A Comparison of Two Characters in A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Comparison of Two Characters in A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning    In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters worthy of comparison. Emily Grierson, a recluse from Jefferson, Mississippi, is an important figure in the town, despite spending most of her life in seclusion. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a loud, fiery-tempered man that most people tend to avoid. If these characters are judged by reputation and outward appearance only, the conclusion would be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete opposites. However, despite the external differences, these two characters have surprisingly similar personalities. First of all, Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have very different backgrounds. Emily Grierson is born to a wealthy family, referred to as the "high and mighty Griersons" (50). She lives in an elegant and large house, rebuilt after the Civil War. Her house is set in the heart of what was once the most elite area of Jefferson. She spends almost all of her life inside this house, coming outside its walls only on rare occasions. Yet the townspeople are always concerned with Miss Emily, as she is the last Grierson. They are interested in what is going on with her, constantly putting together the pieces of her life. However, no matter how much the people piece together the events, few know Miss Emily at all. Upon her death, she is said to be a "fallen monument" (47) because she was so idolized throughout her life. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is at the other end of the social scale. He is in the lowest class. As a tenant farmer, Abner lives a life almost like that of a slave. He works con tinuously from day to day, living with his family in small shacks that "ain't fitten for hawgs"(7). He is itinerant and never has any money. Abner constantly displays his lack of decency and rude manners. He is considered a menace wherever he goes, and no one has any interest in getting to know such a foul and arrogant man. Even though they are at the extreme ends of the social spectrum, Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have something in common-they are both outsiders in the communities they live in. Colonel Grierson limits the people Miss Emily is allowed to see and to the point that she has no friends or even acquaintances. A Comparison of Two Characters in A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning :: comparison compare contrast essays A Comparison of Two Characters in A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning    In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters worthy of comparison. Emily Grierson, a recluse from Jefferson, Mississippi, is an important figure in the town, despite spending most of her life in seclusion. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a loud, fiery-tempered man that most people tend to avoid. If these characters are judged by reputation and outward appearance only, the conclusion would be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete opposites. However, despite the external differences, these two characters have surprisingly similar personalities. First of all, Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have very different backgrounds. Emily Grierson is born to a wealthy family, referred to as the "high and mighty Griersons" (50). She lives in an elegant and large house, rebuilt after the Civil War. Her house is set in the heart of what was once the most elite area of Jefferson. She spends almost all of her life inside this house, coming outside its walls only on rare occasions. Yet the townspeople are always concerned with Miss Emily, as she is the last Grierson. They are interested in what is going on with her, constantly putting together the pieces of her life. However, no matter how much the people piece together the events, few know Miss Emily at all. Upon her death, she is said to be a "fallen monument" (47) because she was so idolized throughout her life. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is at the other end of the social scale. He is in the lowest class. As a tenant farmer, Abner lives a life almost like that of a slave. He works con tinuously from day to day, living with his family in small shacks that "ain't fitten for hawgs"(7). He is itinerant and never has any money. Abner constantly displays his lack of decency and rude manners. He is considered a menace wherever he goes, and no one has any interest in getting to know such a foul and arrogant man. Even though they are at the extreme ends of the social spectrum, Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have something in common-they are both outsiders in the communities they live in. Colonel Grierson limits the people Miss Emily is allowed to see and to the point that she has no friends or even acquaintances.

Euthanasia is an Individual Decision :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia is an Individual Decision According to the American Heritage Dictionary, euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment." Not everyone agrees with this definition. I have always believed that euthanasia was the human choice or nonchoice of ending another person's life because of the excruciating pain they are suffering due to an incurable disease. Some disciplines think that euthanasia should never be an option no matter what the situation. While other disciplines question the validity of the actions of the person helping with the actual euthanasia. Still others support euthanasia in all forms as long as it is performed for the sake of the sufferer. There are three types of euthanasia; voluntary active euthanasia, passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. In all cases where euthanasia is used the patient must be suffering from an incurable, fatal disease. Voluntary active euthanasia is a "deliberate intervention" by an individual other than the patient, with the pure intention of termination that patient's life. (Gula, 501) Passive euthanasia takes place when the attending physician decides to discontinue therapy or treatment that would help to keep the patient alive, basically letting the patient die without the benefit of medicine or medical procedures. Finally, physician assisted suicide, or PAS, is where a physician "helps to bring on the patient's death by providing the means to do it or by giving the necessary information on how to do it, but the patient performs the lethal act" (Gula, 501-502). Each of these methods is a form of euthanasia or mercy killing but each is different in the amount of involv ement by the physician. This paper will explore views from various disciplines about all three types of euthanasia. According to the Catholic religion, euthanasia, as well as abortion and contraception, are sins against God and the Church. Pope John Paul Ii wrote and encyclical letter that was issued at the Vatican in March 1995. Pope John Paul II shared his views on the topics of euthanasia, contraception and abortion in this very opinionated statement.

Biogenetics - The Dangers of Biogenetically Engineered Organisms :: Biology Environment Ecology Essays

Biogenetics - The Dangers of Biogenetically Engineered Organisms As I sit here at my desk in front of my computer contemplating what to write about, I look out of the window and watch the bees at work around the large bush that has flowered in front of my house.They busily go from one tiny flower to the next looking for nectar and exchanging pollen. Occasionally one will fly away presumably to inform other bees at the hive about the location and abundance of this bush.More bees arrive to help in the gathering of nectar while others leave to deliver their bounty. Each bee is an integral part of a hive, a biological system.Each bee is also an important part of a larger system, an ecosystem and in turn each ecosystem is part of a grand system, the environment that we live in, also known as the planet Earth.Odd that such tiny little creatures, who seem oblivious to all but the flowers they are buzzing, could be part of such a large system.Even more amazing is the effect they have on this system.If not for the bees more than 30% of the plan ts and vegetables we take for granted would never be able to reproduce.In turn many of the animals we depend on for food, clothing, companionship and love would never survive.If the animal that we rely on died then most assuredly we, or most of us, would die in a matter of months.Now that little creature looks much larger and more important to me than it did just 5 minutes ago. Odd how such a small factor can have such a large effect on an equation isn’t it? Throughout the world this very important and delicate balance goes on, as do millions of others every day each affecting the other and yet at the end of the day they manage to balance each other out.As educated and well-informed people many times we may look at a system and think that we understand its intricacies but do we?And even if we do, do we have the right to change the way it works just to suit our needs?This is the question I will address in this paper and hopefully get you, the reader, to think about what we as a collective are doing and are about to do with the knowledge that we posses.

