Biography of Alvaro Obregón Salido, Mexican President

Biography of Alvaro Obregà ³n Salido, Mexican President Alvaro Obregà ³n Salido (February 19, 1880–July 17, 1928) was a Mexican farmer, general, president, and one of the key players in the Mexican Revolution. He rose to power because of his military brilliance and because he was the last of the Revolutions â€Å"Big Four† still alive after 1923: Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Venustiano Carranza had all been assassinated. Many historians consider his election as president in 1920 to be the end point of the Revolution, although the violence continued afterward. Fast Facts: Alvaro Obregà ³n Salido Known For:  Farmer, general in the Mexican Revolution, president of MexicoAlso Known As:  Alvaro Obregà ³nBorn:  February 19, 1880 in Huatabampo, Sonora, MexicoParents: Francisco Obregà ³n and Cenobia SalidoDied:  July 17, 1928, just outside Mexico City, MexicoEducation: Elementary educationSpouse: Refugio Urrea, Marà ­a Claudia Tapia MonteverdeChildren: 6 Early Life Alvaro Obregà ³n was born in Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico. His father Francisco Obregà ³n had lost much of the family wealth when he backed Emperor Maximilian over Benito Jurez during the  French Intervention in Mexico in the 1860s. Francisco died when Alvaro was an infant, so Alvaro was raised by his mother Cenobia Salido. The family had very little money but shared a supportive home life and most of Alvaros siblings became schoolteachers. Alvaro was a hard worker and had the reputation of being a local genius. Although he had to drop out of school, he taught himself many skills, including photography and carpentry. As a young man, he saved enough to buy a failing chickpea farm and turned it into a very profitable endeavor. Alvaro next invented a chickpea harvester, which he began to manufacture and sell to other farmers. Latecomer to the Revolution Unlike most of the other important figures of the Mexican Revolution, Obregà ³n did not oppose dictator Porfirio Dà ­az early on. Obregà ³n watched the early stages of the Revolution from the sidelines in Sonora and, once he had joined, Revolutionaries often accused him of being an opportunistic latecomer. By the time Obregà ³n became a Revolutionary, Dà ­az had been ousted, the Revolutions chief instigator Francisco I. Madero was president, and the Revolutionary warlords and factions were already beginning to turn on one another. The violence among the Revolutionary factions was to last more than 10 years, in what was to be a constant succession of temporary alliances and betrayals. Early Military Success Obregà ³n became involved in 1912, two years into the Revolution, on behalf of President Francisco I. Madero, who was fighting the army of Maderos former Revolutionary ally Pascual Orozco in the north. Obregà ³n recruited a force of some 300 soldiers and joined the command of General Agustà ­n Sangines. The general, impressed by the clever young Sonoran, quickly promoted him to colonel. Obregà ³n defeated a force of Orozquistas at the Battle of San Joaquà ­n under General Josà © Inà ©s Salazar. Shortly thereafter Orozco fled to the United States, leaving his forces in disarray. Obregà ³n returned to his chickpea farm. Obregà ³n Against Huerta When Madero was deposed and executed by Victoriano Huerta in February of 1913, Obregà ³n once again took up arms, this time against the new dictator and his federal forces. Obregà ³n offered his services to the government of the State of Sonora. Obregà ³n proved himself to be a very skilled general and his army captured towns from the federal forces all over Sonora. His ranks swelled with recruits and deserting federal soldiers and by the summer of 1913, Obregà ³n was the most important military figure in Sonora. Obregà ³n Joins With Carranza When Revolutionary leader Venustiano Carranzas battered army straggled into Sonora, Obregà ³n welcomed them. For this, First Chief Carranza made Obregà ³n supreme military commander of all Revolutionary forces in the northwest in September 1913. Obregà ³n didnt know what to make of Carranza, a long-bearded patriarch who had boldly appointed himself First Chief of the Revolution. Obregà ³n saw, however, that Carranza had skills and connections that he did not possess, and he decided to ally himself with â€Å"the bearded one.† This was a savvy move for both of them, as the Carranza-Obregà ³n alliance defeated first Huerta and then Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata before disintegrating in 1920. Obregà ³ns Skills and Ingenuity Obregà ³n was a skilled negotiator and diplomat. He was even able to recruit rebellious Yaqui Indians, assuring them that he would work to give them back their land. They became valuable troops for his army. He proved his military skill countless times, devastating Huertas forces wherever he found them. During the lull in the fighting in the winter of 1913–1914, Obregà ³n modernized his army, importing techniques from recent conflicts such as the Boer Wars. He was a pioneer in the use of trenches, barbed wire, and foxholes. In mid-1914, Obregà ³n purchased airplanes from the United States and used them to attack federal forces and gunboats. This was one of the