How The Media Influences Social Policy

How The Media Influences Social Policy Free Online Research Papers Social policy is in place to enable the state to determine and manage the needs of society as a whole. Social policy deals with the distribution of practical and financial resources and the range of responses to social need. The public’s general understanding of social policy is usually that the government decides which policies need to be changed, implemented and abolished. In this essay I will show that social policy is not just a straightforward matter of government and I will look at the effects and implications of media and pressure groups on social policy. Political parties influence how welfare is approached and therefore how policies are formed. They develop policies which voters expect implemented if they are elected into office. Those political parties do not operate in isolation and in a pluralist society where power is distributed throughout different groups [Bochel et al, 2005 p18], if a person is unable to vote through a political party for issues they are concerned about, they can join a pressure group to influence policy making. Pressure groups generally aim to achieve influence over particular policies rather than to achieve control of government. Bill Coxall et al. defines pressure groups as, ‘Any organisation which normally working through lobbying rather than standing for office, seeks to influence public policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, so making the point that pressure groups are wanting to influence and possibly change a particular social policy (in Czerniawski, 2005 p22) Some Sociologists, however do not support the existence of pressure groups. Marxists make the points that often they are just sounding boards for political parties and their influence depends on their connections [Czerniawski, 2005 p22]. However pressure groups are now usually involved in campaigning around one issue, for example, homelessness and they need the participation of the general public to make their views heard. Pressure groups fall into two categories, either ‘protecting’ or ‘promoting’. The promoting groups such as Shelter aim to promote their values and beliefs and the protecting groups such as Northern Ireland Social Care Council aim to protect the rights and interests of all the Social Care Workers in Northern Ireland. These would both be ‘insider pressure groups’, able to sit alongside the government and have direct involvement in policy making. ‘Outsider pressure groups’ cannot sit directly with the government, either because they do not have, or do not wish to have a close relationship with officials. An example of this is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Group (CNDuk.org) in the 1980’s. Despite having 250,000 members and staging protest marches through London with much media attention, the Conservative government at the time did not agree with their aims and concerns. CND were concerned due to the Conservative Govern ment’s close links with the US and the new threats of more nuclear weapons in Europe. This led to CND being excluded from any arms decisions made by the government [Trueman, 2000, history learning site : CNDuk.org], but still they staged marches to rally public support to indirectly put pressure on the government and change social policy. Amnesty international is an extremely powerful promotional pressure group, [Foley, Society and Culture Association] with 1.8 million members in over 150 countries. Amnesty International is non-political, but involves itself in asking for donations, staging peaceful protests, campaigning relentlessly and emailing foreign ministers regarding arms supplies. Amnesty International has so much power now that countries cited by them as there being human rights concerns such as China and the United States have received extremely negative publicity due to this. Between 1990 and 2005, Amnesty International recorded 19 executions in the United States for crime committed by a juvenile [Amnesty.org]. An Amnesty International recent campaign for justice resulted in a change in policy disallowing the execution of juvenile offenders in certain US states [Wikipedia.org]. A former torturer from El Salvador said, ‘if theres lots of pressure – like from Amnesty International or some fo reign countries – we might pass them on to a judge. But if theres no pressure, then theyre dead’ [Amnesty.org]. This example therefore shows that this particular pressure group is effective in getting their message across. Amnesty do have a strong support group, but there are many counties such as China who although not directly opposing Amnesty International, will criticise reports by Amnesty regarding China’s state of human rights [bbc.co.uk, 2000]. When compared to the government pressure groups resources are minimal but when many small groups come together around an issue, the resources grow tremendously and can have considerable impact, thereby enabling changes in social policy. Any confrontations will multiply any impact a pressure group can have on an issue. Since public opinion is the ultimate source of the groups social power, the media plays an important role by focusing public attention on their actions. The media is all around us, providing us with news stories in many different mediums. Bochel et el make the point that ‘the public also make