Raleigh And Rosse Essay

1) What is the cause of the problems described in the case? How serious are these problems? The problem is a law suit that is being filed by the sales associates against Raleigh and Rosse. The sales associates are unimpressed by the amount of hours they are forced to work and that many of these hours are unpaid and their services may be required at any time. The reason that employees are frustrated can be derived from how their performance is measured. Employee productivity at R&R is measured by their sales per hour ratio (revenue-return/hours worked). The main flaw in this method is that employees are expected to do both on the floor selling work, and additional work. Everyone in the company needs to maintain a standard for SPH or else they will receive worse shifts which will likely lead to their departure from the company. Operating under this model provides incentives for employees not to submit how many off the clock hours they have worked in order to increase their SPH and hopefully make room for promotion and bonuses. However it is ethically and legally wrong to not pay or harm an employee for putting in more time. This issue is very serious as it may cost R&R over 200 million dollars as well as damage their reputation. 2) Are R&R employees pressured inappropriately by the sales-per-hour system? By management? Yes, R&R employees are pressured inappropriately by this sales per hour system. The SPH ratio is vital to an employee’s success with the company and the metric incentivises employees to not account for all of the hours they put in. Employees are forced to donate their time to the company to provide services off of the books. The reason that the company outperforms its competitors is because it asks too much of its employees. This model likely would not be profitable if the firm all of the costs that should be associated with running the company this way and that is why their competition is not doing it. 3) How would you redesign performance management at R&R?

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 3 University

STREELING UNIVERSITY-†¦ An institution of higher learning in the Streeling Sector of ancient Trantor†¦ Despite all these claims to fame in the fields of the humanities and sciences alike, it is not for those that the University looms large in today's consciousness. It would probably have come as a total surprise to the generations of scholars at the University to know that in later times Streeling University would be most remembered because a certain Hari Seldon, during the period of The Flight, had been in residence there for a short time. Encyclopedia Galactica 11. Hari Seldon remained uncomfortably silent for a while after Hummin's quiet statement. He shrank within himself in sudden recognition of his own deficiencies. He had invented a new science: psychohistory. He had extended the laws of probability in a very subtle manner to take into account new complexities and uncertainties and had ended up with elegant equations in innumerable unknowns. Possibly an infinite number; he couldn't tell. But it was a mathematical game and nothing more. He had psychohistory-or at least the basis of psychohistory but only as a mathematical curiosity. Where was the historical knowledge that could perhaps give some meaning to the empty equations? He had none. He had never been interested in history. He knew the outline of Heliconian history. Courses in that small fragment of the human story had, of course, been compulsory in the Heliconian schools. But what was there beyond that? Surely what else he had picked up was merely the bare skeletons that everyone gathered-half legend, the other half surely distorted. Still, how could one say that the Galactic Empire was dying? It had existed for ten thousand years as an accepted Empire and even before that, Trantor, as the capital of the dominating kingdom, had held what was a virtual empire for two thousand years. The Empire had survived the early centuries when whole sections of the Galaxy would now and then refuse to accept the end of their local independence. It had survived the vicissitudes that went with the occasional rebellions, the dynastic wars, some serious periods of breakdown. Most worlds had scarcely been troubled by such things and Trantor itself had grown steadily un til it was the worldwide human habitation that now called itself the Eternal World. To be sure, in the last four centuries, turmoil had increased somehow and there had been a rash of Imperial assassinations and takeovers. But even that was calming down and right now the Galaxy was as quiet as it had ever been. Under Cleon I and before him under his father, Stanel VI, the worlds were prosperous-and Cleon himself was not considered a tyrant. Even those who disliked the Imperium as an institution rarely had anything truly bad to say about Cleon, much as they might inveigh against Eto Demerzel. Why, then, should Hummin say that the Galactic Empire was dying-and with such conviction? Hummin was a journalist. He probably knew Galactic history in some detail and he had to understand the current situation in great detail. Was it this that supplied him with the knowledge that lay behind his statement? In that case, just what was the knowledge? Several times Seldon was on the point of asking, of demanding an answer, but there was something in Hummin's solemn face that stopped him. And there was something in his own ingrained belief that the Galactic Empire was a given, an axiom, the foundation stone on which all argument rested that prevented him too. After all, if that was wrong, he didn't want to know. No, he couldn't believe that he was wrong. The Galactic Empire could no more come to an end than the Universe itself could. Or, if the Universe did end, then-and only then-would the Empire end. Seldon closed his eyes, attempting to sleep but, of course, he could not. Would he have to study the history of the Universe in order to advance his theory of psychohistory? How could he? Twenty-five million worlds existed, each with its own endlessly complex history. How could he study all that? There were book-films in many volumes, he knew, that dealt with Galactic history. He had even skimmed one once for some now-forgotten reason and had found it too dull to view even halfway through. The book-films had dealt with important worlds. With some, it dealt through all or almost all their history; with others, only as they gained importance for a time and only till they faded away. He remembered having looked up Helicon in the index and having found only one citation. He had punched the keys that would turn up that citation and found Helicon included in a listing of worlds which, on one occasion, had temporarily lined up behind a certain claimant to the Imperial throne who had failed to make good his claim. Helicon had escaped retribution on that occasion, probably because it was not even sufficiently important to be punished. What good was such a history? Surely, psychohistory would have to take into account the actions and reactions and interactions of each world-each and every world. How could one study the history of twenty-five million worlds and consider all their possible interactions? It would surely be an impossible task and this was just one more reinforcement of the general conclusion that psychohistory was of theoretical interest but could never be put to any practical use. Seldon felt a gentle push forward and decided that the air-taxi must be decelerating. â€Å"What's up?† he asked. â€Å"I think we've come far enough,† said Hummin, â€Å"to risk a small stopover for a bite to eat, a glass of something or other, and a visit to a washroom.† And, in the course of the next fifteen minutes, during which the air-taxi slowed steadily, they came to a lighted recess. The taxi swerved inward and found a parking spot among five or six other vehicles. 12. Hummin's practiced eye seemed to take in the recess, the other taxis, the diner, the walkways, and the men and women all at a glance. Seldon, trying to look inconspicuous and again not knowing how, watched him, trying not to do so too intently. When they sat down at a small table and punched in their orders, Seldon, attempting to sound indifferent, said, â€Å"Everything okay?† â€Å"Seems so,† said Hummin. â€Å"How can you tell?† Hummin let his dark eyes rest on Seldon for a moment. â€Å"Instinct,† he said. â€Å"Years of news gathering. You look and know, ‘No news here.' â€Å" Seldon nodded and felt relieved. Hummin might have said it sardonically, but there must be a certain amount of truth to it. His satisfaction did not last through the first bite of his sandwich. He looked up at Hummin with his mouth full and with a look of hurt surprise on his face. Hummin said, â€Å"This is a wayside diner, my friend. Cheap, fast, and not very good. The food's homegrown and has an infusion of rather sharp yeast. Trantorian palates are used to it.† Seldon swallowed with difficulty. â€Å"But back in the hotel-â€Å" â€Å"You were in the Imperial Sector, Seldon. Food is imported there and where microfood is used it is high-quality. It is also expensive.