How representative is the House of Commons in terms of gender and Essay

How representative is the House of Commons in terms of gender and ethnicity - Essay Example A conclusion with some recommendations on how the issue can be addressed is also given. Introduction The Great Britain has two houses of legislature; the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is the lower house in the British Parliament. The House comprises elected members of Parliament, who represent the interests of the constituencies they are elected from. The House of Commons wields an immense power on the control of the government, since it is the one responsible for making legislations, while the upper house, the House of Lords, has an oversight role over the House of Commons, without any powers to reject the legislations done by the lower house, but only to delay such actions (History Learning Site, 2013 n.p.). Thus the government with the prime minister is highly dependent on the cooperation with the House of Commons, to execute its mandates (History Learning Site, 2013 n.p.). Despite all the attempts that have been made to have the House of Commons th at is representative of the minority, ethnic and gender balance, the situation has not completely borne fruits. By 2009, the House of Lords was found to be more representative of the social diversity in the British society, having reasonable numbers of women and ethnic minorities, compared to the House of Commons (Philips, 2009 n.p.). The number of ethnic minorities in the British House of Commons by the year 2009 was a meager 15, which is however a notable improvement from the previous periods, where the representation for women and the ethnic minority was significantly less (Philips, 2009 n.p). Therefore, based on this trend, it is prudent to conclude that the House of Commons is not representative of the gender and ethnic minorities. However, there is a great hope that the situation will keep improving with time, to generate a House of Common with a social make-up, which is highly diversified and representative of gender balance and ethnic equality. Because it is not possible tha t each member of the society can voice their needs to the government, democracy supports such modes of representation where the members of the House of Commons act as a bridge between the citizens and the government (History Learning Site, 2013 n.p.). Such members are able to speak on behalf of the people through debates and passing of bills on the floor of the House, to address their concerns and make their voice be heard, through voting for or against the bills. The British law requires that the Parliament represents the interest of the people, both demographically and geographically. While geographic representation refers to the representation of the people based on the designated parliamentary constituencies, the demographic representation focuses on the different social groups. These groups may include the ethnic minorities and the females, which have always got lesser representations in the Parliament (History Learning Site, 2013 n.p.). Nevertheless, considering the fact that the House of Commons comprises 647 members, only 143 women and only 27 members from ethnic minorities were elected to the Parliament in the 2010 general elections (History Learning Site, 2013 n.p.), then, there is no doubt that the House of

HPV critical Analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HPV critical Analysis - Article Example to establish and collect not only this data, but also to provide a baseline estimate to measure the wide-scale impact of the current HPV vaccine on reducing infection, as well as providing models with a baseline on cost-effectiveness of distributing said vaccine. Were these seven colleagues qualified to do so? Indeed they were, by virtue of profession and training. As listed in the article, six out of the seven that conducted the study not only held the title of Ph.D. or M.D., but also were employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which not only supported their work but also conducted the larger survey of which the study was a part of, the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NAHANES). All seven worked together to gather, collate, and sort the data, with Dr. Eileen F. Dunne taking the lead role, as well as responsibility for the data that supported their conclusions. Dr. Dunne and her colleagues made no claims about the HPV virus, though they did claim that baseline data would be effective in measuring the prevalence of the disease. Their main concern was that such data did not exist, and therefore in the future there would be nothing to measure the actual reduction of the HPV virus in women against, had they been given the vaccine. To conduct the study, Dr. Dunne and her colleagues used a â€Å"representative sample† of women aged 14-59 that were taking part in the NHANES survey. The women self-reported their race and ethnicity via questionnaires as well as providing a cervical swab. Out of 2482 females that took part in the study, 2387 were examined in a mobile examination center and asked to self-collect a sample via swab, which was then submitted for analysis. HPV detection, as well as typing, was then performed, and the results analyzed. Out of the 2387 females, 466 were considered â€Å"nonresponders†, due to the fact that they either submitted â€Å"an inadequate swab specimen†, or did not submit a specimen at all. The various types

Brazil As An Emerging Market Economy Business Essay