distinctions, with the evidence suggesting that they are generally much more ready to say that they believe that TV News reporting is truthful than newspaper coverage’, but they also say that the perceptive that the public will believe whatever they are told by the media is not true [Bochel et el, 2005, p21]. Broadsheets such as the Times and the Guardian often contrast widely with tabloid reporting such as the News of the World and the Sun Newspapers. In the Times Newspaper on 7 November 2006 the main story on the front page was ‘forty years for bomb plotter’ and on the same date on t he front page of the Sun Newspaper, their main story was â€Å"I’ll blow up Thames†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢plan to kill hundreds†¦ if not thousands’† [Fresco, 2006 : The Sun online, 2006]. Both reporting the same story, but the Sun Newspaper framed it and interpreted it differently so it becomes more personal to the reader. Bochel et al. support this by discussing reinforcing pre-existing opinions amongst the public and how the mass media can frame a story focusing on bad news, violence and conflict as this sells newspapers [Bochel et al, 2005, p22]. The media appeared to be particularly successful in highlighting cases such as the policy of community care for people with mental illnesses, influencing public opinion and inspiring policy responses. For example the policy of community care for people with mental illness came under intense scrutiny after the 1992 incident when Christopher Clunis, who had a diagnosis of Schizophrenia and had been discharged from hospital, killed a stranger at a London tube station [Court, 1994. Emotive, headline-catching language was used to describe the predicament of Christopher Clunis creating a moral panic amongst readers by linking this to other community care stories with a similar outcome. Mental Health organization ‘Mind’ did a survey of 500 people within their network who voted the Sun Newspaper as being the newspaper with the worst coverage of mental health issues [Ferriman, bmj journals, 2000]. This moral panic not only relates to who is released onto the streets but also th e state of Social Services and specifically the Mental Health Service [Swale, 2004, p15]. Measures put in place after this incident and the resulting media coverage have arguably served to impose additional constraints on people with mental health problems including a national supervision register, supervised discharge order, specialist housing, thereby also putting responsibility and pressure on the already stretched Mental Health Services. Steve Hewlett, director of programmes at Carlton Television, explained that newspapers often made substantial mileage out of mental health incidents, such as the Christopher Clunis case because they knew it awakened fear in their readers. He explained It is always easier to reinforce your readers views than challenge them [Ferriman, bmj journals, 2000]. Durkheim (1895) observed that a limited amount of crime is beneficial and Jill Swale (2004) uses this theory to illustrate that people unite in horror when very shocking and horrific crimes are committed [in Swale, 2004, p16]. A group called Media Forum on Mental Health has been set up by mental health organizations such as Mind in order to influence the media to report on mental health more responsibly. This is because they are so concerned that the public are being led to believe by the media that people with mental health issues are a threat to society. I think the media has a substantial influence over how they report a crime and therefore how the public sees this crime and chooses to react. The Media run a money orientated business and want to sell as many copies or get as many people to watch their broadcast as possible and the tabloids especially are often sensationalist and will report the stories their public want to hear about. Regarding Durkheim’s (1895) theory of boundary setting, Jill Swale (2004) remarks that people will demand a change in legislation when a crime receives media attention and the punishment is inadequate, but if people see the crime as shocking, they can often push for changes in the law [in Swale, 2004, p16]. This is very dangerous as we have seen by the community care issue, it can result in the public getting an unfair picture of mental health patients, and thereby has effects on social policy which could have been better thought out and planned rather that hysteria becoming an integral part of ensuring the public are protected. I do however think that a positive tool for the government is that they can use pressure groups to their advantage as for each group holding a position on an issue there is generally another group holding the opposite position. This illustrates that we live in a pluralist society which therefore means the government can gage from the media and public reaction where the public stand according to issues that pressure groups are lobbying for and therefore the government can react accordingly. Research Papers on How The Media Influences Social PolicyRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesQuebec and CanadaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 219 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraStandardized TestingAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

The Supreme Court Case of Gibbons v. Ogden