† Seldon wondered whether to take another bite. â€Å"You mean that as long as I stay on Trantor-â€Å" Hummin made a hushing motion with his lips. â€Å"Don't give anyone the impression that you're used to better. There are places on Trantor where to be identified as an aristocrat is worse than being identified as an Outworlder. The food won't be so bad everywhere, I assure you. These wayside places have a reputation for low quality. If you can stomach that sandwich, you'll be able to eat anywhere on Trantor. And it won't hurt you. It's not decayed or bad or anything like that. It just has a harsh, strong taste and, honestly, you may grow accustomed to it. I've met Trantorians who spit out honest food and say it lacks that homegrown tang.† â€Å"Do they grow much food on Trantor?† asked Seldon. A quick side glance showed him there was no one seated in the immediate vicinity and he spoke quietly. â€Å"I've always heard it takes twenty surrounding worlds to supply the hundreds of freight ships required to feed Trantor every day.† â€Å"I know. And hundreds to carry off the load of wastes. And if you want to make the story really good, you say that the same freight ships carry food one way and waste the other. It's true that we import considerable quantities of food, but that's mostly luxury items. And we export considerable waste, carefully treated into inoffensiveness, as important organic fertilizer-every bit as important to other worlds as the food is to us. But that's only a small fraction of the whole.† â€Å"It is?† â€Å"Yes. In addition to fish in the sea, there are gardens and truck farms everywhere. And fruit trees and poultry and rabbits and vast microorganism farms-usually called yeast farms, though the yeast makes up a minority of the growths. And our wastes are mostly used right here at home to maintain all that growth. In fact, in many ways Trantor is very much like an enormous and overgrown space settlement. Have you ever visited one of those?† â€Å"Indeed I have.† â€Å"Space settlements are essentially enclosed cities, with everything artificially cycled, with artificial ventilation, artificial day and night, and so on. Trantor is different only in that even the largest space settlement has a population of only ten million and Trantor has four thousand times that. Of course, we have real gravity. And no space settlement can match us in our microfoods. We have yeast vats, fungal vats, and algae ponds vast beyond the imagination. And we are strong on artificial flavoring, added with no light hand. That's what gives the taste to what you're eating.† Seldon had gotten through most of his sandwich and found it not as offensive as the first bite had been. â€Å"And it won't affect me?† â€Å"It does hit the intestinal flora and every once in a while it afflicts some poor Outworlder with diarrhea, but that's rare, and you harden even to that quickly. Still, drink your milkshake, which you probably won't like. It contains an antidiarrhetic that should keep you safe, even if you tend to be sensitive to such things.† Seldon said querulously, â€Å"Don't talk about it, Hummin. A person can be suggestible to such things.† â€Å"Finish the milkshake and forget the suggestibility.† They finished the rest of their meal in silence and soon were on their way again. 13. They were now racing rapidly through the tunnel once more. Seldon decided to give voice to the question that had been nagging at him for the last hour or so. â€Å"Why do you say the Galactic Empire is dying?† Hummin turned to look at Seldon again. â€Å"As a journalist, I have statistics poured into me from all sides till they're squeezing out of my ears. And I'm allowed to publish very little of it. Trantor's population is decreasing. Twenty-five years ago, it stood at almost forty-five billion. â€Å"Partly, this decrease is because of a decline in the birthrate. To be sure, Trantor never has had a high birthrate. If you'll look about you when you're traveling on Trantor, you won't encounter very many children, considering the enormous population. But just the same it's declining. Then too there is emigration. People are leaving Trantor in greater numbers than are arriving.† â€Å"Considering its large population,† said Seldon, â€Å"that's not surprising.† â€Å"But it's unusual just the same because it hasn't happened before. Again, all over the Galaxy trade is stagnating. People think that because there are no rebellions at the moment and because things are quiet that all is well and that the difficulties of the past few centuries are over. However, political infighting, rebellions, and unrest are all signs of a certain vitality too. But now there's a general weariness. It's quiet, not because people are satisfied and prosperous, but because they're tired and have given up.† â€Å"Oh, I don't know,† said Seldon dubiously. â€Å"I do. And the antigrav phenomenon we've talked about is another case in point. We have a few gravitic lifts in operation, but new ones aren't being constructed. It's an unprofitable venture and there seems no interest in trying to make it profitable. The rate of technological advance has been slowing for centuries and is down to a crawl now. In some cases, it has stopped altogether. Isn't this something you've noticed? After all, you're a mathematician.† â€Å"I can't say I've given the matter any thought.† â€Å"No one does. It's accepted. Scientists are very good these days at saying that things are impossible, impractical, useless. They condemn any speculation at once. You, for instance-What do you think of psychohistory? It is theoretically interesting, but it is useless in any practical sense. Am I right?† â€Å"Yes and no,† said Seldon, annoyed. â€Å"It is useless in any practical sense, but not because my sense of adventure has decayed, I assure you. It really it useless.† â€Å"That, at least,† said Hummin with a trace of sarcasm, â€Å"is your impression in this atmosphere of decay in which all the Empire lives.† â€Å"This atmosphere of decay,† said Seldon angrily, â€Å"is your impression. Is it possible that you are wrong?† Hummin stopped and for a moment appeared thoughtful. Then he said, â€Å"Yes, I might be wrong. I am speaking only from intuition, from guesses. What I need is a working technique of psychohistory.† Seldon shrugged and did not take the bait. He said, â€Å"I don't have such a technique to give you.-But suppose you're right. Suppose the Empire it running down and will eventually stop and fall apart. The human species will still exist.† â€Å"Under what conditions, man? For nearly twelve thousand years, Trantor, under strong rulers, has largely kept the peace. There've been interruptions to that-rebellions, localized civil wars, tragedy in plenty-but, on the whole and over large areas, there has been peace. Why is Helicon so pro-Imperium? Your world, I mean. Because it is small and would be devoured by its neighbors were it not that the Empire keeps it secure.† â€Å"Are you predicting universal war and anarchy if the Empire fails?† â€Å"Of course. I'm not fond of the Emperor or of the Imperial institutions in general, but I don't have any substitute for it. I don't know what else will keep the peace and I'm not ready to let go until I have something else in hand.† Seldon said, â€Å"You talk as though you are in control of the Galaxy. You are not ready to let go? You must have something else in hand? Who are you to talk so?† â€Å"I'm speaking generally, figuratively,† said Hummin. â€Å"I'm not worried about Chetter Hummin personally. It might be said that the Empire will last my time; it might even show signs of improvement in my time. Declines don't follow a straight-line path. It may be a thousand years before the final crash and you might well imagine I would be dead then and, certainly, I will leave no descendants. As far as women are concerned, I have nothing but the occasional casual attachment and I have no children and intend to have none. I have given no hostages to fortune.-I looked you up after your talk, Seldon. You have no children either.† â€Å"I have parents and two brothers, but no children.† He smiled rather weakly. â€Å"I was very attached to a woman at one time, but it seemed to her that I was attached more to my mathematics.† â€Å"Were you?† â€Å"It didn't seem so to me, but it seemed so to her. So she left.† â€Å"And you have had no one since?† â€Å"No. I remember the pain too clearly as yet.† â€Å"Well then, it might seem we could both wait out the matter and leave it to other people, well after our time, to suffer. I might have been willing to accept that earlier, but no longer. For now I have a tool; I am in command.† â€Å"What's your tool?† asked Seldon, already knowing the answer. â€Å"You!† said Hummin. And because Seldon had known what Hummin would say, he wasted no time in being shocked or astonished. He simply shook his head and said, â€Å"You are quite wrong. I am no tool fit for use.† â€Å"Why not?† Seldon sighed. â€Å"How often must I repeat it? Psychohistory is not a practical study. The difficulty is fundamental. All the space and time of the Universe would not suffice to work out the necessary problems.† â€Å"Are you certain of that?† â€Å"Unfortunately, yes.