Political Philosophy and National Integration Essay Example for Free

Political Philosophy and National Integration Essay 1. Focal Quotation â€Å"National mix is incompletely a side-effect of other social and monetary turns of events, somewhat the aftereffect of intentional government policies.† (Birch, 36) 2. Contention In this content Birch gives an authentic diagram of national mix process. He examines various perspectives towards digestion of minorities that existed in North America and Europe. Before 1960s that it was current accept that national mix could be tested by the presence of various ethnic gatherings inside the fringes of the nation and absorption was attractive. After 1960 be that as it may, this mentalities has changed for social pluralism. Birch additionally presents designs, which depicts normal acts of national mix. 3. Question The inquiry brought up in this content is â€Å"Whether the procedure of national coordination must be joined by entirely or incomplete osmosis of minorities?† Birch portrays both negative and constructive outcomes, which social, financial and political combination of minor ethnic and social gatherings could have on building a feeling of nationhood. His argumentation depends on conflicting declarations. One contention is agreeable to social homogeneity for example stresses the significance of normal language and sentiment of solidarity among individuals for improvement of vote based establishments. In a similar time creator notice a few logical works that question the presumption that further joining is required for foundation of agent vote based system. 4. Experiential Connection Indeed, even thou I experienced childhood in Sweden, I have a great deal of companions with various ethnic source who lives there, for the most part first or second era workers. Every one of them got an opportunity, upon their own will to learn Swedish for nothing out of pocket when they showed up. That was the piece of coordination program set up by government so as to encourage movement process. That makes it simpler for foreigners to connect with nearby residents, land the positions and therefore add to social, political and financial advancement of the nation. 5. Printed Connection. Birch’s argumentation is very like Will Kymlicka’sagrument in the content â€Å"Western political hypothesis and ethnic relations in eastern Europe†. Just as Birch, Kymlicka stresses that perspectives toward ethnic minorities among majority rule dissidents in West had changed since 1960 and multiculturalism become increasingly satisfactory (Kymlicka, s. 33). Kymlicka centers around various ethnic gatherings and portrays osmosis endeavors made by governments towards these gatherings. He likewise accentuates the significance of various administrative arrangements that decides combination process (Kymlicka, s. 42). 6. Suggestions. This content examinations the various manners by which minor gatherings can be converged into national social orders and suggests the conversation starter of whether national mix is a positive or a negative procedure. This inquiry must be replied by residents and agent governments in each nation before there will be made any further move toward national incorporation or deterioration. I think government need to consider related knowledge of coordination of minorities in various nations to pick appropriated arrangements for the specific district. This should be possible all through contextual analyses and with assistance of examples of combination drawn up by scholars and researchers.

No Permanent Friends, Only Permanent Objectives essays

No Permanent Friends, Only Permanent Objectives articles The topic of the advanced sovereign state throughout the most recent four centuries has been no perpetual companions, just changeless targets. During the period from 1789 to 1823, The United States achieved one of its targets, the Monroe teaching of 1823 however was fruitless in the Proclamation of Neutrality gave in 1793 destinations. The objective for America was to keep no outside binds with any nation as communicated in George Washingtons goodbye address when he expressed make no perpetual monetary ties or unions. On December 2, 1823, the fifth leader of the United States, James Monroe, communicated the Monroe Doctrine in his seventh yearly message to Congress. The Monroe convention was an essential approach for the safeguard of all North and South American countries against remote assault. The finish of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 denoted the separation of the Spanish realm in the New World as uprisings and autonomy developments got normal. The new Spanish republics, for example, the recently autonomous Argentina, looked for and anticipated acknowledgment by the United States, and numerous Americans embraced that thought. President Monroe wasnt ready to hazard war for countries he knew wouldnt endure. From his perspective, as long as the other European forces didnt mediate, the United States government could simply let Spain and her defiant settlements battle it out. After at long last perceiving these new colonizes in 1822, they were viewed as making partnerships with France. This made the M onroe regulation be given and upheld. In the Monroe Doctrine, the United States educated the forces regarding the Old World that the American mainlands were not, at this point open to European colonization and that any push to broaden European political impact into the New World would be viewed as risky to harmony and security. This approach succeeded on the grounds that it met British interests just as American, and for the following 100 years was made sure about by the ... <!

The Byzantine Empire :: essays research papers

The Byzantine Empire      The Byzantine Empire, the overcomer of the Roman domain, thrived into the most established and longest enduring domain in our history. It started with Constantine the Great's triumph of Christianity. He at that point moved his capital from Rome to the refounded Byzantium in the mid fourth century, year 330 AD, and named it Constantinople after himself. This city turned into the enduring safe spot after the separation of the Western Roman domain by the fifth century. It was by a long shot the biggest and most extravagant city in Christendom during the Middle Ages with a populace of around one million individuals. (Encarta)      Constantine the Great had built up a basis for the realm to follow since its commencement. It incorporated the concordance of the congregation, the pioneers and the instructors of the domain. Constantine made an effective new fiscal framework dependent on the gold solidus, or nomisma which kept going great into the center of the eleventh century. As a result of the business flourishing all through the fourth, fifth, and sixth hundreds of years, numerous antiquated urban areas prospered. Enormous domains commanded horticulture which kept on being productive despite the overwhelming tax collection causing a deserting of land. From the earliest starting point as far as possible of the Byzantine realm, the congregation and the sovereign had been the biggest landholders, along these lines being the biggest profiteers of Byzantine. (Encarta)      After the Roman realm fell in 476 AD, Byzantine vanquished all. It took over the space of southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and the upper east corner of Africa. The current day nations in these zones incorporate the Balkan Promontory, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. This huge realm known as Byzantine didn't get called Byzantine until researchers named it. The individuals of that time were not thought of as Byzantines however as Romans who carried on a Roman way of life. Byzantine had been begun and administered by a sovereign with no formal constitution. It gradually framed a comparable foundation generally Roman organizations. Byzantine followed the Romans standard Christianity too. The dominating language of this period was Greek, albeit a few subjects spoke Latin, The Byzantine Empire :: expositions inquire about papers The Byzantine Empire      The Byzantine Empire, the overcomer of the Roman realm, thrived into the most seasoned and longest enduring domain in our history. It started with Constantine the Great's triumph of Christianity. He at that point moved his capital from Rome to the refounded Byzantium in the mid fourth century, year 330 AD, and named it Constantinople after himself. This city turned into the enduring safe spot after the separation of the Western Roman domain by the fifth century. It was by a long shot the biggest and most extravagant city in Christendom during the Middle Ages with a populace of around one million individuals. (Encarta)      Constantine the Great had built up a basis for the realm to follow since its commencement. It incorporated the concordance of the congregation, the pioneers and the instructors of the domain. Constantine made an effective new financial framework dependent on the gold solidus, or nomisma which endured well into the center of the eleventh century. In light of the business flourishing all through the fourth, fifth, and sixth hundreds of years, numerous antiquated urban areas prospered. Huge bequests ruled agribusiness which kept on being productive disregarding the overwhelming tax collection causing a relinquishment of land. From the earliest starting point as far as possible of the Byzantine realm, the congregation and the head had been the biggest landholders, subsequently being the biggest profiteers of Byzantine. (Encarta)      After the Roman realm fell in 476 AD, Byzantine vanquished all. It took over the space of southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and the upper east corner of Africa. The current day nations in these regions incorporate the Balkan Landmass, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. This enormous domain known as Byzantine didn't get called Byzantine until researchers named it. The individuals of that time were not thought of as Byzantines however as Romans who carried on a Roman way of life. Byzantine had been begun and governed by a head with no formal constitution. It gradually shaped a comparable foundation generally Roman foundations. Byzantine followed the Romans customary Christianity too. The overwhelming language of this time was Greek, albeit a few subjects spoke Latin,

