Adoption of E-books Essay

The evolution of technology has already paved a way for various developments in terms of how people acquire information. Since computers and the internet have been very indispensable in fulfilling the needs of people for knowledge, modification aspects of lifestyle are becoming more and more common. Today, almost all commodities, processes and activities can be integrated into an electronic counterpart. One very good example is the introduction of e-books or electronic books. The adoption of e-books to make it commercially available just like selling bound paper materials has been very successful in terms of accessibility for the public. However, as what comes with every development, some concerns and issues abound. As a whole, the sudden transformation of publications into an electronic media can somehow overshadow the main benefits in the fabrication of such commodities. The publishing entities and elements are the core division which can easily fall into the problems of e-book industry. Apparently, there are specific issues which readily abound even before starting a specific process of launching a publication. The obstacles to e-Book publishing can be broken down into resistance to change, font issues, lack of a standard format, digital rights management, reproduction of graphics, and reader hardware. †(Stork, 1997). For the consumers, it can be very obvious that accessibility will be the primary advantage in acquiring publications. Since almost all households right now have computers and internet connection, it would be much easier to receive a copy of publications without going to a secondary retailer just to buy one. However, some implications may still be experienced. For one, users may not fully be able to utilize how electronic books work. There will always be market segments which are not really familiar with computer features which can make it impossible for them to use. Next, some end users may not be accustomed to reading publications on computer terminals or handheld screens, causing possible physical strains since it would be very possible that their previous reading experiences are accustomed to reading printed paper materials. Moreover, it can be more time consuming for an individual to set up the equipment first and opening the e-book file rather than flipping the pages of a conventional book. In terms of platform and distribution, the technical aspects of this parameter are to be blamed regarding e-book adoption. Since the format is electronic, there can always be a threat of unintentional or even intentional legality problems in terms of copyright. The internet is full of elements which have the capability to easily retrieve information with very little force. Moreover, these elements, which of course are individuals with unacceptable intentions, have all the advantages in committing electronic crimes. Hacking and plagiarism are just some of the things they can do to electronic versions of publications. Aside from the issues in platform security, the process of distribution of e-books poses another significant problem. Since there will be no physical item which are at stake, consumers may not be able to take hold of what they have purchased unless they have printed a copy. Computers and electronic media are intangible. One small system error could wipe out an entire electronic file. On the other hand, online company publishers may not be able to acquire the optimum profit share in selling e-books since computer users are able to do peer to peer sharing of files, putting their market performance at a disadvantage.

Brock article 1 Essay

(10) In understanding the idea presented by Brock as far as the idea of professional norms are voluntarily adopted, it is essential to point out the two elements that go together with it. The first one involves the creation of norms and values of a specific profession that is often imposed unto its members (Brock,). In this idea, the organization should also coordinate and collaborate with related agencies and institutions that specialize in such area. The second idea refers to the ability of each professional to directly adhere to the norms his/her organization provides (Brock,). It is through such entry that the individual takes on these facets accordingly. (11) The term conventional compromise provided by Brock in the article revolves around the question and issue of moral implications in the practice and facilitation of medicine. Under this facet, the term revolves around a â€Å"physician/pharmacist who has a serious moral objection providing a service/product to a patient/customer is not required to do so† (Brock, 2008, p. 194). At the same time, it is in here that there are several conditions that must also be looked into before saying that a particular case or issue has undergone a conventional compromise. These facets include (1) proper information so as to the facilitation of service/product, (2) proper referrals to other professionals who can provide, and (3) the second facet will not cause burden or difficulty for the patient (Brock, 2008). Under the first facet, there needs to be proper support and ground for the facilitation of a service or mechanism so as to fit the described example. It is in here that active communication about the practice must be given to any patient before declining its prescription or rendering of service (Brock, 2008). On the second facet, it requires the ability of any medical professional to have access to networks that have relatively opinions as theirs as far as the issue is concerned. This will then satisfy the condition that patients can seek for alternatives of providers of such device/service (Brock, 2008). Lastly, there must be careful consideration as far as its suitability and preference of patients are concerned. Since these ideas are prone to subjectivity, medical professionals must then establish these areas to connote the term conventional compromise (Brock, 2008) (12) In responding to the case of the pharmacist, Brock would probably argue against the notion set by the pharmacist. This is because this profession is part of an organization wherein the norms and objectives are stipulated accordingly (Brock, 2008). The action committed by the person is only a matter of moral conscience and does not solely revolve around the basic standpoint of the profession. Likewise, foregoing the facilitation of contraceptives as an option disregards the fact that the organization he/she is part of considers this as an option for practice (Brock, 2008). These are some tenets that is included when she agreed to be part of the institution and agency and collaborated with standards provided by concerned agencies (Brock, 2008). Seeing this disposition, Brock would then argue to the pharmacist that he/she practice a conventional compromise wherein she will actively provide and designate a professional who may think and view the issue differently from his/her perspective. This a way to protect both the opinion and value set of the pharmacist and ability of the patient to recognize the possible options available for him/her (Brock, 2008). By doing this, it can prevent conflict and questions surrounding the ability of such medical professional to provide numerous options for patients despite the differences in opinions and values. Reference Brock, D. W. (2008) Conscientious refusal by physicians and pharmacists: who is obligated and why? in Springer Science. Retrieved June 25, 2009. 187-200.

Gang Violence

Teen Gang Violence If I could change the world, I would definitely leave out the gang violence. I wonder why teens join gangs. I’ve seen some of my friends join gangs and I wonder why they joined. Did they think they were going to be famous? Did they think everyone was going to know them now and want to invite them to special events? Or did they want to sell drugs on their block and become hood rich? I grew up in the city of Blytheville, Arkansas, where a lot of kids find trouble. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives.When youth join gangs, they forget about their family, real friends, and even school. In Blytheville, gangs cause teenagers to act violently. When you are in a gang, you also have rival gangs that you constantly have to fight, just because you don’t want another gang in your territory. Some teens think that being in a gang will give them protection. I believe being in a gang increases your chances of being killed or hurt badly. Besides the violence that is involved in being in a gang, teens also get involved in illegal activities such as the use and selling of drugs.Gangs make you carry out illegal activities to make money. One of these activities is selling marijuana mainly. In my city, some members are big time dealers, while others just work the corners. It’s a part in my town that does a lot of killing and selling drugs. That is not good role modeling for the young people. In what shouldn't surprise anyone who has thought even the least bit about these sorts of issues, a lack of positive role models in their lives is  leading to gang membership. (ParentDish) Some children probably grew up where they saw people selling drugs and killing.They said, â€Å"When I get older I want to be just like that†. When you’re young you don’t really know the consequences of being in a gang. I never understood the meaning of ga ngs. You have to have tons of people who might have your back, but the key word was â€Å"might†. I know many people that don’t need to be in a gang. They’re in it just to fit in. That is just horrible in my book. I remember we had to read a book about gangs in high school. This book was called Gangs, Groups, Cults. It’s about a kid name Donte. He was a bright teenager who finished school and didn’t do anything after high school. So he oined a gang because he said, â€Å"Cool, but what do I do once I get out of school? You know? I did my daily deed to keep from getting thrown out of the house, but no I’m walking around the neighborhood and I don’t have anything to do† (Bradley 75). Since Donte had nothing better to do, he figured that it would be okay to join a gang. Boredom causes teenagers to join gangs, as well as wrecking havoc in the streets. Boredom can cause teens to join gangs, and so does bad parents. A lot of times wh en a kid’s family is messed up, they end up spending more time on the streets, and the gang becomes like their second family.Maybe they only have a mom and she has drug problems, or is never around or very strict on him/her. Maybe they have a dad that is never around, or is on drugs. Some kids suffer through home life with parents who are always drunk on alcohol and they don’t really know their parents. So they meet older gang members that give them money and make them feel like a little brother or even a son. According to The National Gang Center and The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, boys are more involved in gangs than girls; however you might be surprised to find out that the number of female gang members is rapidly increasing. Psychology Today) Many parents of teenage girls do not consider gang activity to be something they should worry about very much. Unfortunately, I’ve witness teenage girls getting more and more involved in gangs . Not only in Blytheville, this is occurring in the larger cities, and other smaller cities and towns as well. Gangs rely on their girl for many dangerous activities that can result in teen girls going to prison or worse. Maybe they believe she want get as much time for a crime as a male would. Teens that are in gangs are much more likely to suffer from gun violence, whether it's injury or death.As a gang member, you can look forward to at least one shooting. In some cities, many teens that were killed by guns are gang members. Most likely, they were shooting at other gang members, who will not hesitate to shoot back. According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, youth gangs have about 772,000 members nationwide, with half of them being teens under 18. (eHow) Teenagers love this life because they feel powerful, rich, and respected at a young age. They think they’re going to become rich and gang famous. The older guys that are or were in a gang are known as â€Å"OG’s†, know the opposite.I’m pretty sure they’re regretting everything like the choices they made getting into the gang in the first place back in the day. A lot of OG’s have spent their whole lives in and out of jail, and are out on the street asking for money, all because the gang life took away a lot of opportunities they could have had when they were younger. The world doesn’t need this kind of activity going on. We have bigger problems to deal with, other than killing and harming each other. Parents need to tell their children how much they love them each and every day.