first uses of airplanes for warfare and it was very effective, although somewhat impractical at the time. Victory Over Huertas Federal Army On June 23, Villas army annihilated Huertas federal army at the Battle of Zacatecas. Out of some 12,000 federal troops in Zacatecas that morning, only about 300 staggered into neighboring Aguascalientes over the next couple of days. Desperately wanting to beat competing Revolutionary Pancho Villa to Mexico City, Obregà ³n routed the federal troops at the Battle of Orendain and captured Guadalajara on July 8. Surrounded, Huerta resigned on July 15, and Obregà ³n beat Villa to the gates of Mexico City, which he took for Carranza on August 11. Obregà ³n Meets With Pancho Villa With Huerta gone, it was up to the victors to try and put Mexico back together. Obregà ³n visited Pancho Villa on two occasions in August and September 1914, but Villa caught the Sonoran scheming behind his back and held Obregà ³n for a few days, threatening to execute him. He eventually let Obregà ³n go, but the incident convinced Obregà ³n that Villa was a loose cannon who needed to be eliminated. Obregà ³n returned to Mexico City and renewed his alliance with Carranza. The Convention of Aguascalientes In October, the victorious authors of the Revolution against Huerta met at the Convention of Aguascalientes. There were 57 generals and 95  officers  in attendance. Villa, Carranza, and Emiliano Zapata sent representatives, but Obregà ³n came personally. The convention lasted about a month and was very chaotic. Carranzas representatives insisted on nothing less than absolute power for the bearded one and refused to budge. Zapatas people insisted that the convention accept the radical land reform of the Plan of Ayala. Villas delegation was comprised of men whose personal goals were often conflicting, and although they were willing to compromise for peace, they reported that Villa would never accept Carranza as president. Obregà ³n Wins and Carranza Loses Obregà ³n was the big winner at the convention. As the only one of the â€Å"big four† to show up, he had the chance to meet the officers of his rivals. Many of these officers were impressed by the clever, self-effacing Sonoran. These officers retained their positive image of him even when some of them fought him later. Some joined him immediately. The big loser was Carranza because the Convention eventually voted to remove him as First Chief of the Revolution. The convention elected Eulalio Gutià ©rrez as president, who told Carranza to resign. Carranza refused and Gutià ©rrez declared him a rebel. Gutià ©rrez placed Pancho Villa in charge of defeating him, a duty Villa was eager to perform. Obregà ³n had gone to the Convention truly hoping for a compromise acceptable to everyone and an end to the bloodshed. He was now forced to choose between Carranza and Villa. He chose  Carranza and took many of the convention delegates with him. Obregà ³n Against Villa Carranza shrewdly sent Obregà ³n after Villa. Obregà ³n was his best general and the only one capable of beating the powerful Villa. Moreover, Carranza cunningly knew that there was a possibility that Obregà ³n himself could fall in the battle, which would remove one of Carranzas more formidable rivals for power. In early 1915, Villas forces, divided up under different generals, dominated the north. In April, Obregà ³n, now commanding the best of the federal forces, moved to meet Villa, digging in outside the town of Celaya. The Battle of Celaya Villa took the bait and attacked Obregà ³n, who had dug trenches and placed machine guns. Villa responded with one of the old-fashioned cavalry charges which had won him so many battles early in the Revolution. Obregà ³ns modern machine guns, entrenched  soldiers,  and barbed wire halted Villas horsemen. The battle raged for two days before Villa was driven back. He attacked again a week later, and the results were even more devastating. In the end, Obregà ³n completely routed Villa at the Battle of Celaya. The Battles of Trinidad and Agua Prieta Giving chase, Obregà ³n caught up to Villa once again at Trinidad. The Battle of Trinidad lasted 38 days and claimed thousands of lives on both sides. One additional casualty was Obregà ³ns right arm, which was severed above the elbow by an artillery shell. Surgeons barely managed to save his life. Trinidad was another major victory for Obregà ³n. Villa, his army in tatters, retreated to Sonora, where forces loyal to Carranza defeated him at the battle of Agua Prieta. By the end of 1915, Villas once-proud Division of the North was in ruins. The soldiers  had scattered, the generals had retired or defected, and Villa himself had gone back into the mountains with only a few hundred men. Obregà ³n and Carranza With the threat of Villa all but gone, Obregà ³n assumed the post of minister of war in Carranzas cabinet. While he was outwardly loyal to Carranza, Obregà ³n was still very ambitious. As minister of war, he attempted to modernize the army and took part in defeating the same rebellious Yaqui Indians who had supported him earlier in the Revolution. In early 1917, the new constitution was ratified and Carranza was elected president. Obregà ³n retired once again to his  chickpea  ranch  