† â€Å"There's no question of your working out the entire future of the Galactic Empire, you know. You needn't trace out in detail the workings of every human being or even of every world. There are merely terrain questions you must answer: Will the Galactic Empire crash and, if so, when? What will be the condition of humanity afterward? Can anything be done to prevent the crash or to ameliorate conditions afterward? These are comparatively simple questions, it seems to me.† Seldon shook his head and smiled sadly. â€Å"The history of mathematics is full of simple questions that had only the most complicated of answers-or none at all.† â€Å"Is there nothing to be done? I can see that the Empire is falling, but I can't prove it. All my conclusions are subjective and I cannot show that I am not mistaken. Because the view is a seriously unsettling one, people would prefer not to believe my subjective conclusion and nothing will be done to prevent the Fall or even to cushion it. You could prove the coming Fall or, for that matter, disprove it.† â€Å"But that is exactly what I cannot do. I can't find you proof where none exists. I can't make a mathematical system practical when it isn't. I can't find you two even numbers that will yield an odd number as a sum, no matter how vitally your all the Galaxy-may need that odd number.† Hummin said, â€Å"Well then, you're part of the decay. You're ready to accept failure.† â€Å"What choice have I?† â€Å"Can't you try? However useless the effort may seem to you to be, have you anything better to do with your life? Have you some worthier goal? Have you a purpose that will justify you in your own eyes to some greater extent?† Seldon's eyes blinked rapidly. â€Å"Millions of worlds. Billions of cultures. Quadrillions of people. Decillions of interrelationships.-And you want me to reduce it to order.† â€Å"No, I want you to try. For the sake of those millions of worlds, billions of cultures, and quadrillions of people. Not for the Emperor. Not for Demerzel. For humanity.† â€Å"I will fail,† said Seldon. â€Å"Then we will be no worse off. Will you try?† And against his will and not knowing why, Seldon heard himself say, â€Å"I will try.† And the course of his life was set. 14. The journey came to its end and the air-taxi moved into a much larger lot than the one at which they had eaten. (Seldon still remembered the taste of the sandwich and made a wry face.) Hummin turned in his taxi and came back, placing his credit slip in a small pocket on the inner surface of his shirt. He said, â€Å"You're completely safe here from anything outright and open. This is the Streeling Sector.† â€Å"Streeling?† â€Å"It's named for someone who first opened up the area to settlement, I imagine. Most of the sectors are named for someone or other, which means that most of the names are ugly and some are hard to pronounce. Just the same, if you try to have the inhabitants here change Streeling to Sweetsmell or something like that, you'll have a fight on your hands.† â€Å"Of course,† said Seldon, sniffing loudly, â€Å"it isn't exactly Sweetsmell.† â€Å"Hardly anywhere in Trantor is, but you'll get used to it.† â€Å"I'm glad we're here,† said Seldon. â€Å"Not that I like it, but I got quite tired sitting in the taxi. Getting around Trantor must be a horror. Back on Helicon, we can get from any one place to any other by air, in far less time than it took us to travel less than two thousand kilometers here.† â€Å"We have air-jets too.† â€Å"But in that case-â€Å" â€Å"I could arrange an air-taxi ride more or less anonymously. It would have been much more difficult with an air-jet. And regardless of how safe it is here, I'd feel better if Demerzel didn't know exactly where you were.-As a matter of fact, we're not done yet. We're going to take the Expressway for the final stage.† Seldon knew the expression. â€Å"One of those open monorails moving on an electromagnetic field, right?† â€Å"Right.† â€Å"We don't have them on Helicon. Actually, we don't need them there. I rode on an Expressway the first day I was on Trantor. It took me from the airport to the hotel. It was rather a novelty, but if I were to use it all the time, I imagine the noise and crowds would become overpowering.† Hummin looked amused. â€Å"Did you get lost?† â€Å"No, the signs were useful. There was trouble getting on and off, but I was helped. Everyone could tell I was an Outworlder by my clothes, I now realize. They seemed eager to help, though; I guess because it was amusing to watching me hesitate and stumble.† â€Å"As an expert in Expressway travel by now, you will neither hesitate nor stumble.† Hummin said it pleasantly enough, though there was a slight twitch to the corners of his mouth. â€Å"Come on, then.† They sauntered leisurely along the walkway, which was lit to the extent one might expect of an overcast day and that brightened now and then as though the sun occasionally broke through the clouds. Automatically, Seldon looked upward to see if that were indeed the case, but the â€Å"sky† above was blankly luminous. Hummin saw this and said, â€Å"This change in brightness seems too suit the human psyche. There are days when the street seems to be in bright sunlight and days when it is rather darker than it is now.† â€Å"But no rain or snow?† â€Å"Or hail or sleet. No. Nor high humidity nor bitter cold. Trantor has its points, Seldon, even now.† There were people walking in both directions and there were a considerable number of young people and also some children accompanying the adults, despite what Hummin had said about the birthrate. All seemed reasonably prosperous and reputable. The two sexes were equally represented and the clothing was distinctly more subdued than it had been in the Imperial Sector. His own costume, as chosen by Hummin, fit right in. Very few were wearing hats and Seldon thankfully removed his own and swung it at his side. There was no deep abyss separating the two sides of the walkway and as Hummin had predicted in the Imperial Sector, they were walking at what seemed to be ground level. There were no vehicles either and Seldon pointed this out to Hummin. Hummin said, â€Å"There are quite a number of them in the Imperial Sector because they're used by officials. Elsewhere, private vehicles are rare and those that are used have separate tunnels reserved for them. Their use is not really necessary, since we have Expressways and, for shorter distances, moving corridors. For still shorter distances, we have walkways and we can use our legs.† Seldon heard occasional muted sighs and creaks and saw, some distance off, the endless passing of Expressway cars. â€Å"There it is,† he said, pointing. â€Å"I know, but let us move on to a boarding station. There are more cars there and it is easier to get on.† Once they were safely ensconced in an Expressway car, Seldon turned to Hummin and said, â€Å"What amazes me is how quiet the Expressways are. I realize that they are mass-propelled by an electromagnetic field, but it seems quiet even for that.† He listened to the occasional metallic groan as the car they were on shifted against its neighbors. â€Å"Yes, it's a marvelous network,† said Hummin, â€Å"but you don't see it at its peak. When I was younger, it was quieter than it is now and there are those who say that there wasn't as much as a whisper fifty years ago-though I suppose we might make allowance for the idealization of nostalgia.† â€Å"Why isn't it that way now?† â€Å"Because it isn't maintained properly. I told you about decay.† Seldon frowned. â€Å"Surely, people don't sit around and say, ‘We're decaying. Let's let the Expressways fall apart.' â€Å" â€Å"No, they don't. It's not a purposeful thing. Bad spots are patched, decrepit coaches refurbished, magnets replaced. However, it's done in more slapdash fashion, more carelessly, and at greater intervals. There just aren't enough credits available.† â€Å"Where have the credits gone?† â€Å"Into other things. We've had centuries of unrest. The navy is much larger and many times more expensive than it once was. The armed forces are much better-paid, in order to keep them quiet. Unrest, revolts, and minor blazes of civil war all take their toll.† â€Å"But it's been quiet under Cleon. And we've had fifty years of peace.† â€Å"Yes, but soldiers who are well-paid would resent having that pay reduced just because there is peace. Admirals resist mothballing ships and having themselves reduced in rank simply because there is less for them to do. So the credits still go-unproductively-to the armed forces and vital areas of the social good are allowed to deteriorate. That's what I call decay. Don't you? Don't you think that eventually you would fit that sort of view into your psychohistorical notions?† Seldon stirred uneasily. Then he said, â€Å"Where are we going, by the way?† â€Å"Streeling University.† â€Å"Ah, that's why the sector's name was familiar. I've heard of the University.† â€Å"I'm not surprised. Trantor has nearly a hundred thousand institutions of higher learning and Streeling is one of the thousand or so at the top of the heap.† â€Å"Will I be staying there?† â€Å"For a while. University campuses are unbreathable sanctuaries, by and large. You will be safe there.† â€Å"But will I be welcome there?† â€Å"Why not? It's hard to find a good mathematician these days. They might be able to use you. And you might be able to use them too-and for more than just a hiding place.