The Iron Curtain Of Berlin Wall - Free Essay Example

For thirty years, an iron curtain was placed across Germany separating East and West Germany. This iron curtain was called the Berlin Wall. This wall not only separated families and friends but it was the cause of East Germanys loss of freedom and democracy. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of communism and oppression, but the fall of it would lead to a new world of freedom and opportunities. The creation of the wall, the reasons on which it was built upon and the impact of the wall had on the world are all important factors to be explored. World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a War which involved almost every part of the World. It was a conflict between the Allies and the Axis powers. The Allies consisted of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, The United States and China while the Axis consisted of Germany, Japan and Italy. World War II ended in the mid 1940s after the surrender of the Axis powers. A conference was held in Potsdam, Germany to set up peace treaties. Also at this conference, the countries that fought with Hitler were punished as well as Germany itself. Germanys primary punishment was the reduction of the size of their nation and the division of German Territory between the Allied powers to ensure proper reconstruction of Germany into democratic power(history.com). The Soviet Union had other plans to punish Germany. They also starved and caused poverty in West Berlin in what is known as the German blockade to get the U.S and other western allies out of the city. The U.S. did not retaliate. Instead they airlifted supplies to West Berlin such food, fuel and other goods. Unable to push the allies out, dictator Joseph Stalin ended the blockade. In 1958, tensions were raised again. Many refugees were fleeing East Berlin to West Berlin due to the communist government they were experiencing. Most of these refugees were skilled workers. Summits, conferences and other negotiations were set up but refugees were still escaping. In just one day, August 12, 1961, about 2,400 people fled from East to West. So, that night Premier Khrushchev ordered the East German government to stop any one trying to leave. Two weeks later a makeshift barbed wire and concrete block wall was built by police workers, East German army and others. This became known as the Berlin Wall. It would have divided Germany for several years and be the result of a growing tension between two superpowers, the US and the USSR. Before the wall, it was possible to travel the East-West border. There were even train and subway lines to take. There were three checkpoints at the wall which each had East German soldiers to check you before allowing you to pass. It was rare that they would allow them to cross. Overtime, the wall was replaced by a tall, thick mass of concrete with an enormous pipe on top. It was nearly impossible to climb over. However, from 1961 to 1989, more than 5,000 East Germans managed to pass the border. The people were going through great measures to make it over the wall and challenged their intelligence to do so. One man threw a hammer and a line from the roof of a building, pulled a cable, and with his wife and son, slid down it in a homemade chair lift to safety on the other side. (Mirabile 11). The Eastern Germans who had been oppressing their people began to notice a decline in their economy as Eastern Berliners fled to the west. Walter Ulbricht stated that they needed to do something about it. The people had heard about the idea of a wall being put up. On the 15th of June 1961, Ulbricht spoke at an international press conference No one has the intention of creating a wall but obviously this was false considering on August 13, 1961 the wall was built. West berliners did not agree with the wall just as much as the people of East Berlin. They were led by their Mayor Willy Brandt who criticized the United States for not responding. When the leaders of East Berlin suggested their decision to close off East Berlin, the U.S. only saw the idea as a way of trying to stabilize the city. Both we and West Germans consider it to our long-range advantage that potential refugees remain [in] East Germany. But soon Americans discovered the severity of the wall and went from them being bystanders to activists. The wall was not only stopping refugees leaving East Berlin but was also preventing the economic links between East and West Berlin. Their disagreement led to the Cold War. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, Ich bin ein Berliner (Famous Quotes). The fall of the Berlin Wall was brought about by the ending of the Cold War. The Cold War began to end in the mid1980s following the Arms Race. The Soviet Union and the other communist powers were beginning to weaken and the new leaders were more reasonable and willing to make a deal. The democratic powers took advantage of their weakness to manipulate their leader Mr. Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall and begin the reconstruction of Europe. Ronald Reagan stated Mr Gorbachev open this gate! Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall! beginning a new Europe, uniting families, and promoting democracy. The fall of the Soviet Union is greatly due to President Reagan and his policy known as Reaganomics. Its domestic changes were an attempt to weaken the Soviets in the Arms Race. Reagans plan to win the cold war was to bankrupt the Soviets before they could defeat the United States. The policies ended the Cold War then making it possible to demand the freedom of the East Berliners. The Soviets were in a weak position having no choice but to submit to the Democratic Nations.

Hiv Stands For Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This Is A

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This is a sexually transmitted disease that will eventually morph itself into a disease known as AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency. HIV breaks down the immune system where it becomes extremely difficult to fight diseases that attack the body. Though HIV is most commonly transferred sexually, other way like through contact with infected blood, or from a mother to a baby through child birth, and if that doesn’t do it then the person who is infected could infect the child through breast feeding. AIDS is known as a disease where there is an extremely lessen amount of the body’s cellular immunity cells. This causes danger of being infected, by any kind of disease, since the immune†¦show more content†¦As the disease becomes more severe and the virus persistently destroys the immune system, this is known as early HIV infection. With the virus becoming more intense symptoms may vary from fatigue, once again s wollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, weight loss, fever, oral yeast infection, and even shingles. With no treatment of the HIV infection, this virus will become AIDS within ten years. With AIDS present the immune system has been extremely damaged and weakened, like those common illnesses such as the flu would be extremely more dangerous because the immune system is so broken down. The sign and symptoms of this final phase of HIV is soaking night sweats, persistent fever, bad diarrhea, rash or bumps, odd white spots or uncomfortable ulcers on the tongue or even around the mouth, weight loss, and random persistent fatigue. Diagnosis for HIV usually consist of a blood test. These test look for antibodies to the virus that would be present in an infected person. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS but there is various medications that can slow the effects or even block some on the effects. Most medications will be used in a combination to make sure no one strand gets through and makes everything worse. Though this disease is incurable, it takes a long while for HIV to become AIDS, if catched before it is really bad. With the proper medication AIDS can be delayed for almost ten years, though eventually it is inevitable that HIV will morph into AIDS, and because there is noShow MoreRelatedHuman Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv )1359 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper explores the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). The virus has infected two million adults and children by the year 2005 already. The virus continues to race around the world, and new HIV infections are at 50,000 per year (Martine Peeters, Matthieu Jung, Ahidjo Ayouba) (2013). The final outcome of the HIV infection is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). There are many treatments that have developed to help the large numberRead MoreModern Day Methods Of Contracting1113 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract This paper breaks down and defines what SIV is, the different subfields involved, and which species they originate from. The zoonotic transmission of the SIV virus from these non-human primates is discussed as well. As a result of these transmissions, the human immunodeficiency virus is brought to life. In this paper, this virus and its journey throughout history will be explained. Also, HIV and the different subfields this virus can be classified in are discussed throughout the researchRead MoreHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many1400 Words   |  6 PagesHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many years. These viruses have destroyed many families and have taken many people’s lives. There are many different ways for a person to receive the virus. As of today, there is still no cure for these horrible diseases. Until scientists and doctors are able to find a med icine that can cure them, many people will continue to be affected by these diseases. This research paper will break down each virusRead MoreMovie Analysis : Forrest Gump 829 Words   |  4 Pagessome kind virus. And the doctor don’t, they don’t know what it is. And there isn’t anything they can do it. (Movie Quotes Database, 2014) Although the director did not tell the audience what Jenny affected, whereas according to the timeline of this movie we can infer that Jenny was dead in 1982, and the doctors did not know what the disease is. This virus could be HIV probably. Until today, the HIV continues to be hazardous virus and no effective treatment to cure. The best way to remedy HIV are earlyRead MoreThe Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv )862 Words   |  4 Pagesshown that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the cause of AIDS. More than 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus today. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency virus. HIV is a virus similar to that of the flu or common cold. The differentiating factor is that with the flu and cold, your body will eventually clear the virus out of your system, but with the HIV virus, the immune system cannot clear it. Getting HIV means you have it for life. The virus immediately beginsRead MoreHiv And Its Effects On Children1149 Words   |  5 PagesHIV What is HIV? HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. Infection by this virus frequently leads to AIDS – acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Viral infection initially causes a flu-like illness characterized by fever, sore throat, headache, rash, gastrointestinal discomfort, and body aches (mylagias). The virus tends to stay dormant for months or years while it is slowly killing immune cells – especially CD4 cells. Individuals with high viral loads and low CD4 cell counts have high viralRead MoreHiv/Aids854 Words   |  4 Pages------------------------------------------------- REACTION PAPER â€Å"HIV / AIDS† I. Title: HIV / AIDS Date: December 10, 2011 Name of speaker: Darius Umande II. Overview of the topic As I have learned from my past lessons in high school and elementary, HIV which stands for human immunodeficiency virus is a kind of virus, specifically lentivirus, that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome better known as AIDS. As what our high school teacher taught us, HIV can be transmitted commonly from personRead MoreHiv / Aids And The United States1559 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough HIV/AIDS affect people worldwide some areas of the United States are more drastically affected by it. The United States is the third country with the largest population having HIV/AIDS. In the U.S. alone there is more than one million individuals living with this disease. However HIV/AIDS is more prominent in the southern half of the United States, but more specifically in urban areas where people of color are more prone to live in. HIV/AIDS affects people of color living in these areasRead MoreHiv And The Human Body1175 Words   |  5 PagesStates alone, 1.1 million people are living wit h HIV. Additional people become sick, but people continue to spread the virus to others. Do people even know what HIV is? Do they know what this virus does to their body? Such questions make it necessary to examine what can be done. What is HIV; how do people get HIV; and what is being done to help them? HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Humans are the only beings that can get this infection. The HIV infection can find and attack a significantRead MoreHow Hiv Is Transmitted From One Individual988 Words   |  4 PagesIn this essay I will be discussing how HIV is transmitted from one individual to another through a number of ways which include: unprotected sex, sharing injecting equipment and other needles, pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding, and blood transfusion; various treatments available to affected individuals to prolong and enable them to live a healthy life as there is currently no cure for HIV; and finally the psycho-social aspects involved in HIV infection including fear and loss, hopelessness