The Supreme Court Case of Gibbons v. Ogden The case of Gibbons v. Ogden, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1824, was a major step in the expansion of the power of the federal government to deal with challenges to U.S. domestic policy. The decision confirmed that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution granted Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, including the commercial use of navigable waterways.   Fast Facts: Gibbons v. Ogden Case Argued: February 5- February 9, 1824Decision Issued:  March 2, 1824Petitioner:  Thomas Gibbons (appellant)Respondent:  Aaron Ogden (appellee)Key Questions: Was it within New York State’s rights to issue laws regarding navigation within its jurisdiction, or does the Commerce Clause give Congress authority over interstate navigation?Unanimous Decision: Justices Marshall, Washington, Todd, Duvall, and Story (Justice Thompson abstained)Ruling:  As interstate navigation fell under interstate commerce, New York could not interfere with it, and the law was therefore invalid. Circumstances of Gibbons v. Ogden In 1808, the state government of New York awarded a private transport company a virtual monopoly to operate its steamboats on the state’s rivers and lakes, including rivers that ran between New York and adjoining states. This state-sanctioned steamboat company granted Aaron Ogden a license to operate steamboats between Elizabethtown Point in New Jersey and New York City. As one of Ogden’s business partners, Thomas Gibbons, operated his steamboats along the same route under a federal coasting license issued to him by an act of Congress. The Gibbons-Ogden partnership ended in dispute when Ogden claimed that Gibbons was undercutting their business by unfairly competing with him. Ogden filed a complaint in the New York Court of Errors seeking to stop Gibbons from operating his boats. Ogden argued that the license granted to him by the New York monopoly was valid and enforceable even though he operated his boats on shared, interstate waters. Gibbons disagreed arguing that the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the sole power over interstate commerce. The Court of Errors sided with Ogden. After losing his case in another New York court, Gibbons appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Constitution grants the federal government the overriding power to regulate how interstate commerce is conducted. Some of the Parties Involved The case of Gibbons v. Ogden was argued and decided by some of the most iconic lawyers and jurists in U.S. history. Exiled Irish patriot Thomas Addis Emmet and Thomas J. Oakley represented Ogden, while U.S. Attorney General William Wirt and Daniel Webster argued for Gibbons. The decision of the Supreme Court was written and delivered by America’s fourth Chief Justice John Marshall. â€Å". . . Rivers and bays, in many cases, form the divisions between States; and thence it was obvious, that if the States should make regulations for the navigation of these waters, and such regulations should be repugnant and hostile, embarrassment would necessarily happen to the general intercourse of the community. Such events had actually occurred, and had created the existing state of things.†Ã‚  - John Marshall - Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 The Decision In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress alone had the power to regulate interstate and coastal trade. The decision answered two pivotal questions about the Constitution’s Commerce Clause: First, exactly what constituted â€Å"commerce?† And, what did the term â€Å"among the several states† mean? The Court held that â€Å"commerce† is the actual trade of commodities, including the commercial transportation of commodities using navigation. Also, the word â€Å"among† meant intermingled with† or cases in which one or more states had an active interest in the commerce involved. Siding with Gibbons, the decision read, in part:   If, as has always been understood, the sovereignty of Congress, though limited to specified objects, is plenary as to those objects, the power over commerce with foreign nations and among the several states is vested in Congress as absolutely as it would be in a single government, having in its constitution the same restrictions on the exercise of the power as are found in the Constitution of the United States. The Significance of Gibbons v. Ogden   Decided 35 years after the ratification of the Constitution, the case of Gibbons v. Ogden represented a significant expansion of the power of the federal government to address issues involving U.S. domestic policy and the rights of the states. The Articles of Confederation had left the national government virtually powerless to enact policies or regulations dealing with the actions of the states. In the Constitution, the framers included the Commerce Clause in the Constitution to address this problem. Though the Commerce Clause gave Congress some power over commerce, it was unclear just how much. The Gibbons decision clarified some of these issues. John Marshall’s Role In his opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall provided a clear definition of the word â€Å"commerce† and the meaning of the term, â€Å"among the several states† in the Commerce Clause. Today, Marshall’s is regarded as the most influential opinions concerning this key clause.​ ... Few things were better known, than the immediate causes which led to the adoption of the present constitution ... that the prevailing motive was to regulate commerce; to rescue it from the embarrassing and destructive consequences, resulting from the legislation of so many different States, and to place it under the protection of a uniform law.†- John Marshall- Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 Updated by Robert Longley