Brazil As An Emerging Market Economy Business Essay Globalisation has become the order of the day and as multinational companies are scouting for new avenues in the bid to achieve competitive advantage over rivals and have at the same time economic viability of operations, nations too are vying with each other for a significant share of the global economic pie to cater to the development of themselves and take care of the socio-economic conditions prevalent amongst the population. Whilst the dominance of the developed nations persisted for a significant period of time, with political conditions such as the cold-war, division of Germany, and the like, abetting it, the changed political atmosphere worldwide threw up many opportunities and challenges requiring an introspection of policies of the nations and a need for reinventing and refurbishing of existing laws and governing policies to make the nation more dynamic and competitive. This assignment is sequentially structured to analyse the nature of emerging markets, the role of multinational organisations in emerging markets, Brazil as an emerging economy, the need for cultural familiarisation for working in such an environment. This study also takes into consideration the cultural analysis of Brazil done by the renowned Geert Hofstede in an attempt to familiarise managers with aspects they should expect, and practice whilst in Brazil. These are followed by a PESTLE analysis of Brazil and finally end with a summative conclusion. Critical Analysis and Discussion Whilst no one-liner definition exists of emerging market economies (EME), the characteristic features tend to determine what they really are. Rapid economic growth, increased and sustained foreign investment, coupled with significant international political influence are the main markers of this type of economy. These economies are not on par with those of advanced nations due to the difference in the level of development .Very often bad policies namely those that interfere with the efficient performance of economic factors, and fragile institutional structures that place an additional burden of transactional costs for domestic and foreign investors, tend to inhibit potential investors. The expansion of organisations spanning different countries is centuries old, the expansion of multinational companies and their relevant importance in world trade achieved rapid pace post 1980 era. The propensity of integration with the global economy, together with the decline in the importance of the economic role of the nation led to the tremendous expansion of MNCs, particularly in the developing nations of the world. The significance of the functions of transnational companies in the shaping of the global economy has manifested, in significant proportions in the 20th century, such that any of the top 100 or so global firms exceed the GDP of many nations  [18] and as it stands today, multinational companies are responsible for most of the employment and output and t in the world. [19] They have a reciprocal relationship with the globalization process; whilst globalization has contributed to high FDI flows to nations, countries eager to acquire a share of these FDI flows have undertaken significant policy shifts towards liberalisation. [20]Additionally, multinational companies have made it possible for the creation of the global village by facilitating international amalgamation of markets.[21] Need for cultural familiarisation Globalisation is inherently embedded with cross cultural features, and it is widely perceived that operational practices that are congruent with the prevalent cultural contexts significantly contribute to achievement of business objectives. Research in this area reveals that businesses selling directly to clients as opposed to those selling to other business organisations tend to exhibit lower sensitivity to cultural differences. Service industries exhibit more sensitivity to cultural differences than businesses focused on trading physical products. Whilst IT service providers tend to be highly sensitive to linguistic differences, industrial machinery manufacturers (that sell to other companies for utilization in their factories) are inclined to be comparatively insensitive to cultural remoteness. Organisations can operate in the joint venture mode where there would be less expense in terms of time and money for cultural familiarisations. Building up a strong corporate culture and focussing on expansion in locations where there exists a similarity of culture are ways in which organisations can focus on cost cutting features. Brazil as an Emerging Market Economy In 1989, Fernando Collor de Mello, on becoming the countrys first democratically elected president after virtually 30 years, adopted liberal international trade practices as lowering barriers for importers and privatising many state owned business organisations. Itamar Franco announced the Real Plan where Brazil exhibited the necessary economic discipline required to attract foreign capital that subsequently propelled Brazils growth. Due to the reforms of President Cardoso, Brazilian banks, controlled by the one regulator-the central Bank, stood significantly isolated from the effects of the global financial crisis triggered by the U.S. securities market. Brazil posted a low unemployment rate together with a diminished dependence on trade with developed nations. As a result the demand for Brazilian goods remained high with in the country. The increase in trade ti4es with other emerging economies and developed nations helped sustain and stabilise the demand for Brazilian goods. This turnaround for Brazil was achieved because of the strict adherence to the policy of the government with regards to: a) Infrastructure: The Growth Acceleration Plan together with other policies, helped develop the infrastructure such as good roads, sufficient sea ports and introduction of the latest technology required for accelerating economic growth. b) Reduction of Poverty and Inequality: was achieved through the Bolsa Familiaprogram which helped reduce poverty and increased participation in the economic activities by the population. c) Improved perception of Global Trade: New foreign investment and international trade policies helped Brazil augment its economic status significantly. The overall import system was modernised and import tariffs were lowered, making it easy and cheap for other nations and multinationals to trade their products in Brazil d) Institutional Reform: Concerted efforts