but kept a close eye on events in Mexico City. He stayed out of Carranzas way, but with the understanding that Obregà ³n would be the next president of Mexico. Prosperity and a Return to Politics With the clever, hard-working Obregà ³n back in charge, his ranch and businesses flourished. Obregà ³n branched out into mining and an import-export business. He employed more than 1,500 workers and was well-liked and respected in Sonora and elsewhere. In June 1919, Obregà ³n announced that he would run for president in the 1920 elections. Carranza, who did not personally like nor trust Obregà ³n, immediately began working against him. Carranza claimed that he thought Mexico should have a civilian president, not a military one. He had in fact already picked his own successor, Ignacio Bonillas. Obregà ³n Against Carranza Carranza had made a huge mistake by reneging on his informal deal with Obregà ³n, who had kept his side of the bargain and stayed out of Carranzas way from 1917–1919. Obregà ³ns candidacy immediately drew support from important sectors of society. The military loved Obregà ³n, as did the middle class (whom he represented) and the poor (who had been betrayed by Carranza). He was also popular with intellectuals like Josà © Vasconcelos, who saw him as the one man with the clout and charisma to bring peace to Mexico. Carranza then made a second tactical error. He decided to fight the swelling tide of pro-Obregà ³n sentiment and stripped Obregà ³n of his military rank. The majority of people in Mexico saw this act as petty, ungrateful, and purely political. The situation got increasingly tense and reminded some observers of the pre-Revolution Mexico of 1910. An old,  stolid  politician was refusing to allow a fair election, challenged by a younger man with new ideas. Carranza decided that he could never beat Obregà ³n in an election and he ordered the army to attack. Obregà ³n quickly raised an army in Sonora even as other generals around the nation defected to his cause. The Revolution Ends Carranza, desperate to get to Veracruz where he could rally his support, departed Mexico City in a train loaded with gold, advisors, and sycophants. Quickly, forces loyal to Obregà ³n attacked the train, forcing the party to flee overland. Carranza and a handful of survivors of the so-called â€Å"Golden Train† accepted sanctuary in May 1920 at the town of Tlaxcalantongo from local warlord Rodolfo Herrera. Herrera betrayed Carranza, shooting and killing him and his closest advisers as they slept in a tent. Herrera, who had switched alliances to Obregà ³n, was put on trial but acquitted. With Carranza gone, Adolfo de la Huerta became provisional  president  and brokered a peace deal with the resurgent Villa. When the deal was formalized (over Obregà ³ns objections) the Mexican Revolution was officially over. Obregà ³n was easily elected president in September 1920. First Presidency Obregà ³n proved to be an able president. He continued making peace with those who had fought against him in the  Revolution  and instituted land and education reforms. He also cultivated ties with the United States and did much to restore Mexicos shattered economy, including rebuilding the oil industry. Obregà ³n still feared Villa, however, who was newly retired in the north. Villa was the one man who could still raise an army large enough to defeat Obregà ³ns federales. Obregà ³n  had him assassinated  in 1923. More Conflict The peace of the first part of Obregà ³ns presidency was shattered in 1923, however, when Adolfo de la Huerta decided to run for president in 1924. Obregà ³n favored Plutarco Elà ­as Calles. The two factions went to war, and Obregà ³n and Calles destroyed de la Huertas faction. They were beaten militarily and many officers and leaders were executed, including several important former friends and allies of Obregà ³n. De la Huerta was forced into exile. All opposition crushed, Calles easily won the presidency. Obregà ³n once more retired to his ranch. Second Presidency In 1927, Obregà ³n decided he wanted to be president once again. Congress cleared the way for him to do so legally and he began to campaign. Although the military still supported him, he had lost the support of the common man as well as the intellectuals, who saw him as a ruthless monster. The Catholic Church also opposed him, since Obregà ³n was violently anti-clerical. Obregà ³n would not be denied, however. His two opponents were General Arnulfo Gà ³mez and an old personal friend and brother-in-arms, Francisco Serrano. When they plotted to have him arrested, he ordered their capture and sent them both to the firing squad. The nations leaders were thoroughly intimidated by Obregà ³n; many  thought he  had gone mad. Death In July 1928, Obregà ³n was declared president for a four-year term. But his second presidency was to be very short indeed. On July 17, 1928, a Catholic fanatic named Josà © de Leà ³n Toral assassinated Obregà ³n just outside of Mexico City. Toral was executed a few days later. Legacy Obregà ³n may have arrived late to the Mexican Revolution, but by its end he had made his way to the top, becoming the most powerful man in Mexico. As a Revolutionary warlord, historians deem him to be neither the cruelest nor