Business Case Study Electronic Commerce - 941 Words

Electronic Commerce is the process of exchanging products and services or information with the help of computer networks, which includes the Internet (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). We can classify e-commerce by their relationship among different participants in the following types (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Business-to-Business (B2B): All the participants in this model are business organizations. For example, Dell applications include B2B with their suppliers (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Business-to-Consumer (B2C): This is an e-commerce model where the business organizations sell products and services to individual shoppers. For example, Amazon.com. E tailing is the other†¦show more content†¦In 1969, Internet began life in the US and mainly used by government and its departments, researchers and scientists. In 1990s, the World Wide Web came into existence and that is when e-commerce was coined. From then until today, e-commerce has seen both success as well as failures (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). The failure was mainly because the e-commerce field was going through consolidations and organizations were trying different models and structures (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). The other reason was giants like Amazon were working on expanding their operations and generating increased sales. However, the future looks bright for e-commerce and the usefulness is starting to materialize. As e-commerce expands, these benefits wi ll increase significantly. E-Commerce offers benefits to business organizations, individuals and the society (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Benefits to Organization EC helps in locating customers and suppliers around the globe at a reasonable cost. Processing information, storage and distribution at lower costs. It helps to reduce delays, cost and inventories when coming to supply chain improvements (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Transactions are 24/7/365. Talking about customization, it is according to the customers wish, quick and at reasonable cost. SellersShow MoreRelatedE-commerce: Its Development and Future Prospective Essay659 Words   |  3 PagesIntroduction Technological advancements have taken the world by storm. The daily chronicles have a different story to tell with every dawn of a new day about a technological invention and/or innovation. Doing business has become competitive more than ever. This phenomenon has created a business environment that follows the clichà ©, the survival of the fittest. It is in this spirit that businesses have adopted technology to survive and remain relevant in the dynamic consumer environment. This is especiallyRead MoreRelated Literarureand Studies of Online Selling Website1450 Words   |  6 PagesCHAPTER 2 Review of Related Literature and Study This chapter includes some related literature and studies of different companies and people which are discuss in the following paragraphs. Literature According to Karen Frishman a Basic Level Expert Author The online selling field may seem infinite in scope, too, with millions of potential customers worldwide. But, success in selling collectibles on the Web is gained in much the same way as it is in the physical world, by knowing buyers needs andRead MoreSystem Analysis and Design1287 Words   |  6 Pagesinformation – small case study. Module 2: Systems Analysis and Design Life Cycle (3) Requirements determination – requirements specifications – feasibility analysis – final specifications – hardware and software study – system design – system implementation – system evaluation – system modification. Role of systems analyst – attributes of a systems analyst – tools used in system analysis Module 3: Information gathering (3) Strategies – methods – case study – documenting study – system requirementsRead MoreThe Impact Of Electr onic Procurement Systems For Australian Organizations Using The Propagated Framework Essay1596 Words   |  7 Pagessubmission: 2016/12/13 ABSTRACT E-procurement systems contribute largely to business and government institutes by increasing the national productivity growth through removing of non-value added activities in the process of procurement. In many countries the adoption of these systems has been slow compared to economically integrated regions such as Europe and North America. This study aims at exploring the impact of electronic procurement systems for Australian organizations using the propagated frameworkRead MoreThe Strategy And Priorities Of The Product Service942 Words   |  4 Pages1. SUMMARY The base line of this case study is to identify a service along with three different providers of that service and compare the different competitive priorities and operating strategies such as cost, quality, time, flexibility, product range†¦ etc. for these three different service providers with the help of â€Å"COMPETITIVE PRIORITIES BY KRAJEWSKI RITZMAN† and â€Å"ORDER WINNING CRITERIA BY T. HILL† . Each and every corporate objectives and marketing strategies are taken into deliberation toRead MoreEssay Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) and the Global Economy1178 Words   |  5 PagesElectronic Commerce (E-Commerce) and the Global Economy Introduction The world we live in today, revolves around technology, new innovations and constant change. The global economy incorporates these changes into its daily applications forming a technological driven world where businesses thrive on information and competitive markets. Computers and communication networks have planted a seed in this information age where enterprises flourish forming revolutionized market economies. OneRead MoreSecurity and Payment Issues Faced by e-commerce Business in the Hospitality Industry978 Words   |  4 Pagesand cyber-attacks to e-commerce systems especially in the hospitality industry. â€Å"In 2011, Trustwave SpiderLabs conducted 42 percent more data breach investigations than in the previous year. More than 85 percent of these data breaches occurred in the food and beverage, retail and hospitality industries.† (Savitz Percoco, 2012). It seems logical that any business would understand that building a secure business is important to long term suc cess. (Vacca, 2012). E-commerce as a catalyst has led toRead MoreBusinesses and The Internet1357 Words   |  6 Pagesmigrated to the Internet to expand their business globally. This migration has come with many sacrifices, lessons learned, and challenges along the way. However, the businesses that demonstrated determination and a willingness to overcome the challenges that they were faced with, have ultimately succeeded in expanding their clientele. One example of the type of company that can be found online is an electronic retailer, or a cybermall type of a site. Electronic retailing, also known as e-tailing,Read MoreNew Trends In E-Business: E-Government And M-Commerce Essay1382 Words   |  6 Pagesconstantly due to new technological advances in electronic commerce and mobile commerce. E-commerce has given consumers cheaper products and services, instant delivery, no sales tax and information availability. The changes in the Internet and World Wide Web technologies and services lead to new dev elopments in the way E-government efforts provide services to citizens and businesses, and in the way government handles their internal operations. Evolution of E Business One of the biggest benefits of the InternetRead MoreStarting a Business Online Essay1161 Words   |  5 Pagesengage in e-Commerce. It will identify the advantages and disadvantage of taking a small business online by performing a SWOT analysis. It will provide key issues that any company faces when it conducts international commerce that includes trust, culture, language, government, and infrastructure. The businesses that operate on the Web that extends a company’s reach beyond traditional boundaries. Second, it will attempt to explain the Web increases the speed and efficiency of business communications

Taxation Law Seperate Business Tax

Question: Describe about the Taxation Law for Seperate Business Tax. Answer: Capital Gain Tax The Capital gain Tax (CGT) are the tax that are paid by the taxpayer on the capital gains made in case of a CGT event. The Capital Gain tax is not a separate tax but a component of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The Section 100-10 of the ITAA 1997 states that the Capital Gain Tax affects the income tax liability of the taxpayer. The section also states that the assessable income of the taxpayer should include the capital gains made during the year and the assessable income should be reduced by the losses made of capital nature during the income year. The section 100-20(1) of the ITAA 1997 states that the capital gain or loss can only arise if there is a CGT event[1]. The summary of CGT events is given in section 104-5 of the ITAA 1997 for example the event of selling a business is a D1 CGT event. The CGT event includes CGT assets and the section 100-25 provides a list of well-known CGT assets. In Section 108-5 the CGT asset is defined as any type of property or any rights that i s not a property. In Section 100-35 of the ITAA 1997, it is stated that the taxpayer makes a Capital gain if the amount received from CGT event is more than the cost associated with the asset[2]. In the same section, it is stated that a taxpayer makes a capital loss if the amount received on sale of CGT asset is less that the cost of the assets. Small Business Concession The Section 152-1 states that the Division 152 of the ITAA 1997 contains the concessions that are available to small business in case of CGT event. The Section 152-5 states that the division provides basic conditions of the relief and if the conditions are satisfied then the small business could reduce its capital gain by using this division. The primary aim of the concession is to provide relief to the small business so that they can have enough funds for expansion and retirement. There are four concessions that are available for small business under Division 152 that are only applicable for CGT of small business[3]. These four concessions are: 15 years exemption under subdivision 152B, The 50% active assets reduction under subdivision 152C, The small business retirement exemption under subdivision 152D and Small business rollover under subdivision 152E The section 152-10 states that in order to be qualified for the small business CGT concession it is necessary that the basic conditions be satisfied[4]. These conditions are in the structure of tests they are: the maximum net asset value test as provided in section 152-15and section 152(20); the active assets test as provided in section 152-35, section 152-40 and section 152-45; the controlling individual test as provided in section 152-50 and section 152-60; Therefore, it can be sad that if the basic conditions are satisfied then the small business concessions can be taken in case of CGT event. Facts of the case In the given case, the Cameron Truck is one of the owners of truck Lim Pty Ltd that was incorporated on 1 July 1999. Cameron had 50 shares of TLPL and in 2007; he sold 11 shares to Linda Kawan for $500000.00. The Cameron at the age of 55 years sold the business to Macrobroad Pty Ltd for $30 million in September 2015. The income of TLPL for the year ending 30June 2015 was $100 million. In addition to this with the money from the sale of the business, Cameron has purchased a bookshop. In this case, it is required to discuss the CGT consequence for Cameron Truck. Discussion for CGT Consequences for Cameron Truck In this case, at first the analysis is made to ascertain whether the basic conditions are satisfied so that the CGT concession for small business could be applied. In the section 152-50 of ITAA 1997 it is stated that the significant individual tests is satisfied if the entity has at least one significant individual before the CGT event[5]. The section 152-60 states that an individual is considered as CGT concession stakeholder in the company if the individual is the significant individual or spouse of the significant individual. In this case, Cameron Truck is a significant individual as he satisfied the significant individual tests. Therefore, it can be said that he is entitled to small business concession for CGT events. The section 152-50 of the ITAA 1997 states that an individual can completely disregard the capital gains made if the CGT assets are the shares of the company and the individual remains a significant individual for at least 15 years and the age of the individual is 5 5 years or more at the time of CGT[6]. In the given case, Cameron Truck is a significant individual in the company TLPL for more than 15 years. The age of Cameron truck at the time of selling the shares of the company was 55 years. Conclusion Therefore based on the above analysis it can be concluded that the Cameron Truck is entitled to CGT concession so the capital gain made will not be taxable. Reference Bender, Philip, 'Bell v FCT: Uncertainties in the Small Business CGT Concessions' (2013) 48Taxation in Australia28. Hicks, Angie and Anna Tran, 'Small Business Concessions' (2014) 48Taxation in Australia367. Kewley, Naomi, 'The Old, the New, and the Ugly: A Comparative Analysis of the UK, South African and Australian CGT Small Business Concessions - with Recommendations for Australia' (2013) 28Australian Tax Forum257. Marsden, Stephen, Kerrie Sadiq and Timothy Wilkins, 'Small Business Entity Tax Concessions: Through the Eyes of the Practitioner' (2012) 22Revenue Law Journal1. Norbury, Michael, 'Tax Cases: Dividend Access Shares and the Small Business CGT Concessions' (2016) 50Taxation in Australia410. Rollins, Adrian, 'Budget Small Business Tax Concessions - what they Mean for Doctors' (2015) 27Australian Medicine13.