were made to improve governmental institutions in order to make them more efficient and conducive for Brazilian as well as for foreign investors. Judicial expeditiousness was constitutionally guaranteed and the Federal Supreme Court was endowed with precedential value whereby an issue once decided need not have to be decided over and over again. Hofstedes Analysis of Brazil Hofstede propounded the five cultural dimensions that are Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long Term Orientation. An understanding would help in minimising of misunderstandings that essentially stem from cultural differences and increase effective communication. This is essential for those aspiring for managerial positions in order to be successful and popular in the team. Power Distance Index (PDI). This relates to the centralisation of power in a organisation. It reveals how people recognise power differences and the way they acknowledge the distance from power and that of decision making. A low PDI relates to consultative processes in operations whilst a high PDI is indicative of corruption and bribery. Brazil has a High score of 69 on 100. Recommendation: A manager is expected to be authoritative and have a assertive communication style. Indulgence in consultative processes may be seen as a sign of weakness. One is expected to emphasise the status held through the display of expensive objects, branded personal items and making oneself heard and felt around the place. It is expected that the manager brings in a positive and encouraging atmosphere by being tough and with clearly defined barriers yet at the same time being able to collectively achieve target with the full support of the team. Devolution of knowledge processes has to be undertaken carefully as the authority of the manager has to be maintained while encouraging decision making processes. Individualism Index: Brazil has a low score of 38 out of 100 which reveals that individuals will exhibit strong group cohesion are more likely to be interested in the well being of the team. A high score on this aspect reveals mobility amidst social classes lacking interpersonal connection and minimal sharing of responsibility. Recommendation: A manager is expected to boost collective team spirit through efforts as chit-chatting, making jokes and the like. Individual actions like emails and phone calls should be avoided. There should be concentration on team targets, individual strengths and weaknesses are best not highlighted. Traditions should be respected and change brought in gradually. Masculinity Index: Masculine cultures lay a lot of stress on assertiveness, ambition and materialism. They are high on competition and strongly emphasise gender roles. Feminine cultures on the other hand prefer equality in treatment and value quality of life. They consider sharing and personal development very important. Brazil has a score of 49 on a 100 scale. Recommendation: Humility is not tolerated. Managers are expected to be proud and assertive of the knowledge and expertise they possess. Face time as it is known is high appreciated and the more time spent in office equals being available for the team and consequently for decision making. On the happy side the job also includes socialising after work hours with the team for a drink. Due to the fact that gender differences exist, very few female managers are credited with absolute decision making powers. Uncertainty Avoidance Index: Reveals the degree of anxiety that members of the society experience in unknown or uncertain situations. Brazil ranks high on this aspect with a score of 76 out of 100.As there is avoidance of ambiguous situations, the members of this type of society prefer governance by rules and orders. Recommendations: Consistency in the issuance of instructions is very important as is the delegation of tasks rather than authority. A manager is expected to be abreast of all current laws and regulations and be advised by a competent advisor as labour-market regulations are tremendously rigid and tend to favour employees in most situations. Long Term Orientation Index: Brazil is the only non Asian society to have such a high score of 65 on a 100 scale which reveals the magnitude of the pragmatic and future oriented perspective a society exhibits. Recommendation: Managers would do well to accept change, and ardently respect the jeitinho which is descriptive of the way discovered by the Brazilian to move out of a tricky situation. It is thus apparent that cultural differences are for a better part of time sources of conflict rather than synergies and so understanding these differences minimise misunderstanding. It is undoubtedly a very satisfying and enriching experience to survive and be appreciated in a foreign culture which is worth the hard work of understanding the cultural implications prior to embarking on an assignment. Pestle Analysis of Brazil Political There are three distinct entities that comprise the political setup in Brazil. They are The States, The Municipalities and The Federal District. The Federation has the five principles firmly entrenched which are sovereignty, dignity of human beings, citizenship, freedom of enterprise and the values of social labour, and political pluralism. The Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are all formally established by the Constitution. The legislative and executive are organized independently in the three branches of government, the judiciary is organized at the Federal and State sphere. There are increasing legislations for increased involvement of the nation in international trade and economic activities. Brazil has been the leader of the G-20 Group of Nations and due to its dynamic rise as an emerging market economy is given the first place in the BRIC consortium. Brazil also has reinforced its commitment to non proliferation by ratifying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is a signatory to a full-scale nuclear safeguard agreement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Brazil