the most humane. He was, most agree, clearly the most clever and effective. Obregà ³n created lasting impacts on Mexican history with the important decisions he made while in the field. Had he sided with Villa instead of Carranza after the Convention of Aguascalientes, todays Mexico could well be quite different. Obregà ³ns presidency was remarkably split. He at first used the time to bring some much-needed peace and reform to Mexico. Then he himself shattered the same peace he had created with his tyrannical obsession to get his own successor elected and, finally, to return to power personally. His governing ability did not match his military skills. Mexico would not get the clear-headed leadership that it desperately needed until 10 years later, with the administration of President  Lzaro Crdenas. In Mexican lore, Obregà ³n is not beloved like Villa, idolized like Zapata, or despised like Huerta. Today, most Mexicans understand Obregà ³n as the man who came out on top after the Revolution simply because he outlasted the others. This assessment overlooks how much skill, cunning, and brutality he used to assure that he survived. The rise to power of this brilliant and charismatic general can be attributed to both his ruthlessness and his unmatched effectiveness. Sources Buchenau, Jà ¼rgen. The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregà ³n and the Mexican Revolution. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.McLynn,  Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution.  Carroll and Graf, 2000.

Medicaid Fraud in the State of Virginia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Medicaid Fraud in the State of Virginia - Essay Example They set up a personal care service center that is duly authorized to provide respite care to Medicaid recipients. Respite care is usually given by the family or another unpaid primary caregiver of the recipient. Having set up authorized respite care centers for Medicaid beneficiaries, such individuals then proceed to file false or fraudulent claims for reimbursement from the Medicaid program. Gilchrist claimed reimbursement for 38 non-existent Medicaid patients for which her company received approximately $294,713 (The United States Attorney General's Office, 2013). Cases of fraud on the Medicaid program have dire implications. This is especially the case when the US Government is lobbying to increase Medicare coverage to more Americans, especially the poor and those who cannot afford health insurance covers. For this reason, states have taken measures to arrest the problem. The state of Virginia, for instance, has set up the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to deal with defrauders.

CONSUMER PREFERENCE ABOUT BREAKFAST PRODUCTS Assignment

CONSUMER PREFERENCE ABOUT BREAKFAST PRODUCTS - Assignment Example When producing a new product (a conventional breakfast product) in the affluent market in Saudi Arabia, it is important to note that this market is composed on individuals who have breakfast like in the western world. The affluent markets are in Jeddah, the Western parts of the country and Riyadh. It should also be noted that the Saudis main meal is lunch and thus they may not be willing to spend more on breakfast. I would introduce banana flavored oat flakes in the market which already contains honey and dried milk into the market. What the consumer only needs to add is hot or cold water to make it ready for consumption. A perception position I would like to draw of the existing Cereals is that there is a good variety of cereals to satisfy the clients in terms of nutritional and monetary value. First perspective is that there could be a product that is manufactured to have a high nutritional value and at the same time be cost friendly with a new sense of flavor and finesse (Hoyer, 2 008).. A lot has been done to target consumers by different brands but believe that there is still room for improvement. Second perspective, is that on the Saudi Arabians and their liking for having more than one meal during breakfast is time consuming when preparing the breakfast meals. Thirdly, the distribution in terms of breakfast cereals and products in the area was fairly done. The region still needs a boost to ensure adequate supply of cereal and breakfast products. Producing a breakfast cereal that is nutritious and incorporates all the foods will go a long way in reducing the number of foods that are prepared for breakfast. Production distribution to ensure availability of the goods in the market is one of the positioning strategies I will use to make a breakthrough in the cereals market. Perception Graph of the Nutritional Value over Time of 5 Cereals. Saudi Arabians are strongly guided by the traditional Muslim foods from many cultures therefore acceptance of the Western ways of having breakfast is not wholly practiced by their majority population. Therefore there is a gap in the cereals market due to the fact that the market is not adequately served. The Positioning strategy that I would adopt is Customer benefit strategy. I would basically lure the consumers by giving them the health benefits of oats over corn. Pricing as a positioning strategy will also be used by further marketing the product as