Resort Management - Economic Impact on Resorts Assignment

Resort Management - Economic Impact on Resorts - Assignment Example A slow economy in the region implies that business trips increase tremendously, thus positively affecting profits. Cost containment has been another hiccup facing the Grand Floridian and thus reducing the productivity (Miller 55). The resort management has come up with ways to lower the cost without negatively affecting the quality standards. As a result of cost containment, the management has cut down cost of products and services leading to low revenues. According to a research study by Choi, taxes, and deductions play a vital role in the hospitality industry. Higher taxes and lower tax deductions in Florida have negatively affected the Grand Floridian’s revenues. For instance, high energy taxes will lead to fewer trips while high corporate taxes result in less net profit after tax. On the other hand, increased guest sophistication has also posed a significant challenge to the Grand Floridian Resort. As a result of increased consumer preferences, the resort has been forced to undertake renovation of recreational facilities, business hubs, and guests’ rooms in order to match customers’ expectations. Lack of adequate number of employees working in the resort has led to reduced productivity. Labor shortage is triggered by the increased services offered at the Grand Floridian resort (Choi 68). Therefore, the resort management needs to handle the aforementioned hiccups in order to improve on the number of guests, and increase efficiency. There are also favorable economic factors that have facilitated the growth and expansion of the Grand Floridian resort. For instance, the organization has received benefits from the federal government through subsidies and reduced taxes resulting in higher profits and revenues. Therefore, the government has enhanced the organization’s operations by offering tax breaks, and incentives to the entire hospitality and tourism industry. On the other hand, rising competition in the industry has led to increased creativity

The is a section of whole essay,read the requirement i send you Essay

The is a section of whole ,read the requirement i send you carefully, - Essay Example For instance, if a person relates stress to hate, response will be negative and the vice versa is true. One research carried out in New Jersey showed that the way individuals perceive the concept of time can either reduce or increase stress. Job experience Job and career experience is a factor in determination of ability to handle stress. Some managers, directors and one’s seniors handle job-related situations with their juniors differently. Badly handled cases will promote resentment and accelerate negative response to those stresses. The employees who may feel dissatisfied with the outcome of such a scenario are likely to be overwhelmed. Individual persons have threshold standards for workload, of which when it is more than what they are used to, then they see that as workload. The extra work as perceived by such a person brings discomfort, leading to psychological strain, and thus stress. (Aldwin, 2007).       Social support Stress effects in most cases trickle down to other individuals. It affects friends, family members, work mates. Social support is an integral factor in stress management. Excellent social support especially from the loved ones enables an individual to thrive. Poor support translates to the person being overwhelmed. This support may be tangible or psychological thus facilitating quick positive response to the stressor. Personality Different personalities are prone to potential stressors. The cumulative mannerisms of an individual are important in mitigating stressors. Nevertheless, building strong personality qualities are likely to buffer stress. Affording a smile is seen as a remedy to minimizing stressors (Semmer, 2003). A person who has experienced stress is likely to overcome similar potential stressors or even avoid them. This is dependent more to the anatomical and physiological responses by the body system.   Cultural differences and consequences of stress Culture being the cumulative day to day events, beliefs and in teractions, does play a key role in stress experience, reaction and management.   Different cultures reduce or increase the likelihood of stress. In some cultures, a lot of value is attached to cohesion among the society members. In case of an event like death, such members will experience grief, feeling of great loss and a gap left by the diseased. Death is the stressor in such a society. Cultures are seen to differ from one country to another. Geographical location and community interactions here tend to vary greatly. At work levels, the same is experienced; where the employee demands to keep up with the ever changing and quickening speed of transformation and to push productivity levels as well as accuracy tend to be a source of stress. U.S employees In the USA, majority of employees are stressed by lack of control. For instance, this could be as a result of anxiety when ones fears possible job loss. Sometimes it may be connected to office politics, differences in opinion among employees, in ability to balance between family and work, general disagreements among others. In addition, full time jobs, volunteer responsibilities, after-school learner activities, and the simple management of the day to day activities make some U.S-based individuals stressed up. It’s highly recommended that one visits a counselor or a medical doctor. This helps in stress management. Berry, 2006 suggested that people in the U.S are likely to manage and reduce stress more

2 tpoic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

2 tpoic - Assignment Example Philippines can be considered as the most westernized country in Asia. It has been colonialized by Spain for 330 years and by United States for few years. So it can be said that the country is very religious and westernize in orientation. The semi-feudal economic and political set up in the Philippines could be ascribed to the Spaniards feudal influences and its inability to become truly independent and to progress during the previous decades was due to its dependency to United States and its extensions, the IMF and WB. For decades, the country has been ruled by its oligarchs where its economic gains are only shared by few. Its political landscape was also marked by political upheavals experiencing three revolutions to depose a president. The country however has one of the highest literacy in the world and also have one of the highest number of English speaking people in the world. Its workers are known to be skilled and many left the country for greener pastures. Some reforms were instituted in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Crisis which strengthened its economic fundamentals. The growing number of its educated citizens are beginning to demand better governance thus prompting the government to implement economic reforms albeit in a gradual phase. The biggest challenge for the country however was how to stamp out corruption as it had beset the country for decades. Recently, a campaign to clean the government seem to be fruitful as the country are showing gains in economics despite the recent financial recession. In fact, CNN dubbed the country as the most resilient while Bloomberg named Philippines as the fastest growing economy in the world. 1. The three best source that I found that during my exploratory research are from World Bank report, Bloomberg and CNN. These sources are considered best during my exploratory research because they are credible and reliable that relies their report on hard facts and figures than opinion. These

Assignment 5 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Assignment 5 - Case Study Example More certainly, the noise was intense between the walls separating these two companies despite the absent of activities in my client premises. Notably, your machines were still running at the time of my evaluation. This noise is highly disrupting the activities in my client’s offices thereby affecting productivity of her employees. Therefore, it is my humbly requesting for you to allow me to conduct these measurements, so that proper recommendation may be arrived at towards curbing this problem. I intend to conduct this survey at different times of the day particularly early in the morning before your machines start running and late in the evening (4: 00 and 4:30) when only your office is at work. Kindly allow me to conduct this activity in your organization at the stipulated hours. In the contemporary society, all workers or employees spend most of their daily time at workplaces or offices where the comfortable and health indoor environment must be acquired naturally (Olpin and Hesson 27). Additionally, for the management to heighten the efficiency and productivity of the company’s investment, it must provide conducive indoor or office environment to increase the intellectual productivity of its employees. Notably, the improvement of the economic effects of the quality of the indoor environment on the productivity of the employees is relatively greater compared to the buildings’ life cycle (Mital and Kumar 88). Therefore, it is vital for any management to improve the quality of the workplace environment to increase the productivity of their employees. There should be  noted that there are underlying differences between sound and noise. Sound is any sensory perception while noise compounds unwanted sound. Noise is never friendly to human production since is an enormous distractor (Mital and Kumar 120). Moreover, it often affects mood and emotions as well as thinking, actions, and

Functional Area Interrelationships Research Paper

Functional Area Interrelationships - Research Paper Example Tired of frequently travelling, she thought to open her own food store. She realized that there was plenty of opportunity for epicurean food shop, thus Kudler Fine Foods was born. Kudler Fine Foods is a local specialty food store and at the moment they are operating three stores, and are located in San Diego metropolitan area. They deal in; From their vision and mission statements it is evident that, they are purely customer oriented. Their business revolves around making the customers satisfied and not just raking in the profits. When the customers are happy, cash flows in on its own. Their mission states that they search the whole world to find the best foods and then they bring it to their stores for the convenience of the customers. One might think that they should be really expensive if they travel the world and hand pick food items, but the reality is quite the opposite. In fact, their stores are known for suiting all sorts of budget lines. When people find anything a little expensive, they can easily make an economical bundle of the products they’re supposed to buy so that they don’t feel deprived. Kudler Fine Food’s organizational structure comprises of groups of management personnel to achieve one common goal and that is the fulfillment of customers, which is the cause. And the effect is healthy profits in both long and short terms. Just like any conventional organization, Kudler Foods operates under a normal chain of command. A typical organizational hierarchy exists in this company. But this doesn’t mean that they don’t have any improvisation. The chain of command runs from top to bottom. Senior managers delegates work to junior managers and if appropriate, the junior managers can further delegates work to sub-managers. Kathy Kudler sits at the top and holds the presidential chair. From that top spot, she commands the whole structure of the company. The core organizational structure is