Human Trafficking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Human Trafficking - Research Paper Example However, the government of the US is combating trafficking in persons both at home and abroad. The clauses, which have been covered in â€Å"the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 gives new protections to the trafficking victims; the pre-existing penalties â€Å"(Human Trafficking, 2012) have been enhanced. Moreover, certain benefits and services are provided to those who have been severely affected by human trafficking. It was in 1994 that the US started monitoring persons being victimized by trafficking in persons. This was mainly when the issue became prominent in Annual’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Department (Human Trafficking, 2012). Initially, the women and girls who were trafficked for sexual purposes were kept in the limelight. However, the situation has changed now and men, women and children who are being trafficked in any form of labor force whether it be agriculture, domestic service, construction work, or sweatshops are monitored on a constant basis (Human Trafficking, 2012). The human traffickers commit this act usually when the situation is critical and the police agencies cannot really do anything about it. For instance, when there were crisis in Lebanon, at that time the traffickers took 300000 people in their refuge. These people were mostly from Sri Lanka and Philippines. This was when the important people were busy being evacuated. In such circumstances, the police become handicapped and cannot take any action. The US should focus on having wide-ranging national policies and programs that will assist in preventing human trafficking; hence, the victims will be protected. Moreover, the police agencies should have strong networks so that the exchange of information regarding routes of traffickers as well as their profiles and the profiles of the victims could be easily tracked. Moreover, the police agencies should be a part of UNODC (UNGIFT, 2007). UNODC is contributing in the prevention of

A breakthrough drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A breakthrough drug - Essay Example A group of scientist under the supervision of NH Director Francis S. Collins reported that the drug Everolimus have the capacity to clear out the protein Progerin from theses children’s body. Everybody’s body produces progerin a mutated form of protein lamin A, which is important for the organizing of the genome contained in the cells of the body. There is number of research which shows that progerin in the body of people accumulates as they age. The studies have also reported that, the drug Everolimus also cut back the protein progerin from the body of healthy man and also prolonged their cell life. On study with mice, Everolimus which is a derivative of immunosuppressant rapamycin, has shown to extend the life span. With a control on cycling process of protein progerin, the drug Everolimus helps in controlling the aging process. The recycling of the progerin is possible because of the ability of this drug to clear toxins from the cells of the body. The FDA approved Everolimus on May of 2011 as a drug to fight the aging process of cell progerin . According to (Rockfeller)â€Å"The Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, also known as Progeria, is a genetic disease that affects small children and toddlers causing them to age prematurely†. Eventhough this drug treat the patients from outside the underlying disease which is genetic remains. However, the drug Everolimus treats the patients and reduces 50% of chances of getting the disease again. This medicine treats 50% of the cell but still there is underlying chance of getting the disease again. Progeria is a rare disease which affects the children, and even children and adults with brain tumor and other carcinogens can be cured with Everolimus. The diseased child has an increased amount of protein A and thus causes disruption in the working o f the cells in the body. The everolimus has got a trade name which is â€Å"

American Registry for Internet Numbers Essay Example for Free

American Registry for Internet Numbers Essay 1. American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)- Provides services involving technical coordination and management of internet number resources. They support the internet through the management of internet number resources and coordinates the development of policies for the management of IP number resources. They also provide services for technical coordination and management of internet number resources in its respective services region. The services include IP address space allocation and ASN allocation, transfer and record maintenance. B. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)- Responsible for the allocation of globally unique names and numbers that are used in Internet protocols that are published as RFC documents and for coordinating some of the key components that keep the internet running efficiently. They allocate and maintain unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards/protocols that drive the internet. Among such protocols are the domain names, number resources and Protocol assignments. C. Asia-Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC)- An organization that manages the internet number resources within Asia. They provide the number resource allocation and registration services that support the global operation of the internet. 2. An Ipv4 uses 32 bit IP addresses. The max number of of IPv4 addresses is about 4 billion. 3.The max number of Ipv6 addresses is about 48 billion. 4.The world ran out of Ipv4 addresses February 1, 2011. All networks must now allocate Ipv6 addresses. 5. Ipv4 addresses are exhausted 6. Ipv4 is still being used because the address pool supports the continual demands and extends its usefulness. Also because Ipv4 and Ipv6 are not compatible. 7. No because you cant resell them. Sources https://www.arin.net/ https://www.iana.org/ https://www.apnic.net/

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”: Comparing Flannery O’Connor’s Literary Te

â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†: Comparing Flannery O’Connor’s Literary Technique to Grotesque Medieval Literature Upon initially reading Flannery O’Connor’s work, one would have no problem recognizing her use of shocking, violent, or despairing themes. It may not be as easy, however, to completely accept or understand her style. According to Patrick Galloway, one must be â€Å"initiated to her trademarks when reading any of her two novels or thirty-two short stories (1).In many of her works, she paradoxically uses styles that are grotesque and brutal to illustrate themes of grace and self-actualization. As O’Connor herself says, â€Å"I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace† (qtd. in Hawkins 30).Although at times disturbing, O’Connor’s paradox is an effective literary technique, deepening the meaning of her stories.Flannery O’Connor’s short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† can be used as a tool to become ‘initiated’ to this unique style. Few critics would deny that â€Å"A Good Man† is a grotesque story: A grandmother and her son’s family on vacation are ruthlessly killed by an escaped convict.Some O’Connor critics are taken aback by this grotesque aspect because the family and elderly woman seem so innocent.People do not want to imagine their quiet and delicate, â€Å"gray-haired† grandmother standing in the face of a murderer, so they sympathize with O’Connor’s Grandmother as well (Bandy 2).This gruesome scene does not, however, serve as senseless violence.Beyond the disturbing imagery is a story that makes poignant religious and philosophical claims (Galloway 6).Pat Galloway analyzes this technique as the way O’Connor’s characters receive t... ...arterly 34 (Sum 1993): 383-397. Wood, Christopher. Albrecht Altdorfer and the Origins of Landscape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. Works Consulted Bloom, Harold, ed. Flannery O’Connor. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Hagen, Susan. â€Å"Team Teaching Middle English Literature With Flannery O’Connor.† http://panther.bsc.edu/~shagen/oconnor.htm (10 Nov. 1999). McMillen, Jenny. â€Å"Short Story Reviews.†http://www.geocities.com?Athens/Troy/2188/reviews.html (10 Nov. 1999) Owens, Mitchell. â€Å"The Function of Signature in ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’† Studies in Short Fiction 33 (Wntr 1996): 101-106. Schilling, Timothy. â€Å"Trying To See Straight: Flannery O’Connor & the Business of Writing.† Commonweal 122 (Nov 3, 1995): 14-15. Sloan, Gary. â€Å"O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’† The Explicator 57 (Wntr 1999): 118-120.

Learning Styles Essay

Having studied a small number of learning styles I will evaluate my own personal learning style and how I can use this through the next three years of my life at Bucks New University. I will look at the most popular theories in use today and their value in today’s world. The theory of individual learning styles began in the 1970’s and developed thoroughly in the 1980’s becoming more and more popular in recent years. The use of MRI scan data was added to already developing theories to understand how the brain processed information. (Revell, P, May 05) A learning review carried out in 2004 by the ‘Learning and Skills Research Centre’ revealed that there are 71 established learning style theories, a number of these are very similar in style. I am going to focus on 3 widely used theories methods, David Kolb’s learning style model, Honey & Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire and Fleming’s VARK. (Image) This diagram shows the ‘cycle of learning’ created by Kolb. David Kolb, began developing his Learning Style model in 1971, he then published his learning style model in 1984. The model is made of 4 learning styles; experience, reflection, reflecting and planning. In his cycle of learning Kolb describes that we will experience something, reflect on what happened, think how we can change or what we can use again and then act upon this and do it again changing any mistakes we made first time round, therefore repeating the cycle. For example when learning to ride a bike you may fall off due to hitting a tree (the experience,) look at what why we hit the tree, not