pocket friendly in the sense that it does not require one to buy milk separately and this would separate my brand from the rest (Kardes, 2011). I would also adopt my positioning strategy based on use, in the sense that my oat flakes can be used as breakfast cereals by just adding water or they can also be used as an everyday snack because oats have a really soft crunchiness and the combination of the banana, honey and skimmed milk make a great tasty snack, even without the addition of water. Another positioning strategy I would employ is based on product class i.e. fortify my cereals, I would advertise my product as having vitamins, calcium, iron and folic acid but majorly I would concentrate on the fact that it has a distinctive taste and that it has been carefully produced so that the end result is a taste that cannot be compared to any other cereal. The market strategy of introducing my product in the market basically involves

Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Example for Free

Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Almost every organization, whether public or private, on paper or in practice, has a culture that fairly dictates its everyday functioning. The term culture has many definitions but in this discussion it is defined as shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. Culture binds a workforce together and is its control mechanism, or purpose, to facilitate its functioning. These items are powerful driving forces in the success of an organization and their value to the community they serve whether it is a public or private entity will affect the success of any organization. While cultures are found in some organizations more prominently than in others, there are those organizations where the culture of that specific organization’s ideal stands out above others. Police departments, military units and religious organizations all have a strong, centralized culture that forms its base and permeates its entire existence. Many times people outside of those professions do not understand the mentality or job commitment a person from one of these career fields shares with his/her co-workers. An example would be the duty and honor commitment of a United State Marine, especially when considered by a person who was anti-military; the Marines belief or core value system is not understood. The medical profession and more specifically hospitals, demonstrate a common goal that simply stated, is the care and healing of the sick or injured. For the most part, the medical staff employed at a hospital is there for that specific purpose. The medical field brings together a vast array of individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. But once they become a doctor, hospital nurse, surgical technician, etc. they take on a new life and thereby absorb a new culture into their lives. Subcultures, as defined by organizational theorists John van Maanen and Stephen Barley, are â€Å"a subset of an organization’s members who interact regularly with one another, identify themselves as a distinct group†¦and routinely take action on the basis of collective understandings unique to the group† (Cheney, 2011, 78-79) The organizational culture in a hospital is based on the premise that the hospital is there to provide a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Organizational theorist Mary Jo Hatch puts forth that there are five (5) â€Å"Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation† (Cheney, 77) identified as follows: Unitary, Diverse (Integrated), Diverse (Differentiated), Diverse (Fragmented) and Disorganized (Multi-cephalous) (Hatch, 1997, 210). A hospital in its purest form would be well represented as a Unitary culture because the staff as a whole all have the same values or beliefs. But individual staff or even medical units may fall into any of the other cultures identified as well. A particular unit, i. e. cardiac telemetry floor, may be a Diverse (Fragmented) unit due to a group of nurses who do not view their critical task requirements in the same way and as a result the level of patient infections or deaths rises, causing unrest among the staff, supervisors, patient families and resulting in legal ramifications thereby fragmenting the staff’s solidarity. Social psychologist Edgar Schein formulated a theoretical model that shows an organization’s culture is built on three levels: artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs. Artifacts are usually the most common and visible sign of a specific culture. Schein puts forth that things such as nursing uniforms, terminology, surgical protocols and more, actually and accurately represent the basic aspects of organization’s culture. The values and norms aspect of his theory, while not always visible, can be seen through behavior of the individual or group; it reveals what is important to the group and how they treat each other within their organization. Each aspect of the profession may have an operating procedure or environment nique to that area of specialization, but still have the same values and norms for their actions. In a surgical room, sterilization of the environment is much more important than it would be in a patient’s room on a medical/surgical