetry and the Basic technology. The teacher that is trained for such is the technical teacher. 3. Promote Gender Equality and Empowerment One of the targets of the MDGs is to ensure that gender disparity is eliminated, and equal access to education is same for both boys and girls. However Dung- Gwom (2009) indicates that the percentage of boys is 82% in 1990 and 79% in 2004. This shows that boys still account for greater percentage of primary school pupils. Much is still desired, and it is one of the responsibilities of the teacher to sensitize parents as they live in the society with the parents and the pupils. 4. Reduce Child Mortality With more educated mothers who have acquired skills for employment, mortality rate of the child will be highly reduced, as most of the causes of child mortality are poverty related. Similarly with a generation of young talents equipped with technical skill, the skill can further be used in the  provision and maintenance of medical equipment that will be used in reduction of child mortality. 5. Improve Maternal Health The MDGs report 2004 shows that maternal mortality was 74 per 1000. This rate is high and can only be reduced if mothers are equipped with skill to earn a living. The skills of the technical teacher can be directed to the mothers for empowerment. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases In Nigeria the incidence of HIV/AIDS has been on upward trend since the diseases was discovered in the country 1. 8% 1999, to 5. 8% in 2000 (Nigeria, MDG Report 2005). A good number of the infected persons are equally, living under poverty, with no job and so they could not afford the feeding requirements even if the drugs are free. The situation would have not been the same if they have learnt technical skills to provide services for pay. 7. Ensure Environment Sustainability To sustain the environment, there is the need to have the knowledge, skills and attitude of doing such. Umar, Suleiman and Adamu (2009) reports that about 70% of the urban dwellers in Nigeria live below poverty bench mark and their condition is not bound to improve much between now and 2015. This can be better if a good number of Nigerians are equipped with skills in technical trades such as Building maintenance, Design and plumbing, Vehicle maintenance etc 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development The world is becoming a global village, this is much so because of the advent of technological product especially in the area of information and communication technology (ICT). With ICT information is obtained and utilized. However to do that one need the basic training to understand the technology and the kwon how of applying it. Challenges of Technical Teacher Education in Realizing the MDGs. Technical teacher education can do a lot in the realization of the MDGs, but the followings have stood as a barrier. 1. Lack of adequate funding Technical teacher education being a technical oriented programme requires tools equipment and infrastructure without which technical education cannot be said to be offered. It is however clear that general funding to education in Nigeria is far from the expected. Onyidoh (2006) noted that, the money allocated to education falls short of the UNESCO’s recommended 25% of annual budget; he further noted that the allocation from 2003 to date is barely in the range of 1. 83-5% allocation to education. This might surely not be enough to cater for the funding of institutions that are characterized by, leaking roofs, unpaved floors, unsanitized conditions and general picture of neglect. This situation cannot guarantee training of technical teachers with the needed skills for the training of younger generation in our junior secondary schools that are expected to pave way for the technological advancement of Nigeria 2. Administrator’s attitude. Even with the low level of funding in the budget, other agencies such as the Education trust fund (ETF) do intervene. It is however regrettable that a lot of institutions of higher learning cannot accesses the fund due to stringent conditions for accessing the ETF money which does not give much room for diversion of the fund. And for the fact that most of these administrator are not there because they have interest in the system,. they prefer to forfeit the ETF than follow due process to access it. Speaking on the administrator’s attitude Onyidoh (2010) noted that administrators have little interest in institution they are heading, because vice chancellors, provost and rectors appointed in Nigeria today are politicians in the academic robes. 3. MDGs approach to funding Due to corruption and non-commitment of leadership of institutions they have found the MDGs money easy to grab than the ETF, because the MDGs money do came directly to them in the name of so call desk officers who in most cases are the good boy and girls of the leaders of the institution. That is why in many cases projects already financed through other means are tagged MDGs project and after inspection, tags can be replaced, that is the game as usual. 4. Absence of infrastructure Technical teacher education require infrastructure such as workshops, classrooms and the needed equipment. This infrastructure is absent or not enough in most of the institutions that are responsible for training the technical teachers. The situation will make the teacher unable to provide the right training to the junior secondary school students who are expected to be the future engineers, technician etc that will move Nigeria forward. 5. New Technologies The training to be given in junior secondary schools by technical teachers should be to introduce them to the world of technology and arose interest of the students in choice of vocation and to lead students to have intelligent understanding of the increasing complexity of technology (FRN, 2004). The continuous inventions of new technological products that most of the institutions teachers are not familiar with the operation principles of the new technologies. For the training to be relevant, it must bear a direct relationship with that in the industries, firms or business required to enable students fit into their vocations after graduation (Aguisiobe, in Garba and Nuhu, 2007). The existing situation in institution is far from the state of art as some of the machines were in existence since the 1970s or 1980. They cannot provide any training on new technologies of whatever level. 6. In-sincerity of Nigerian leaders. Most policy statements in Nigeria sound good, but when it comes to implementation the problem arises. This is so because as policies are implemented those in authorities will begin to skim for what to personally get out of it. Take for instance the issues of universal basic education programme, it has a policy that pupil will be provided meals during school hours and that primary school teachers salaries will be 5 times through 2015. At the beginning skeletal feeding was provided but as it is, the whole money targeted for that purpose are in peoples pocket or used for purchase of expensive vehicles. Secondly there is no record apart from the 27% increase which some states are even yet to pay that teacher have ever experienced. But yet these governors and their agent are part of the agreement and receive much for such. Recommendations In order to address the challenges the following recommendations are provided. 1. There is the need for the MDGs to integrate provision of fund particularly for the provision of training tools, equipment and infrastructure. 2. The attitude of the administrators needs to be checked by the involvement of host communities and various trade unions in the execution of all MDGs projects through close monitoring and evaluation. 3. MDGs approach to funding should adopt the bottom to top approach, just as is done by the ETF. This will reduce the rate of corruption. 4. There is the need to re-train the technical teachers on ground, in the area of new technologies, and the integration of the new technologies, such as phone repairs, computer circuit design etc in the curriculum of technical teacher training institutions by so doing the curriculum will be functional and relevant. 5. Leaders should be honest in handling issues to do with the MDGs target, for the programme to succeed. Conclusion. The paper was of the focus that, to achieve the MDGs in Nigeria, there is the needs to have a kind of education that will enable the learner acquire skills, attitude and knowledge that will lead to job creation. And that kind of education can be provided by the properly trained technical teacher. However challenges abound for the technical teacher training and the teaching of Basic technology at the junior secondary schools. REFERENCES Adullahi, M. L. Sa’I, H. R (1998). Strategies for improving vocational and technical teacher Preparation in Nigeria. A paper presented at the second annual National conference on Improving the quality of Vocation and Technical Education in Nigeria for sustainable Development: organized by the school Vocational and Technical Education, Federal College of Education: Kastina 25th May. Adetunji, O. Victor, A (1997). Science technology and economics revitalization in the year 2000 A. D and beyond the role of teacher education in Nigeria: Proceedings of the conference of the Nigerian association of Teachers of Technology on â€Å"production approach to the teaching of concepts in technology for national development. Ali, H. (1992). Teachers’ evaluation for instructional improvement. The Nigeria Teacher Today 1 (2) .14-19. Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2004). National policy on Education 4th ed Lagos. NERC. Foel, N. A. Frit, R. L. (1998). The influences of technology on vocational teacher education, -e-Journal of vocational and technical education. Retrieved: 16/01/2009 http://scholar. lib. vt. edu/ejournals/ej-search. html. ,. Garba, E. Y. Dambe, N. (2007). Reorganizing the NCE technical programme for effective skill acquisition. Journal of issues in technical teacher education 4 (1). 119 -126. Goro,C. A. (2000). Technical teacher production and utilization in nigerian secondary education: relevance for developing skills of craftsmanship and humanistic discipline. Teacher production and turnover patterns in Nigeria; National commission for colleges of education; Kaduna. National Commission for Colleges of Education. (2002). Minimum standard for Nigeria certificate in education vocational and technical education 3rd edition Garki, Abuja,. Author. National Commission for Colleges of Education. (2006). National commission for colleges of education: Brochure. Abuja: Author. National Commission for Colleges of Education. (2007). National commission for colleges of education, Digest of statistics on colleges of education in Nigeria 2005/2004 and 2004/2005 vol. 8 Abuja: Author. Olaitan S. O. (1986). Vocational education and national manpower development constraints and strategies. Vocational education association journal 2 10-12. Olaitan,S. O. (1996). Vocational and technical education in Nigeria: Issues and analysis. Onitsha. Noble Graphic Press. Olaitan, S. O. (1986). Vocational education and national manpower development Construct and Strategies. Vocational education association journal 2, 10-14 Umar, A. J. , Suleiman, H. J. Adamu, A. M. (2009). Role of vocational and technical Education realization of the millennium development goals (MDGs) in Nigeria. A paper presented at the 2nd COEASU North-East zone annual Conference held at college of education jalingo. Dung-Gwon, J. Y. (2009). Vocational Technical Education and the millennium Development goals in Nigeria. An overview. Unpublished lead paper presented At the 7th annual Conference of the Nigeria association of vocational And Technical Educators (NAVTED), at COE Akwanga, Nassarawa State,Nigeria. Iyortyer, M. T. (2010). MDG Needs Assessment: A paper presentation of MDGs costing Workshop held at Government House Internet base station, Yola, Adamawa state 22nd -24th March. Ibrahim, A. J. (2006). Progress on MDGs in Nigeria: Education Where are we? Unpublished paper presented at the 12th Annual Nigeria Economic Summit 7th-9th June. Igbuzor, O. (2007). Nigeria and the Millennium Development Goals. Proceedings of 20th Annual Conference, Nigeria Association of teacher of technology 53-54 The National Planning Commission,(2005). Nigeria Millennium Development Goals 2005 report. Garba, E. Y Nuhu, D. (2007). Reorganizing the NCE technical programme for effective skill Acquisition. Journal of issues in technical teacher education 4 (1) 119-126 Onyidoh, H. (2010). The decline of the education system in Nigeria. Retrieved 6/07/2010. Htt://www. helium. com/knowledge/90654.

Waste management in India Essay

Waste management in India Essay INTRODUCTION India is the second most populated country a second fastest growing economy in the world. From the period of 2001-2026 the population of India is to increase from 1030 million to 1400 million, if we consider the increase rate to be 1.2 % annually then there will be an increase of 36% in 2026.accordingly about 285 million live in urban areas and about 742 million live in rural areas. (Census of India, 2001).In India urbanisation is becoming more because people are moving from villages to cities and there is a rapid increase in population in the metropolitan cities .Mumbai is the largest populated city followed by New Delhi and Kolkata. Generally, the greater the economic prosperity and the higher the percentage of urban population, the greater is the amount of solid waste produced (Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). In Hoornweg and Laura, 1999 1996 about 114,576 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste was generated by the urban population of India, by the end of 2026 it is predicted to increase to 440,460tonnes/day This great increase in the amount of MSW generated is due to changing lifestyle and living standards urban population(Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). STUDY AREA Delhi is a very densely populated area and is the capital of India. Since Delhi is an urbanised city the annual growth rate is increasing very rapidly in the last decade the growth rate has increased by 3.85%. Delhi is the capital of India this tells us that it is the centre for commerce trade and power, since it is one of the largest cities and the capital it produces excellent job opportunities, which account for its rapid increase in its population and increased pace of urbanization. Due to the fast urbanisation and the growing population the production of municipal solid waste is also increasing very rapidly. According to a survey Delhi generates about 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste and this municipal waste is to ride about 17000-25000 tonnes/day by the year 2026.due to the rapid increase in the population and municipal solid waste the disposal of the waste has become a great head ache for the municipality in Delhi. Out of the waste gathered only 70-80% of municipal sol id waste is collected while the remaining is dumped onto streets or open ditches. Out of the 70-805 collected only 9% of the collected municipal solid waste is treated by composting the remaining is sent to the land fill sites. New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) are three municipal entities responsible for MSW management in Delhi. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCES, TYPES AND COMPOSITION OF MUNCIPAL SOLID WASTE IN DELHI Sources and types of solid waste in Delhi: Residential:-the residence might be single family or multiple family dwellers the types of waste they produce are paper, food wastes , cardboard , leather, yard wastes, textiles, glass, special wastes, metals, plastics , ashes, wood and household hazardous wastes. Industrial: industries produce ashes, food wastes, packaging, special wastes, housekeeping wastes, construction and demolition materials and hazardous wastes. Commercial Institutional: they produce wood, metals, cardboard, glass, special wastes, Paper, food wastes, hazardous wastes. Municipal services: landscape and tree trimmings, Street sweepings, general wastes from beaches, parks, and other recreational areas, sludge. (Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999) Composition of waste: The population of Delhi is 13.9 million, and they produce 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste at the rate of 0.500 kg/capital/day and accordingly the population as well as the MSW in increasing by 2026 the municipal solid waste generated will increase to 17,000-25,000 tonnes/day. Because of the increase in the MSW the municipal body will face a lot of problem after composting and incineration they would still have to deal with a lot of waste and this waste would generally go to landfill sites. The characterisation of the waste by its type, composition and source is important this will make monitoring and management of solid waste easy. Based on this we can use different types of processes to dispose the solid waste. The following information will tell about the generation of MSW from various sources is Delhi in the year 2004. Source wise generation of the MSW (tonnes/day) in Delhi Sources MSW(Tonnes/day) Residential waste 3010 Industrial waste 502 Hospital waste 107 Main shopping centres 1017 Construction waste 382 Vegetable and fruit markets 538 Source 🙠 MCD, 2004) The Tata Energy Research Institute conducted a study in 2002 in Delhi to determine the physical and chemical composition of municipal solid waste. This study in 2002 tells us that the composition of MSW is not changed that much from the past decade. According to the study the major part of the MSW consists of biodegradables fallowed by other