looking up? (reflect,) think about how we can change why we fell off, look forward as we are riding (plan) and then finally try again to ride looking forward. This cycle may repeat itself many times before we get right what we was trying to learn. Honey & Mumford’s questionnaire (IMAGE) In 1992 Peter Honey and Alan Mumford created a questionnaire for learners to identify their learning style. The questionnaire originally consisted of 80 questions but this has been shortened and made available with only 40 question’s. Honey and Mumford’s model is based heavily on the Kolb model but focuses in on the in-between stages of the cycle. They agree with Kolb that all stages are crucial to learning, they suggest that some people tend to be happier with one stage of the cycle over others. (Cameron, S 1995) Honey and Mumford determined four learning styles that people may prefer to use than trying to use the whole cycle of Kolb’s model. The four stages are, activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists. Activists are very open minded, will try new things without much thought, are very sociable and probably prefer group work. However they are likely to get bored very quickly and find it hard to sit still for long periods of time. Activists will most likely be the planners within the marketing industry as they have lots of experiences and enjoy overcoming obstacles, they will most likely be watched closely by the manager due to their tendencies to jump in, act and think afterwards. Reflectors are much more passive and will think in much more depth before reaching any decision’s, they will tend to take more of a back seat role and observe others. A reflective member of staff would make be good in a manager role because they think with their heads, not their heart and would therefore make decisions that are more informative. Theorists enjoy approaching problems logically and having information to back up theories. Theorists are very good at analysing data and researching in depth. They can struggle to work with activists as they act first then think whereas theorists will think (a lot) before acting. Theorist would be best at doing marketing research and analysing the information as this something they excel at. Pragmatists like the freedom of creating something new, they don’t like being restricted to set ideas. They enjoy problem solving and are very practical but they do get bored very quickly. Pragmatists would be fantastic in a creative environment and therefore perfect for creating advertisements using their initiative. Flemings VARK VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinaesthetic. Fleming developed his theory based on previous VAK modes but added the read/write in 1987. ‘From what I read and observed, it seemed obvious that some students had a distinct preference for the written word whilst others preferred symbolic information’ (Fleming, N. 2006) Fleming’s questionnaire has 16 question, so that people take it more seriously and do not get bored while filling out the questionnaire. Visual learners prefer to look at images and the use of colour. When making notes a visual learner will use images, symbols and highlight key words with colour. When planning a piece of work visual learners may use mood boards and mind maps for them to get inspiration from before forming into words. Audio learners prefer to listen to lectures or having things explained to them, they enjoy group discussions and are very good at describing visual things in great detail. Audio learners can benefit from reading aloud their notes while recording themselves. When planning for a piece of work an audio learner may find it better to speak through their ideas with a friend. Read/write learners much prefer to write down notes and take information from text books, when breaking down statistical information they will describe any trends instead of drawing them. Read/write learners will excel at essay writing and when planning a piece of work they will write lists and notes. Kinaesthetic learners prefer to just try new things and touch things to help them learn. Field trips for the ideal for kinaesthetic learners as they can take in all the information around them, without getting bored. When completing a piece of work they will just use trial and error until they get it right. Without acknowledging your own style you may encourage your team to focus on issues from a certain perspective and miss the opportunities that result from different approaches. A team has a collective learning style all of its own. (Haygroup) My learning style After completing the 1982 version of the Honey and Mumford questionnaire I scored: Activist 6 Reflector16 Theorist15 Pragmatist 8 From these results I now understand that I prefer to step back and observe others, I require more time and information to make decisions. From previous experience I would say that I totally agree with this for example when making a decision about any expensive purchase I will always look at information about and research the best prices before making a decision. So I do regularly use the reflector and theorist styles. From completing the 13 question VARK questionnaire I have scored: Visual1 Audio0 Read/write4 Kinaesthetic 7 From these results I can see that I am kinaesthetic learner, this contradicts my findings from the Honey and Mumford questionnaire where I found id rather