Written Questionnaires for Investigating Students’ Career Aspirations

A questionnaire is a set list of questions. Positivists see questionnaires as useful because they produce statistical data which correlations and cause and effect relationships can be drawn. Positivists in particular see questionnaires because they produce statistical data from which correlations and cause and effects relationships can be drawn. Advantages of using questionnaires are very useful for getting large quantities of basic information on career aspirations. The pupils are geographically scattered group.It is easier to research a large sample size of pupils. This can easily be done by posting the questionnaires to them, as Connor and Dewson did in 2001 when they posted 4,000 questionnaires out. Positivists see this as useful because they want to be able to make generalisation by using a representative group. It can be particularly useful when researching sensitive issues. Their anonymity may overcome pupils' embarrassment such as questions about financial support etc. As a r esult, the response may be more likely to be higher to reveal details of their experience.However, it depends on whether the pupils and parents are reassured that their anonymity will be safeguarded. Questionnaires are much better to find data which can be compared and analysed, and are therefore particularly useful for testing hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships present in pupils’ career aspirations, such as correlation between family income and pupils aspirations. From this analysis, we can make statements about the possible causes of poor pupil aspirations and which children are most likely to have them. Positivists therefore favour this more compared to interpretivists.However there are also many limitations of using questionnaires for investigating pupils’ career aspirations. For example questionnaires are only snapshots of time. They give a picture of social reality at only one moment in time, and for something such as career aspirations which change constantly and are never really fixed always. Furthermore trends in career aspirations are always likely to be present; this means that information could possibly be biased or incorrect. This is why interpretivists tend not to use written questionnaires.Another limitation of using written  questionnaires for investigating pupils’ career aspirations is that they are a very inflexible method as argued by interpretivists. Once the researcher has found out the pupils career aspirations, no other areas of interests can be explored. This contrasts with more flexible methods of research such as unstructured interviews, which allows the research to go in different directions, as preferred by interpretivists. In conclusion, there are several strengths as well as limitations of using written questionnaires, however in the case of investigations pupils’ careers aspirations written questionnaires are useful and insightful.