† â€Å"You mean, it will be a place where I can develop my notions.† â€Å"You have promised,† said Hummin gravely. â€Å"I have promised to try, † said Seldon and thought to himself that it was about like promising to try to make a rope out of sand. 15. Conversation had run out after that and Seldon watched the structures of the Streeling Sector as they passed. Some were quite low, while some seemed to brush the â€Å"sky.† Wide crosspassages broke the progression and frequent alleys could be seen. At one point, it struck him that though the buildings rose upward they also swept downward and that perhaps they were deeper than they were high. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he was convinced it was true. Occasionally, he saw patches of green in the background, farther back from the Expressway, and even small trees. He watched for quite a while and then became aware that the light was growing dimmer. He squinted about and turned to Hummin, who guessed the question. â€Å"The afternoon is waning,† he said, â€Å"and night is coming on.† Seldon's eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth turned downward. â€Å"That's impressive. I have a picture of the entire planet darkening and then, some hours from now, lighting up again.† Hummin smiled his small, careful smile. â€Å"Not quite, Seldon. The planet is never turned off altogether-or turned on either. The shadow of twilight sweeps across the planet gradually, followed half a day later by the slow brightening of dawn. In fact, the effect follows the actual day and night above the domes quite closely, so that in higher altitudes day and night change length with the seasons.† Seldon shook his head, â€Å"But why close in the planet and then mimic what would be in the open?† â€Å"I presume because people like it better that way. Trantorians like the advantages of being enclosed, but they don't like to be reminded of it unduly, just the same. You know very little about Trantorian psychology, Seldon.† Seldon flushed slightly. He was only a Heliconian and he knew very little about the millions of worlds outside Helicon. His ignorance was not confined to Trantor. How, then, could he hope to come up with any practical applications for his theory of psychohistory? How could any number of people-all together-know enough? It reminded Seldon of a puzzle that had been presented to him when he was young: Can you have a relatively small piece of platinum, with handholds affixed, that could not be lifted by the bare, unaided strength of any number of people, no matter how many? The answer was yes. A cubic meter of platinum weighs 22,420 kilograms under standard gravitational pull. If it is assumed that each person could heave 120 kilograms up from the ground, then 188 people would suffice to lift the platinum.-But you could not squeeze 188 people around the cubic meter so that each one could get a grip on it. You could perhaps not squeeze more than 9 people around it. And levers or other such devices were not allowed. It had to be â€Å"bare, unaided strength.† In the same way, it could be that there was no way of getting enough people to handle the total amount of knowledge required for psychohistory, even if the facts were stored in computers rather than in individual human brains. Only so many people could gather round the knowledge, so to speak, and communicate it. Hummin said, â€Å"You seem to be in a brown study, Seldon.† â€Å"I'm considering my own ignorance.† â€Å"A useful task. Quadrillions could profitably join you.-But it's time to get off.† Seldon looked up. â€Å"How can you tell?† â€Å"Just as you could tell when you were on the Expressway your first day on Trantor. I go by the signs.† Seldon caught one just as it went by: STREELING UNIVERSITY-3 MINUTES. â€Å"We get off at the next boarding station. Watch your step.† Seldon followed Hummin off the coach, noting that the sky was deep purple now and that the walkways and corridors and buildings were all lighting up, suffused with a yellow glow. It might have been the gathering of a Heliconian night. Had he been placed here blindfolded and had the blindfold been removed, he might have been convinced that he was in some particularly well-built-up inner region of one of Helicon's larger cities. â€Å"How long do you suppose I will remain at Streeling University, Hummin?† he asked. Hummin said in his usual calm fashion, â€Å"That would be hard to say, Seldon. Perhaps your whole life.† â€Å"What!† â€Å"Perhaps not. But your life stopped being your own once you gave that paper on psychohistory. The Emperor and Demerzel recognized your importance at once. So did I. For all I know, so did many others. You see, that means you don't belong to yourself anymore.†

Describe the functions of managers Essay

Good management and leadership are critical for organisations to function and also for the organisations to thrive. When organisations are well managed just like Barclay, they can operate effectively and they can operate efficiently. Managers have very good and clear plans, mangers have organised structures, systems, and they also evaluate results. When organisations are well led, they adapt to changes in the environment and develop cultures that inspire commitment and innovation. Both good management and good leadership are necessary to sustain organisational performance. Mangers are responsible for getting work done usually through other people; the term manger may also refer to a number of different people within a business. Some job titles include the word manager, such as a personal manger or managing director. Other jobholders may also be mangers even through there titles do not say it. * Mangers act on behalf of the owners – in a company, senior management are accountable shareholders * Mangers set objectives for the organisation, for example, they may decide that a long-term objective is to have a greater market share than all of the company’s competitors. * Managers make sure that a business achieves its objectives, by managing others. * Managers ensure that cooperate values which means the value of the organisation are maintained in dealings with other business, customers, employees and general public. When an organisation is managed well mangers effectively perform four essential management functions Henry Fayol the French management theorist listed a number of functions or elements of management these are: * Planning * Organising * Commanding * Coordinating * Controlling Planning This involves mangers setting objectives and also the strategies, policies, programmes and procedures for achieving them. Planning might be done by line mangers who will be responsible for performance. However advice on planning may also come from staff management who might have expertise in that are even if they have no line authority. For example, a production may carry out human recourse planning in the production department, but use the skills of the personal manager in planning recruitment for vacancies that may arise. In general, planning involves defining organisational goals and proposing ways to reach them. Managers plan for 3 reasons: * To establish an overall direction for the organisations future, such as a target say for example to increase profit, expand market share,, etc, etc. * To identify and commit the organisations resources to achieving its goals. * To decide which tasks must be done to reach those goals. * Barclays mangers set up objectives * Barclays bank makes up smart plans to achieve set objectives. * Manpower planning * Production budgets * Cash budgets * Sales targets Organising Mangers set task, which need to be performed if the business is to achieve its objectives. Jobs need to be organised within sections or departments and authority and authority needs to be delegated so that jobs are carried out. For example: the goal of a manufacturing company may be to produce quality goods that will be delivered to customer on time. The tasks such as manufacturing, packaging, administration, etc. that are part of producing and distributing the goods, need to be organised to achieve this goal. For example in Barclays within Barclay’s managers, supervisors must lead the employees with the delegated job. After mangers have prepared plans, they must translate those relatively abstract ideas into practice reality. Organising is the processes of creating a structure of relationships that will enable employees to carry out management’s plans and meet organisational goals. By organising effectively. Mangers can better coordinate human, material, and information resources. An organisations success depends largely on management’s ability to utilise those resources effectively and efficiently. * Organise working procedures * Organisational structure, chain of command needs to be established. * Organising which member of staff in Barclays does what. * Distribution channels. * Quality systems Commanding This involves giving instructions to subordinates to carry out tasks. The manger has the authority to make decisions and responsibilities to see tasks carried out. For example in Barclays plc the management team must put plans into action by allocating the best use of resources to achieve the plan. To make sure