has acceded to the Treaty of Tlatelolco and has joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Economic In Latin America, Brazil has the largest national economy, it is the worlds tenth largest economy when considered at market exchange rates, and is the ninth largest when measured by the purchasing power parity (PPP),according to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. As revealed by World Bank data, Brazil ranks 64th as due to its GDP per capita being $10,200. It has huge and developed mining, agricultural, , service and manufacturing sectors, coup[led with a large labour pool. The primary markets for Brazilian exports are The U.S., Western Europe, and Japan .They are also the sources for foreign lending and investment. China is a also emerging as a growing market for Brazilian exports. Social The core cultural aspect is a Portuguese derivative due to the strong colonial ties with Portugal. The official language is Portuguese and is used for all communication including for all business and administrative purposes. Brazilians are warm, free spirited and fun-loving, very outgoing and gregarious. They are very hard working and take great pride in their countries natural resources and diversity of culture. The dress code is fashionable and usually according to the latest styles. Technology Brazil is a recognised leader in science and technology with regard to South America and especially in fields as agricultural research, remote sensing, bio fuels, and deep-sea oil production. Over 73% of research funding is government sponsored through various sources. The IT market being the largest in South America was forecast to be in the region of 30bn.US$ in 2012. Legal There exists a well established legal system with powers devolved to states and the municipalities. The federal Constitution is supreme and all decisions are taken in consonance with the articles enshrined in it. The Three Branches of Government are separate and independent yet are harmonious with each other. The Judiciary is organised at the State and Federal Level. The municipalities have to resort to the State or Federal level as the case may be. Environment As Brazil possesses virtually one third of the worlds rainforest which is inclusive of the Amazon rainforest, deforestation is a major issue. Most of the deforestation that occurs is attributed to land clearing which is for speculative interests, misguided government projects and commercialisation of forest resources together with inappropriate World Bank projects. However a large part of deforestation also occurs for planting of grass for cattle feed .Road construction for access to mining and other sites lead to tremendous exploitation of the poor farmer. What managers need to know *For effective business deals it is important to build strong rapport between business partners which gives a sense of genuineness of intentions. *Interruptions in the course of dialogue are common and are not to be interpreted as rude behaviour. *Beginning of meetings is generally centered on light conversational topics like weather or soccer. * Pre-nominal form Senhor (for men) or Senhora (for women) together with the last name and are generally used in the first time an address is and followed by informality and use of the first name. *Impromptu calls are not well taken and it would be prudent to make an appointment at least two weeks in advance. *Three-piece suits have an Executive connotation while conservative attire is the norm for women in business. *Business success hinges on the commitment of long term resources in time and money aimed at establishing strong business ties in Brazil. *Sao Paulo and Rio do not follow the norm of casualness when it refers to business matter and meetings generally start on time. *Bad topics for conversation are those centred on Argentina, poverty, politics, religion and Rain Forest. Conclusion: From the analysis, it is proper to conclude that with globalisation and the need for competitive advantage, a lot of expansion has occurred in various regions around the world have diverse cultural contexts. It is therefore necessary for those aspiring to work positions in countries other than their own in the work context, to familiarise themselves with the cultural features and thus be in an advantageous position and be appreciated in a foreign land. [18] Arthurs,H. (2006) Whos Afraid of Globalization? Reflections on the Future of Labour Law, in J.Craig S.Lynk (ed), Globalization and the Future of Labour Law. Cambridge: CUP, p. 55. [19] Floyd, D., Summan S., (2008), Understanding the main motives for foreign direct investment, an East-West country contrast: is the host country legislation an important factor?, Corporate Governance, 8(5), p.665 [20] IMF,op cit., p. 10 [21] IMF,op cit., p. 10

Representational Systems :: Communication Engineering Papers

Representational Systems This paper seeks to define a representational system in such a manner as to be capable of implementation in a connectionist, or neural, network. A representational system is defined and demonstrated to possess the ability to produce outputs which achieve global minima. The paper concludes by showing that, while a feed-forward neural network is incapable of representation, representation may be implemented in a recurrent, or internal feedback, connectionist network. Introduction Representational systems are commonly in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) domain of symbolic logic. Expert Systems are programmed into computer systems by recording the step-by-step logical methodology of experts to minimize the costs or maximize the utility of their decisions. Logical statements, or beliefs, be they fuzzy or hard, are established as "rules". Another branch of AI, Connectionism, attempts to build systems, often in artificial neural networks (ANNs), that implement the methodologies of the illogical, inexplicable, or intuitive capabilities of distributed systems such as pattern recognition systems. Here, it is not some logical mapping of input to output, but rather a holistic host of inputs which indicate micro-features which may or may not synergistically produce a desired output. While connectionist systems are recognized as being capable of distributed, non-representational processing, they may also possess the capability to additionally perform the rule-based logic of representational systems. As will be shown, not all connectionist networks possess the appropriate architecture for this task. Thus, a neural network, depending upon its architecture, may possess the