The Difference Between Natural Law and Legal Positivism

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL LAW AND LEGAL POSITIVISM This essay is going to discuss and analyse the differences between two basic principles- natural law and legal positivism. According to Hume, there are two realms of human enquiry , one in the field of facts which is concerned with what ‘ is ‘ actually the case and the other in the field of ‘ought’ that is, what ought to be the case1.Those who believe in the principle of natural law are known as naturalists while those who believe in the principle of legal positivism or ‘positive law’ are known as positivists. This is a brief overview of the two principles of natural law and legal positivism. Natural Law Natural Law started with the ancient Greeks and suggested that there was a higher power in control of human existence. Natural law deals with the combination of law and morals and is sourced from religion, culture and reason. It is the means by which human beings can rationally guide themsel ves to their good and it is based on the structure of reality itself.All human beings possess a basic knowledge of the principles of natural law. Naturalists believe ‘ an unjust law is not a law’. Doherty said ‘One of the classical theories of natural law is that there are certain principles of human conduct, awaiting discovery by human reason, with which man-made laws must conform if it is to be valid’2 Natural law is what ‘ought’ to be. Some natural law thinkers were Hobbes, Locke, Finnis, Fuller and Aquinas. Aquinas set the pattern of modern natural law thinking. He divided law into four categories-eternal law, divine law, natural law and human law.The first precept of the natural law, according to Aquinas, is the imperative to do good and avoid evil. ‘Aquinas believed that human laws that do not correspond to the natural law are corruptions of law. These are human laws that lack the character of law that binds moral conscience’ 3 The term ‘natural law’is ambiguous in that it refers to a type of moral theory as well as a legal theory. 1 2 Dennis Lloyd The Idea Of Law(1964)p. 80 Michael Doherty Jurispudence:The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2004)p. 132 3 Ibid p. 151 UP:05/11/2012-03:15:35 WM:05/11/2012-03:15:38 M:IA120-3-FY A:12a1 R:1204531 C:78D1638A2748CDB50B5907EB2217613C84694D9BLegal Positivism Legal positivism has to do with the seperation of laws and morals. ‘Legal positivism is a philosophy of law that emphasizes the conventional nature of law-that it is socially constructed. According to legal positivism, ‘law is synonymous with positive norms, that is, norms made by the legislator or considered as common law or case law’4 Some positivists were Bentham, Austin, Hart and Kelsen and they all had different theories. Bentham- utility, Austin- commands, Hart- rules, Kelsen- norms. Legal positivism is of the view that morality is irrelevant to the identification of what is valid law.Bentham referred to natural law is ‘nonsense on stilts’. He said the test of good or evil in an act is its utility and that the ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’ is the social test of what is moral conduct. Austin’s particular theory of law is often called the ‘command theory’ The three basic points of Austin’s theory were- the law is a command issued by the uncommanded commander , the commands are backed by threats and a sovereign is one who is habitually obeyed. Kelsen was of the view that the only law is positive law, that which is the product of the will of the people, there are no natural laws therefore.Positivists believe that law is linked with the sovereignty. ‘According to Bentham and Austin, law is a phenomenon of large societies with a sovereign: a determinate person or group who have supreme and absolute de facto power –they are obeyed by all or most others but do not themselves simi larly obey anyone else’5 Positivists say ‘ought’ is important but should be seperate and one should avoid trying to derive an ought from an is. Natural lawyers believe that law is necessarily connected to morality, whereas legal positivists deny that. This is the major difference between positivist and natural law thinkers.Natural law is the combination of laws and morals while legal positivism is the seperation of laws and morals. Legal positivism declares that morality is irrelevant to the identification of what is valid law and that the criteria for the validity of a legal rule or law in a society is that it has the warrant of the sovereign and will be enforced by the sovereign and its agents. Raz, a positivist, stated that ‘the validity of a law can never depend on its morality’ 6 Positive law or positivism is 4 5 www. iep. utm. edu/legalpos/ [April 17 2001][accessed 4th November 2012] Plato. tandford. edu/entries/legal-positivism/ [2003][accesse d 4th November 2012] 6 Joseph Raz The Authority Of Law: Essays On Law And Morality(1979)p. 47 UP:05/11/2012-03:15:35 WM:05/11/2012-03:15:38 M:IA120-3-FY A:12a1 R:1204531 C:78D1638A2748CDB50B5907EB2217613C84694D9B different from natural law because ‘ it calls for a certain measure of regularity of observance for without this feature, it would hardly be entitled to rank as law at all. A natural law on the other hand may stll be held to be valid even if it is never or scarcely even observed. 7 Legal positivism will only work in a community where it is widely accepted. Hart suggested that the legal system is a ‘closed’ logical system where decisions may be deduced by logic. For natural lawyers- laws will be morally correct. For positivists- the moral aspect is a social standard for people to aspire to. Another major difference between the principle of natural law and the principle of legal positivism is that natural law is not constructed by human beings while legal p ositivism is constructed by humanbeings through the statedraws from lawmakers and the process of lawmaking. There are two aspects, therefore, that emphasise the contrast between positivism in its caricatured form and natural law theores. First,law is exclusively the premise of the legal caste(incluing legilsators) This deprives law of any spurious claims of intrinsic morality and ensures the individual’s right to his own conscience, while reserving the legal system’s right to punish him for transgressing. Secondly, it allows for precise statements about the nature of valid law which approximate to the lawyers’ experience. 8 Natural law is unwritten while legal positivism consists of the written rules and regulations by the government- codes, acts. Another distinction is that natural law is ‘the order of conviviality(literally, the order of living together)’9 – the conditions of conviviality are universal. Legal positivism on the other hand is specific to a particular area. ‘While positivism states that the concept of law is simply what the legal system in a given society recognizes as law, naturalisation considers law to be an ideal, commonly shared by human societies’10Natural law follows a test.If it fails the moral test, then it is not good law. Positivism doesn’t follow that test. Some laws may lack in morals but still be ‘good’ law. Despite the distinctions between natural law and legal positivism, there is a necessary connection between the two principles. Natural law flows into legal 7 8 Dennis Lloyd The Idea of Law(1964)p. 97 Michael Doherty Jurispudence: The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2003)p. 155 9 http://users. ugent. e/frvandun/Texts [no date][accessed 4th November 2012] 10 Michael Doherty Jurispudence: The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2003)p. 155 UP:05/11/2012-03:15:35 WM:05/11/2012-03:15:38 M:IA120-3-FY A:12a1 R:1204531 C:78D1638A2748CDB50B5907EB2217613C84694D9B po sitivism indirectly because it is impossible to have a legal system without fidelity to the rule of law and formal justice. ‘The connection between law and critical morality is necessary in that it is not contingent. It applies to every law and every legal system.The proposed interpretation of every law in every legal system can easily be challenged on the ground that it is not morally defensible, whether the challenge succeeds or fails in a particular instance’11Any positive law that conflicts with natural law is not really law at all. As a result of this, there is no moral or legal obligation to obey it. People will not follow a law that they think is morally repulsive. A rule is legally valid if there’s a moral right to enforce it. If people do not have morals or reason, it will be factually hard to have a legal system.Radbruch said ‘a law could not be legally valid until it had passed the tests contained in the formal criteria of legal validity of the s ystem and did not contravene basic principles of morality’12 Natural law and legal positivism are undoubtedly interwined and inter-related. ‘The values of fairness, equity, justice, honesty, humanity, dignity, prudence, abstention from violence and a host of other values that conduce to cooperation and coexistence play a prominent role in the law even when they are not incorporated in any formal source of law. 13 In conclusion,’in order to know what your legal rights are, you need to look at what laws your society has. In order to know what your moral rights are, you need to figure out what is the true morality. ’ 14 Adaeze Aseme. 11 12 Users. ox. ac. uk/~all. s0079/positivism2. pdf [no date][accessed 4th November 2012] Michael Doherty Jurispudence: The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2003)p. 157 13 Ibid. P. 39 14 Michael Doherty Jurispudence: The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2004)p. 39 UP:05/11/2012-03:15:35 WM:05/11/2012-03:15:38 M:IA120-3-FY A:12a1 R:1204531 C:78D1638A2748CDB50B5907EB2217613C84694D9BBIBLIOGRAPHY Books Lloyd, Dennis, The Idea Of Law(1967) Raz, Joseph, The Authority Of Law: Essays on Law And Morality(1979) Doherty, Michael, Jurispudence: The Philosophy Of Law(Third Edition)(2003,2004) Internet Sources www. iep. utm. edu/legalpos/ [April 17 2001][accessed 4th November 2012] Plato. standford. edu/entries/legal-positivism/ [2003][accessed 4th November 2012] http://users. ugent. be/frvandun/Texts [no date][accessed 4th November 2012] Users. ox. ac. uk/~all. s0079/positivism2. pdf [no date][accessed 4th November 2012]