wastes. Physical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Chemical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Parameters 2002 Biodegradable 38.6 Inert 34.7 Glass and Crockery 1.0 Paper 5.6 Non-biodegradable 13.9 Plastic 6.0 Parameters 2002 Moisture 43.8 Phosphorus as P2O5 0.3 Organic carbon 20.5 nitrogen 0.9 C/N ratio 24.1 Calorific value (kCal/kg) 713.0 Source 🙠 TERI, 2002) The composition of MSW of an urban population depends on various factors like place location, climate, commercial activities, population, cultural activities, economic status if the residence and urban structure .Before we do anything we need to know the composition of the MSW so we can determine the best suited operations and equipment for the facilities that dispose of the MSW. There was a survey conducted by Municipal Corporation of Delhi to evaluate the composition and properties of MSW. This study involved the different places in Delhi where MSW was produces. The following table tells the details of the study Composition (as wt. %) of MSW generating from various sources in Delhi Parameters Food waste Recyclables Inert Others Moisture Ash content C/N ratio Lower CV (kcal/kg) Higher CV Residential waste                            1.low income group 58.4 15.7 22.8 3.1 54 21.8 39 754-2226 2238-4844 2. Middle income group 76.6 21.2 0.5 1.7 65 6.3 30 732-1939 3415-6307 3.High income group 71.9 23.1 0.3 4.7 59 10.9 31 1300-1887 4503-5359 4. JJ Clusters (Slums) 69.4 14.1 15.8 0.7 63 15.6 46 204-1548 1582-4912 Vegetable markets 97.2 2.3 0.5 76 3.3 16 0-1309 3083-4442 Institutional areas 59.7 33.8 4 2.5 50 6.7 35 129-3778 2642-5459 Streets 28.4 12 56.1 3.5 19 56.7 51 1007-2041 1188-3289 Commercial areas 15.6 68 16.4 18 8.8 158 1815-4593 3373-6185 Landfills 73.7 9.2 10.8 6.3 47 15.3 38 191-4495 2042-5315 Source :- (MCD, 2004) RELEVANT REGULATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA The major policies and legislative frameworks for the municipal solid waste management in Delhi are Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000: according to this policy there is a set process for the collection, sorting, storage, transportation and disposal of the MSW. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 and Amendment Rules, 2003:- bio-medical waste should be treated according to the standards of schedule v. The Delhi plastic bag (Manufacture, Sales and Usage) And Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 2000: according to this plastic bags should be recycled and non-degradable plastic bags should not be dumped in public drains. Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 and Amendment Rules, 2000 and 2003:-there are limitations for the import and export of hazardous wastes and there should be proper handling and management of hazardous waste. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGENENT IN DELHI Primary collection and storage of MSW in Delhi According to the Delhi municipal corporation act 1957 the owners, tenants or the person who is occupying the residence, commercial or industrial area is responsible for the disposal of the MSW at a particular area provided by the municipal corporation. But this rule was changed in 2000 which stated that the collection of MSW would be from house to house because of this rule the municipality cooperation faced a lot of problem due to the rise in population as well as residential houses so doth the systems are being applied to collect MSW. The municipal cooperation of Delhi is getting awareness programs to help the citizens understand the need of segregating the municipal solid waste by placing two separate bins one for recycling materials and the other non-recycling materials. By doing this the municipality is reducing the work load and they can dispose of the material in an easy way without any fuss. The municipal authority has a schedule for the collection of the waste example a part icular area will have a particular day for the collection of MSW. The Delhi municipal authority provides a primary storage facilities like dustbins, metal containers that have different capacities ranging from 1m3 ,4m3,10m3 to 12-15 tonnes these containers are placed in locations that are easily accusable to people. The size of the containers that are place at a primary storage location depends on the amount of MSW being produced by the area and the population of the area. These metal containers and bins are emptied with the help of modern hydraulic collection trucks. In Delhi on an average there are 3-4 collection sites. The MCD has employed about 50,000 people for primary storage collection, 2600 for secondary storage collection and about 370 people foe sweeping the streets. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) Transportation The MCD has many vehicles for the collection of primary and secondary storage waste. The MSD in its fleet contains refuse removal trucks, tractors and loaders they have about 100 vehicles to do the job. What these vehicles do is they collect the waste and take them to the landfill sites. Recycling and re-use Recycling and re-use of MSW is done in a widespread manner where waste pickers are employed as well as there are self employed waste pickers who collect the waste and sell them. How the system works is that these waste pickers and waste collectors gather waste from the residential areas, commercial areas, streets and landfill sites and they sell them to the dealers these dealers range from small, medium and large dealers. After the dealers purchase the materials they are sent to the recycling plant that is established by the government. The following table tells us at what rate the materials are sold (Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Prices of recyclable materials at different recycling levels Recyclable material Recyclable material Price at small recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at medium recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at large recyclable dealer (Rs.) Value added in the Process (%) Plastic             PET bottles 1.75 2.25-2.50 3.75-4 121 Milk packets 5.5-6.5 6-7 8-8.50 37.5 Hard plastic like shampoo bottles, caps 7-7.25 9 10-10.5 41 Plastic thread, fibres, ropes, chair cane 6-7 8-8.50 10 67 Plastic cups and glasses 7-8 10-12 13-14 80 Paper             White paper 3-3.25 3.75-4 5-6 76 Mix shredded paper 2-2.25 2.25-2.50 3-3.25 47 Cartons and brown packing Papers 2.25 2.50 3 33 Fresh newspaper 3-3.50 3.25-3.75 4.50-4.75 42 Tetra pack 1.75-2 2-2.25 2.75-3 53 Glass             Broken glass 0.50 0.90-1    90 Bottles 2 2.25-2.50    19 Aluminium             Beer and cold drink cans 40-45 43-48 75-85 88 Deodorant, scent cans 42-45 55-60 90-95 113 Aluminium foil 20-22 25-27 30-32 48 Other metals             Steel utensils 20-22 25-27 30 43 Copper wire 70-75 80-85 95-100 35 Source 🙠 Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Composting: Coming to composting only 9% of the total MSW is composted the remaining 91% is sent to landfill sites. There are three places set up by the Delhi municipal authority for composting MSW where as two plants are set up at Okhala and the other one is set up at Bhalswa .These plant has a treatment capacity of 150 tonnes/day but they are not utilised to the fullest because of the cost. The treatment capacity of the plant at Bhalswa is 500 tonnes/day. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008) Incineration: The municipal cooperation of Delhi also tried incarnation they built an incineration plant with the help of a foreign company. But this was shut down immediately because the MSW did not have enough calorific value the minimum calorific value is between 1200-1400 kcal/kg. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). Final disposal of MSW: Of the total amount of MSW collected 91% is sent to landfill. These landfill sites are located at the outskirts of the city. The land fill sites are the nearest available low line area or waste lands. The transfer of the MSW to these sites is by the vehicles that the Delhi municipality has. These landfill sites are chosen based only on availability and not on any other reason. These landfill sites are poorly maintained which arises a problem of health and safety as well as environmental concerns. There is another big issue because of the poor maintenance of the landfill sites there is a lot of leachate that is being produced mostly in the rainy season due to which the ground water as well as the river next to the landfill sites is getting contaminated. At these landfill sites with the help of bulldozers the MSW is levelled and compressed. The MSW is compressed to a layer of 2-5m and a covering is provided. At the binging there were 20 landfill sites that were created by the Delhi mun icipality out of which 15 are exhausted already. At present there are 3 landfill sites that are being operated one is at Gazipur it was started in 1984 , the other landfill site is located at Bhalswa it was started in 1993 ,the last operating land fill site is located in Okhala it was started in 1994. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). HEALTH AND SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Health and safety and environmental risks are a major concern in the MSW management in Delhi. The workers as well as the waste pickers are not provided with proper health and safety equipment like boots and gloves. The working conditions are unhygienic .the chance of transfer of infection is high and because of this if a worker gets sick he loses his wages. The workers are also not provided with medical insurance. The environmental risk is also high because the landfill sites are not maintained properly and the leachate gets leaked into the underground water as well as the river Yamuna .these issues should be looked into very carefully. IMPROVEMENT We can improve these poor conditions by privatisation. We can let the private sectors help in the disposal of MSW. The Delhi municipal authorities can open the incineration plant and dispose the waste. They can also involve the local communities as well as the NGOs to help in the disposal of waste. The municipal authorities should identify a proper treatment technology. The authorities should increase standards of reuse and recycling of waste mainly composting. CONCLUSION With the rapid increase in population and fast urbanisation of Delhi the current policies and regulations want be sufficient for controlling the rapid increase in the MSW. Due to this the health and safety as well as the environmental risks are increasing .The municipal authorities of Delhi cannot keep up with the MSW that is being produced now but according to a prediction the MSW by 2026 is going to increase 4 folds if this happens the municipal authorities will be facing a lot of problem. Even the Delhi government has realised this and they are making changes in the form of master plans. The government is also approaching the public and private sectors for help like the citizens and the NGOs. First of all people should be educated on proper disposal of MSW. The government should see to that the master plans are being properly followed at all levels. Only by doing this the Delhi municipal authorities can keep the MSW in control. Referencing Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004. Municipal solid waste recycling and associated markets in Delhi, India. Resources, Conservation and Recycling Census of India,.2001 . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (GoI). [Online].available http://www.censusindia.net Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999. Working Paper Series Nr. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. Page 5. [Online] http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/urbanenvironment/sectors/solid-waste-sources.html. Hoornweg, D., Laura, T., 1999. What a waste: solid management in Asia. Working Paper Series No. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank, Washington, DC MCD, 2004. Feasibility study and master plan report for optimal solid waste treatment and disposal for the entire state of Delhi based on public and private partnership solution, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi, India. Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000.the gazette of India. [Online]. Available http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/mswmhr.html TERI, 2002.Performance Measurements of Pilot Cities, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008. State of municipal solid waste management in Delhi, the capital of India, Waste ManagementVolume 28, Issue 7, 2008, Pages 1276-1287 waste management essay in 150 words

Revenge in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essays -- Scarlet Letter es

The Scarlet Letter:   Revenge    Revenge is the act of retaliating in order to get even with someone for the wrongs they have done. In the novel â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses Roger Chillingworth to reap revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale for his affair with his wife, Hester Prynne. Chillingworth becomes so devoted to revenge that is all his life revolves around. Chillingworth then devotes the rest of his life to taking revenge on Dimmesdale. As the novel progressed, Chillingworth fits the profile of ‘vengeance destroys the avenger’. When Roger Chillingworth is first introduced to the reader, we see a kind old man, who just has planted the seeds for revenge. Although he did speak of getting his revenge, when Hester first met her husband in her jail cell, she did not see any evil in him. Because Hester would not tell him who she had slept with, Chillingworth vowed that he would spend the rest of his life having his revenge and that he would eventually suck the soul out of the man, whom she had the affair with. â€Å"There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares† (Hawthorne, 101) As the novel develops, Roger Chillingworth has centered himself on Arthur Dimmesdale, but he cannot prove that he is the â€Å"one.† Chillingworth has become friends with Dimmesdale, because he has a â€Å"strange disease,† that n eeded to be cured; Chillingworth suspects something and begins to drill Dimmesdale. â€Å"†¦ The disorder is a strange one†¦hath all the operation of this disorder been fairly laid open to me and recounted to me† (Hawthorne, 156). As Chillingworth continues to drill Dimmesdale, he strikes a nerve. â€Å"You deal not, I take it, i... ...Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man† (Hawthorne, 192). Chillingworth’s plan for revenge is based on Dimmesdale not confessing to his crime. When Dimmesdale confessed to the crowd on Election Day, Chillingworth pleaded with him not to tell. â€Å"Old Roger Chillingworth knelt down beside him, with a blank, dull countenance, out of which life seemed to have departed. Thou hast escaped me†¦thou hast escaped me! He repeated more than once.† (Hawthorne, 268). Once Dimmesdale had confessed and died, Chillingworth had nothing to live for. â€Å"At old Roger Chillingworth’s decease (which took place within the year).† (Hawthorne, 272). Revenge destroys the avenger, fits the life of Roger Chillingworth. He devoted his entire life to revenge, and what happiness did he have to show for it? Had Chillingworth not been so jealous, he might have had a better life to live.

Code Of Hummurabi :: Hummurabi Code of Law

History is the past, which for the most part can not be scientificately proven. The real; goal of History is to rediscover past. A dramatic error happens when past is rediscovered from our own bias that is from the way we see it. Even certain artifacts and works pf literature that we have left from earlier civilizations can be interpreted in several different ways, or misinterpreted to a certain extend or entirely. Usually interpretation or even misinterpretation is affected bu the concept of ethnocentrism, where different communities have an already set up establishment of certain norms based on their own believes, traditions, social, legislative, and personal values and ethics from which they judge other foreign communities. When considering other societies, it is usually a difficult task to view â€Å"other world† without any observer prejudices. Each world, our and their can evoke its own realities that are more or less comparable from one period to another, or from one cu lture to another. One of the obvious misinterpretations, discussed in this paper, took place considering historical document written by king of Mesopotamia. Our textbook, Arts and Culture,(p 98) presents Hammurabi’s Code as a â€Å"Law Code† of king Hammurabi. It was, in turn something quite different from a Code of Laws existing in our judicial and legislative structure of government and society. Hammurabi’s Code- â€Å"A law Code† or a set of royal decisions As written in Mesopotamia: The Mighty Kings, (p26), the code consists if 282 laws that are branched at the beginning and end by a prologue and epilogue. The â€Å"Code† touches almost every aspect of everyday life in Babylonya. As the prologue states, the laws were supposedly written â€Å"to promote the welfare of the people,†¦to cause just to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak† ( The Human Record, p 12). Furthermor e, just like a real Law Code, each â€Å"law† is written in the form of conditional sentence: in which the phrase is introduced by a certain condition, â€Å"if† and the consequence follows â€Å"then†. Another fact makes Hammurabi’s â€Å"Code† so similar to the U.S. Constitutional Law Code is that it follows specific order, consisting of separate â€Å"chapters† associated with similar issues. For instance;† The Administration of Justice† â€Å"chapter† is followed by â€Å"Felons and Victums†, which is in turn followed by â€Å"chapter† that talks about â€Å"Property† issues.