Hacker and Dreifus

Bob Herbert and Cal Thomas Write Articles Bob Herbert, a New York Times columnist writes on the subject of the american dream in an article titled hiding from reality. He writes of the dreary state of our country filled with ignored public school systems, dangerously underfunded local and state governments, and a failing job economy. Herbert boldly claims â€Å"Wherever you choose to look-at the economy and jobs, the public schools, the budget deficits, the nonstop war overseas- you’ll see a country in sad shape.Standards of living are declining, and american parents increasingly believe that their children are going to inherit a very bad deal† (564). This is one of the first points Herbert makes in his essay. What it appears Herbert is doing is trying to make the situation look as important as possible, that things are heading downhill. Herbert does not specifically assess blame for his claims. Cal Thomas the author of the next article capitalizes on that aspect, which he views as a weakness in Herbert’s essay.Cal Thomas a panelist on Fox News Watch and author of several books writes an article on the same subject titled Is the American Dream Over? Cal Thomas writes a more complex article. Thomas’ main point seems to be balance between arguing some of Herbert's main points, and discussing some of the problems in our country that herbert also covered in his essays. Such as the school system and a seemingly dysfunctional government. Thomas goes on to better define the american dream in order to show it as something besides, as herbert implies in his last paragraph, dead (567). homas suggests â€Å"The rules for achieving the american dream may no longer be taught in and supported by culture but that doesn't mean they don’t work† (570). Thomas leads his readers to infer that the american dream is as effective as it always has been, it has simply just gone out of style. Initially looking at these two articles it is easy to tell that they are full of contradictions and disagreements. As we look deeper into these articles it is revealed that these two authors agree on much more than they would like to admit to.In discussions of the state of the American Dream there have been many controversial issues over the state of our government, school systems and the american dream. on one hand Bob herbert believes that overall the state of our country in relation to the american dream is in a dismal shape, Cal thomas, for similar reasons, also proposes that there are many things in our economy, and government that need fixing. On the matter of public school systems Herbert, as mentioned before, warns us that we have a public education system hanging by threads due to budget cuts.Herbert asserts â€Å"Now although we don't want to admit it publicly, we’ve decided to go in another direction† (566). He states that the government has begun to shift its priorities from education to other things. Here, h erbert reveals a common but imperative (In his eyes) value that is being thrown out the window by government budget cuts. The value being the importance of public education for our youth. He assumes the values to be social standard and uses them to show the malevolence of government budget cuts directed at public school systems.Cal thomas believes the state of our public school systems to be in bad shape paints the picture of â€Å"A monopolistic government school system locked in failing government schools, producing graduates (if in fact they do graduate) who lag behind in subjects that matter† (569). Here Thomas dives even deeper into the public education problem saying that not only is the government saturating the public school system in america but the information being learned is in part insignificant. With this herbert and thomas are in agreement.Thomas, though he would not want to admit it due to the fact that the overall purpose of his essay is a rebuttal of Herbert s essay, is in agreement with Bob Herbert. They both openly state that the school systems are on a steep downhill slope caused by the government. the authors of these essays are clearly in agreement on the state of the public school system, what is less apparent is their underlying values behind these statements. Thomas shares Herberts implicit value that public education is very important. hen looking even deeper you notice that they both seem to be placing blame on the government. They are both implying an inherent immorality of the government system. which seems to be a consistent theme in both articles. On the topic of the american dream Herbert states â€Å"America will never get its act together until we recognize how much trouble were really in, and how much effort and shared sacrifice is needed to stop the decline. Only then will we be able to begin resuscitating the dream. † (567).Herbert implies here that our problems are so severe that we have much more work to do then society has led on, we have to make a big change in our lifestyles if we want to turn this country around. Like Herbert, Thomas also offers a solution to the diminishing state our country appears to be in, he claims â€Å"People who believe a politician of whatever party or persuasion can make their life better than individual initiative are doing more than dreaming; such persons are displaying a cult-like faith, which can never be fulfilled† (570).Thomas is using a what-not-to-do example here in order to imply that individual initiative is what is necessary