Technical Efficiency of China's Banking Industry Literature review

Technical Efficiency of China's Banking Industry - Literature review Example Nonetheless, most economies have been able to exhibit resilience and remained stronger. Economic turbulences and dynamisms have affected different industries within various global economies. China’s banking industry has not been spared from such turbulences and dynamisms hence the need to analyze its technical efficiency. The following chapter provides a chronological description and critique of relevant theories in respect to technical efficiency within China’s banking industry. The chronological description and critical review entails empirical papers linked to the concept of the study. Different theories of efficiency with respect to technical efficiency are discussed within this chapter. 2.2 Overview of China’s Banking Industry China has being operating economic and financial system on the basis of social principles until 1978. Amazingly, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) had for a long time been in-charge of issuing currencies as well as being the fina ncial hub of all the economic plans of China. After 1978, China realized the need for serious economic and financial reforms. The objective of such reforms was to increase economic and technical efficiency of financial and economic sectors within the country (Jiang, 2001). Jiang (2001) adds that China aimed at enhancing resource allocation through such reforms. Albeit gradual, serious reforms were carried out in major sectors of the economy, banking being the main recipient (Adams, Berger, & Sickles, 1999). China decided effect the reforms in two main stages; from 1979 to 1992 and from 1993 to the present time. The first stage was characterized by development of two tier banking systems; People’s Bank of China (Central Bank) and four state-owned banks that included Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and Commercial Bank of China (CBC). Despite high degrees of functional segmentations, these banks were permitted to accept depos its and offer credit facilities to households and corporate organizations by 1985 (China Daily, 2006). The first stage formed the basis of further reforms, which was characterized with development of small and medium sized commercial banks. The main reason for allowing entrance of commercial banks within Chinese banking system was to enhance competition, which was aimed at providing high quality and differentiated services and products (Jiang, 2001). Examples of small and medium commercial banks created during this period included CITI Industrial Bank, Guangdong Development Banks (GDB), China Merchants Bank (CMB), Hua Xia Bank (HXB), and China Everbright Bank (CEB) (China Daily, 2006). Notably, most of these commercial banks were joint-stock owned unlike the previously mentioned state-owned. The second stage, which was flagged off by State Council in 1993 saw various decisions made within the financial system reforms (Leigh and Podpiera, 2006). In this stage, the main aim was to enh ance c

Illegal Leisure and its Implications Essay Example for Free

Illegal Leisure and its Implications Essay Leisure plays a very important role in the life of an individual. However, when an individual gets involved in leisure activities that are illegal, whatever the reason, it becomes counterproductive. Illegal leisure is rightly so for reasons that could take dimensions of the nature of health, social or religious inclinations. Nevertheless, the utter disregard of the illegality of the entire illegalized leisure activities would have far reaching negative ramification than is perceived. There are vast forms of illegal leisure activities. However, the legality and the illegality of the leisure are adequately defined under the rules of the concerned agency (Bull, C. , Hoose, J. and Weed, M. 2003, p 39). There are some illegal practices that are more ethically prescribed as illegal than are documented in any legal documents. Despite lack of documentation, some leisure activities are utterly illegalized by the conscience of the person undertaking them. Though there are countries and states that have legalized prostitution such as Netherlands, the practice predisposes the individual various risks. To begin with, the word prostitution in itself presents societal misfit. Individuals who are perceived or who are involved in the practice tend to be delineated from the society (Harris, D. 2005 p 69). They are treated with utter disrespect, disregard and the least integrity by society. Though the prostitutes take it as their daily chore, those who come in for the services ideally take it as leisure. In addition the prostitutes, be they male or female get predisposed to infection of sexually transmitted diseases; particularly when preventive measures are not taken. Besides, particularly where those involve have one of them who is married, risks the marriage of those involved in a number of perspectives. First, if the partner does realize, he/she may opt for a divorce, subsequently this may jeopardize the family unit. Besides, the services offered by prostitutes are utterly delinked from the public limelight. This makes these services relatively expensive (Bull, C et al 2003 p 112). This affects the family income in instances where those involved include a married individual. Further, the entire cycle becomes even more vicious, hence making the family suffer at the expense of the prostitutes. If the whole practice is viewed from a religious perspective, whether it is Islamic, Christian or Buddhists, the practice is utterly unreligious. Homosexuality is also taken as an illegal practice. According to the research HIV/Aids was first diagnosed amongst homosexuals (Harris, D. 2005 p 101). Like in cases of prostitution, there are numerous sexually transmitted diseases that are infected through homosexual practices. Furthermore the entire practice is quite unhygienic. While this is taken more often as a pleasurable activity, it needs to be appreciated that there is the least pleasure in the entire act. The aforementioned not withstanding, the practice finds the least grounding in religious cycles. There are certain people in society that revere smoking of bhang and marijuana. Ideally, they see this as a leisure act. World over, this practice has been pronounced illegal, yet people want to hide and engage in the practice. Medically, this practice causes diverse effects. First, the individuals who smoke for longer periods have higher tendencies for bronchitis. Bhang smokers have their lungs blackened, this affects the respiratory system. For male user of bhang, research has shown a high redundancy in their likelihood of having children. Apparently, the testosterone hormones are depressed in the blood of the user’s of bhang. This ordinarily inhibits the reproductive function of the addict. Ideally there is a decrease in the sperm motility of the bhang user besides the sperm count being lower. Cell functions are equally impeded through the use of cannabis sativa. It is medically proven that the long users of cannabis sativa tend to have numerous broken chromosomes hence leading to malformed offspring. In addition, there are serious implication on the part of the users as the there is inherent suppression of the immune response of the individual. This is as a result of the interference with genes that normally regulate the defense cells. Further, individuals who use marijuana suffer from hallucinations and illusions. Mostly, they have difficulties in recalling events; they are slow in thinking and have a narrow attention span. At chronic stages, the individually usually suffer from mental and physical lethargy. At the very extreme, there are changes in the brain of the user, research does indicate that young heavy user have their brain size reduced. Though the illegal activities seem very pleasurable, this very first perception of their pleasurability makes their probable control even more challenging. Evidently, the practice has far reaching ramifications on the individuals that are into the entire practice. But then how well can the practice be expunged from society, particularly when it purely done in secret (Harris, D. 2005 p 64). This challenge pecks numerous issues at hand. There are several cases where prostitution is done in private premises, implying there is the least room for accessing the premises in seeking redress. It is virtually impossible to identify a homosexual amongst a group of individuals. This presents a technical part for curbing the practice (Bull, C et al 2003 p 161). Besides, a further interrogation into the likely suspects simply implies infringement into the rights of the individual. Ideally, I feel the illegal leisure activities should be made legal, thereafter; the activities should have numerous suctions in the form of taxes to scare off possible users. While, there could be those who have all the requisite resources for the practice, ultimately the number of those engaging in the activities will be substantially reduced.