observe and take in information. Where as from this VARK questionnaire I have found that id rather use trial and error and learn using hands on methods. This contradictions surprise me as the styles are so different but I do understand that this is true to me, I do prefer to learn on my own and take in a lot of information before creating an essay but when it comes to learning how to use something new I prefer to just hold it and try it out. Conclusion From my research I have found that many of the learning styles are very similar but are constructed in their own way and helps the learner to establish their style in its individual way. Kolb’s learning theory would not be able to be broken up into sections but the Honey and Mumford theory is based on Kolb’s so I can be compared to the VARK theory I have also looked at. I do believe I can pair these up as follows because they have very similar tendencies. Active and Visual learners like images to stimulate them. Reflectors and Audio would prefer to look back at a lecture and re-do their notes to suit them. Theorists and Read/Write learners prefer looking at information in texts. Pragmatists and kinaesthetic learners are both creative and get bored quickly. From what I have learnt form this essay and have found out about how I learn will help me study through the next three years without me struggling or getting bored. Learning style is the way human beings take in new and/or difficult information, how they process, store and retrieve it. (Prashnig, B: Debating Learning Styles) Having studied a small number of learning styles I will evaluate my own personal learning style and how I can use this through the next three years of my life at Bucks New University. I will look at the most popular theories in use today and their value in today’s world. The theory of individual learning styles began in the 1970’s and developed thoroughly in the 1980’s becoming more and more popular in recent years. The use of MRI scan data was added to already developing theories to understand how the brain processed information. (Revell, P, May 05) A learning review carried out in 2004 by the ‘Learning and Skills Research Centre’ revealed that there are 71 established learning style theories, a number of these are very similar in style. I am going to focus on 3 widely used theories methods, David Kolb’s learning style model, Honey & Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire and Fleming’s VARK. (Image) This diagram shows the ‘cycle of learning’ created by Kolb. David Kolb, began developing his Learning Style model in 1971, he then published his learning style model in 1984. The model is made of 4 learning styles; experience, reflection, reflecting and planning. In his cycle of learning Kolb describes that we will experience something, reflect on what happened, think how we can change or what we can use again and then act upon this and do it again changing any mistakes we made first time round, therefore repeating the cycle. For example when learning to ride a bike you may fall off due to hitting a tree (the experience,) look at what why we hit the tree, not looking up? (reflect,) think about how we can change why we fell off, look forward as we are riding (plan) and then finally try again to ride looking forward. This cycle may repeat itself many times before we get right what we was trying to learn. Honey & Mumford’s questionnaire (IMAGE) In 1992 Peter Honey and Alan Mumford created a questionnaire for learners to identify their learning style. The questionnaire originally consisted of 80 questions but this has been shortened and made available with only 40 question’s. Honey and Mumford’s model is based heavily on the Kolb model but focuses in on the in-between stages of the cycle. They agree with Kolb that all stages are crucial to learning, they suggest that some people tend to be happier with one stage of the cycle over others. (Cameron, S 1995) Honey and Mumford determined four learning styles that people may prefer to use than trying to use the whole cycle of Kolb’s model. The four stages are, activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists. Activists are very open minded, will try new things without much thought, are very sociable and probably prefer group work. However they are likely to get bored very quickly and find it hard to sit still for long periods of time. Activists will most likely be the planners within the marketing industry as they have lots of experiences and enjoy overcoming obstacles, they will most likely be watched closely by the manager due to their tendencies to jump in, act and think afterwards. Reflectors are much more passive and will think in much more depth before reaching any decision’s, they will tend to take more of a back seat role and observe others. A reflective member of staff would make be good in a manager role because they think with their heads, not their heart and would therefore make decisions that are more informative. Theorists enjoy approaching problems logically and having information to back up theories. Theorists are very good at analysing data and researching in depth. They can struggle to work with activists as they act first then think whereas theorists will think (a lot) before acting. Theorist would be best at doing marketing research and analysing the information as this something they excel at. Pragmatists like the freedom of