The Longest Day :: essays research papers

The Longest Day Few of God's miracles cause protests in the "scientific" community like the account of Joshua's long day - when God made the sun and moon to stand still. But science and modern technology have done more to verify this phenominal biblical fact than they have to refute it. Common sense would say it is impossible for such a major disruption to occur and not totally destroy the precise, perfect balance in the solar system. But given a God, who created the heavens and the earth, who established the rotation of the planets and stars to the fraction of a second, making the earth stop rotating for 24 hours is not such a difficult task. Yet, computer scientists in the space program and mathematicians - one a former professor at Yale University - have discovered that a whole day has been unaccountably added in time. The positions of the moon, sun, and planets have to be calculated precisely for all space shots to avoid problems in establishing the satellite's orbit. The orbit has to be calculated for the life of the satellite to avoid its running into something else in space. Using computers, scientists can tell the exact location of the planets and their moons for years into the future. By the same means, they have been able to backtrack and determine these specific locations in the past. It was during one such search that the extra day appeared. From various accounts of the incident, it appears that something "did not compute." The extra day was just there. There was no computer malfunction; there was no explanation for the interruption of normal time patterns. When this apparent error appeared and no explanation was forthcoming, one of the scientists related that he had studied in Sunday School about time standing still. A preposterous idea to scientists, but faced with no other explanation, they asked him to show them the story. In the story in the tenth chapter of the book of Joshua, Joshua had asked God to make the sun and moon stand still to enable Joshua to defeat his enemies. Joshua 10:13 says, "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies... So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." There was the extra day that science couldn't account for. But scientists are more exact than that. The term, "about a whole day" was not close enough for them. They rechecked their computers, going back to the time when the story was

Theories of Ethnocentrism: Social Dominance Theory and Social Identity Perspective

Theories of Ethnocentrism: Social Dominance Theory and Social Identity Perspective Compare and Contrast critically evaluate in light of relevant research and theoretical reasoning A major focus of psychology is in understanding why group conflict, inequality and ethnocentrism occur. Many researchers have developed theories and presented evidence to try and explain these issues and two predominant approaches have emerged. The first approach focuses on the relatively stable personality differences that people show in their general orientation towards ethnocentrism and inequality (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Social Dominance Theory (SDT) proposes that people exhibit different levels of social dominance orientation, a desire to dominate members of other groups and a desire for continued hierarchical relations between groups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). The alternative approach focuses on social and situational factors as causes of ethnocentrism. The dominant theory here is Social Identity Perspective (SIP), which is comprised of Social Identity Theory (SIT) (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) (Oakes, Haslam & Turner, 1994). Social Identity Perspective proposes that ethnocentrism occurs when people are depersonalized: they see themselves as members of a salient group rather than unique individuals. This process leads them to adopt a social identity where their ideas, attitudes, values and behaviours tend to reflect norms of their group and their main goal is to see their group as positive and distinct (Turner, 1987). This essay will consider how these approaches define ethnocentrism and will provide an outline of how they explain ethnocentrism. It will then compare and contrast the theories, and consider the strengths and limitations of each with reference to the large body of research in this field. In light of the limitations of viewing ethnocentrism as due to a relatively stable, individual disposition to inequality, the essay concludes that SIP provides a more complete explanation. However, researchers need to consider whether ethnocentrism is due to an interaction of situationally dependent personality factors and social identity factors for a more comprehensive explanation of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism Sumner (1911) originally defined ethnocentrism as â€Å"†¦the sediment of cohesion, internal comradeship and devotion to the in-group, which carries with it a sense of superiority to any out-group and readiness to defend the interests of the in-group against the out-group† (p. 11). Recent research has defined ethnocentrism as ethnic group self-centeredness and identified six specific aspects that are divided between inter and intragroup expressions (Bizumic, Duckitt, Popadic, Dru & Krauss, 2008). Intergroup expressions of ethnocentrism include a preference for and favoritism given to the ingroup, a tendency to see the ingroup as superior and to only associate with the ingroup (purity) and the belief that exploitation of outgroups is acceptable to promote ingroup interests (Bizumic et al, 2008). Intragroup aspects include that ingroups are cohesive: integrated and cooperative, and that there is strong devotion and commitment to the ingroup (Bizumic et al, 2008). The two theories define and measure ethnocentrism in different ways. SDT emphasizes ingroup favoritism and bias in high status groups, and the allocation of negative social value to outgroups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Ethnocentrism is measured through levels of prejudice, racism, conservatism and other associated concepts, which, although distinct from ethnocentrism, are closely correlated (Bizumic et al, 2008). SIP measures ethnocentrism primarily through ingroup favoritism: the tendency to favor the ingroup in evaluations and allocation of resources (Oaks et al, 1994). Social Dominance Theory SDT was developed by Sidanius and Pratto (1999) and focuses on personality and structural factors as causes of ethnocentrism. The theory argues that individuals differ in their level of social dominance orientation (SDO), which is the desire to oppress outgroups, have the ingroup be seen as superior and dominant, or the extent that an individual endorses group inequalities (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Specifically, SDO is â€Å"a desire for and value given to ingroup dominance over outgroups and the desire for non-egalitarian, hierarchical relationships between groups within the social system† (Sidanius & Pratto, 1994 p. 9). Differences in SDO are argued to make some people more likely to show ethnocentrism and prejudice, and people who have SDO show more negative behaviours towards the outgroup. This is known as differential ingroup social allocations. Illustrating this point, Sidanius (1994) states that people’s ethnocentric orientations and attitudes are due to persona lity and consistent behavioral predispositions (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). SDT also proposes that legitimizing myths maintain ethnocentrism and inequality. These are beliefs, attitudes, values or ideologies that are circulated and justify inequality, as well as continuing the dominance of some groups over others (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). For example, the myth that men have better jobs and higher incomes because they are more assertive and have better leadership skills than women. The second part of SDT is based on the assumption that intergroup conflict and ethnocentrism is due to the way society is made up of group-based hierarchies, which have a hegemonic group at the top which controls money, resources and power, and a negative reference group at the bottom (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). These hierarchies are based on three stratification systems: an age system, gender system, and an arbitrary-set system, where people from high status groups have more power than people in lower status groups. Hierarchies are formed and maintained by institutional discrimination, individual discrimination and behavioural asymmetry (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Institutional discrimination is the rules and regulations of social institutions, such as schools, religions, corporations, businesses or governments, which result in lower status groups having less power, money or other resources. Institutions maintain unequal hierarchies through the use of systematic terror, which is threat or violence directed towards low status groups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Individual discrimination is the small, daily discriminations which occur in every setting, and the way desired goods, such as health care, money or power, are allocated to members of dominant groups. These small acts add up and lead to the continued dominance of one group over another (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Behavioural asymmetry is the way people in low status groups behave differently compared to those in high status groups. Examples of this include that ethnocentrism is