Judges Essays - Legal Professions, Judge, Law Enforcement, Jury

Judges The dictionary defines a judge as "a public officer authorized to hear and determine causes in a court of law." The following essay will deal on how to become a judge, the requirements to become a judge, salaries, and the different types of judges and what kind of information they deal with. Judges are some of the most important people in Canada. They are the men and women who sit on the benches in the courtrooms, whose responsibility it is not only to decide the fate of human beings, like themselves, but to steer and control the course of the law itself. The arrival advent of the 1982 Charter of Rights changed many things for judges. Since then, they have been handed the tasks of determining the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians. WHAT IS A JUDGE? A judge basically decides on the fate of the person who stands before him. He listens to the information presented from the defendant, who is the accused, and the plaintiff, who is the accuser. Once all of the information has been presented, either the judge makes a decision or the jury does. In a small court, usually a judge makes the decision, but if the defendant was a mass murderer, and had eye witnesses seeing him kill a person, but had a virtual air-tight case for him that would get him out scot-free because he was the prime minister's son, there would be a jury. A judge also passes sentence, which is how long the accused, if found guilty, should be punished. A judge is looked upon as "god" to the accused standing before him, the judge holds the fate of a person in his hands. They command respect, and the job of a judge, if it is the supreme court or a small claims court, the word "judge" holds special meaning. A judge also has the good fortune to see almost every type of person living today, from killer to housewife, from jaywalker to terrorist. REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A JUDGE AND HOW TO BECOME ONE Only the best can become a judge. The word "best" does not apply to the best at math, physics, or science, but the best that they can do. If a judge only sits there, in a black robe, staring attentively at the wall, then anyone could become a judge. To become a judge, you must have the ability to think logically, fairly, and to listen to two sides of a story, conflicting each other. One says guilty. One says mistake. The judge must listen and make his decision. Research on fifty judges from around Canada showed up the following information: All of them had a Law degree. 60 percent said that they hadn't planned on being a judge The first step to becoming a judge is work. You have to work hard to graduate from law school. Many judges said that they hadn't planned on being a judge, and almost all of them said that it was the right job for their abilities. Many say that emotion during a trial can kill a judge, but to look at it from many different points of view to come up with a decision actually helps the judge to make the correct decision. Many lawyers often become judges. It is a stereotype to say that judges are all old, white haired men, because there are many, many women judges. The information I have so far gathered says that a law degree is the first step. There really is no other second step. You can't really become a judge of a high court on just a law degree, so anything else which will help. One judge surveyed has his law degree, MBA, a degree in economics, and has gone to school for over half his life. He is seventy three years old. He is now retired, after being on the bench at Provincial Court for over 20 years. Provincial Court is where street level cases are heard. To get into law school, you must have an average score of 94 percent or better, (1987 figures) and to graduate you must have 95 percent or better (again 1987 figures.) The first step is very tough. There are too many lawyers out there, but not enough judges. Hundreds of cases have been thrown out simply because they were waiting to be brought to trial. One person was waiting for over a year, and the case was thrown out. Judges are selected

Ted Williams Career essays

Ted Williams Career essays His name is Theodore Samuel Williams, but to others he was known as The Kid, The Thumper, and The Splendid Splinter. Ted Williams, he played for the Boston Red Sox, and was one of Baseballs greatest hitters and the last player to have a seasons average of .400. He combined keen vision with quick wrists and a very scientific approach to hitting, to set numerous batting records, and become the best hitter in baseball, despite missing nearly five full seasons due to military service and two major injuries. He accomplished much in his years in the majors. Some of those things include a .406 season average in 1941, two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six American league batting championships, 521 home runs, in which he joined the 500 Home Run Club, a lifetime average of .344, 18 All-Star Game selections, and fame world wide. Ted Williams stands 63 tall and weighs 205 pounds. He was born in San Diego, California, on August 30, 1918. He play baseball all his life. Through elemantry, middle, and in high school, he was the best ballplayer around. He was asked to join a the pros at the age of 17, But his mother would not let him because she wanted him to finish his studies at school. After he graduated from high school he joined the military. He went in to the Marines as a fighter pilot. Then when he finished after about two years in the military, he came back to baseball. He joined the joined the Major League Baseball and was picked up by the Boston Red Sox, and that was where he stayed for 19 years. Ted Williams may have been the greatest hitter of all-time. Hitting was what Ted did best. He had every tool a good hitter could want. He hit for power and average, which is remarkable. Very few hitters can hit for power and average at the same time. Power hitters are prone to strike out often, and contact hitters, which hit for average, do not often hit over 10 home runs a season. This is why ...

Linguistics and the Analysis of Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Linguistics and the Analysis of Poetry - Essay Example Having conducted a solid literature review on the aspect of linguistics, the essay section will focus on subjecting theoretical provisions of the review in analyzing a real poem. In order to foster objective directionality, a thesis statement will be adopted in appraising the depth and breadth of linguistic methods in integrating the aspects of clarity and artistic interpretation within poetry. Introduction On the context of artistic interpretation, a piece of art like a poem or even a painting should elicit or invoke a desired response on the audience. Lieberman (1969) says that poetry as an art acts as a bridge between target audience and the artist. It is through appropriate employment of artistic techniques that a poet can convey his or her thoughts, feelings and emotions to the audience. Techniques used must be appropriate in order to deliver intended meaning to audience. In certain cases, inappropriate use of linguistic methods may fail to create the desired expression of an ar tist’s work. Consequently, audiences will end up interpreting the underlying piece of art in a relative rather than an absolute manner. On the contrary, use of suitable linguistic methods in poetry enables poets to impress readers through elucidating process of expression. At this juncture, the thesis for the essay asserts that both formal and informal linguistic methods does not only help in elucidating poetry for average readers but also allows these readers to apply artistic interpretation. Based on the literature review section, it is undeniable that poetry as an art employs considerable use of sound, wording sequence and wording stress in giving meaning to their work. According to Frank (1970), expression of thoughts, feelings and emotions by poets is in direct relation to the manner in which sound intensity and stress elevation are used in writings. In addition, word ordering facilitates development of themes and philosophical construct behind a poem. In most cases, a p oet may not employ all the three techniques of stress, sound and word sequence variation at every point of their work. It is common to encounter an instance where a poet only uses sound variation in creating rhyme while compromising on contextual meaning of his work. In other circumstances, a poet may employ elaborate use of contextual vocabulary as a means of enhancing thematic clarity while compromising on the aesthetic values of rhyme. According to Fowler (1967), it means that linguistic methodology allows poets to vary writing styles in order to create themes and aesthetical attributes of poems. In most cases, stylistic variation derived from suitable linguistic methods allows poets to flaunt their knowledge in the process of artistic expression while still impressing readers through clear expression of intended message. Analysis of â€Å"Paradise Lost† In order to fully understand the use of sound and vocabulary variation, we will analyze a few lines from the poem  "Paradise Lost† by John Milton. Throughout the poem, John employs substantial alteration of sound patterns in creating the indented rhyme. On the other hand, variation in vocabulary enhances development of intended message, which in this case is disobedience of man towards God. In line 14 of book 1 of the poem, Milton (2010) says,

Article analysis Negotiation Without a Net Essay

Article analysis Negotiation Without a Net - Essay Example 4) as well as special communication skill such as empathic listening and active listening (p. 5). The strategic considerations of the negotiation process described in the article bear much similarity to business negotiations. For instance, police negotiations are goal-directed (p. 4). The negotiator has to remember the goal in order to modify tactics and strategies. Secondly, as suggested in the case of suicide negotiations (p. 7), it is essential that both sides feel that not negotiating is the worst option. This reflects the importance of a win-win approach to negotiation. An interesting insight provided into the structure of the negotiation process is that negotiation can be conducted as â€Å"a series of small agreements (p. 4).† This helps to set milestones to what might be a tedious process. It also helps to build trust and commitment to build the relationship. Another important strategic insight into the techniques of negotiation is that by engaging with one another, the negotiators can extract useful information about one another and use it to their strategic adva ntage. This has been referred to as mirroring (p. 5). Finally, the importance of teamwork is highlighted in the article as a vital means of ensuring the success of the negotiation. Negotiating can be a tiring and stressful process; hence, the presence of a team with specialized roles can help to make the process efficient (p. 6). Personal characteristics and behaviours of the negotiators are also analyzed in this article. For instance, it is suggested that the negotiator should have maximum control over emotions while not ignoring their existence (p. 6). This holds similarity with the theory of emotional intelligence where self-awareness and control are emphasized for successful communication. Secondly, it is important for the negotiators to detach their personal self from the situation. This helps them to avoid taking