the plans are achieved mangers use their delegation skills. Coordinating This is the bringing together of the activities of people with the business. Individuals and groups will have there own goals, which may be different to those of the business and each other. Management must make sure that there is a common approach, so that the company’s goals are achieved. * Mangers coordinate the work force * Mangers in Barclays bank direct employees what they are doing. * Delegating tasks * Mangers resolve conflicts of interests in the different functional areas of the business. * This helps mangers to motivate their staff. Controlling Mangers measure and correct the activities of individuals and groups to make sure that their performance fits in with plans. Control is the monitoring of evens and progress within each department. For example within Barclays the organisation a range of departments for example the finance department they will monitor there budget and performance. The process by which person group or organisation consciously monitors performance and takes corrective action this is called controlling, another example would be that Barclays finance department will be controlling and monitoring customers transactions, etc, etc and they will keep a history and they will keep a record file of that customer. Management control system sends signal to managers that things are not working out as planned and that corrective action is needed. * Barclays bank monitor and measure what is being archived in each of their department. * Barclays control, monitor there sales performance. * Barclays control and monitor their cash flow against their budget. Leading After management has made plans, created a structure of work practice, and hired the right personal, someone must lead the organisation, leading involves communicating with and motivating others to perform the tasks necessary to achieve the organisations goals. Leading is not done only after planning and organising end, it is a crucial element of these functions.

Gangs & sub-cultural theories Essay

A gang is a group of individuals that have a common identity and works towards a common goal. The current usage of the term implies a criminal group. Its early usage was to refer to a faction of workmen. In the United Kingdom the term is still used to refer to workmen, but it has undergone semantic change. The term is one that carries a negative meaning; nevertheless, within a group that identifies itself with antagonism to social norms, associates of the gang might decide to use the term as a declaration of identity or rebelliousness. There are a lot of reports of criminal actions committed by gangs throughout the world. There are parts of the world and societies where gang activities are so prevalent causing major problems to different countries. There are cases of documented gangs and gang members in criminology literature. Some of these gangs are well known, not only by the law enforcers, but also by the members of the society. Gang formation is a concept that has been in place since the 13th century. During this time, it is said that children from poor families and the orphans in the United Kingdom obtained their means of survival through becoming members of gangs that were managed by adult crime perpetrators (Allen, 2005). These gangs were basically involved in pick pocketing. Gangs identify themselves by the use of distinct signs, symbols and names. They are known to cause harm, threaten, harass and intimidate other members of the society. Gang violence is a term that is used to refer to criminal activities that are perpetrated by gangs. Throughout history, such activities have been known to be perpetrated by gang members. There is a time in history when all the major cities around the world were haunted by gangs. During this time gang violence became prevalent all over the world. Contemporary gangs have introduced fresh kinds of violence. These acts are in most cases used as rite of passage for those wishing to become part of the group (Allen, 2005). There have been a lot of theories developed to explain the causes of gangs and gang violence. Some of the theories are similar while other others are different in explaining gang formation and crime in the society. These theories are very important in understanding why some people are more prone to crime then others and why some people are more likely to join gangs than others. Two of the most common theories on crime include the strain theory and the sub-cultural theory (Akers, 2000). The main similarity between the two theories is that they both describe gang formation from a social point of view. They are however different in a number of ways, one of them being the fact that their focus is on different elements of the society (Allen, 2005). This paper compares and contrasts strain and sub-cultural theories in explaining gangs and gang violence. The paper first discusses the meaning and background information of the two theories. The Strain theory The strain theory holds that the social structures that are within a society may be contributing factors to some individuals becoming members of a gang and being involved in crime. Strain refers to the elements in the society or in a person that leads to committing of crime. There are two kinds of strain: structural or individual. Structural is the processes within the culture that filter down and control individual’s perceptions of their needs. For example, a state of inadequacy in social structures and regulations can lead to transformation in the way a person perceives his or her needs. Individual perceptions to the means and opportunities can also be transformed (Akers, 2000). This is what causes people perpetrate crime either as individuals or in a gang. From the individual viewpoint, it refers to the pressures and afflictions that a person suffers as he or she searches for ways and means to cater for his or her requirements. This means that the objectives of the society becomes very important to a person such that their achievement becomes more important that the ways of achieving them (Cohen, 1965). People live in a society that is full of requirements and expectations. Where individuals cannot access their needs through the conventional legitimate ways, they tend to use the unconventional ways. Where individuals are in a society where they cannot access their needs normally with the use of the conventional legitimate needs, they tend to become disappointed. This feeling of despair that is associated with the incapability to acquire the requirements is the one that is being referred to as strain. It is this feeling that causes people who are unable to acquire their needs to be involved in crime (Akers, 2000). In many instances, young people will be able to access the unconventional or illegitimate means through becoming members of gangs. This reveals the fact that gangs are as a result of strains that act upon individuals in striving to achieve expectation. In a gang, young people tend to get what they were unable to get in living within the social norms. They find company, finances and most of all the means to acquire what they desire. The theory explains how social elements like poverty, homelessness, and lack of proper parental care can lead to formation of delinquent activities and groups (Cohen, 1965). Sub-cultural theory The sub-cultural theory as used in criminology originated from the efforts of the Chicago School on gangs. This theory was then advanced via the symbolic interactionism school. The theory was advanced into a series of premises that put forward the argument that some factions or sub-cultures in the community have some principles and approaches that are favourable for crime and aggression. This supports the argument that crime is dominant in some cultures or societies than others. This theory focuses on crime committed by young people, mostly in gangs. It is argued that when crime is not controlled from this level, it moves on to adolescent and finally to adulthood (Akers, 2000). Gangs that are formed at the early age in life, tend to graduate to maturity, and continue recruiting the youths. The theory states that if the patterns of crime can be comprehended and controlled from the level of juvenile delinquency, it would be possible to prevent the move to teenage offender and also to adult criminals. It is believed that where the sub-culture is favourable for crime, it begins from an early age, graduating to adolescent and ultimately to adulthood (Miller, 1959). Culture stands for the traditions, ways of life and principles that act as the guide to personality. It is also from these aspects that personality is judged by people. Passage of culture is essentially through social rather than biological ways. This is where the values and principles within a society are transmitted from one generation to the following. A sub-culture is a culture that exists within the larger culture. This culture consist of distinct elements of values, norms and customs that are different from the larger culture but does not essentially stand for a culture considered non-standard by many people. A sub-culture is distinguished from the larger culture for