higher in high status groups compared to low status groups, and there is more ingroup favoritism in high status groups – what SDT calls the asymmetrical ingroup bias. Also, low status groups can show self-handicapping, which is where they perform below their abilities due to self-fulfilling stereotypes or expectations (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Social Identity Perspective SIP is a broad theory of ethnocentrism which includes social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979) and self-categorization theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher and Wetherell, 1987). Social Identity Theory SIT proposes that in different situations, people either define themselves as individuals, or as group members: they move along the interpersonal – intergroup continuum (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). SIT argues that people have a collection of category memberships and each membership is represented in the persons mind as a social identity that describes how the person should think, feel and act as a member of that group (Turner, 1987). If a group is important people will internalize the group membership so that it becomes an important part of their self-concept, and they are then driven to achieve positive self-esteem and establish a social identity (they are motivated to establish positive distinctiveness) (Turner, 1987). This self-enhancement is achieved by comparing their group with salient outgroups along dimensions which lead to the most positive representation of their group. SIT proposes that a cognitive processing bias occurs during this process, which results in people minimizing the differences within their group, and exaggerating the differences between their group and a salient outgroup (Turner, 1987). This produces intragroup homogeneity, where behaviour becomes more group focused, attitudes in the group are consensual and people define themselves and outgroup members as â€Å"undifferentiated† members of their social category (Turner and Reynolds, 2001). SIT explains these cognitive processes of categorization and self-enhancement as due to subjective belief structures, which are people’s beliefs about the nature of relations between groups (Turner, 1987). These include the stability and legitimacy of group relations, and the possibility of social mobility psychologically passing from one group to another, or social change, changing how they feel about their group membership (Turner, 1987). Self-Categorization Theory SCT follows on from and elaborates on SIT. SCT focuses on the shift from personal to social identity which occurs when people change from defining themselves as individuals compared to other individuals (when their personal identity is salient), and start to see themselves as group members who are different from members of other groups (when their social identity is salient) (Turner et al, 1987). This social identity is thought to emerge when group categorizations are made prominent. The emergence of this social identity leads to a process called depersonalization, which is where people see increased similarity between themselves and ingroup members and differences from outgroup members, interchangeability with other ingroup members, and see themselves as representative of the group (Turner et al, 1987). The theory argues that whether depersonalization occurs depends on the accessibility and fit of social categories. Accessibility is how accessible the category is, in terms of past experiences, expectations, goals, motives and if the categorization is important for a person’s self-concept (Turner et al, 1987). Fit refers to the way people activate a category which best explains or fits the individual information and stored category information (Turner et al, 1987). Fit is determined based on whether the information fits in a normal or stereotypical direction (normative fit), and whether there is a high meta-contrast ratio: which is when the differences within a group are less than the differences between that group and others (comparative fit) (Turner et al, 1987). Overall, all group processes, including ethnocentrism, are argued to be the outcome of psychological group formation and depersonalization of self. Similarities between Social Identity Perspective and Social Dominance Theory Both theories agree that that group identification is needed for ethnocentrism and influences levels of ethnocentrism (Sidanius, Pratto, van Larr & Levin, 2004). SDT argues that although people with particular personalities are more likely to engage in ethnocentrism, social identification is also needed (Sidanius et al, 1994). The theories also agree that ingroup bias and favouritism can be modified under specific conditions (Sidanius, Pratto, Mitchell, 1994). Similarly, both theories recognize the importance of the salience of ingroups and outgroups (Sidanius et al, 2004). Significantly, minimal group experiments show that if intergroup distinctions are made salient, peoples SDO levels are more likely to influence whether they discriminate against outgroups, and many SIP experiments have show the importance of salience in changing group relations Sidanius et al, 2004). Both theories emphasize the â€Å"dynamic† ways people construct their social identities (Sidanius et al, 2004), based on a salient ingroup, or group distinctions based on race, nationality, class, ethnicity, or arbitrarily-set categories. Sidanius et al. , (2000) also argue that SIP finding of ingroup favoritism in minimal groups is similar to SDT assertion that people have a predisposition to form ingroup – outgroup distinct ions and to discriminate against outgroups based on these categorizations. Also, although the theories differ on the importance assigned to social and contextual factors, both agree that they can influence ethnocentrism. SIP clearly emphasizes social factors such as self-categorizations and contextual factors including the salience of groups, and the stability and legitimizing of group relations (Turner, 1987). SDT also considers social identification, contextual factors such as status differences, connections with social institutions and social roles, cultural factors and structural relations (Sidanius, 2000). Although SDT argues that SDO is a relatively stale personality variable, they do agree that levels of SDO can correspond with shifts in the intergroup context (Sidanius et al, 2004). SIP also argues that ethnocentrism can vary based on the context and structural position of groups (Turner et al, 1994). Levin (1996) found that when differences between groups of Jewish Israelis were made salient, high-status Jewish Israelis were more positively orientated toward inequality than lower status Jewish Israelis. However, when thinking about Israeli-Palestine relations, the groups did not differ in attitudes towards inequality. Further, Schmitt, Branscomb and Kappen (2003, study 3) found that the participants who believed inequality favored their university (ingroup) were much more positive towards the inequality than the other participants, showing that the social-structural position of groups influences attitudes. Differences between Social Identity Perspective and Social Dominance Theory Although there are some general similarities between these theories, they contrast on many specific points. Focus on Personality or Social Factors as Causing Ethnocentrism The major difference between these two theories is their focus on either personality or social factors as causing ethnocentrism. SDT argues that the personality variable SDO is the main factor predicting ethnocentric behaviour (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). In contrast, SIP argues that identification with the ingroup and self-categorization as a group member through a process of depersonalization leads to ethnocentrism (Reynolds, Turner, Haslam, and Ryan, 2001). There is evidence for each argument. Evidence that ethnocentrism is caused by levels of SDO. There is evidence that SDO scores are correlated with attitudes and beliefs related to ethnocentrism. SDO was positively correlated with racism, sexism, conservatism, ethnic prejudice, nationalism, patriotism and cultural elitism in a diverse sample of 19,000 participants from 13 samples (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, and Malle, 1994). People with higher levels of SDO also reported that they intended to work in more hierarchy-enhancing professions as opposed to hierarchy-attenuating professions (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). There is also evidence that support for discriminatory policies, strict laws, military programs, war; the death penalty and belief in legal retribution are positively correlated with SDO (Sidaius, Lui, Pratto and Shaw, 1994). High SDO scores and dominance-oriented prejudice have also been found to be related to personality characteristics such as being disagreeable, vindictive, hostile or seeing social inequality as â€Å"they way it should be† (Lippa & Arad, 1999). However, there is no evidence that SDO causes ethnocentrism, only that some aspects of ethnocentrism are closely related to a dominance orientated personality measure. There is also evidence that SDO predicts outgroup discrimination and negativity in minimal group studies. Sidanius and Pratto (2004) found that people who scored higher on SDO had a greater desire for social distance from the outgroup, were less willing to cooperate, showed a tendency to accept group boundaries and a desire to dominate other groups. They concluded that although ingroup favoritism is important, SDO is needed to fully