Herbert Marcuse: One Dimensional Man

Herbert Marcuse: One Dimensional Man This thinking paper will examine Brookfields interpretations of the above article, and endeavour to explain from the empirical writings of Herbert Marcuse, his thoughts on emancipating Ideological beliefs and encouraging Liberation. Marcuse beliefs highlighted further what he saw was a One Dimensional Society with only a One Dimensional Thought. Their way or the high way! This predisposes challenges in these social movements to combat oppression and thus encourage Liberation, in a genuine socialist society. Although Marcuses writings signify he was a fan of elements to Marxs Ideology, he also found Marx, in his day, was not a true libertarian who did not consider or connect himself with the individual. As a result, if Marxs theory was to continue to remain credible, Marcuse decided to act as a catalyst for the reassessing and re-examination of oppositional social movements in combating oppression and domination. His movement directed us through three pathways Rebellious subjectivity, liberating tolerance and Conceptual thought in Criticality, from the perspectives of reassessing Marxism and in the practices of Adult Education. Marcuse, found the concept of socialism, to be the most important issue, which precipitated and gave rise to his movement. He felt the concept of socialism had taken Marxs theory and developed it to become more focussed on the development of the productive forces Capitalisation and promotion of learning as a commodity, into another higher productive society which alienated and isolated individuals. Furthering his view, this could generate critical dispositions which he termed as rebellious subjectivity. To alleviate rebellious subjectivity, encouraging liberation of aesthetics from the demands of capitalism within classrooms, adult educators endeavour daily to create conducive learning environments Ultimately inspiring liberation in a genuine socialist society today! Concurring with Brookfields resonation to Marcuses idea of repressive tolerance, diversity in education could be construed as the dominant culture appearing to be more open to the learners voices, when in fact it is a refined way of reasserting its control over public discourse remoulding the junior and leaving certificates and with the introduction of CAS (common awards system) in 2010, into adult education. We can, as adults be resistant to change but we also recognise manipulation. Thus surmising as adult educators, in the field, we need to critically be very carefully in our classrooms too! In the practice of liberating tolerance, Marcuse identified to be inclusive, fair and equal to all running discussions, listening to the voice of the learner and developing curricula to accommodate different learning styles, was of paramount importance in critical adult education. However, is this really in existence and to what level of acceptance is it? Brookfield highlighted Marcuses disagreement for those who did possess radical opinions and rebellious perspectives and argued that such tolerance is repressive, not liberating. (Brookfield, 2002) Although concurring with the majority of the literature and Marcuses ideas, as an advocate of listening to the voice of the learners, with the freedom to express their viewpoints, are educators allowing this to selfishly improve their own practices? However, I too am dancing to the tune of somebody elses fiddle, by issuing a disciplinary for time keeping, attendance, disruptive behaviours. Could this not subtly be perceived as a contradi ction to my beliefs, reasserting control over public discourse too, and constricting freedom more and more? Unwittingly serving to reinforce an unfair status quo (Brookfield, 2002) concluding that dominant mainstream perspectives still overshadow the minority in practice! Lastly, Brookfield reviewed the writings of Newman and his view on conceptual thought in Criticality. Newman(1994) states that critical thinking is about laying blame and defining enemies, both are necessary precursors to informed social change. (Brookfield, 2002). It can be argued that to liberate learners, accountability and ownership are crucial to develop individual positive visions. Yes, criticality can be both positive and negative. Negative feedback in the classroom can motivate learners! Concurring with Marcuse, in order to truly feel great liberation, we need to get great refusal. We get knocked down, but we get back up again! Onwards, upwards and forwards Change and liberation does not happen without the forwards. However, in general, adults are not always receiving of constructive criticism, previous experiences can cloud judgements! Brookfield states that Marcuse is at odds with those adult educators who emphasize that the road of criticality begins with examining the sp ecific experiences of adult learners. (Brookfield, 2002). On the other hand, it can be argued that this view is crucial in criticality in order to enable the learners to self-correct. References Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), p. 274. Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), pp. 265-280. Brookfield, S., 2002. Reassessing Subjectivity, Criticality, and Inclusivity: Marcuses Challenge to Adult Education. Adult Education Quarterly, 52(4), p. 271. Brookfield, S. D., 2005. Critical Theory for Adult Learning and Teaching. Berkshire: Open University Press. Brookfield, S. D., 2005. Learning Liberation. In: Critical Theory for Adult Learning and Teaching. Berkshire: Open University Press, p. 182. Graham Cagney, A., 2016. Reading No. 10 Marcuse on Liberation, Waterford: s.n. Does Hip Hop Culture Influence Youth Gangs? Does Hip Hop Culture Influence Youth Gangs? Gang violence and the use of violent weapons have been highlighted by the media recently. The government have initiated aims in order to curb and deal with gang violence in the United Kingdom. In order deal with this issue, influencing factors have been acknowledged. This research explores the supposed influence that the hip hop culture has on young males engaged in gangs, and their willingness to use violent weapons. a systematic review of the literature and a qualitative content analysis of four songs lyrics have confirmed that there are themes which are consistent with the attitudes and behaviours that young people express due to the music they listen to. A significant proportion of the literature that surround young people and youth gangs in the UK focuses on possession and use of weapons (e.g. Bullock and Tilley, 2002; Bennett and Holloway, 2004b; Marshall et al, 2005). Research by Lemos (2004) found that some young people were likely to carry weapons through fear of being attacked by other gang members or more worryingly because they associated it with being cool. This was also reflected in Kinsellaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s (2011) report for the government, following the murder of her brother Ben during a knife attack in 2008. Through visiting several projects across the country, Kinsella found two prominent motivational factors that were highlighted in each project. Those were à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾fashionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Some young people in the projects explained that they carried knives because they feared that others were also weapons, and so felt it necessary to carry knifes as a method of self-protecti on. Chapter 1:  Introduction Youth gangs and the attitudes and behaviours of young males have been a major issue in the United Kingdom. Researches and theories have been conducted in order to evaluate the emergence of youth street gangs. The murders of innocent young people in the last decade have urged the government and academics to conduct reports and research on gang and post code gang feuds. Due to an increase of gang violence the government introduced the Gang Injunction within the Police and Crime Act 2009. The gang Injunction is aimed at preventing young people from engaging in, encouraging and assisting gang related violence (Home Office). Research from the Associations of Chief Police Officers (2007) and Pickle (2009) show that apart from gang members being involved in gangs, they are also engaging in the use and possession of violent weapons. Hip hop artists have been criticised by politicians and the media for influencing young males to engage in violent behaviour. However this idea is not supported by research and can be rejected, because when looking at research from government reports and academics there is no evidence to support the idea that hip hop influencing young males behaviour and attitudes. However research from Kubrin (2005) and Miranda and Claes (2004) who are both Canadian and American, suggest that some of the themes in hip hop are reflected in the behaviour of young males. So therefore there is a relationship between hip hop and young males, but unfortunately this research has not been conducted in the United Kingdom. In the response to the lack of research on the link between hip hop and youth gangs and violence, the aim of this study is to the answer the research question: Youth Gangs: Does the Hip Hop culture Influence Young Males in the UK to Join Street Gangs and the Use of Violent Weapons? In order to answer this research question and to find out whether there is a link between youth gangs and hip hop culture, this research will explore if the use and possession of violent weapons is really glamorised by hip hop, or whether the claims by the government and media are unjustified. The main aims in this research are to: Find out if beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of young gang members can be attributed to the lifestyle portrayed by hip hop artists. Establish where prominent behaviours in the literature, song lyrics and images of hip hop artists can be associated with the influence of violent weapons Apply theory to the attitudes, behaviours and the prominent themes associated with gangs in order to provide a more holistic approach. These aims will be conducted through a discussion of literature from books, journals, government reports, newspapers and media articles. A content analysis will be conducted on hip hop (Grime UK) song that young males may listen to, and a semiotic analysis on images of hip hop artists. Chapter 2 of this research provides a literature review looking into the problems with gang definition, the UK new gang culture, the background of gangs, gang membership, the possession and use of violent weapons and the hip hop culture and the influence of hip hop. Chapter 3 focuses on the methodology and outlines the approach that has been conducted during the research process. The research design and the analyses are included in this chapter, alongside the ethical considerations. Chapter 4 discusses and evaluates the analysis of the hip hop song lyrics, the signs that images from hip hop portray using a semiotic approach and then finally the themes that emerged from the literature and lyrics. These three themes are drug dealing, which is discussed in relation to rational choice theory, strain theory and differential association theory. The second theme is street credibility and this is discussed in relation to social identity theory and masculine theories. The final theme is the Territorial post code wars, this theme is discussed in relation to social capital theory and social learning theory. Chapter 2:  Literature Review This chapter will be exploring the literature surrounding young males, gangs, violence and weapons. As well as the influence the hip hop culture can have on these young males. Different literature such as books, journals, government reports, newspaper articles and research studies will be examined and reviewed in order to view the current state of gang culture and violence in the UK. The following issues will be discussed in order to examine relevant literature on the study. Gang definition, the UK gang culture, gang membership, and the background of gangs in general, the possession and use of violent weapons and finally the influence of hip hop culture on young people. The problem with definition The term Gang has had some issues surrounding its definition, and this is a problem that remains dominant within the UK based literature. The definition of the term has been mainly developed with reference to American gang culture. Some theorists argued that a new definition of the term gang should be given for the new gang culture in the UK. The reason behind some definitions given to describe the gang culture in America was investigated by Ball and Curry (1995) they believed that although it is easy to identify a gang, the real issue arises when attempting to create a definition. After engaging in a lengthy linguistic analysis of various ways to define gang, they proposed that gang definitions would do better to focus on the abstract, formal characteristics of the phenomenon rather than connotative, normative content (Ball Curry, 1995:240). Ball and Curry (1995) also stated that old definitions for the term are acceptable but due to the frequent changes in sociological, political and cultural changes it is important to have a new definition for the term, because the changes may affect the phenomenon of gang culture. Despite the need for a current definition, government and academic organisations believe that a fixed definition is essential in order to develop further research into gangs. For example the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) stated that it was difficult to determine the proportion of crime that contributed to gangs, because the agreed definition of gangs on the data base was non-existent (ACPO, 2007:14). The Metropolitan Police Service (2008) also identified several other factors that differentiate a gang from relatively small, unorganised and transient peer groups. These factors include names, an organisable structure, and the use of violence and delinquent behaviour to promote group identity and to acquire social capital (Metropolitan Police Service, 2007: 21) The UK New Gang Culture The media, government and professional academics have all raised their concerns about the growing perception of gang culture in the UK. The media frequently report criminal activity, and in response some academics have argued that the media sensationalises the gang problem in the UK (Alexander, 2008:4). Other academics such as Bullock and Tiley (2002) have also suggested that the need to understand and tackle the gang violence is more important instead of sectionalising gang violence. Following the medias numerous reports regarding the increase in high profile gang related crimes since 2007, Heale (2008) stated that youth gangs have been frequently highlighted in the media. The fatal shooting of an innocent five year old girl in Stockwell in 2012, Is another incident that caught the medias attention. Thusha Kamaleswaran was left permanently paralysed after a gang related shooting occurred at her aunts shop (Telegraph, 2012). The media suggested that the shooting was linked to youth g ang violence; the metropolitan police gave a statement stating, It is believed two black youths ran into the shop before shots were fired. Peter Robbins who is the counsellor from Lambeth council also gave a statement, there is a fairly well known problem with gangs and guns in Lambeth (Daily Mail, 2012). Gangs are not only running into shops and causing injury to innocent individuals, they are also engaging in the American style drive by shootings. For example, the Telegraph (2011) reported a drive by shooting in west London which injured three teenage girls and left one girl in critical condition. These shootings also attracted the media and public attention and the they believed that the American style drive by shootings performed by UK gangs where indeed becoming a lot more like the American gangs. Academics have criticised the media despite there being evidence of growing youth violence taking place in the UK, academics believe that the media solely focuses on the dramatic consequences of gang violence, instead of how it can be prevented and tackled (Fitch, 2009: 2). Deuchar (2008) suggested that the majority of gang members tend to predominantly be from black or ethnic minority groups, despite this suggestion Bennett and Holloway (2004a: 319) found that the majority of gang members were white, followed by Caribbean and Bangladeshi. Due to this inconsistency in literature surrounding the race and ethnic minority of gang members, it is clear that the race and ethnicity of gang members is not an important factor in researching gangs. So therefore this study will not focus on race and ethnicity. Instead this study will focus on why young people join gangs and the characteristics of gang members. Background Studies and research where conducted in order to give an insight into the increase of gang membership. Bennett and Holloway (2004a: 305) found evidence from governments reports, newspapers, local agencies and national bodies that suggested gangs in the UK and the number of gang members where increasing. Bennett and Holloway (2004a) argued that with the obvious increase in violent weapons and the possessions and the use of guns, the British gangs where not that different to the American stereotype that the UK often rejected. Research into gangs in America could not be generalised to the rising youth gang culture in Britain, despite the early research into gangs and youth groups. Subculture theorists in America have largely focused on the study of youth groups and gangs for almost over a century. Research into gangs in America mainly focused on the Chicago city, which is a research that has provided what is known as the first study into the gang culture phenomena. After the research in Chicago gang culture, subculture theorist Merton began his research into delinquent groups, with the help of Cohen (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin (1961). Mertons (1938) research on the Social structure and Anomie thesis anticipated that the American Dream was at the forefront of every individuals aspirations in life. But not every individual would be able to acquire this. For example education was only accessible to some people and this led to anomie. Also deviant behaviours such as violence and petty crimes amongst young working class males who were most affect were caused by the feeling of strain. Cohen (1955: 66) extended the concept of social structure and anomie by explaining that in order to explain non instrumental vandalism and violence was due to status frustration. He stated that the individuals who felt frustrated would, gravitate towards one another to establish new norms and new criteria of status, and this would then form a delinquent subculture. This statement was furt her extended by Cloward and Ohlin (1961:1), they believed that every individual had access to legitimate and illegitimate