to help improve the state of the american dream as well as the country. In summary, Herbert believes that it will take societal change in responsibility. We need to realize the gravity of our situation and put a great effort forth to fix it. Thomas with a different approach to the same problem suggests that we must stop relying on the politicians and begin relying on ourselves. It may appear that this is an example o f a disagreement between the two men, it is not. hen we look under the surface we will notice they are actually in agreement. To see the similarities in the argument we must look at the hidden values behind what these men are saying, Starting with Thomas. when Cal brings up the concept of a solution it means he is implying there is a problem, in this case it is a unsatisfactory application of the american dream, the first of the hidden values that can be observed from his statement. This value stems from Thomas and Herberts shared value that we have a mediocre government taking care of us. his leads back to one of the most basic values. The value of our society on an individual level. Thomas and herbert write their essays because they value the importance on each person's quality of life. Thomas speaking of the overindulgence of our government affirms â€Å"This has produced a country of government addicts with an entitlement mentality. These twin maladies have eroded self-reliance , individual initiative, and personal accountability. † (569). Thomas states here that relying on the government is disintegrating our individuality and taking away our freedom, in a way.From this statement we learn that it is healthy for our society to think freely, and to be a healthy society we need a society of individuals, not sheep. This is how Thomas subtly reveals his underlying values that we as human beings are significantly important. Herbert with the same values states it in a different way. Herbert observes â€Å"If student test scores jumped a couple of points or the jobless rate fell by a point and a half, the politicians and the news media would crow as if something great had been achieved. That’s how people behave when they’re in denial. † (566).In herberts next sentence he offers a solution, affirming that indeed it is a problem for the media to veil the conditions in our country, and it is a problem for people to be unaware of it. What B ob is calling for is awareness, in other words he wants for our society to start thinking for themselves because that is the most necessary aspect to create change and reintroduce the american dream. It starts with a society with an individualistic mindset. So, in summary what herbert in thomas are saying is their most important value is that of your everyday Joe. In the sense of this value the two authors are in complete agreement.This is what motivated them to input their values. They want people to wake up and see the dismal reality they face, and make a change. In conclusion, although at first glance it appears that these are two conflicting arguments. It is true that the authors disagree with each other on certain aspects such as their definition and perception of the state of the american dream. One could even argue that they are in total disagreement, but when you begin to read in between the lines and look into their inherent values as people you will notice that their deepe st values and morals are unidentifiable from one another.

Positive functions for society Essay

The family was once described as a social group that shared common residence, consisted of at least two adults of each sex that maintained a socially approved sexual relationship and had one or more children, their own or adopted. This is a nuclear family, described by George Murdoch to be a universal family type. Although it is correct to say that nuclear families reside universally, family types now vary from single-parent families to gay headed families. Despite the variety, they contribute to the society, in ways that can be positive and negative too. Many sociologists differ in their views as to whether the family is positive to the society or not- functionalists believe that the family has positive functions that contribute positively to the society but it has to be said that functionalists tend to ignore negative aspects of the family such as the ‘dark side’, which consists of all that makes the family a negative experience for its members. Nevertheless there are sociologists that focus on only the negative aspects, such as, radical psychiatrists, radical feminists and Marxists. The new right theory has faith that family is a positive function of the society, however new rights only refer to nuclear families, as they believe that any other family type is inferior. Functionalism is a consensus theory which looks at society positively. Functionalists often make an organic analogy, as a human body is maintained by the functions of each part of a body, keeping it alive and healthy, similarly, and society is kept going by its institutions- family being one of the institutions which function to sustain the well-being of society. It is recognised by functionalists that families change themselves over time for the sake of adapting to society, an exemplar would be leading functionalist Emile Durkheim who strongly believed that family was the most important institution of society. Durkheim believed that family positively functioned for both individuals and society. The family, he believed, is the institution that offers its members emotional support, stability and gives them their identity as primary socialisers, and to an extent, teaches them how they should act toward the rest of society. Thus he proves that they perform a positive function to society too, as they provide fundamental social order and stability, which helps to prevent the society from becoming disordered. Talcott Parson’s was a functionalist who analysed the families  from a modern perspective and came to a conclusion that although families have less functions, as they