The Kinship System of the Australian Aborigines Essay Example for Free

The Kinship System of the Australian Aborigines Essay In the following paper I will be discussing the kinship of the Australian Aborigines. I will be discussing how this culture impacts the way they behave such as how the act and live. I will also be comparing this behavior to that of my life. I hope that you find this paper to be interesting as well as informative. I will start out by giving a little background on the Australian Aborigines. They are a group of several hundred Indigenous people that reside in Australia. They have existed before the British annexation of Australia in 1788, before that the number of people was over four hundred. In many cases the people or groups will talk about their â€Å"people† and their â€Å"country†. The countries are ethnographic areas. In many cases each country had extended families that lived in them. It was common to have cousins that marry. I would now like to talk about how the Aborigines dress. In many cases by early settlers they were observed to be naked. Some of the tribes had men and women that wore a belt around their waste that was used to carry tools and weapons. This belt was made of animal hair, animal fur, skin or fiber. Before the colonization of the Europeans it was just a simple flap in the front but, after they had to modify it. In the winter months the Aboriginal people made cloaks to keep warm. Next I would like to talk about their language. There were somewhere between 200 to 250 different Aboriginal languages spoken. Now there are fewer than 200 that still remain and all but 20 are considered to be endangered. In 1888 the language was proof that it was necessary to refer to the Aboriginal names and locations throughout the colonies. There are actually some Aboriginal words that are still used today. Next I will talk about the diet of the Aboriginal people. They will hunt or fish for their meat, gather fruits, berries, eggs, plants and insects as well. Some of the meats that they eat are kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and possums as well as some reptiles and birds. When hunting they would use spears and boomerangs to catch and kill their food. The women were normally responsible for picking the berries as well as caring for the younger children. These are just a few things that the Aboriginal people did and still do today. I will now be talking about their society compares to my own. I do not think that it compares to my society very much. Some of the things that they do are similar to my society in the respect of hunting. I come from a family of people that enjoy hunting for a source of food. Many times these family members will share the food with other family if they are unable to hunt for one reason or another. My family also likes to fish which is another way that we are similar. The ways that their society differs from mine is that we do not believe in marring within our family. In many families though out the United States this is seen as incest and is punishable by law. The other way that we are not similar is that we wear a full body of clothes and always have. I have had the chance to meet some Aboriginal people through the work that my mother used to do. I enjoyed hearing stories of how their ancestors did things and how some of these things have changed throughout time. They still practice the hunting as well as the gathering of their food but, many times can be found wearing clothing. In conclusion I hope that you have found this paper informational as well as informative. I have talked about their diet, how they live as well as I touched on their marring practices. I also have told you why I think that their society is close to my own as well as how it is different from my own. References Anonymous. (n. d. ). Australian aborigines- indigenous Australians. http://www. crystalinks. com/aboriginals. html Nowak, B. , Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https://content. ashford. edu.

William Goldings Lord of the Flies :: Essays Papers

Lord of the Flies In the book â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† the author uses the conch as a symbol of unity. At the beginning of the story the conch was spotted by a boy named Ralph who did not know what it was, but the other boy named Piggy sed that it was called a conch. Piggy had an idea to blow it to get other people on the island to come to them. After Ralph retrieved the conch from the lagoon Piggy showed Ralph how to blow it. His first couple of tries were weak, then he bellowed into it. The conch made a deep, harsh noise . After a few blows boys started to come out out of the jungle . The conch is what first united the stranded boys together. The author also used the conch as a sign of power, because after the boys were together they decided that they needed a chief so they chose Ralph because he used the conch to call the others to them. Ralph also used the power of the conch to quiet the boys . When he wanted their attention and for them to be quiet he would hold up the conch and wait for them to be quiet and pay attention. He also used it to call the boys back to camp. At the beginning the boys went out to look for waterbut by the time they found some Ralph had blew on the conch to call them back to camp. The conch was used by Ralph to call the boys to a meeting. During the meetings a person could only speak if they raise their hand and hold up the conch . At the meeting to discuss the fire Ralph blew on the conch to call them to the meeting . After everyone was seated Ralph lifted the conch for them to be silent then he began to explain that they were on an uninhabited island with no grownups so they would have to look after themselves . That’s when Ralph made the rules about the conch at the meetings. He tried to boost there moral by making the island sound fun. In the book when Ralph notices that the conch has been paretically bleached by the sun and had become a creamy-pink color.