opposition that acts against the larger culture. This offers the explanation why in some parts of a society, especially the poorest regions, there are some kinds of behaviour that have developed into a standard and tend to be passed from one generation to the next. Successful crime perpetrators tend to be role models to the others, revealing likelihood success through criminal activities and its normality. This is where the older members of gangs tend to influence youths into their activities. The cultural arrangement is directed by many principles, traditions, and standards that force people to establish gangs that have unique characters. The sub-cultures that are developed tend to be more diverse than the main stream culture (Miller, 1959). Similarities between the two theories in explaining gangs The two theories take a social perspective in explaining gang formation and gang violence. They both offer the claim that gangs are as a result of the kind of society within which people live. Despite the fact that the two theories describe different ways that the society contributes to gangs, the two argue that society is the main causative element to gang formation and gang violence. In strain theory, people become members of gangs and commit gang violence as a result of residing in a society where their needs are not able to be met. It is as a result of the social class where a person exists that determines the kind of behaviour that he or she exhibits. In the United Kingdom, individuals are always in pursuit of wealth property, power, education, and other things that ensure a comfortable life (Akers, 2000). It is due to their living conditions that the lower class is not in a position to meet these needs adequately. They are not in a position to acquire these needs in conventional legal means. This according to the strain theory is what leads people to join gangs where there opportunities to acquire their needs. Sub-cultural theory explains that it is in a society that is predisposed to crime that people are influenced to join gangs. In a sub-culture where crime is condoned and pardoned, there tends to be many gangs. The young people tend to be influenced by the older members of gangs. In fact, the older members act as role models to the youths. It is therefore evident from the two theories that the society plays the central role in gang formation and consequently to the gang violence. The two theories introduce blocked-goals as the producing factors of deviant characteristics, like gang formation (Shaw, 1930). The strain theory in explaining violence is described similarly to functionalist theory under sub-cultural theories. Functionalist holds that gangs are motivated by financial requirements. This is the same case with the strain theory that holds that financial requirements lead people to commit crime. The functionalist theory states that adolescents are motivated by material gain to be involved in gangs. From this point of view, the sub-cultural theory becomes similar to the strain theory in explaining crime. Here the motivating factor to crime under the two theories is the acquisition of material gain in a society where this is not possible through conventional legitimate needs. Where youths are faced with situations where they are not in a position to fulfil their requirements due to the elements in the society that leads to inadequacy, they tend to join others who share their predicaments. These groups, the gangs, operate in unison, sharing the same identity and motivated by a common goal, which is achievement of their needs. This leads to the fact that the end results of the two theories are similar (Shaw, 1930). The end results of gangs and gang violence as explained by the two theories are similar. The strain theory presents the claim that individuals are influenced by the need to obtain their requirements in an inadequate social environment. This is what leads them to use of illegitimate means. The end result of the act is acquisition of finances or property through illegitimate means. As per the sub-cultural theory, the basic values of a group are what cause a person to be involved in crime. Given situations where the children in the working class cannot to achieve academically as a result of social or cultural factors, they tend to feel that it is impossible to obtain anything through conventional means (Akers, 2000). Such children gather themselves in groups or gangs of people that share their predicaments. They involve themselves in crime and gang violence means to acquire wealth and property. The end result of the action is acquisition of finances or property through illegitimate means. This reveals the fact that the result of gangs as explained by the two theories is acquisition of finances and property. The two theories reveal means to the same end (Akers, 2000). The society has put a lot of pressure on people to attain high achievement and success. Competition and the need for success is one value that is glorified in the society. This means that as per the two theories there are forces and pressures that lead to gang formation and involvement. These are the forces and pressures that lead people to strive to achieve and become powerful, without caring about the means for doing so. The legitimate means may be difficult to acquire, making the illegitimate means more preferable. According to the sub-cultural theory, the forces are the structural constraints. The individuals who join gangs are people who feel completely powerless. They are pushed by the society and end up defying the rules and regulations. The forces as per the sub-cultural theory push people to act as per the society’s expectations (Akers, 2000). According to the strain theory, the forces that act on individuals are the strains. Individuals tend to be involved in gang activities where they are not in a position to cope with the strains. There are series of events and circumstances that hamper individuals from attaining their expectations. This could be major or minor state of affairs and circumstances that upsurge and discourage with time. Dissatisfaction causes displeasure, abhorrence and annoyance. All these are attitudes connected with strain in gang formation. It is a normal human nature to develop feeling of desperation and frustration where they are not in a position to get what they want (Shaw, 1930). Differences between the two theories in explaining gangs Despite the fact that the two theories agree on the fact that the social environment is responsible for causing gang formation, the ways in which the society is responsible tend to differ. The strain theory emphasises on strain and stressing forces of gang formation. The sub-cultural theory on the other hand emphasises on factions as the causing factors of gang formation. The strain theory states that individuals will be forced to join gangs where they are not in a position to gather financial success through legitimate ways. The sub-cultural theory claims that people are pushed into gangs where they belong to sub-cultures that excuse, justify or approve of gangs. Societies that excuses and tolerates acts of violence and stealing, tend to produce more gangs than others (Miller, 1959). The two theories differ in their explanation of the primary cause of gang formation. While the strain theory presents the argument that gang formation is motivated by financial success, the sub-cultural theory argues that gangs are not motivated by money success as the strain theory suggests, but by the pressure of all the dominant values in the society. The adolescent tend to develop what Merton refers to â€Å"social status frustration,† where they are not able to achieve academically. This is what convinces them that they are not capable of gaining anything through conventional means. In this case, their motivating factor is not primarily financial success. They end up in gangs through this conviction, although the ultimate goal is financial success. The difference in the two theories comes up in the motivating factors to gang formation and involvement. As per the strain theory the key motivation is money success, while for the sub-cultural theory the key motivation factor is the failure to succeed through legitimate means in a society that is prone to crime (Shaw, 1930). There is a difference in the nature of the environment as explained by the two theories. However, this does not nullify the fact that the social environment is what basically explains crime and gangs. In the sub-cultural theory, the social environment is one where there is prevalence of crime that is passed from one generation to the following. This means that the theory explains a society where crime is almost a norm. This kind of social environment is not revealed in the strain theory. According to the sub-cultural theory, in most cases, the society has already established illegitimate opportunity structure. The younger members of gangs learn criminal actions from the older members. This is what it basically referred to as learning the ‘tricks of the trade’ (Akers, 2000). The sub-culture makes it clear to the youths that crime is a norm. As per the strain theory, the social environment is one where are goals that