opportunities and suggested three types of subculture. The retreatist subculture which fails to find legitimate or illegitimate means in order to succeed, so therefore the individual turns to alcohol or drug abuse while the conflict subculture is when individuals use manipulation of violence as a way of winning status. The criminal subculture describes a group of individuals who rely on theft and extortion as a means of getting income. The subculture that is most relevant to this research on the young males and the influence of hip hop is the Conflict subculture. Downes (1966) systematic review found no evidence that Cloward and Ohlin (1961) retreats, conflict and criminal subcultures existed in the UK because the young males lacked structured cohesion that the American gangs boasted about. Cohen (1955) notion of status frustration was criticised by Downes who believed that by Cohen conducting his research in only one borough meant that his findings may not be generalised to the rest of the UK. Despite this Downes concluded that the research into gang delinquency in the UK is a reflection of its absence (Downes, 1966:116). In addition to this Campbell et al (1989) believed that the gang notion belonged to America, whilst the subculture notion belonged to the UK. As a result of this Campbell et al (1982) felt that a separate definition and research for youth gangs in the UK would need to be developed in order to provide a better framework for future research into gangs Campbell et al, 1989: 276) Gang Membership It is believed that young people especially males are known to join gang memberships for different psychological or social reasons (Bennett and Holloway, 2004a: 307). Some of the psychological reasons for young people joining gangs are believed to be because they have a desire for money, to gain status and respect from other gang members and the feeling of being protected and having a connection within the gang membership. Psychological reasons for young people joining gangs usually develop from lack of effective support from their parents, family, teachers and the police (Harris et al, 2001: 9). Sociological reasons have been heavily focused on in terms of explaining gang membership. Research by the NASUWT Teachers union (2008) found that if there is an absence or lack of positive role models in a young individuals life, then in order to build a social identity they will look towards accessible role models. Also the study found that young people from broken families where a father f igure was not present are more likely to look up to individuals in gangs or family members involved in gang memberships (NASUWT Teachers union, 2008: 11). Wood and Alleyne (2009) found evidence that gang membership gives young people a chance to acquire powerful status amongst their friends, opportunity for excitement especially if they live a boring life. Protection from other gang members and most importantly it offers social support that is lacking in young peoples lives from their family. Whereas Marshall et al (2005) suggests that the reason for young people engaging in gang membership is due to their exclusion and alienation from mainstream society, particularly education and employment. Whilst most theorists offer an explanation as to why young people join gangs, they have failed to outline the specific features and characteristics of gang members. Evidence from Bennett and Holloway (2004a) suggests that gang members tend to me male, involved in drug taking and supplying, mor e likely to carry weapons and are criminally active. Possession and the violent use of weapons There are various literatures that focus on youth gangs and the use of violent weapons amongst young people in the UK. Lemos (2004) report on Fear and Fashion: The use of knives and other weapons by young people believed that most young people were more likely to carry violent weapons due to the fear of being attacked by other young individuals or just because they believed that carrying a violent weapon made them look cool. The home office affairs select committee published a knife crime report which investigated the levels and causes of knife crime and the attitudes of the offenders. Knife crime has been and still is a persistent and worrying concern that has a huge impact on young people in the UK. During June 2012 there were approximately 29,513 recorded offences involving knives and other sharp instruments, accounting for 7% of selected offences (Berman: Knife Crime Statistics, 2012). In the UK more than 70 teenagers were violently killed by the use of violent weapons. Majority of these deaths were gang related violences. In 2008 gang and knife crime were regularly featured in the media headlines, these crimes were mapped out in various locations around the UK, but London suffered the highest number of crime amongst young people. Dr Bob Golding, who is a criminal justice lecturer at the university of Portsmouth, stated that knife crime is simply a symptom; you have associated with this a development of gang culture (Golding, BBC News: 2008). The possession and the use of violent weapons were also reflected in Brooke Kinsellas (2011) Tackling Knife Crime Together report. Kinsella report was conducted following the death of her brother in a knife attack in 2008. The report also gave the public an insight into the seriousness of violent weapon crimes. Kinsella found that motivational factors influence young people into carrying violent weapons, these two factors were fear and fashion. In the report it was also discovered that youths reasons for carrying weapons was due to the fear of being attacked by other individuals, so therefore they felt the need to protect themselves. The reason that was more worrying was the need to be in possession of violent weapons because they believed it was fashionable or a cool thing to do (Kinsella, 2011: 2). Recently the media reported two incidents that allegedly occurred with five hours. The first incident was the shooting of a 19 year old male in Clapton, east London and the stabbing of a 16 year old male in Wandsworth, south west London. Although the police believe that these crimes where not linked to gangs, it just shows the frequent use of violent weapons within the community. (BBC, 2013) Although it is difficult to determine the link between violent weapon crimes and gangs, recent research into gangs has noted the relationship between firearms and gangs (Squires et al, 2008). A research report was carried out by Bullock and Tilley (2002), they found that 60% of firearm crimes can be linked to gangs meanwhile; the Home Office 2009/2010 reported 5% increase of injuries as a result of firearms. In order for the government to tackle the possession and use of violent weapons, they need to establish the main reasons why young people engage in violent weapons. As this could enable them or it could be a starting point for them to limit gang violence. The Hip Hop Culture and the Influence of Hip Hop Hip hop today is known as a cultural reform and social reconstruction. Hip hop first developed in the drug infested gang streets of the Bronx in New York City. Apart from the glamorous and provocative nature of hip hop, it is mainly associated with and for freedom, peace, equality and social harmony. Alongside creating a successful industry hip hop also gave ethnic minorities in America a chance to voice their opinions internationally, a civil rights movement that is still relevant today. Price (2006:1) defines hip hop as a liberation movement in the form of a diverse culture, it was a next generation civil (human) rights movement sparked by ostracized, marginalized and oppressed inner- city youths. Hip hop culture has grown to represent urban, rural, suburban and global communities of all ages, genders, religions and races. One main factor that is mainly held responsible for the increase in gang violence is the hip hop culture. It is believed that the hip hop has a negative influence on young people. David Blunkett reportedly made a statement about gang violence, stating idiots like so solid crew are glorifying gun culture and violence. This statement was made a year after one of the members from So Solid Crew Ashley Walters was sentenced to 18 months for the possession of a firearm (Telegraph, Sally Pook: 2003). David Cameroon also voiced his opinions on violent music. In the British society (2006) he asked BBC radio station 1, do you realise some of the stuff you play on Saturday nights encourages people to carry guns and knives? Despite the perception that the hip hop culture glamorises gang and violence, there is very little research on this concept. United Kingdom based research has dismissed the concept that hip hop influences young males into gangs and violent weapon. Hallsworth and Silverstone (2009: 362) suggested that style and music do not define the relationships between the individuals and the violence that they do, or the weapon they carry. There is no empirical support for the statement; however they do believe that those who carry weapons tend to imitate the American hip hop style by carrying guns. Well-known hip hop artists spoke about the comparison between hip hop and the trend of violence amongst young people in the communities. 50 Cent who has recently turned to acting and has become an entrepreneur refuted claims of there being a connection between hip hop and gun violence. He stated in his interview that his music was more a reflection of his experiences in life, rather than a glorificati on of assault weapons (CBS News, 2013). Hip hop and gangs have always been linked in some form. It is believed that the hip hop culture has created and influenced gang violence over the decades. Literature in the UK regarding the effect of hip hop music on young males and gangs on focuses on deviant behaviour in adolescence, whereas literature in the USA have a wider range of research and literature. Miranda and Claes (2009) researched the possible link between preference of rap music and deviant behaviours such as, drug use, violence and street gang involvement amongst French Canadian adolescents. Miranda and Claes found that despite trying to control the adolescent deviancy, a significant link can still be found between rap music and deviant behaviour. However despite their finding they did not find a link between hip hop and street gang involvement. This shows that there needs to be future research in order to come to a conclusion as to whether or not there is an association between hip hop and gang violence (Miranda a nd Claes, 2009). The issue of hip hop music lyrics and how they may have an effect on young people has been approached by Kubrins (2005) study. Kubrin conducted a content analysis of rap songs in America and also addressed the use of violent weapons suggesting that the gun becomes a symbol of power and a remedy for disputes (Kubrin, 2005:363). Research from Miranda, Claes and Kubrin, found that young people joined street gangs in order to acquire status and a social identity, which is seen and stated in the music they listen to. Because the majority of these studies are based on American and Canadian individuals, it is possible that the findings cannot be generalised to gangs in the UK. Chapter 3:  Methodology This section will explain the methodological approach that this research has adopted in order to establish if the hip hop culture has an influence on youth gangs and the use of violent weapons in the UK. The method which was chosen for the purpose of this paper was desk research, sometimes known as secondary data or secondary research (Bryman, 2008). This research involves gathering data that already exists from internal sources, publications of governmental and non-governmental institutions, free access data from the internet, in articles, newspapers and other relevant sources (Bryman, 2008:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..). A systematic review of literature, a qualitative content analysis on four hip hop song lyrics, and a semiotic analysis on a hip hop image will be conducted in order to establish if a relationship between hip hop culture, youth gang and the use of violent weapons exists. At first a qualitative research was initially considered in order to gather data and in order to answer the research question. The majority of research in to gangs and the use of violent weapons are normally conducted through qualitative surveys and interviews with current or previous gang members and offenders. These types of primary research would be dangerous and difficult to replicate as an undergraduate student. Research Design The research design of this study discusses the literature in the form of a systematic review. Government reports, journal articles and published texts on gangs and the use of violent weapons from the last decade have all been reviewed. Secondary data has been used to conduct this study. The secondary data has been used with caution and all literature used are from trustworthy sources. Literature based research has its strengths, and they mainly fall on the fact that the research is able to analyse data that is already available because the time consuming research has already been conducted by academics. There will be no contact with current or previous offenders who have been involved in gangs or crimes involving violent weapons, so the potential harm and risk involved in this research is minimised. However as explained by Bryman, (2008) not conducting a primary research means that there will be no control over the variables and so it is acknowledged that the grounds may be differen t to the present study. therefore this research has been conducted carefully in order not to manipulate the literature to support the hypothesis of the present study By conducting a content analysis of hip hop song lyrics, this study will be able to establish whether the genre of music can be held responsible for the behaviour of youth gang members or whether claims by the media are false. Out of the four songs that have been analysed, two demonstrate how the hip hop culture can influence young males, particularly in regards to joining gangs and the use of violent weapons. The two other songs acknowledge social exclusion as a reason for delinquency. The Song lyrics where obtained from lyric databases such as, Metro lyrics, sweet lyrics, urban lyrics and AZ lyrics. Even though the validity and reliability of these lyrics are questionable, all the songs used are from official version on YouTube, a reliable video broadcasting website. Due to the fact that majority of the songs analysed are likely to contain words and languages that are likely to be difficult to understand, a slang website called Urban Dictionary was used as a means to translate any difficult words. Analysis Key themes have been highlighted in the literature articles through a process of thematic analysis during a systematic review. These themes include repetition, differences and similarities. The following analytical chapters will be discussing these themes in relation to theories in order to give a better understanding as to why young males may seek these identities. Firstly the song lyrics will be discussed in relation to the themes that have been highlighted through the thematic analysis. This will be done using a similar approach conducted by Kubrin (2005) study on Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas. Song lyrics will be discussed and the images will be discussed using a semiotic approach in order to evaluate whether or not the music that is marketed to youths encourages the use of violent weapons. This will then be followed by a discussion of the themes in relation to the literature. Theory will be included in order to provide a more holistic understanding as to why young people join youth gangs, their behaviour and attitudes. In order to identify the themes within the literature a critical discussion of the findings will provide a foundation for recommendation on future research on this topic. By using these analytical methods a detailed account of the influence the hip hop culture has on young males can be generated from the literature. Ethical Considerations Due to this research being a secondary research, it does involve as many ethical issues as a primary research. For example no participants will be interviewed, so there is no need for informed consents and there are no issues regarding deception and invasion of privacy. Also there is no need to consider data protection or storage because the research studies reports are available and have been published for public viewing. The following ethical considerations from the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Code of Ethics have been considered and relate to this research. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, there will be no contact with previous or current gang members so the emotional and physical well-being of the researcher will be maintained (BSC 3: iii). As the BSC states, researchers should promote equal opportunity in all aspects of their professional work and actively seek to avoid discriminatory behaviour (BSC, 3: iv).Whilst doing this research every effort has been m ade not to address young male gang members in terms of age, and racial or ethnic group sensitively and to use non-biased language. Also this research has made every effort not to disrespect the views and beliefs of young gang members, as one of the aims for this dissertation is to focus on developing a theoretical and holistic understanding of the behaviour of gang members. Also the views and beliefs of the gang members have not been disrespected whilst conducting a systematic review of the literature and analysing the literature through the themes that developed in the content analysis, alongside the arguments for and against hip hop culture influencing violence, the use and possession of violent weapons. Research studies by academics include young gang members who have consented to taking part in a published research study, so it is believed that any data from interviews conducted in previous reports are acceptable to use for secondary data. This therefore means that the ethical c ode (4: iii) will not be breached. However, if an entire data set was used for the present research, a Research Ethics Committee would have been required to conduct an expedited review (Economic and Social Research Council). Because this is a secondary research one of the major limitations is that some sources, especially internet sources may not be reliable, so a serious amount of importance was placed when using reliable data and sources from the internet as well as sources where the reliability of the internet information was uncertain. In addition to this No favoured judgement has been made towards certain research findings and a conscious effort has been made by the researcher not to manipulate or misinterpret the findings to suit the research question. By doing so a one sided argumen