Has globalization transformed the pattern of global poverty and Essay

Has globalization transformed the pattern of global poverty and inequality In what ways - Essay Example Based on the assumption that comparative advantage of nations can offer countries an advantage over others, open markets and liberal trade can result into improved trade as well as capital flows and thus help improve the poverty and achieve economic prosperity. It is generally argued that Globalisation can reduce poverty if nations follow the open liberal policies and focus upon achieving sustained level of trade with developed countries. However, considering the inherent differences between developed as well as developing countries, it is also suggested that whether the distribution of flows generated as a result of Globalisation is fair or not. Inequality is also considered as another important issue regarding Globalisation (Moseley and Gray, 2008). This paper will argue and discuss as to whether Globalisation has actually resulted into transformation of poverty patterns and inequality and if yes, in what ways it achieved both the ends. Globalisation, Poverty and Inequality Globali sation is a relatively diverse term as it not only suggests an integration of ideas, products and economic flows but also signifies an integration of the culture also. ... Globalisation essentially suggests that poor as well as rich countries can actually trade with each other as poor or developing countries are considered as abundant in raw materials as well as cheap labor. Large global organizations, due to their sheer size as well as the improved communication and transportation infrastructure, can actually establish their manufacturing facilities in developing countries and subsequently transport back the finished goods to their own parent countries for subsequent sale. The overall economic logic is based upon the assumption that developing countries not only have the cheap and abundant raw materials but also have the cheap labor. Combining this two, it is assumed that it becomes relatively more cost effective for the global organizations to actually trade with poor countries (Goldin and Reinert, 2007). Poor countries on the other hand allow developed countries to enter into their countries with the assumption that such trade will generate employme nt, improve the level of skills of their workforce and will also result into transfer of technology to them. Apparently, Globalisation promises an equal access to the market for everyone, improve capital flows and ensure development and transfer of technology however, the actual results may suggest a widespread economic divergence between the developed as well as developing countries since the Globalisation forces started to dominate the economic policy making in countries (Kaplinsky, 2005). The overall evidence regarding the impact of Globalisation on poverty as well as inequality is relatively diverse in nature. There are two important cases in point which suggest that

Write a researched business report about the credit suisse internship Essay

Write a researched business report about the credit suisse internship and analyse a candidates suitability for an internship role in that given company - Essay Example One is able to gain work experience and a set of skills that can quickly and easily be transferred to their peers. This would be particularly helpful when searching for employment after completion of studies. The individual also networks with the experienced professionals and has a chance to work with them later on in his career. The internship opportunities also show them their strengths and weaknesses. Once able to identify them he can then decide to focus on where his talents best lie. This, in turn, helps them to gain confidence in their abilities. Before anyone can land the important role of an intern, several factors must be considered. The following research was conducted to show the suitability of an individual for an internship role in a company such as Credit Suisse. The research itself was conducted majorly online. Journals, articles and even the company’s website were heavily used as data extracts. A report by Albert Laurence entitled ‘The Belbin Report’ was also used as it gives in depth analysis to the factors as well. These were in reliance due to the complicated nature of the report and the inability to contact the company in question; Credit Suisse. The aforementioned company has branches all over the world. Gaining an internship position with such a prestigious firm would catapult one to a different platform. He would be streets ahead of his peers in terms of experience and skills gained. Income is also a major possibility given the firm’s strong financial position. His confidence in his abilities would also receive a major boost. The firm’s internship programs are four; analyst, diversity, quantitative and associate programs. In the analyst program, an individual gets offered a chance to work within the financial services industry. Since the Credit Suisse is a global enterprise, one may be assured of interacting within people of diverse and backgrounds. The diversity program makes this happen. Through the quantitative