need to be achieved. Individuals in this kind of environment are aware of the objectives and how it is crucial to achieve them. There are however some individuals in this environment who lacks the means to attain the social expectations. For the serious need to realize these expectations and the importance of achieving them, some people result to gang involvement. From this perspective, gangs are formed by the society through creation of expectations without availing the means to achieve them (Shaw, 1930). The social environments in which gangs are formed are different for the two theories. While sub-cultural revealed the argument that gangs can be formed in a negative social environment that is already prone to crime, the strain theory presents the crime that gangs can either be formed in a positive or negative social environment. The argument according to the strain theory is that individual’s real expectations or the expected failure to attain positive values set up by the society, real or elimination of positive incentive, and real or expected presentation of negatively valued incentive all cause strain. In a positive social environment, individuals turn to gangs where they are not in a position to live up to the standards set up by the society. Where individuals are not treated in the way they expect, they loose trust with the ability of others to help them meet their expectations. Frustration and dissatisfaction establish negative interactions. This is so because of the desire to keep off hostile rejections. This is what leads to people finding those of their kind; people who are in a position to help them create a sense of belonging and acceptance. This kind of environment is achieved through membership to gangs. Gangs are basically constituted by people who feel that the society is not supportive. The sub-cultural theory operates from the conflicting side. This kind of society is one that does not expect anything positive from its people. The reason for this is that the society is already predisposed to crime. This reveals that unlike the strain theory, this theory operates solely from a negative environment (Miller, 1959). There is another contradiction under the two theories, where in the sub-cultural theory gangs are a way of living up to the social expectations of roughness and smartness, while under the other theory gangs are established due to the inability to live up to social expectations. It is expected under the sub-cultural theory for individuals in the lower class to be involved in gang violence. This is indirectly by the need from the society to be tough and street-wise. This is what motivates then to join groups, begin getting involved in criminal activities, and find fun in defying the regulations of the land. From the strain theory perspective, failure to live up to the expectations of the society is what forces individuals into gangs and gang violence. Every society has set up expectations that its members are supposed to live up to. Where people lack the means to achieve these expectations they tend to become members of groups that help them in attaining them. Failure to reach the expectations may also make some to defy against the law as a way of revealing or dealing with their frustration (Shaw, 1930). Strengths and weaknesses of the theories The two theories are good resources in explaining gangs, but this can be best illustrated through the sub-cultural theory. Thrasher (1927) defines gang through the process that they undertake in formation of groups. â€Å"The gang is an interstitial group originally formed spontaneously, and then integrated through conflict. It is characterized by the following types of behavior: meeting face to face, milling, movement through space as a unit, conflict, and planning. The result of this collective behavior is the development of tradition, unreflective internal structure, esprit de corps, solidarity, morale, group awareness, and attachment to a local territory† (Thrasher, 1927, p. 46). The theory explains the fact that gangs originate from a very early age, through formation of play groups. The groups begin getting involved in simple mischief. They culminate into gangs when they begin to excite themselves with disproval and misbehavior. This is where they begin developing a clear-cut group-consciousness. The social environment encourages gang crimes because of the fact that it is already predisposed to crime. Thrasher gives a description of the way the society can be favorable to delinquent behavior. He claims that gang sub-cultures came up from cracks or interstices of neglect in the teenage years. The argument of Thrasher is supported by Shaw (1930), through the claim that gang acts are passed by older boys to the younger ones. Such gangs are found in areas with high rate of single-parent homes, joblessness and low education. These are the areas of ghettos, and slums. The theories explain the reasons why gangs tend to be more in the lower class than in the middle class. The theory that is preferable here is the sub-cultural theory. This is apparent in the arguments of Miller (1959), who supports the arguments of Cohen. Miller supports the fact that delinquency is a sub-culture, but one that is found within the lower class. There is a clear-cut division between the lower and the middle class. The two classes stand for different traditions and principles. The middle class tend focus on accomplishment and social goals. The other class focuses on the need of their children to stay out is trouble. This class expects their children to be rough and street-wise. This becomes the motivation behind establishing and joining gang groups. Considering the fact that their lives tend to be boring for lack of exciting social activities, they tend to embrace crime as an exciting social activity. This is what makes them start to engage in unlawful activities. They get a sense of freedom by going against the social system that is established by the society. For the lower class, there is another practice that plays a major responsibility in their social life. This institution is same-sex peer groups. To them, this institution is more significant than any other in the society. This is because of the social belonging that it renders. It is from these groups that they are in a position to gain status, one thing they cannot access in the conventional society. They develop a unique identity and work towards a particular goal (Miller, 1959). Despite the fact that the two theories are significant in explaining the reasons behind the formation of gangs, they do not reveal the origins of the motivating factors and forces, which would be helpful in defining possible solutions. This is a weakness revealed by the two theories. This reveals the fact that the explanation of the two theories is incomplete. Up to the point where the strain theory is explained by Akers (2000), there are only kinds of the strains that are discussed and nothing is discussed about their sources. The frictions of situations are only revealed as hindering the attainment or expectations. There is no discussion about where they come from. Even in the sub-cultural theory, there is no much discussion on the structural constraints that are shown to be the forces behind delinquency. The theories fail in finding out the solutions to the problem. The theories can only be used in describing the source of the problem and not the effects and solution to the problem (Akers, 2000). Conclusion This paper compares and contrasts strain and sub-cultural theories explain gangs and gang violence. These two are very crucial in criminology for offering an insight as to the causes of crime in the society. The two have some common as well as different aspects in explaining gang formation and gang-related crimes. The two explain the causes of crime from social perspective and reveal similar end results, which is crime for attainment of wealth and property. The theories reveal strong forces that lead people to committing crime. The two forces are structural constraints for the sub-cultural theory and strains for the strain theory. These are some of the similarities but there are a number of differences between the two. The focus of the two is on varying elements of the social environment. The two also give varying accounts of the reasons why the society leads to crime. The theories are a crucial way of explaining gangs are formed in the society. This is achieved by describing their causes. There is need for further studies to come up with solutions to this problem. (Word count=4,065) References: Shaw, C. (1930). The Jackroller: A Delinquent Boy’s Own Story. Reprint edition: 1966. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Miller, W. (1959). â€Å"Implications of Urban Lower-Class Culture for Social Work. † The Social Service Review. Vol. 33, 219-236. Cohen, A. (1965). â€Å"The Sociology of the Deviant Act: Anomie Theory and Beyond,† American Sociological Review 30: 5-14. Akers, R. (2000). Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles: Roxbury. Allen, M. (2005). Textbook on Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thrasher, F. M. (1927). The Gang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.