explain ethnocentrism. Evidence against the assertion that SDO causes ethnocentrism. Recent evidence suggests a different explanation for these results. Schmitt et al (2003) argue that the results of experiments showing SDO is related to ethnocentrism are actually due to the way specific forms of inequality are salient for participants as they fill in SDO measures. Schmitt et al (2003) tested this in study 1, and found that SDO was only correlated with racism if race was a salient social categorization at the time. Study 2 provided further support, showing that sexism scores only predicted SDO when gender was salient, and racism scores only predicted SDO when race was salient. Therefore, when people are completing a measure of SDO, they are actually expressing their attitudes towards inequality specific to salient social groups rather than pre-existing, stable individual dispositions towards inequality (Schmitt et al, 2003). Evidence that ethnocentrism is caused by self-categorization. Tajfe, Billing, Bundy and Flament (1971) conducted the first minimal group studies which led to SIP. In these experiments participants were divided into one of two groups of the basis of some meaningless dimension, and then allocated resources to members of the two groups. Despite the minimal conditions, participants still acted in an ethnocentric way, showing ingroup favouritism. Additionally, when given the choice of maximising joint benefits (for the ingroup and outgroup) or maximising comparative benefits, participants tended to chose the option that gave the ingroup comparatively more than the outgroup. This discrimination in minimal groups has been found over a range of cultures and dimensions, and shows that categorization of people into groups can produce discrimination (Turner, 1986). General evidence for SIP over personality theories of ethnocentrism comes from Haslam and Wilson (2000), who found that personal beliefs were more predictive of prejudice when they reflected stereotypic beliefs shared within an in-group. Perreault and Bourhis (1999) found that ingroup identification was the only factor which predicted discrimination in minimal groups, and that a range of personality variables had no impact Role of SDO. Another key difference between the theories is that while SDT describes SDO as a relatively stable personality variable, SIP argues that it varies in different situations, in different groups, and based on identification. Reynolds, Turner, Ryan, Mavor and McKone (2006) looked at the degree that personality variables (SDO and authoritarianism) can be modified using identification with either a pro or anti-feminist source. They found significant changes in levels of feminism and SDO in the different conditions, which shows that SDO can be influenced. SDO scores of individuals did not correlate well between the two phases of the experiment if participants had seen the pro-feminist message, and measures also showed that implicit prejudice and stereotyping varied in the same way as SDO. SIP provides a clear explanation for these and other results which find SDO to be stable, by arguing that attitudes can be stable in contexts where similar self-categorizations are made salient, but can change when shifts in categorization occur (Reynolds et al, 2006). Verkuyten and Hagendoorn (1998) made either a personal or national identity salient and looked at ingroup stereotypes of the Dutch’s treatment of minorities. They found that personality variables were correlated with prejudice in the personal identity condition, and ingroup stereotypes were correlated in the national identity condition. Also, when ingroup norms were of tolerance and equality, participants showed far lower levels of prejudice. This supports the SIP discontinuity hypothesis, showing that people’s attitudes change depending on what identity is salient, and ethnocentrism is determined by people’s salient self-categorizations. Reynolds, Turner, Haslam and Ryan (2001) conducted similar studies, testing prejudice when participants personal, gender, age, or national identity was salient. They found correlations between personality and prejudice in the age and gender conditions, but not in the personal or national conditions. They also found that the relationship was strongest when the gender identity was salient and weakest when a national identity was salient. So, the power of personality to predict ethnocentrism changed in the different conditions. Reynolds et al (2001) argue that SDO cannot be the psychological mechanism underlying ethnocentrism and inequality if it varies with group identity. In contrast to these results, Sidanius et al (1994) measured ethnocentrism with indexes of differential ingroup social allocation (DISA) in minimal groups, and found a direct relationship between SDO and three of the DISA indexes. Even after the effects of gender, self-esteem and ingroup identification were controlled for, subjects with higher levels of SDO displayed a greater desire for social distance from, and were less willing to cooperate with the outgroup. This demonstrates that, independent of the effects of group identification, people who have higher levels of SDO are more likely to show ethnocentric behaviour and attitudes. Explanations for varying levels of SDO across situations and in groups. A related difference between the two theories is their different explanations for the variability found in SDO scores. SDT has suggested that changes in SDO may be due to the fact that people with high SDO are more likely to identify with their group and be affected by group factors (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). In contrast, SIP has argued that SDO is a group attitude which varies in different situations (Reynolds & Turner, 2006). SIP argues that personality differences may be correlated with ethnocentrism when personal identity is salient, but group attitudes and beliefs will predict ethnocentrism when a social identity becomes salient (Reynolds and Turner, 2006). A number of studies have tested whether shifts in self categorization from personal to social identities affect the relationship between ethnocentrism and personality variables, and a few key experiments are outlined below. Sidanius, Pratto and Mitchell (1994) looked at minimal group members who evaluated each other on positive and negative domains and found that, in line with both theories, ingroup identification significantly predicted discrimination. However, people who identified highly with their group and had high levels of SDO showed more ingroup favouritism, suggesting that SDO is a key predictor of ethnocentrism. Buzimic et al (2007) tested whether personality factors affect discrimination directly or indirectly through influencing people who have higher levels of these personality variables to identify more strongly with their ingroup. They found that ingroup identification was a significant predictor of discrimination, and that it got stronger when the ingroup-outgroup categorization was more salient. Individual differences in levels of SDO did not predict discriminatory behaviour, and there was little evidence that some people have a preference for hierarchal relations between groups. In one condition, where discrimination would lead to an unequal hierarchy, participants actually showed fairness and cooperation. Although people with high SDO did not move as far towards equality as the other participants here, if there was a basic drive for inequality and dominance participants should have discriminated strongly in that condition. This study provides clear evidence that SDO does not influence ethnocentric behaviours. Explanations for gender differences in ethnocentrism Another important difference between SIP and SDT is their explanations for the gender differences in ethnocentrism. SDT takes an evolutionary stance, arguing that these differences are due to biological differences in the reproductive strategies of men and women (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). That is, men need to have lots of economic resources to attract young, attractive women, while women are focused on attracting men with resources to support their offspring (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). SDT sees this difference as stable, and not affected by structural or contextual factors, and predicts that men will almost always be more favorable towards inequality. A limitation of this explanation is that it does not explain the major changes in women’s roles that have occurred in developed countries over time (Reynolds et al, 2000). SIP argues that the lower levels of ethnocentrism in women are not due to gender differences in SDO, they are due to the same processes which result in all lower-status groups having lower levels of SDO – the different implications that the inequality has for each group (Schmitt et al, 2003). That is, women have lower levels of ethnocentrism because gender inequality results in disadvantage for them, and men have higher levels because this inequality is beneficial for them (Schmitt et al, 2003). As such, these differences should vary depending on the specific inequality which exists between the groups. Schmitt et al (2003) investigated these competing explanations. They found that men and women did not differ in levels of SDO after they considered gender inequality in both directions, and did not differ in their overall comfort with specific forms of inequality – which contradicts SDT. Gender differences in SDO were mediated by sexism, suggesting that the difference is due to women and men’s different positions in the social