Children and Youth Essay

The study of children and youth—or childhood studies—involves researchers from diverse disciplines who theorize and conduct research on children and adolescents. Woodhead (2004) aptly explains, Interest in Childhood Studies is for many born out of frustration with the narrow versions of the child offered by traditional academic discourses and methods of inquiry, especially a rejection of the ways psychology, sociology, and anthropology traditionally partition and objectify the child as subject to processes of development, socialization or acculturation. (P. x) sociologists use these four perspectives, childhood scholars trained in other disciplines also use these perspectives. I will then consider the usefulness of childhood studies as an interdisciplinary area of study and present a vision for the future of childhood studies within sociology. CONTRIBUTIONS OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CHILDHOOD STUDIES Historical Approaches to Childhood Studies Historical research informs what the concept of childhood means. Arià ¨s ([1960] 1962) made the first argument that childhood is socially and historically constructed. He did not view it as a natural state defined by biology. By examining works of art dating back 1,000 years, he noted a difference in the rendering of children prior to the 1700s, wherein children were depicted as little adults and not as a distinctive group. In agreement with Arià ¨s, Demos (1970) put forth a similar argument using evidence gathered on the Puritans of the Plymouth Colony in the 1600s, noting that children were not considered a special group with shared needs or status. These researchers asserted that the shift from treating children as small adults to children as valuable individuals to be protected goes hand-in-hand with other societal shifts such as the spread of schooling and the decline of child mortality. While Arià ¨s’s hypothesis has been challenged and criticized by historical research and empirical evidence (see Gittins 2004; Nelson 1994), his ideas have inspired social scientists to study ordinary children, and many studies have been produced as a result. As a dialogue w ith the Since the late 1980s, sociologists have made sizable contributions to the study of children and youth, and the field of childhood studies has become recognized as a legitimate field of academic enquiry. Increasingly, childhood is used as a social position or a conceptual category to study. Like women’s studies, the study of children has emerged as an interdisciplinary field. Researchers of children from established disciplines, such as anthropology, education, history, psychology, and sociology, have found a meeting place in this emergent interdisciplinary field of childhood studies. In the following sections, I will first outline the relative contributions of different approaches to the field of childhood studies. Some approaches find a home within one discipline, while other approaches are used by more than one discipline. Specifically, I will examine approaches outside sociology, such as historical, developmental psychological, and children’s literature, and then I w ill discuss four perspectives used by sociologists, namely the cultural approach, the social structural approach, the demographic approach, and the general socialization approach. While 140 Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 141 The Sociology of Children and Youth– †¢ –141 work of Arià ¨s, De Mause ([1976] 1995:4) developed a psychogenic theory of history, which asserted that parentchild relations have evolved to create greater intimacy and higher emotional satisfaction over time. De Mause explained that parent-child relations evolve in a linear fashion and that parent-child relationships change incrementally and, in turn, fuel further historical change. In response to this, Pollock (1983) dismisses the findings of researchers such as Arià ¨s, Demos, and De Mause, who assert the modern or incremental approach to childhood, arguing that â€Å"parents have always valued their children: we should not seize too eagerly upon theories of fundamental change in parental attitudes over time† (p. 17). While Pollock specifically counters the conclusions of Demos on children living in the 1700s in the Plymouth colony, his conclusions respond to all prior research positing that childhood is a modern concept. Historical research documents that the idea of c hildhood emanates from the middle class as members of the middle class first advanced laws to limit child labor and promoted education and protection of children (Kehily 2004). The shift of children from economic to emotional contributors of the family after the seventeenth century took place first among middle-class boys and later became the expectation for all children, regardless of social class or gender (Zelizer 1985). A good example of this middleclass perspective is illustrated in the writing of Mayhew, a social commentator from the nineteenth century (1861, in Kehily 2004), who writes about a disadvantaged eightyear-old street vendor from the working class who has â€Å"lost all childish ways† in the Watercress Girl in London Labour and the London Poor. While Mayhew calls attention to the plight of workingclass children in the mid-nineteenth century, other research (Steedman 1990; Gittins 1988) indicates that it is not until the early twentieth century that the childhood concept is redefined for working-class children in the United Kingdom. Child poverty and ill health were viewed as social problems and resulted in a shift away from economic to increased emotional value of children and altered expectations that children should be protected and educated (Cunningham 1991). The idea of lost or stolen childhood continues to be prominent in popular discussions of childhood (Kehily 2004:3). With this, historical approaches offer a great deal to the field of childhood studies because they allow us to view the concept of childhood as malleable. The childhood concept does not have the same meaning today as it did 300 years ago in a given culture, and it does not have the same meaning from culture to culture or even across social classes during a historical moment. Most historical research focuses on Western forms of childhood, yet these constructs may be useful for understanding certain aspects of childhood in non-Western contexts, especially when similar socioeconomic factors, such as industrialization, and a shift from an agrarian to a cash economy, may frame conditions. Ideas about how childhood is bound by culture, political economy, and epoch continue to be played out today in many non-Western contexts. For example, Hollos (2002) found that a new partnership family type emerged alongside the lineage-based system as a small Tanzanian community underwent a shift from subsistence agriculture with hoe cultivation to wage labor. These family types exhibited two distinct parental perspectives on what childhood should be and how children should spend their time. Partnership families emerging with a cash economy tend to view their children as a means of enjoyment and pleasure, whereas lineage-based families typically see their children as necessary for labor needs in the near term and as investments and old-age insurance in the long term. In this way, historical perspectives have the potential to inform contemporary cultural and social constructive theories on children and childhood studies. The next step is to move beyond Arià ¨s and the dialogue he cre ated to address the persistence of current social issues that involve children such as child poverty, child labor, and disparities across childhoods worldwide (see Cunningham 1991). Developmental Psychological Approaches to Childhood Studies Sully’s Studies of Childhood (Sully [1895] 2000, quoted in Woodhead 2003) notes, â€Å"We now speak of the beginning of a careful and methodological investigation of child nature.† By the early twentieth century, developmental psychology became the dominant paradigm for studying children (Woodhead 2003). Developmental psychology has studied and marked the stages and transitions of Western childhood. Piaget’s (1926) model of developmental stages stands as the foundation. Within the developmental psychology framework, children are adults in training and their age is linked to physical and cognitive developments. Children travel a developmental path taking them in due time to a state of being adult members of the society in which they live (Kehily 2004). Children are therefore viewed as learners with potential at a certain position or stage in a journey to child to an adult status (Verhellen 1997; Walkerdine 2004). Social and cultural researchers have critiqued the developmental psychological approach, largely faulting its treatment of children as potential subjects who can only be understood along the child-to-adult continuum (Buckingham 2000; Castenada 2002; James and Prout [1990] 1997; Jenks 2004; Lee 2001; Stainton Rogers et al. 1991). Qvortrup (1994) notes that developmental psychology frames children as human becomings rather than human beings. Adding to this, Walkerdine (2004) suggests that while psychology is useful in understanding children, this usefulness may be bound to Western democratic societies at a specific historical moment. Still, Lee (2001) cautions that we should not give developmental psychology a wholesale toss, noting, â€Å"What could growing up mean once we have distanced ourselves Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 142 142– †¢ –THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE LIFE COURSE from the dominant frameworks’ account of socialization and development?† (p. 54). Likewise, Kehily (2004) notes that considering differences between sociology and developmental psychology is useful, yet it is also useful to consider what is shared or complementary across the two. Developmental psychologists have not reached consensus on the relative importance of physical, psychological, social, and cultural factors in shaping children’s development (Boocock and Scott 2005). Gittins (1988:22) urges social scientists studying children to bear in mind the nature versus nurture debate. Bruner (2000) explains that both biological and social factors are important because babies are born with start-up knowledge, which they then add and amend with life experiences. Concurring with this approach, Chomsky (1996) explains that a child’s biological makeup is â€Å"awakened by experience† and â€Å"sharpened and enriched† through interactions with other h umans and objects. Walkerdine (2004) considers developmental psychology as limited because of its deterministic trajectory and sociology as limited because of its omission of psychological factors alongside sociological or cultural factors. Walkerdine (2004) points to several developmental psychological approaches to consider the social production of children as subjects, namely situated learning (Cole and Scribner 1990; Haraway 1991), acquiring knowledge through practice or apprenticeship (Lave and Wenger 1991), actor network theory (Law and Moser 2002), and the idea of assemblages as children learn to fill a child role in society (Deleuze and Guattari 1988). These approaches allow the researcher to include children’s internal and external learning practices and processes. As such, developmental psychology can continue to contribute to childhood studies. In the 1990s, sociologists helped cull and identify useful concepts and tools for childhood studies by criticizing develop mental psychology. As the field of childhood studies continues to grow into a defined and recognized discipline, useful tools and concepts from developmental psychology should be included. Likewise, Woodhead (2003) asserts that several concepts and tools from developmental psychology— notably scaffolding, zone of proximal development, guided participation, cultural tools, communities of practice—are also relevant for childhood studies (see Lave and Wenger 1991; Mercer 1995; Rogoff 1990; Wood 1988). Psychologists’ concern with the individual child can complement sociological research that considers children as they interact within their environment. worlds are created. Hunt (2004) notes that children’s literature may be unreliable for understanding childhood because children’s books typically reflect the aspirations of adults for children of a particular epoch. Hunt (2004) holds however that children’s literature remains a meeting place for adults and children where different visions of childhood can be entertained and negotiated. In agreement with historical research on the concept of childhood, children’s books were first produced for middle-class children and had moralizing purposes. Later, children’s books were produced for all children, filled with middleclass values to be spread to all. There is agreement and disagreement on the definition of childhood when examining the children’s literature of different time periods and different cultures. For example, several books of the 1950s and 1960s—including The Borrowers, Tom’s Midnight Garden, and The Wolves of Willoughby C hase—depicted adults looking back while children are looking forward (Hunt 2004). Likewise, Spufford (2002:18) notes that the 1960s and 1970s produced a second golden age of children’s literature that presented a coherent, agreed-on idea of childhood. Furthermore, an examination of children’s literature indicates different childhoods were being offered to children in the United States and Britain during the nineteenth century. British children were depicted as being restrained, while American children were described as independent and having boundless opportunity (Hunt 2004). In this way, culture and children’s material world coalesce to offer very different outlooks on life to children. The goal of books may change, from moralizing to idealistic, yet across epochs and cultures they teach children acceptable roles, rules, and expectations. Children’s literature is a powerful platform of interaction wherein children and adults can come together to d iscuss and negotiate childhood. Cultural and Social Construction Approaches to Childhood Studies Anthropological cultural studies have laid important groundwork for research on children, and sociologists have extended these initial boundaries to develop a social construction of childhood. Anthropological research (Opie and Opie 1969) first noted that children should be recognized as an autonomous community free of adult concerns and filled with its own stories, rules, rituals, and social norms. Sociologists then have used the social construction approach, which draws on social interaction theory, to include children’s agency and daily activities to interpret children’s lives (see James and Prout [1990] 1997; Jenks 2004; Maybin and Woodhead 2003; Qvortrup 1993; Stainton Rogers et al. 1991; Woodhead 1999). Childhood is viewed as a social phenomenon (Qvortrup 1994). With this perspective, meaning is interpreted through the experiences of children and the networks within which Children’s Literature as an Approach to Childhood Studies Childhood as a separate stage of life is portrayed in children’s books, and the medium of books represents a substantial part of the material culture of childhood. Books may be viewed as a window onto children’s lives and a useful tool for comprehending how and why children’s Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 143 The Sociology of Children and Youth– †¢ –143 they are embedded (Corsaro 