Naturalistic Observation Method

Naturalistic Observation Method Naturalistic Observation  Instructions Introduction Naturalistic observation is a method that is used to collect behavioral data in real life situations. The researcher needs to be careful not to interfere with the natural setting. Data can be gathered by observing from a distance without making the subject aware that he/she is been observed. The researcher can also join the setting and became a part of it so as to gain the trust of the subjects. As a result the subjects will behave normally. The observation may be direct or indirect. In the direct method the researcher is present in the setting but in the indirect method other means such as video recordings are used. Indirect method allows the observer to capture activities that would easily be unnoticed. Direct method on the other hand allows the observer to focus on particular areas of interest. Case study This is a naturalistic observation of a child and his parents in a health care facility. Am African-American family is sited in the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphias waiting room. It is 9 am and the hospital has a sizeable number of patients to attend to. The young boy is approximately 7 to 9 years of age. He is wearing a blue T- shirt and blank trousers. His mother a full figured lady is in a red and white poker dots dress. The father is quite tall approximately 57†, he is in a long sleeved purple shirt, a black tie and black pants. He appears to be dressed up for work. As the observation begins the family sits quietly in the waiting room. The husband and wife converse in low tones. The young boy keenly observes the hospital environment, often turning his head and moving around his chair. His father signals him to sit still. The boy looks at his mother and goes back to his sit. However, a few minutes later he starts looking around again. The woman appears to be engaged in a serious conversation with her husband. She nods her head attentively and occasionally gives a response. Her attention drifts back and forth from her husband then to her son. She stokes the boys head, smiles and turns his head so that he stops staring at a little baby and its mother around the corner. After waiting for a few minutes the man leaves the room. The boy leans fondly on his mother and starts to speak. Often he raises his finger to point out things but his mother holds his hand and smiles. She whispers something in his ears as she shakes her head. She appears to be communicating her disapproval based on her gestures and facial expression. He boy makes a face and chuckles. His father returns and the mood becomes tenser. He boy sits upright playing with his hands. Hypothesis The child speaks more frequently to the mother than to the father. The child appears to have a closer relationship with the mother than with the father. When the father left the room the child appeared more relaxed. He even initiated a conversation with his mother. Occasionally as he spoke he pointed out things in the environment, although his mother cautioned him against it. When the boy was cautioned by his mother he did not appear threatened. In stead he smiled and maintained his jovial mood. His mother also appeared to pay attention to him. She would stoke his head as she conversed with her husband. As soon as the father returned he boy become tense, sat up right and kept to himself. Earlier on in the observation the father had signaled the boy to sit still. The boy had responded swiftly without any hesitation and seemed rather tense. The father appears to be disciplinarian. The manner in which his spouse gave him her attention also asserts his role as head of the family. This appears to be a decent inner city family that is keen on instilling morals in their son. The father appears to adopt a stern and direct form of disciplining or correcting. This is evident in the way he signals the child to sit upright. He keeps a straight face and maintains direct eye contact. The boy seems to be more withdrawn when relating to his father. They do not even exchange a word or glances. Challenges The exercise is time consuming. It takes a lot of patience to observe, take notes and then analyze the findings. Alteration of behavior by subjects when they become aware that they are been observed is another challenge. Therefore the researcher needs to be very cautious so as not to alert the subject. The researcher should record his findings without intervening in the situation. It is a challenge to avoid experimental bias when observing the inner city families. It is difficult to remain object without allowing personal predispositions or stereotypes to cloud ones judgment. Conclusion Naturalistic observation of children and their families in a health care facility is an effective method of carrying out a research. This technique can assist in gathering data and gaining insight more than other research methods such as structured interviews and quantitative methods. Human factors are a challenge in any form of observational research. References George A. Miller (1983). The Principles of Psychology: with introduction. London: Harvard University Press. Brain, Christine. (2002). Advanced psychology: applications, issues and perspectives. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Dialogical and Formalistic Approach to Thomas Grays Elegy (Eulogy) Wri