structure. They also found that men felt more positively about inequality that favored men, while women felt more positively about inequality which favored women. There was no correlation between gender and other types of inequality, showing that gender differences are specific to the inequality that exists between the men and women. Causes of high SDO and ethnocentrism. In contrast to SIP, SDT argues that SDO and ethnocentrism develop from three major influences: socialization factors, situational contingencies and temperament (Sidanius & Pratto, 1994). The main socialization factor is group status. SDT argues that because group superiority seems compatible with hierarchy-legitimizing myths, it seems appropriate for people in high-status groups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). There is substantial evidence that group status is related to SDO. Pratto and Choudhury (Pratto, 1999) found that people in higher status groups had higher levels of SDO, whether group status was based on gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. SDO has also been found to increase with the status of the major racial groups in America (Sidanius et al, 1999). Other factors which lead to SDO and ethnocentrism include gender, and temperament or personality factors. Evidence for this shows SDO declines with empathy and increases with aggression. Education is also thought to be involved, with higher levels of education correlating with lower SDO and prejudice generally. However, this seems to contradict other SDT predictions, as you would expect that people with higher levels of education would be in higher status groups. Finally, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religiosity and employment status are also thought to be involved. Sidanius and Pratto (1994) found that these demographic variables accounted for 21% of the variance in SDO scores. However, across samples and nations, only gender and group status were reliably related to SDO. Explanations for differences in ethnocentrism in different status groups Although both SDT and SIP agree that group status effects ethnocentrism, they differ in their explanations of why this is so. SDT argues that group status directly effects people’s SDO, and group differences in acceptance of legitimizing myths account for group differences in SDO (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). In contrast, SIP argues that SDO scores reflect attitudes towards the specific types of inequality that are salient (Schmitt et al, 2003). Schmitt et al (2003, study 4) investigated these competing explanations. They found that men and Whites were more pro-inequality than women and ethnic minorities. However, they found that gender differences in SDO were totally mediated by sexism, but not by racism, and racial differences in SDO were mediated by racism, but not by sexism. So, group differences in SDO are not indicative of group differences in a general orientation towards inequality, but are reflective of group differences in attitudes relevant to the specific inequality existing between groups. Explanations for outgroup favoritism Another important difference between the two theories is their explanations for outgroup favoritism, and their predictions of when outgroup favoritism will occur. Many studies illustrate that low-status group’s show outgroup favoritism (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). SDT developed the asymmetrical ingroup bias hypothesis, which states that high-status groups will show more ingroup favoritism because it is easier and more valuable for them, and that low-status groups should show outgroup favoritism to support the social hierarchy (especially people with high SDO) (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). In contrast, SIP argues that the legitimacy and stability of intergroup relations determines when people will show outgroup favoritism (Tajfel and Turner, 1979). If group boundaries are permeable and inequalities secure (stable or legitimate), people will identify with, favor and seek to move into the high status group (Turner, 1986). If group boundaries are impermeable and secure, low status group members will accept their status and try to seek positive distinctiveness along other dimensions (Turner, 1986). If group boundaries are impermeable and insecure (that is, unstable or illegitimate), the low status group will seek to change the inequality and will show ingroup bias (Turner, 1986). There is a lot of evidence supporting these three predictions, including a meta-analysis of ingroup bias conducted by Mullen, Brown and Smith (1992) which found that while high status groups evaluated their group on dimensions relevant to the inequality, low-status groups tended to show greater ingroup favoritism on less relevant attitudes – finding alternative means of achieving positive distinctiveness. Sidanius and Pratto (1999) tested group asymmetry in ingroup favoritism and found that Blacks had higher levels of ingroup bias than Whites, consistent with SIP. Also, the SDT prediction that low-status group members will act against their own interests and show outgroup favoritism to support the unequal social system has been disconfirmed by much SIP research which shows that low-status groups will only favor high-status groups if they either identify with the group or see the inequality as stable and legitimate (Oakes, Haslam & Turner, 1994). Finally, the SDT prediction that all high-status group members will show ethnocentrism and support for inequality is problematic: ethnocentrism has been found in many different groups, of both high and low status (Reynolds & Turner, 2000). Comfort with inequality in the direction it exists in society. SDT argues that people are more comfortable with inequality as it exists in society than in the opposite direction because it is justified by hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing myths; and that people high in SDO are even more likely to accept inequality it its general direction (Sidanius and Pratto, 1994). In contrast, SIP argues that people’s social identities affect comfort with inequality – people are more likely to be comfortable with inequality which favors their ingroup rather than the outgroup (Schmitt, Branscomb & Kappen, 2003). Schmitt et al (2003, study 3) tested these contrasting predictions by asking participants to report on how comfortable they would be with four different types of inequality in both possible directions. They found that SDO did not influence participants comfort with inequality, and could not account for comfort with inequality as it exists compared to the opposite direction. These findings support SIP, showing that attitudes toward inequality depend on the type and direction of inequality being considered. The importance of ingroup favoritism or outgroup degradation in ethnocentrism. The theories also differ in the importance they assign to different aspects of ethnocentrism; SIP focuses on ingroup favoritism in producing cohesion, devotion and discrimination (Turner, 1986). In contrast, SDT focuses on personality variables which lead to outgroup negativity (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). SDT argues that SIP is limited in the scope of behaviours it can explain: ingroup favoritism and a desire for positive distinctiveness cannot explain the way some people or groups strive to dominate and oppress outgroups, and cannot explain the occurrence of oppression, ethnic wars, slavery and other such events (Sidanius, Pratto & Mitchell, 1994). A number of studies support SDT in their criticism of SIP. Brewer (1979) found that most intergroup discrimination in minimal groups was bias in favor of the ingroup rather than denigration of the outgroup. Hewstone, Fincham and Jaspars (1981) investigated when people will take money away from ingroup and outgroup members in minimal groups, and found less ingroup favoritism and that the predominant strategy used was fairness. Mummendey et al (1992) investigated allocation of negative outcomes to the ingroup and outgroup and did not find any evidence of ingroup favoritism and that fairness was the main strategy used. However, when group size and status were manipulated in this experiment more negative allocations were made to the outgroup when the ingroup was a minority or of low status, and ingroup favoritism was the most used strategy in low status groups (Mummendey et al, 1992). These results support SIP, showing that ingroup favoritism occurs in negative domains when the ingroup is particularly motivated to achieve a positive social identity. Reynolds, Turner and Haslam (2000) also found that ingroup favoritism is not restricted to the positive domain; that participants allocated negative resources to outgroups when traits fit the ingroup-outgroup categorizations. Conclusion After considering similarities and differences in two major theories of ethnocentrism, and highlighting strengths and weakness of each, a clear conclusion emerges. SDT proposes an explanation of ethnocentrism at the individual, group and societal level, and is very good at highlighting individual differences in the desire to dominance others (Huddy, 2004). Sidanius and Pratto (1999) also provide clear evidence for how minority members are discriminated against and the way individual, institutional and other structural factors maintain inequality in numerous studies. Although it cannot explain ethnocentrism, SDT predicts and demonstrates that people high in SDO show more prejudice and endorse measures which maintain inequality. 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