floor, but they still have the same belief in keeping an open wound as clean as possible. While values in the medical profession do not vary as a whole, values do define accepted behavior and action. Genuine assumptions and beliefs are nurtured by a persons or organizations values and norms. Values vary only slightly in the various medical professions and facilities. Depending on the medical specialty area, operational norms and methods may differ according to training priorities, equipment and environment unique to that specialty. For instance, the hospital in-patient wound care team may have the same desire to treat a patient’s wounds as a home health nursing team, but the methods of treatment or medications used may be different. Differences begin to surface when a patient is sent home on a negative pressure wound therapy system, i. e. a wound V. A. C.  ®, that aids in the healing of wounds via suction (http://www. kci1. com/KCI1/vactherapy). Many home health nurses does not know how to properly change the intricate dressing or fully understand this equipment or the damaging results that can occur if not changed properly. Faulty assumptions are therefore made based on the beliefs of the home health nurse of what should be done for the patient. When that happens, problems arise in this particular scenario that could result in the patient being brought back to the hospital for a further period of hospitalization due to a breakdown of their wounds or even the creation of new wounds as a result of improper V. A. C.  ® placement. The overriding culture of the medical field is based on the Physician’s Creed of â€Å"First, do no harm† (author uncertain but it is based on the Hippocratic Oath which states to abstain from doing harm). This belief echoes throughout the medical field all over the world. And while there are individual exceptions or exceptions in areas such as animal research for the betterment of mankind or the ethical issue of abortion, the creed has gone unchanged since the time of the ancient Greeks and before. Schein’s three (3) levels of artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs, are evident in every clinical setting. With further exploration, Hatch’s five (5) Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation will also be found, albeit not everyone will be seen on every hospital floor or unit. Medical facilities are a kaleidoscope or a microcosm of many subcultures under the roof of the main culture of being a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Without that organizational culture giving guidance to all of the subcultures involved in this humanitarian career field, the death rate for minor injuries and diseases would compound exponentially.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service :: essays research papers

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service For the past few months, I have been focusing on the events and the principles behind the founding of our nation. During these studies, I often wondered how some of the ideas we cling to became entrenched in our paradigms of perception. For instance, there are words that have become taboo because of the ways they have been used. They are so taboo, in fact, that it has become nearly impossible to use the words constructively, because using them either shuts off the mechanism in the brain that controls attention span, or their mentioning automatically invites a defensive posture. Two of the unwitting victims are the words "politics" and "discrimination." The demise of valid uses of these words is sadly apparent when we discuss the issue of "free trade" with China. First, since negotiations with foreign governments can only justly and efficiently be done through representation of our own government, the issue inherently involves politics. There is no way of getting around it. Second, the decision is really whether or not to discriminate against the Chinese government fundamentally on the basis that we do not agree with their methods of controlling internal civil affairs. Are we right to presume we have the authority to judge the actions of a foreign government when our own government has, in fact, from time to time, been guilty of many of the same things we accuse the Chinese government of doing? One might be inclined to profess that we have no authority to judge, lest we open up the possibility of allowing ourselves to be judged. However, if we are just and consistent, is that Dickens 2 such a terrible proposition? While America is proud of its diversity, that diversity should not be used to steal our attention from the common, unifying principles, which sets America apart from the rest of the world. They are the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Without those principles, we have no claim to freedom, so I'm not certain why there is an effort to categorically reject them. Retail establishments are apt to decide with whom they will do business based on criteria that is not necessarily relevant to a person's quality or depth of character. Patrons must be wearing certain articles of clothing, or they are not admitted. No shirt, no shoes, no service. Many of the more highly rated restaurants even require a coat and tie for their customers.