Dialogical and Formalistic Approach to Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard Elegy in a Country Courtyard, by Thomas Gray, can be looked at through two different methods. First the Dialogical Approach, which covers the ability of the language of the text to address someone without the consciousness that the exchange of language between the speaker and addressee occurs. (HCAL, 349) The second method is the Formalistic Approach, which allows the reader to look at a literary piece, and critique it according to its form, point of view, style, imagery, atmosphere, theme, and word choice. The formalistic views on form, allow us to look at the essential structure of the poem. "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray shows aspects of both Dialogical and Formalistic Approaches. Gray's uses dialogic opposition, the way the author chooses to form his work so that the reader can interpret the characters' actions and words without the direct intervention of the author. (HCAL, 354) Gray lists the lifestyles of many different people in lines 32- 60. These stanzas cover all the different types of people that are buried in the churchyard. We can interpret the lifestyle and actions of the other characters because we have the ability to associate and connect what the narrator is telling us. By using the dialogic opposition, this allows the reader to identify the multiple types of characters in the poem, even if they don't all have dialogue. Bakhtin's definition points toward a parallel between issues of knowledge and power among the characters and those between the author and the reader. In both cases, knowledge is best thought of as dialogic rather than monologic, as open to the other rather than closed, as addres... ...defining words. The symbolism is to show the reader and the audience that life is only for so long. Once that old age is reached your youth is over. Try and accomplish all that you can when you have the time and the energy, because we are all going to be in the same place as all the characters in the churchyard before we know it. Gray uses imagery and symbols very well, and smoothly pulls the attention of his readers in to the poem. Gray's use of language and other literary devices allows readers to look at the poem from two different aspects. Dialogical and Formalistic, two completely different types of critiques. However, both let the reader look at the poem in completely different ways and see the many different aspects of the writing. Thomas Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard", is a fine example of showing the dialogical and formalistic approach in a poem. Dialogical and Formalistic Approach to Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Wri Dialogical and Formalistic Approach to Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard Elegy in a Country Courtyard, by Thomas Gray, can be looked at through two different methods. First the Dialogical Approach, which covers the ability of the language of the text to address someone without the consciousness that the exchange of language between the speaker and addressee occurs. (HCAL, 349) The second method is the Formalistic Approach, which allows the reader to look at a literary piece, and critique it according to its form, point of view, style, imagery, atmosphere, theme, and word choice. The formalistic views on form, allow us to look at the essential structure of the poem. "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray shows aspects of both Dialogical and Formalistic Approaches. Gray's uses dialogic opposition, the way the author chooses to form his work so that the reader can interpret the characters' actions and words without the direct intervention of the author. (HCAL, 354) Gray lists the lifestyles of many different people in lines 32- 60. These stanzas cover all the different types of people that are buried in the churchyard. We can interpret the lifestyle and actions of the other characters because we have the ability to associate and connect what the narrator is telling us. By using the dialogic opposition, this allows the reader to identify the multiple types of characters in the poem, even if they don't all have dialogue. Bakhtin's definition points toward a parallel between issues of knowledge and power among the characters and those between the author and the reader. In both cases, knowledge is best thought of as dialogic rather than monologic, as open to the other rather than closed, as addres... ...defining words. The symbolism is to show the reader and the audience that life is only for so long. Once that old age is reached your youth is over. Try and accomplish all that you can when you have the time and the energy, because we are all going to be in the same place as all the characters in the churchyard before we know it. Gray uses imagery and symbols very well, and smoothly pulls the attention of his readers in to the poem. Gray's use of language and other literary devices allows readers to look at the poem from two different aspects. Dialogical and Formalistic, two completely different types of critiques. However, both let the reader look at the poem in completely different ways and see the many different aspects of the writing. Thomas Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard", is a fine example of showing the dialogical and formalistic approach in a poem.

The Seven Sacraments of Catholics Essay -- Catholicism Religion Christ

The Seven Sacraments of Catholics Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the one’s faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders. Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among God’s people, faith in God and To Chrisitan, Jesus Christ is the being that connects us all as one. He played many roles when he was on this earth and is the incarnation of God. In essence, He is God â€Å"infleshed†. While he was on the earth, some viewed him as a healer. I be lieve that receiving reconciliation and the anointing of the sick would require an individual to accept Jesus as the ultimate healer. The Eucharist accepts that Jesus had the ability to turn bread and wine into himself for his people. Receiving the Eucharist is the acceptance of the Last Supper and the symbolic meaning along with it. Jesus Christ is referred to as the anointed. At baptism we are anointed with holy oil to welcome us into the Catholic faith. In confirmation we again, confirm and renew our faith and individually commit to the vows our godparents had spoken for us. Again we are anointed with holy oil, symbolizing the truth of Jesus Christ, the anointed one. The sacraments are a rite of passage among the Christian people. We are all tied to one faith and the sacraments are the links that we tie it all together. Sacraments sometimes required preparation. In preparation of a sacrament, we are taught the underlining faith of Jesus Christ. Through our sacramental practices, we accept and acknowledge the faith of Jesus and who he was. Sacraments bring people of the church together in celebration. These gatherings are common ties among people of faith and their acceptance of God and Jesus. What do catholics and fundamentalist believe about the bible comparison 2000-07-04 Conversations about the differences and similarities between Fundamentalist and Catho... ...inisters. This can be very rare in other denominations. At the General conference not too long ago, the UM church apologized to the blacks for the discrimination they suffered. This is also a rare finding in a church The Methodist religion is different from many others. It seems that it's goal for humanity is for everyone to have their own individual relationship or bond with Christ, they prize this more than anything. Even though they are very non discriminating they still have their own set of rules to go by, just as every church does. The Methodist religion is very interesting and somewhat different than what most religions are. Bibliography 1. Academic American Encyclopedia. Groiler Incorporated. Danbury, Conneticut. Copyright 1996. 2. http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/methodist/methchap.h tml.pages 1-4. September 28, 2000 3. http://showcase.netins.net/web/unsource/undoct.html. pages 1-9. September 28, 2000 4. Pamplet: "Whats So Great About Being A United Methodist?" 5. The United Mehtodist Church on Normandy. 6. Youth Ministry Director at the UM church on Normandy. Personal Interview. 19 October 2000 7. The World Book Encyclopedia. Volume 13. World Book Copyright 2000

The Importance of Poetry

Laura E. Smith Ms. Rachel MacNally English Honours 11th January 11th, 2012 The Importance of Poetry To each person, poetry has a varied significance and importance in their life. Some people may value poetry highly while others may consider it as something of lesser importance. The importance of poetry in today’s literary society is substantially important because it has an ability to express the thoughts and emotions of a writer through flowing words. Throughout history, poetry has been important because it gives us a historical representation of what previous generations found beautiful, important, or profound.It can show us words and concepts from the past. Poetry can even depict historical events. Poets in the past may have written a poem after a big event had occurred and by reading their poems, we can see how the event affected everyday people. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said â€Å"Poetry, above any other art form, comes closest to fulfulling the goal of art. Art is th e representation of the unrepresentable. Through language, space, and metaphor poetry is able to skirt the edges of capturing an ever changing world's beauty and ugliness better than any other art form. Many people may ask themselves, is poetry closest to fulfilling the goal of art? The reason is because anyone can write it without being judged because there is a variety, and so many ways to write poetry. From free verse to haikus, structured poems to couplets, the sky is the limit. Anyone can write poetry because it is your ideas and emotions that you are letting flow onto a piece of paper. The variety of poems allows people to be able to fashion their own combinations for writing poetry and ultimately creating their own unique style. Its shortness can be a vehicle to convey an idea that longer pieces may not fully capture.Poetry captures the urgency of a moment in the life of the writer. The art of poetry has always surrounded us, ever since we were little children. We began by li stening to our parents sing us Nursery Rhymes which at the end of the day are fun poems that we all remember. Communication is essential for life to continue. So the reading and writing of poetry is very involved with the interplay and dialogue between humans. Without poetry, life would be a very long lecture on morality. It is a way for young writers to let off steam and dream without being judged.It is also a way for an adult writer to express their madness, regrets, desires, aspirations and belief system. Poetry is the deep and powerful expression of the human condition; it encompasses all emotion, all modes of living; it can be mourning or celebration, song or scream, revelation or denial, acceptance or resistance,  and sometimes all of these at once. Poetry puts your observations, opinions, and even train of thought out in the open. Once people see how you think, they might have a feeling of why you say what you say, do what you do, or react like you do.This can prevent misun derstandings. Poetry can make it easier to step into the shoes of someone else. Due to this, poets are some of the first voices to protest social and political injustices; they are some of the first to mourn losses, cultural and personal; and they are some of the first to rejoice in the wonders of the living in and for the world. Unlike most forms of literature, poetry conveys more emotion than logical progression. It's the origin of songs, and is an indispensable way to express one's self since it is unbound by rules on grammatical clarity and precision.Poetry is perhaps one of the most versatile of literary forms since it can convey great emotion, lyrical aesthetic, and a story all at the same time. It is some sort of a midpoint between songs and stories. And yet for all its magic, poetry is found in our daily speech. It uses words that are known to all of us, but in a sequence and order that surprises us out of our normal speech rhythms and linear thought processes. Its effect is to illuminate our lives and breathe new life, new seeing, new tasting into the world we thought we knew.Poetry allows children and adults alike to explore the English language. Mixing words in sentences to find the right fit to create a sense of rhythm and flow. Poetry is real. Real people have written it to express real emotion that is normally hidden. Poets write to show that people have felt certain things before which someone else may be experiencing at another time. A poem allows you to see beyond the surface. Sometimes this is done through metaphors or other abstract ways which cause you to really think. Beauty is expressed, and art is emphasized through poetry.Finding and using words to fit exactly how you want them to takes time and thought. When people read poetry, they have a chance to really see the world with some of the bells and whistles stripped away; it lets them concentrate on the details which remain. Poems often describe life and illuminate aspects of it using fl ashes of imagery. Finally, poetry is a kind of multi-dimensional language. It is directed at the whole person, not just at his understanding. It must involve the reader's senses, intelligence, emotions and imagination.Poetry achieves its extra dimensions per word by employing devices including metaphor, allusion, sound, repetition, rhythm, irony, symbol, connotation and imagery. Using these resources and the materials of life, poetry, in its highest form, comes alive on the page. Poetry is important because it tries to render things that aren't easy to express in words. It does this by making use of attributes of language which aren’t commonly seen to instill deep thought and contemplation. In a sense, poetry uses words as doors to many possibilities. It carries our imaginations or stirs new dreams. Mainly, it extends the power of words to communicate.