1988). Researchers generally use ethnographic methods to attain reflexivity and include children’s voices. In this section, I will first discuss the social constructivist approach of childhood research in two areas, children’s lives within institutional settings such as day care centers and schools, and children’s worlds as they are constructed through material culture. Evidence suggests that young children actively add meaning and create peer cultures within institutional settings. For example, observations of toddler peer groups show preferences for sex emerge by two years of age and race can be distinguished by three years of age (Thompson, Grace, and Cohen 2001; Van Ausdale and Feagin 2001). Research also indicates that play builds on itself and across playgroups or peer groups. Even when the composition of children’s groups changes, children develop rules and rituals that regulate the continuation of the play activity as well as who may join an existing group. Knowledge is sustained within the peer group even when there is fluctuation. School-based studies (see Adler and Adler 1988; Corsaro 1988; Hardman 1973; LaReau 2002; Thorne 1993; Van Ausdale and Feagan) have added a great deal to our understandings of childh ood. Stephens (1995) examined pictures drawn by Sami School children of Norway to learn how the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and its nuclear fallout affected their lives. The children expressed themselves through their drawings to show how the depleted environment affected their health, diet, work, daily routines, and cultural identity. Van Ausdale and Feagan (2001) explain how racism is created among preschool children’s play patterns and speak. They find that children experiment and learn from one another how to identify with their race and learn the privileges and behaviors of their race in comparison with other races. Using participant observation of children in a primary school setting, Hardman (1973) advanced the idea that children should be studied in their own right and treated as having agency. She found that children represent one level of a society’s beliefs, values, and social interactions. The children’s level interacts as muted voices with other levels of society’s beliefs, values, and social interactions, shaping them and being shaped by them (Hardman 1973). Corsaro (1988) used participant observations of chi ldren at play in a nursery school setting to augment Hardman’s idea of a children’s level. He observed and described children as active makers of meaning through social interaction. Likewise, Corsaro and Eder (1990) conceptualize children as observing the adult world but using elements of it to create a unique child culture. A few studies (see Peer Power by Adler and Adler 1988 and Gender Play by Thorne 1993) show how the cultural world of children creates a stratification structure similar to that of the adult world in a way that makes sense for children. Thorne’s (1993) study of children’s culture is set in an elementary school setting, wherein children have little say in making the rules and structure. Still, she finds children create meaning through playground games that use pollution rituals to reconstruct larger social patterns of inequality as they occur through gender, social class, and race (Thorne 1993:75). Similarly, other studies show how behaviors within peer cultures—such as racism, masculinity, or sexism (see Frosh, Phoenix, and Pattman 2002; Hey 1997; James, Jenks, and Prout 1998) and physical and emotional abuse (Ambert 1995)—are taught and negotiated within children’s peer groups. In addition, childhood can be interpreted through the material makeup of children’s worlds, generally taking the form of toys (see Lamb 2001; Reynolds 1989; Zelizer 2002). Zelizer (2002) argues that children are producers, consumers, and distributors. Lamb (2001) explains that children use Barbie dolls to share and communicate sexual knowledge within a peer group producing a secretive child culture. Cook (2004) contends that the concept of child has been constructed through the m arket. Through a social history of the children’s clothing industry, Cook explains how childhood became associated with commodities. He contends that childhood began to be commodified with the publication of the first children’s clothing trade journal in 1917. By the early 1960s, the child had become a legitimate consumer with its own needs and motivations. The consuming child has over time been provided a separate children’s clothing department stratified by age and gender. As in Cook’s thesis, others (e.g., Buckingham 2004; Jing 2000; Postman 1982) provide evidence to add support to the idea that children’s consumption defines childhood. Jing (2000) explains how the marketing of snack foods and fast foods to children has dramatically affected childhood in China. Likewise, television (Postman 1982) and computers (Buckingham 2004) reshape what we think of as childhood. Children are argued to have a reversed power relationship with adults in terms o f computers because children are more comfortable with this technology (Tapscott 1998). In addition, access to the Internet has created a new space for peer culture that is quite separate from adults. Through chat rooms and e-mail, children can communicate and share information among peers without face-to-face interaction. As a result, the stage on which children’s culture is created is altered. Social Structural Approaches to Childhood Studies Social structural approaches to childhood studies can be divided into two areas, those that distinguish children’s experience by age status and those that distinguish children’s experience by generational status. Because age is the primary criterion for defining childhood, sociologists who study children have found aging and life course theories that focus on generation to be useful. Thorne (1993) argues for the use of age and gender constructs in understanding children’s lives as well as considering Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 144 144– †¢ –THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE LIFE COURSE children as social agents. Therefore, it is how children actively construct their worlds as a response to the constraints of age and gender. Passuth (1987) asserts that age is the salient factor for understanding childhood based on her study of how children 5 to 10 years old define themselves as little and big kids in a summer camp setting. Passuth found that age was more important than other stratification markers such as race, social class, and gender. Likewise, Bass (2004) finds that children are active agents but also that age should be considered first as it may structure the opportunities open to children who work in an open market in sub-Saharan Africa; however, other secondary factors such as economic status and gender also structure the life chances of these children. Studies based on children in the United States suggest that age should be considered along with race, gender, and social class to explain how children negotiate power and prestige within their peer groups (Goodwin 1990; Scott 2002). For other sociologists, generation provides the most useful concept to explain the lives of children (Mayall 2000:120). Other researchers (Alanen 2001; Qvortrup 2000) assert that generational relationships are more meaningful than analyses focusing on gender, social class, or ethnicity. While the concept of childhood is not universal, the dichotomy of adult and child is universal and differentiated by age status. This age status patterns differential power relations wherein adults have more power than children and adults typically regulate children’s lives. Childhood is produced as a response to the power of adults over children even when children are viewed as actively shaping their childhoods (Walkerdine 2004). Adults write children’s books, create children’s toys and activities, and often speak on behalf of children (e.g., the law). In this way, the generational divide and unequal authority between adults and children define childhood. Mayall (2002) uses the generational approach to explain how children contribute to social interaction through their position in the larger social order, wherein they hold a child status. The perspective of children remains meaningful even through the disadvantaged power relationship they hold vis-à  -vis adults in the larger social order. It can therefore become a balancing act between considering structural factors or the agency of children in understanding childhood. The life course perspective holds that individuals of each generation will experience life in a unique way because these individuals share a particular epoch, political economy, and sociocultural context. Foner (1978) explains, â€Å"Each cohort bears the stamp of the historical context through which it flows [so that] no two cohorts age in exactly the same way† (p. 343). For example, those who entered adulthood during the Depression have different work, educational, and family experiences compared with individuals who entered adulthood during the affluent 1950s. Those of each cohort face the same larger social and political milieu and therefore may develop similar attitudes. The social structural child posits that childhood may be identified structurally by societal factors that are larger than age status but help create age status in a childhood process (Qvortrup 1994). Children can be treated by researchers as having the same standing as adult research subjects but also may be handled differently based on features of the social structure. The resulting social structural child has a set of u niversal traits that are related to the institutional structure of societies (Qvortrup 1993). Changes in social norms or values regarding children are tied to universal traits as well as related to the social institutions within a particular society. Demographic Approaches to Childhood Studies Much of American sociology takes a top-down approach to the study of children and views children as being interlinked with the larger family structure. It is in this vein that family instability leading to divorce, family poverty, and family employment may affect children’s experiences. For example, Hernandez (1993) examines the American family using U.S. Census data from the twentieth century and notes a series of revolutions in the family—such as in decreased family size and the emergence of the two-earner family—that in turn affected children’s well-being and childhood experiences. Children from smaller families and higher incomes typically attain more education and take higher-paid employment. Hernandez (1993) contends that mothers’ increased participation in work outside the home led to a labor force revolution, which in turn initiated a child care revolution, as the proportion of preschoolers with two working parents increased from 13 percent in 1940 to 50 percent in 1987. More recent data indicate that about 70 percent of the mothers of preschoolers work outside the home (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2002). This child care revolution changes the structure of childhood for most American children. Time diary data indicate that the amount of children’s household chores increased from 1981 to 1997 (Hofferth and Sandberg 2001). Lee, Schneider, and Waite (2003) further note that when mothers work in the United States, children do more than their fathers to make up for the household labor gap caused when mothers work. Hence, expectations for children and childhood are altered because of a larger family framework of considerations and expectations. Family life structures children’s well-being. When marriages break up, there are real consequences in terms of transitions and loss of income that children experience. The structural effects on children of living in smaller, more diverse, and less stable families are still being investigated. Moore, Jeki elek, and Emig (2002) assert that family structure does matter in children’s lives and that children fare better in families headed by two biological, married parents in a low-conflict marriage. Some research indicates that financial support from fathers after a divorce is low (Crowell and Leaper 1994). Coontz (1997) maintains that divorce and single parenthood generally exacerbate preexisting financial uncertainty. These impoverished conditions may diminish children’s physical and emotional Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 145 The Sociology of Children and Youth– †¢ –145 development and adversely affect school performance and social behaviors. However, this is not in all cases. Research (Cherlin et al. 1991) shows that children of separated or divorced families have usually experienced parental conflict and behavioral and educational problems before the family broke up. Hernandez (1993) suggests that the parental conflict and not the divorce or separation may provide more insight into children’s disadvantages. Hetherington and Kelly (2002) found that about three-fourths of children whose parents divorced adjusted within six years and ranked the same on behavioral and educational outcomes as children from intact families. Another study (Smart, Neale, and Wade 2001) finds positive attributes of children of divorce as children reported that they were more independent than friends who had not experienced divorce. The demographic study of children has taken place predominantly from the policy or public family vantage point with the assumption that there are consequences for children. Childhoods are typically framed with a perspective that views children’s worlds as being derivative of larger social forces and structures. Very little agency is noted or measured in these studies. While the demographic approach does not offer detailed explanation like research put forth by social constructivist childhood scholars (see James and Prout 1990), this approach provides a valuable perspective for framing and interpreting children’s lives. Socialization Approaches to Childhood Studies Research indicates that socialization may affect both children and parents. Developmental psychology allows us to consider how children are affected by the socialization provided by parents, and more recent research put forth by psychologists and sociologists suggests that this exchange of information may be a two-way process. LaReau (2002) puts forth a more traditional model of socialization as she details how American families of different races and classes provide different childhoods for their children. In her research, the focus is on how children and parents actively construct childhood even as they are possibly constrained by race and class. She found evidence for two types of child rearing, concerted cultivation among middle- and upper-middle-class children, and the emergence of natural growth among working- and lower-class children. LaReau’s study describes the process that puts lower- and higher-class children on different roads in childhood that translate into vastl y different opportunities in adulthood. Rossi and Rossi (1990) studied parent-child relationships across the life course and found that parents shape their children as well as their grandchildren through parenting styles, shared genes, social status, and belief systems. Alwin (2001) asserts that while rearing children is both a public and private matter, the daily teaching of children the rules and roles in society largely falls to parents. Furthermore, Alwin (2001) explains how American parental expectations for