Family Delinquency Essay

There are several factors that might lead to inept parenting in single parent households. Among these factors are the available economic and parental resources to children and the stressful conditions that characterize such families. Majority of single parents are economically disadvantaged. As such, they often lack the material resources that they can offer their children. The result is that their children remain uncompetitive especially in school. Their children thus lack status among their peers owing to the inability of the parent to provide things that they may need. Due to the fact that majority of single parents suffer from various economic difficulties, they are likely to live in run down neighborhoods characterized by high crime rates, low quality schools and few community services. The majority of single parents also find it difficult to function effectively as parents. They are in most cases less emotionally supportive of their children, are less restrictive, dispense harsher discipline, are more inconsistent in dispensing discipline, offer less supervision and engage in more conflict with their children (Simmons and Simmons, 2005). These deficits in parenting emanate from the struggle to provide for the family with limited financial resources and attempting to raise children in the absence of the other biological parent. Various studies associate inept parenting by resident single parents with a variety of negative consequences among children. Relationship between informal and formal labeling to adolescent delinquency According to labeling theory, perceived negative reactions result in the development of negative self conceptions and greater delinquent involvement (Glueck, 1962). The proponents of this theory emphasize on the importance of both formal and informal labeling. Formal labels are those acquired through contact with social control agencies while informal labeling are those that parents, peers and teachers generate. Juveniles become stigmatized through contact with social control agencies. Involvement in delinquent behavior is one of the possible responses to being negatively labeled or stigmatized. Negative parental reactions may also lead to a juvenile becoming delinquent. In their routine activities, juveniles encounter different cues and clues on how members of the community they live perceive them. Juveniles can interpret accurately the meaning of symbols and gestures employed to project labels upon them through role taking and defining situations. Human beings cannot be said to be passive receptors of negative labels since they possess the capacity to take part in cooperative interaction through significant symbols. Some juveniles negotiate labels and at times attempt to repudiate their deviant imputations (Simmons and Simmons, 2005). Naming or defining something is never an idealistic procedure but rather a consequence of an action. As such, social groups establish deviance by their response to known acts. A label therefore designates something that is a consequence of successful conversation of gestures. It is this successful conversation of gestures that makes the process of labeling the self possible. Labeling theorists assume that individuals project themselves into the role of significant others during real or imagined interactions and make assessments or self appraisals. The self becomes an object for which the person attaches labels which can either be positive or negative. This assumption is guided by the conception that human have the capacity to choose among competing labels for their self conception. Discuss the factors relating to the possibilities of the family structure being a major contribution to a juvenile becoming involved in delinquent behaviors. Family structure influences to a large extent the behavior of children. Research findings indicate that children growing up with single parents have an increased risk of becoming delinquents (Glueck, 1962). The structure of the family influences economic and parental resources that are available to children. Single parents, being financially constrained, are less likely to take care of their children’s need. The result is that the children experience low self esteem as they lack the majority of things that other children possess. Children who are growing up in a family where both parents are present are unlikely to experience behavioral problems. Research also indicates that children from single parent families that receive support from non-resident fathers also exhibit fewer behavioral problems than those without support. With this regard, economic factors influence the possibilities of a child becoming deviant and this mainly depends on the structure of the family. If both the parents are present, the economic conditions are likely to be better as both parents may take the responsibility in providing for the children. As such, the children may not feel deprived thereby reducing the possibilities of becoming deviant. Children become conformists when their parents possess cooperative co-parental relationship. When parents support each others decisions and agree on the rules of the family, the children learn that the parent’s authority is not arbitrary. Parental agreement therefore means that the children are not exposed to inconsistent discipline when they misbehave. This consistency between parents encourages children to learn and internalize moral values and social norms. Causes of marital violence Social theories see marital violence to be the product of the society. As such, they see marital violence as emanating from the social structures and the cultural values and norms that accommodate the use of violence among partners. Furthermore, the causes of marital violence have been attributed by some sociologists to be rooted in the structure of the family; the interaction between the members of the family and their social interactions. For instance, family systems theory relates the cause of marital violence to communication flaws and conflict in intimate relationships. Psychological theories on the other hand attribute the causes to individual experiences and predispositions. Marital violence may be linked to biological inclination to violence and personality disorder, or as suggested by social learning theories, to the offender’s social environment during his early stages of development. Attachment theory emphasizes on the relationship between parents or caregivers with their children and the consequences of such attachments on the ability of an individual to develop safe and healthy relationships later in life. Psychological perspectives hold that individuals may be predisposed to violence by personality disorders or early experiences of trauma. As such, being abusive physically is seen as a manifestation of an underlying emotional problem. Childhood experiences such as parental abuse, rejection and the inability