creating something new, they don’t like being restricted to set ideas. They enjoy problem solving and are very practical but they do get bored very quickly. Pragmatists would be fantastic in a creative environment and therefore perfect for creating advertisements using their initiative. Flemings VARK VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinaesthetic. Fleming developed his theory based on previous VAK modes but added the read/write in 1987. ‘From what I read and observed, it seemed obvious that some students had a distinct preference for the written word whilst others preferred symbolic information’ (Fleming, N. 2006) Fleming’s questionnaire has 16 question, so that people take it more seriously and do not get bored while filling out the questionnaire. Visual learners prefer to look at images and the use of colour. When making notes a visual learner will use images, symbols and highlight key words with colour. When planning a piece of work visual learners may use mood boards and mind maps for them to get inspiration from before forming into words. Audio learners prefer to listen to lectures or having things explained to them, they enjoy group discussions and are very good at describing visual things in great detail. Audio learners can benefit from reading aloud their notes while recording themselves. When planning for a piece of work an audio learner may find it better to speak through their ideas with a friend. Read/write learners much prefer to write down notes and take information from text books, when breaking down statistical information they will describe any trends instead of drawing them. Read/write learners will excel at essay writing and when planning a piece of work they will write lists and notes. Kinaesthetic learners prefer to just try new things and touch things to help them learn. Field trips for the ideal for kinaesthetic learners as they can take in all the information around them, without getting bored. When completing a piece of work they will just use trial and error until they get it right. Without acknowledging your own style you may encourage your team to focus on issues from a certain perspective and miss the opportunities that result from different approaches. A team has a collective learning style all of its own. (Haygroup) My learning style After completing the 1982 version of the Honey and Mumford questionnaire I scored: Activist 6 Reflector16 Theorist15 Pragmatist 8 From these results I now understand that I prefer to step back and observe others, I require more time and information to make decisions. From previous experience I would say that I totally agree with this for example when making a decision about any expensive purchase I will always look at information about and research the best prices before making a decision. So I do regularly use the reflector and theorist styles. From completing the 13 question VARK questionnaire I have scored: Visual1 Audio0 Read/write4 Kinaesthetic 7 From these results I can see that I am kinaesthetic learner, this contradicts my findings from the Honey and Mumford questionnaire where I found id rather observe and take in information. Where as from this VARK questionnaire I have found that id rather use trial and error and learn using hands on methods. This contradictions surprise me as the styles are so different but I do understand that this is true to me, I do prefer to learn on my own and take in a lot of information before creating an essay but when it comes to learning how to use something new I prefer to just hold it and try it out. Conclusion From my research I have found that many of the learning styles are very similar but are constructed in their own way and helps the learner to establish their style in its individual way. Kolb’s learning theory would not be able to be broken up into sections but the Honey and Mumford theory is based on Kolb’s so I can be compared to the VARK theory I have also looked at. I do believe I can pair these up as follows because they have very similar tendencies. Active and Visual learners like images to stimulate them. Reflectors and Audio would prefer to look back at a lecture and re-do their notes to suit them. Theorists and Read/Write learners prefer looking at information in texts. Pragmatists and kinaesthetic learners are both creative and get bored quickly. From what I have learnt form this essay and have found out about how I learn will help me study through the next three years without me struggling or getting bored. Reference List 1)Cameron, S. (2005) The business students handbook. March 2005. Essex. Pearson educated limited 2)Prashnig,B. (n. d) Debating Learning Styles http://www. creativelearningcentre. com/downloads/Debating%20LS. pdf 3)Revell,P. (May 2005) Each to their own:The Guardian http://www. guardian. co. uk/education/2005/may/31/schools. uk3 4)Fleming, N. , and Baume, D. (2006) Learning Styles Again: VARKing up the right tree! , Educational Developments, SEDA Ltd, Issue 7. 4, Nov. 2006, p4-7. http://www. vark-learn. com/documents/Educational%20 Developments. pdf 5)Haygroup http://www. haygroup. com/tl/Downloads/Why_People_Learn. pdf 6)Chapman,A (2005) Kolb learning styles http://www. businessballs. com/kolblearningstyles. htm 7)Kolbs learning cycle diagram http://www. ldu. leeds. ac. uk/ldu/sddu_multimedia/kolb/static_version. php 8)http://www. vark-learn. com/english/page. asp? p=hel[sheets