their children have changed over the last half-century, noting an increased emphasis on self-discipline through children’s activities that help develop autonomy and self-reliance. Zinnecker (2001) notes a parallel trend in Europe toward individualism and negotiation, and away from coercion in parenting styles. In contrast, Ambert’s (1992) The Effect of Children on Parents questions the assumptions of the socialization perspective and posits that socialization is a two-way process. Ambert argues that having children can influence one’s health, income, career opportunities, values and attitudes, feelings of control, life plans, and the quality of interpersonal relations. She questions the causality of certain problematic children’s behaviors, such as clinginess among some young children or frequent crying among premature babies. Ambert contends that children’s behavior socializes parents in a patterned way, which agrees with the sentiment of de Winter (1997) regarding autistic children and that Skolnick (1978) regarding harsh child-rearing methods. Likewise, psychologist Harris (1998) argues that the parental nurture or socialization fails to ground the direction of causation with empirical data. She explains that parenting styles are the effect of a child’s temperament and that parents’ socialization has little influence compared with other influences such as heredity and children’s peer groups. Harris’s approach, known as group socialization theory, posits that after controlling for differences in heredity, little variance can be explained by children’s socialization in the home environment. Harris provides evidence that most children develop one behavioral system that they use at home and a different behavioral system for use elsewhere by middle childhood. Group socialization theory can then explain why immigrant children learn one language in the home and another language outside the home, and their native language is the one they speak with their peers (Harris 1998). Likewise, other studies (Galinski 1999; Smart et al. 2001) find evidence that children play a supportive role and nurture their parents. In a parallel but opposing direction, other studies suggest that having children negatively affects parents’ lifestyles and standards of living (Boocock 1976) and disproportionately and negatively affects women’s career and income potentials (Cri ttenden 2001). Indeed, research indicates that socialization may affect both children and parents. While most research concentrates on the socialization of children by parents and societal institutions, more research should focus on the socialization of parents. In this way, children may be viewed as affecting the worlds of their parents, which in turn may affect children. Interdisciplinary Involvement and Implications Childhood research benefits from the involvement of a diverse range of disciplines. On the surface these approaches appear to have disagreement in terms of methods and theoretical underpinnings, yet these approaches challenge more traditional disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology to consider what best interprets children’s lives. In some cases, the interaction across Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 146 146– †¢ –THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE LIFE COURSE disciplines creates new approaches, such as those of sociologists who use general socialization theory from developmental psychology. Similarly, historical research on the value of children being tied to a certain epoch with a specific level of political economy can inform the valuation of children and their labor in poorer countries around the globe today. There is a need for continued interdisciplinary collaboration, and thought is being given to how children and childhood studies could emerge as a recognized interdisciplinary field of inquiry. Woodhead (2003) offers three models for interdisciplinary effort for advancing the study of children and childhoods: (1) a clearinghouse model, (2) a pick ‘n’ mix model, and (3) a rebranding model. The clearinghouse model (Woodhead 2003) would include all studies of children and childhood, all research questions and methodologies, and all disciplines that are interested. This clearinghouse model would view different approaches t o the study of children for their complementary value and would encourage researchers to ask â€Å"different but equally valid questions† (James et al. 1998:188). The pick ‘n’ mix model (Woodhead 2003) envisions that an array of child-centered approaches would be selectively included in the study of children. If this were to happen, the process of selection could complicate and hamper the field of childhood studies in general. Fences may be useful in terms of demarcating the path for childhood scholars but also may obstruct the vista on the other side. The rebranding model (Woodhead 2003) would involve researchers collaborating across disciplines on research involving children while informing and remaining housed within more traditional disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology. In this scenario, children and childhood scholars remain within sociology while also being committed to interdisciplinary involvement. This scenario has served to strengthen sociological research in general. For example, James and Prout (1990) coined the term sociological study of childhood, and later James et al. (1998) developed the con cept of sociological child. More recently, Mayall (2002) has suggested the use of the term sociology of childhood to move children and childhood studies to a more central place within sociology. In turn, this strengthens children and childhood studies across disciplines by forging a place for children in the traditional discipline. The field of interdisciplinary childhood studies has the potential to widen its reach by creating constituencies across older disciplines. Additionally, childhood studies can learn from the development experience of other interdisciplinary fields such as women’s studies or gerontology. Oakley (1994:13) asserts the shared concerns across the academic study of women and children because women and children are socially linked and represent social minority groups. In a similar vein, Bluebond-Langner (2000) notes a parallel in scholarly potential for childhood studies of the magnitude of women’s studies, predicting that childhood studies will aff ect the twenty-first century in much the same way as women’s studies has the twentieth century. Weighing the contributions across disciplines, it is clear that developmental psychology has laid the groundwork for the field of childhood studies, yet the resulting conversation across scholars and disciplines has produced a field that is much greater than the contributions of any one contributing discipline. Therefore, childhood scholars have much to gain through conversation and collaboration. CONSIDERING SOCIOLOGY AND CHILDHOOD STUDIES Within sociology, scholars approach the study of children in many ways. Some sociologists take a strict social constructivist approach, while others meld this approach to a prism that considers social structures that are imposed on children. Some sociologists focus on demographic change, while others continue to focus on aspects of socialization as childhoods are constructed through forces such as consumer goods, child labor, children’s rights, and public policy. All these scholars add to the research vitality and breadth of childhood studies. In addition, children and childhood studies research centers, degree programs, and courses began to be established in the 1990s, most of which have benefited from the contributions of sociologists and the theories and methods of sociology. Childhood studies gained firm ground in 1992 in the United States when members of the American Sociological Association (ASA) formed the Section on the Sociology of Children. Later, the section name wa s changed to the Section on the Sociology of Children and Youth to promote inclusiveness with scholars who research the lives of adolescents. In addition to including adolescents, American sociologists are also explicitly open to all methods and theories that focus on children. The agenda of the Children and Youth Section has been furthered by its members’ initiation and continued publication of the annual volume Sociological Studies of Children since 1986. In agreement with the ASA section name addition, the volume recently augmented the volume name with and Youth and became formalized as the annual volume of ASA Children and Youth Section. The volume was initially developed and edited by Patricia and Peter Adler and later edited by Nancy Mandell, David Kinney, and Katherine Brown Rosier. Outside the United States, the study of children by sociologists has gained considerable ground through the International Sociological Association Research Group 53 on Childhood, which was established in 1994. Two successful international journals, Childhood and Children and Society, promote scholarly research on children from many disciplines and approaches. In particular, British childhood researchers have brought considerable steam to the development of childhood studies through curriculum development. Specifically, childhood researchers wrote four introductory textbooks published by Wiley for a target Bryant-45099 Part III.qxd 10/18/2006 7:43 PM Page 147 The Sociology of Children and Youth– †¢ –147 class on childhood offered by the Open University in 2003. The books are Understanding Childhood by Woodhead and Montgomery (2003), Childhoods in Context by Maybin and Woodhead (2003), Children’s Cultural Worlds by Kehily and Swann (2003), and Changing Childhoods by Montgomery, Burr, and Woodhead (2003). The relationship between the discipline of sociology and childhood studies appears to be symbiotic. Even as sociologists assert that the study of children is its own field, this does not preclude the development of childhood studies across disciplinary boundaries. Sociologists capture the social position or status of children and have the methods for examining how childhood is socially constructed or situated within a given society. Sociologists can also continue to find common ground with other childhood scholars from other disciplines to develop better methods and refine theories that explain children’s lives. Advances in the interdisciplinary field of childhood studi es serves to strengthen the research of sociologists who focus their work on children. Likewise, sociological challenges to the interdisciplinary field of childhood studies since the 1990s have provided useful points of critique and improvement to the study of children’s behavior and children’s lives. CURRENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH: SOCIAL POLICY AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS Current and future research on children falls into two main areas, social policy and children’s rights. Arguably, there is some overlap between these two large themes. Indeed, Stainton Rogers (2004) maintains that social policy is motivated by a concern for children, yet children have very little to no political or legal voice. Children do not vote or decide what is in their best interests or what children’s rights are. Social policy requires us to consider the intersection of children as dependents or not yet adults and children as having certain rights. It has previously been noted that children are citizens and should be treated as citizens but with their own concerns (James and Prout 1997), yet there is still much to be clarified. Public policy can be used to improve the lives of children. Research has established that poverty matters in the lives of children, as measured in child well-being indicators, and public policies have been enacted to help families rise out of poverty (Hernandez 1993). Research on the impact of increased income after a casino opened on a Cherokee reservation indicates that Native-American children who were raised out of poverty had a decreased incidence of behavior disorders (Costello et al. 2003). At other times, public policies affect children as a byproduct or consequence. One example is the 1996 Welfare Reform Law (or PRWORA), which made work mandatory for able-bodied, American adults and put time limits of five years and a day on receiving public assistance. Still, much is to be learned as to the effect, if any, of this legislation on children (Bass and Mosley 2001; Casper and Bianchi 2002). In addition to income, public policy shapes the experience of family life by recognizing some forms while ignoring others. A substantial number of children will experience many family structures and environments as they pass through childhood, regardless of whether the government legitimates all these forms (Clarke 1996). Likewise, examining children’s experiences in various family forms is a useful area of current and future study. Children’s rights can be examined in terms of protecting children from an adult vantage point or in terms of providing children civil rights (or having a legal voice). The view of protecting children is a top-down approach positing that children are immature, and so legal protections should be accorded to keep children safe from harm and abuse and offer children a basic level of developmental opportunities. In contrast, the civil rights approach asserts that children have the right to participate fully in decisions that may affect them and should be allowed the same freedoms of other citizens (Landsdown 1994; Saporiti et al. 2005). In addition, the framing of children’s rights takes different forms in richer and poorer countries around the globe. For richer countries, granting children rights may involve allowing children civil and political voice, whereas in poorer countries, basic human rights bear out as more important. Child labor is an issue that has been examined in terms of the right of children to learn and be developed and the right of children to provide for oneself (see Bass 2004; Neiwenhuys 1994; Zelizer 1985). Future studies wil l also need to consider the relationship between children’s rights as children become study subjects. Innovative approaches are being used to include children’s voices and input in the research process (Leonard 2005), yet there is still much to be done in this area in terms of developing methodologies that allow children to participate in the research process. Indeed, incorporating children in the research process is a next logical step for childhood studies. However, childhood scholars are adults and therefore not on an equal footing with children (Fine and Sandstrom 1988). Furthermore, there is momentum to include children’s perspectives in the research process at the same time that there is a growing concern for children’s well-being, which may be adversely affected by their participation as subjects in the research process. Future research on children should focus on the children’s issues through social policies yet also consider childrenâ€⠄¢s rights in tandem or as follow-up studies. It is generally the matter of course to take children or youth as a definitive given and then seek to solve their problems or create policies for them. Future research should focus on practical children’s issues and use empirical research projects to increase our knowledge of the nature of childhood. The last 15 years provide evidence to support the idea that childhood researchers should continue to bridge disciplines and even continents to find common ground.