to satisfy the dependence needs of a child may provide a source of later violence. Double Jeopardy Statistics show that women are at a higher risk of being victims of marital violence than males. Quite a number of reasons have been postulated to explain this phenomenon. Among the widely held theories is that women are inherently weak. With regard to physical strength, it is widely known that males far much out-weigh females in strength. Many female victims often find themselves in difficult situation when they are taking the decision to report their partner for abusing them physically. This is because they are likely to do something worse when they come out. As such, female victims of marital violence are always at the risk of double jeopardy. Even though violation of protection order may lead to federal criminal prosecution, advocates may develop procedures to avert double jeopardy. Population heterogeneity theory These theories postulate that there is an initial proneness to commit violent offenses and that this early difference in the development of an individual remains quite stable over time (Glueck, 1962)). People with numerous risk factors before birth, during toddler hood and during childhood are more likely to develop violent tendencies during adolescence and adulthood. In other words, there is a correlation between past and current criminal behavior. Population heterogeneity process attributes stability in offending over time to differences in anti-social characteristics across individuals that is established early in life. One of the implications of a population heterogeneity explanation for continuity in crime over time is that the antisocial feature is likely to have reverberations throughout life, adopting many manifestations later in life. Any observed correspondence between later life events and criminality is spurious due to the fact that they are all the consequence of a common cause. Concepts and principles of social learning theory The fundamental assumption of social learning theory is that the same learning process that operates within the context of social structure, interaction and situation produces both conforming and deviant behavior. The direction of the process in which these mechanisms operate is the basis of their difference. What is involved is the balance of influences on behavior. In most cases, that balance exudes some form of stability over time but it can also become unstable and change with circumstances and time. Conformity and deviant behavior is learned by the mechanisms in this process even though the theory proposes that the principle mechanism are part of the process in which differential reinforcement and imitation produce both overt behavior and cognitive definitions that function as discriminative stimuli for the behavior. Parenting skills The success of any family is dependent upon effective parenting. As such, it is important for every parent to establish healthy methods of raising their children. New parents should know that the future of their children lie in their hands. The first step to parenting is developing clear expectations of what both parents want. Depending on the background of what is being considered right or wrong, parents should plan and communicate their expectation to each other. Establishing a list of social, academic, religious and family oriented expectations for different settings and activities will enable parents to be very particular and concrete in teaching their children. They must however take into consideration the ability and age of the child, developmental status and the available resources. After setting the appropriate rules and expectations, the second most important thing is to unambiguously communicate these expectations in word and in deed. References Glueck, E. (1962). Family environment and delinquency. Houghton Mifflin Simmons, R. & Simmons L. (2005). Families, delinquency, and crime: Linking Society’s Most   Ã‚  Ã‚   Basic Institution to Antisocial Behavior. Oxford University Press

What Is the Longest Word in Spanish

The answer depends on what you mean by the longest word, but regardless of your definition the longest word isnt superextraordinarà ­simo, the 22-letter word once listed in a famous recordbook and the word that was usually cited as the longest in the language. (It means most superextraordinary.) The designation of superextraordinarà ­simo seems arbitrary at best. For one thing, the word isnt in real use. When I first researched this article in 2006, a Google search showed not a single instance where the word was used on a Spanish-language website — except on pages listing what they called the longest Spanish words. (Since I write the original version of this article, claims of superextraordinarà ­simoit being the longest word have mostly disappeared.) And superextraordinarà ­simo has two other strikes against it: If one is going to create words by adding prefixes and suffixes, one could just as well make a 27-letter word by using the adverbial form, superextraordinarà ­simamente. Or one could just as easily use longer root words, ending up with words such as superespectacularà ­simamente (most superspectacularly). But again theyre hypothetical words rather than ones that get legitimate use. A better choice for a 22-letter word is esternocleidomastoideo, the name of a certain neck muscle. It can be found in Spanish-language medical texts. But we can do better without coining words. The longest words to be found in general publications appear to be two 23-letter beauties: anticonstitucionalmente (unconstitutionally) and electroencefalografista (electroencephalograph technician), the latter also appearing in the Spanish Royal Academys dictionary. Since the latter is a noun, it can be made a 24-letter plural, electroencefalografistas, my designation as the longest legitimate Spanish word. Although its not an everyday word, you can find it in encylocopedias and some phone directories. Of course, theres always the 32-letter nonsense word supercalifragilisticoexpialidoso, the Spanish transliteration of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which appears in Spanish versions of the Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins. However, that words use is essentially limited to the film and play. By coining cognates of some especially long English words, it would be possible to come up with longer words still. For example, some medical words and names of some chemicals in English top 30 letters, and the longest English word listed in an accepted dictionary is reported to be pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis, a type of lung disease. Conversion of the word to Spanish, made easy by the fact that all the roots have Spanish cognates, presumably would be neumonoultramicroscopicosiliciovolcanconiosis at 45 letters, or something similar. But such words are best spurious rather than legitimate Spanish.