Impact of Internet Usage on Academic Performance of the Student Essay

Correlation and regression techniques were used to find out the strength and direction of the relationship. Findings – Internet is one of the beneficial tools in this era of IT world not only for business but for academic point of view and enhances the skills and capabilities of students which assist them in studies and in professional life. Student with high CGPA use more internet for their studies and gain more knowledge and information across the world. Research limitations/implications – The self-report criteria are a limitation. Future research should employ more objective measures of internet use. Also, antecedents of internet use might be explored in other developing economies. I have chosen limited universities and disciplines from a single city Lahore. Practical implications – To encourage internet usage intentions, it appears worthwhile to create in potential users a sense that the technology is useful, easy to use, and that others have expectations regarding its usage. Keywords: Information Technology (IT), Internet, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) Introduction Throughout the world, information and communications technologies (ICTs) are changing the face of education. It has been argued that the transformation of education may be the most important of the many practical revolutions sparked by computer technology. Just as computers are about to replace books (some would argue this has already happened) as our main source of information globally, computers will come to occupy the central position in education once occupied by books. The Internet was initially developed by the US Defense Department and was at one time only popular within the research community. Its ability to share information across organizations and to interact with people at low cost has gradually enticed other sectors to explore its use. Today, the Internet has an impact on every facet of our life including business operation, education, communication, entertainment, social activity, shopping, and so on. Many universities around the world are expanding their investment in information technology (IT), and specifically the Internet, and are actively promoting Internet use. From a student’s perspective, learning using online tools is multidimensional. It may entail a multitude of variables such as prior student knowledge of IT, experience in its usage, perceptions of IT usage, computer competencies, and background demographics. The Internet is one of the greatest recent advancement in the world of information technology and has become a useful instrument that has fostered the process of making the world a global village. The Internet provides several opportunities for the academia. It is a mechanism for information dissemination and a medium for collaborative interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic limitation of space. The word Internet is derived from two words: â€Å"international† and â€Å"network†. The Internet therefore can be defined as an international computer network of information available to the public through modem links so internet is a worldwide system of linked computers networks. The Internet is the world’s largest and most widely used network. It is an international network of networks that is a collection of hundreds of thousands of private and public networks all over the world. There are rich and varied learning experiences available on the Internet that would have been inconceivable just a short while ago. The Internet has a range of capabilities that organizations are using to exchange information internally or to communicate externally with other organizations. The primary infrastructure for e-commerce, e-banking, e-business, e-learning and virtual library is provided by the Internet technology. The Internet provides several opportunities for all academia, business organizations, the employed and the unemployed, the young and the old. The Internet is a ‘live’ constantly ‘moving’, theoretically borderless, potentially infinite space for the production and circulation of information. The Internet might thus be described as a ‘sea of information’, containing texts which are not housed between library and bookshop walls and subject areas span across all fields of knowledge. The Internet can be used for other things besides email. One can listen to international radio station on research and education on the Internet, read national dailies of other countries, speaks to friends around the global, read books and other materials on the Internet. The list of things that can be done on the Internet is a very long one. The Internet contains more information than the world’s largest libraries with access to the Internet one can retrieve information from the world’s largest information database. Objectives of study A study of different disciplines was conducted to identify the intensity of internet usage by student who belongs to different disciples. The purpose of my studies is to evaluate weather is their any relationship between the usage of internet and students academics performance. To better understand the relationship how the Internet affects university students learning, the following questions should be answered. What are the benefits of using the Internet as part of a university education? What are the main factors affecting such use? What is the impact of such use on student learning? What does it take to encourage positive attitudes in students toward Internet use? This study tries to answer these questions by exploring the antecedents to, and the impacts of, Internet use in university education. The specific objectives were to: †¢Identify attitude of students toward IT. †¢ Determine the purpose of internet usage for students. †¢Find out the intensity of internet usage by students. Evaluate that whether the use of internet improve the academic performance of students or not. Significance of study This study could be beneficial for student as well as for institutions. The valuable feedback from 500 students should help student to realize the benefits of internet in their education. Institutes can invest more in internet facilities to enhance the performance of their students and produce better results. Based on Pakistan’s experience, international readers may take advantage from this study work. Literature review Advancement in technology brings major impacts on education.

How College Students Use Wikipedia for Course-Related Essay

Why then are academics so wary about the use of Wikipedia within universities? There are a number of related reasons. Before outlining them we should acknowledge that there may be differences according to academic discipline in attitudes towards Wikipedia. Speaking to academics from the natural and medical sciences over the last year, it seems that those subjects are less concerned with issues of originality of source than the arts and social sciences. It also may be [pic] and this is genuine speculation [pic] that academics in the English speaking world, where most of the academic controversy over Wikipedia use has been, are more sensitive to the source than in other parts of the world. These qualifications aside, there are definite reasons why Wikipedia use is, at the very least, contentious in universities. First, it is the product of anonymous individuals rather than known authorities, Wales is quite explicit on this: One of the fastest things we’re beginning to lose is the view of the world that there are a handful of thoughtful, intelligent people that should be broadcasting their views to everyone. And then the public is some sort of crazed rabble, easily swayed by rhetoric and so forth. Now we have to have a more nuanced understanding. Wikipedia is not necessarily anti-academic but it is anti-elitist as evidenced by the short shrift given to eminent academics in debates when they expected deference (see Keen 2007, 43[pic]4). Second, the non-proprietary nature of Wikipedia cuts against academic culture which valorises the rights of the author and publisher. Third, the anonymity of Wikipedia articles is alien to the cache of the named writer of the journal article or book. Fourth, the collaborative process challenges the norm of individual creation, prevalent in the arts and social sciences. Fifth, as intimated, Wikipedia departs from the standard mode of vetting by peer review. It is not true that articles are not reviewed. On the contrary, they are scrutinised by far more editors than for any journal. However, as the contributor is generally not an academic expert, so the reviewer is not generally an academic expert. So Wikipedia rejects academic custom in the compilation of knowledge. In addition, there are a number of what might be termed ‘learning and teaching’ issues pertaining to its use within universities. First, there is the issue of the accuracy of Teaching in Higher Education 651 Downloaded by [University of Glasgow] at 05:27 12 December 2012 Wikipedia entries, something that relates to the lack of formal expertise and peer review. Reviews of the accuracy of Wikipedia entries by formal expert(s) have actually been generally positive (for natural sciences see Giles 2005; American history Meier 2008). Despite this, the suspicion still surrounds Wikipedia that it cannot be trusted. O’Sullivan’s (2009, 119) assertion that ‘most people probably have an ambivalent attitude toward Wikipedia, thankful for its existence, using it frequently, but with reservations about its total reliability’ seems valid. Some academics would no doubt sympathise with the sardonic observation of comedian Frankie Boyle that Wikipedia entries should begin with ‘I reckon’. Second, some have questioned whether Wikipedia’s determination for studied neutrality is convincing. O’Sullivan (2010) complains that as Wikipedia only displays one voice, diversity is not incorporated and therefore articles become bland. Wales’s response is unapologetic: ‘Guilty as charged, we’re an encyclopedia’ (in Read 2006). Not that his approach to knowledge is without theory, it derives rather from his admiration for the convoluted ‘objectivist philosophy’ of Aryan Rand, the Russian e?migre? philosopher and novelist (Younkins 2007). A third learning and teaching concern is that, regardless of the reliability of Wikipedia, it is in itself an illegitimate form of research. Here the thinking would be that a student who culls Wikipedia for assignments does not understand scholarship. This consists of the consideration of various sources: a judicious sifting and ordering of knowledge, rather than lifting bite sized chunks of text that purport to capture a subject. On this Wales concurs, telling students: ‘For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia’ (in Young 2006). Some universities in the US have banned Wikipedia use, whilst others recommend a more discriminating approach (Jaschik 2007; Murley 2008). The latter is what Wales and others within Wikipedia advise: it should be used only as a starting place in academic research, a references source and a revision aid. What, however, is the evidence on Wikipedia use by students and academics at universities?