Effect of Organizations Culture and Diversity Essay - 1

Effect of Organizations Culture and Diversity - Essay Example Morgan said that this perspective gives importance to the â€Å"human nature of organizations and building the organization around people rather than techniques† (Buchanan, 1997, p. 517). Baron and Greenberg (1989) said that initial culture of an organization comes from the founders who inculcate their values and vision to the staff first employed and transmitted to succeeding employees. Schein (1983) also elaborated on the strong formative influence of the founder and early senior managers in creating its culture (Buchanan, 1997). Robbins supported the view that the company’s current top managers are the ‘culture carriers’ and set the standards for acceptable behavior (Buchanan, 1997). Organizational norms are the expected modes of behavior for individuals and groups, based on an organization’s values and beliefs (Buchanan, 1997). Norms, in turn, reinforce shared values and beliefs (Buchanan, 1997). However, the perpetuation of a culture to serve th e purposes of the dominant culture is insensitivity to the diversity issue. Flowers and Richardson (1996) observed that â€Å"existing rules and standards were labeled as manifestly biased by Eurocentrism and white male favoritism† (Stark, 2003, para. 1). This is further bolstered by Harrison (Ben Harrison Associates Inc.) in his observation that the â€Å"white male club control the resources, and probably the most misinformed group† (Challenge, n.d., p. 2). A corporate culture overshadowed by discrimination and inequality would affect communication, teamwork, and decision-making in an organization. Baron and Greenberg (1989) defined communication as the process of transmitting information by one person, group, or organization to another through recognized channels. Reitz (1981, p. 311) argued that communication can be discouraged â€Å"by manipulating the physical and psychological distance.†Ã‚  

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness Essay

The seriousness of Military Veteran Homelessness - Essay Example â€Å"Roughly  56 percent  of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively† (National Coalition for Homeless Veternas, 2011). The biggest problem of the military veterans in America is homelessness. About 50% of the veterans that had served in the military in the Vietnam era are homeless today. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), most of the homeless veterans of the nation are men while the percentage of women is about 5. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records a minimum of 131000 homeless veterans every night while the number of military veterans that are found to experience homelessness every year is 262000 (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). They generally come from urban regions and account for one third of the total population of homeless people in America. The homelessness and lack of employment is just as much a problem for the young veterans who have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq as it is for the old veterans that have served in the previous wars. They have their lunches and dinners in the soup kitchens and are desperate for finding jobs even if they have too do menial works (USA Today, 2007). Last, but not the least, the homelessness has led the military veterans to depression. A vast majority of these veterans are single and suffer from physical and psychological illnesses. Many are patients of depression and are addicted to substance abuse. One veteran said, I shed blood for this country and got the Purple Heart after a mortar blast sent shrapnel into my face and leg. But when I came back home from Vietnam I was having problems. I tried to hurt my wife because she was Filipino. Every time I looked at her I thought I was in Vietnam again. So we broke up. (Glantz, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, there is no proper system in place to cater for

Strategic Alliance between two companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Strategic Alliance between two companies - Essay Example Consequently, the company sets up a strategic alliance with the latter that already has an established distribution network in the desired country of trade. This is a beneficial arrangement for both as the former company is able to expand its distribution network and the latter can improvise its existing product lines (Papageorgiou, Rotstein and Shah, 2001). The benefits that a company derives from a strategic alliance are the ability to hedge against uncertain and unprofitable situations, tap the potential of a new market, increase the knowledge base and obtain access to exclusive and critical information, which in turn strengthens its competitive position in the international market. A company is able to minimise on the transaction and distribution costs by way of engaging in strategic alliance. A strategic alliance also enables a company to be prompt and effective in pursuing an opportunity and to obtain resources that are absent. A company stabilises its resource base by leveragi ng the knowledge and resource base of the other. As a result, the company is able to gain easier access in the new markets and face lesser barriers to entry during an expansion plan. Strategic alliances, however, has to be formed in a very careful manner as these often fall through owing to mistrust between the two partners, especially when a large amount of competitive or exclusive information is involved. The benefits that a company derives from a strategic alliance are the ability to hedge against uncertain and unprofitable situations.