are provided with help from outside agencies, they still perform two important functions which determine the actions within a society. These two functions focus on individuals- the first being the socialisation of children primarily, into the responsible, committed individuals that society can benefit from and the second is the stabilisation of adult personalities, as he stated that it was family who help ease away tensions of the modern world, particularly for male workers. He also believed that these functions were best found in nuclear families, where the clear sexual division in labour enabled wives to partake an expressive role while men held an instrumental role. However, there are functionalists like Fletcher who believe that family has not decreased their functions, he explains how the family do not just perform the apparent obvious functions of primary socialisation, social control and reproduction but they also play a role in providing basic education and support through school life and they still have an economic function because they provide support to their non-working members, whether they are un-fit to work, ill or unemployed and ultimately, family supplies the whole economy with workers. The functionalism theory sheds light on the positive aspects of family life which all contribute to the society positively. Each functionalist has consistently mentioned a vital performance that families partake- the primary socialisation of children. During this stage a child learns about his/her culture and is most likely to be taught the norms and values of their society. Primary socialisation is a vital performance which is done by the family, as a child is expected to have acknowledgement of the norms and values in order to adjust with the society they live in. Although the functionalist theory does not look at the negative aspects of the family there are others that do. It can only be assumed that the functionalist view was patriarchal- the belief that men are dominate. This assumption is only representative of Parson as he introduced the warm bath theory, whereby he suggested that it was men that had a hard day at work and their wives (women) stayed at home and made them feel better when the husbands came home. Radical feminists are those who focus on this discrimination and have firm belief that the world is wrongly dominated by  men. They believe that patriarchal ideology gives women a perception that motherhood is their natural role whereas it actually keeps women subservient to men. They express how women have at least a dual role but most have a ‘triple burden’ which consists of the roles of a paid worker, a mother and a housewife. The Marxist theory characterises the society as being one that exploits and subordinates the working class. They argue that the family only benefits capitalists as they produce the working class, teach their children to accept capitalist values when primarily socialising them, which are to hard work, accepting and respecting authority, and it is the family that makes their members feel that capitalism is the norm. Radical psychiatrists on the other hand, argue that the family as a whole is a deception. Clinical evidence proves that families suffer exploitation, oppression and a negative experience. The modern family is so ‘independent’ that it leads to emotional stress between the members. They disagree with functionalists and say that families actually spend too much time trying to please others by doing what they are expected to do, which prevents them from having autonomy. Thus if someone did something wrong it would lead to shame, guilt and repression. This leads to the’ dark side’ to a family which includes abuse to children and domestic violence to both men and women. Child abuse consists of, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. A CPS report showed that five to six children died each day in 2001 due to child abuse or neglect. Approximately 84% of the children were abused by their parents and mothers alone were responsible for 47% of the neglect and 32% of the abuse. Domestic violence is also increasing the UK’s crime rate and accounts for a quarter of the murders in the UK. Domestic violence is all the violence that occurs between partners. Not only does it account for physical violence but sexual and emotional abuse too. Although it is considered a crime against women because they are twice as likely to be threatened and injured, men are also violated against- a study conducted at the Leicester Infirmary in 1992 concluded that equal numbers of men and women were being assaulted at home and that men received more serious injuries, losing consciousness more often than women. It may be so that the family as individuals may be affected more if they suffer these negative experiences however, it may also affect the society because one’s participation to society will become effortless regardless of the way they contribute, for examples if they are a student,  they will not work hard, if they are a worker, they will be less. Nevertheless there are 400 refuges around the UK and any help lines to support those that are suffering. There are different views of the family that that highlight how they function in society and towards individuals. Functionalism is the main theory that promotes the positive aspects of a family and reflects the positive contributions a family makes towards society by performing essential functions such as reproduction, primary socialisation and social control. There are also many theories that focus on the negative aspects of the family- the things that make family a bad function of society. However, it has to be said that all the theory’s are correct if read from the perspective that they are written in. Thus, although the family does have a ‘dark side’ and may not comply with all theorists, such as radical psychiatrists and radical feminists, they still manage to uphold the main functions, that is to reproduce, socialise with individuals and support their family members.