Types of Surveys for Sociology Research

Types of Surveys for Sociology Research Surveys are valuable research tools within sociology and are commonly used by social scientists for a wide variety of research projects. They are especially useful because they enable researchers to collect data on a mass scale, and to use that data to conduct statistical analyses that reveal conclusive results about how the variety of variables measured interact. The three most common forms of survey research are the questionnaire, interview, and telephone poll   Questionnaires Questionnaires, or printed or digital surveys, are useful because they can be distributed to many people, which means they allow for a large and randomized sample - the hallmark of valid and trustworthy empirical research. Prior to the twenty-first century, it was common for questionnaires to be distributed through the mail. While some organizations and researchers still do this, today, most opt for digital web-based questionnaires. Doing so requires fewer resources and time, and streamlines the data collection and analysis processes. However they are conducted, a commonality among questionnaires is that they feature a set list of questions for participants to respond to by selecting from a set of provided answers. These are closed-ended questions paired with fixed categories of response. While such questionnaires are useful because they allow for a large sample of participants to be reached at low cost and with minimal effort, and they yield clean data ready for analysis, there are also drawbacks to this survey method. In some cases, a respondent may not believe that any of the offered responses accurately represents their views or experiences, which may lead them to not answer or to select an answer that is inaccurate. Also, questionnaires can typically only be used with people who have a registered mailing address, or an email account and access to the internet, so this means that segments of the population without these cannot be studied with this method. Interviews While interviews and questionnaires share the same approach by asking respondents a set of structured questions, they differ in that interviews allow researchers to ask open-ended questions that create more in-depth and nuanced data sets than those afforded by questionnaires. Another key difference between the two is that interviews involve social interaction between the researcher and the participants because they are either conducted in person or over the phone. Sometimes, researchers combine questionnaires and interviews in the same research project by following up some questionnaire responses with more in-depth interview questions. While interviews offer these advantages, they too can have their drawbacks. Because they are based on social interaction between researcher and participant, interviews require a fair degree of trust, especially regarding sensitive subjects, and sometimes this can be difficult to achieve. Further, differences of race, class, gender, sexuality, and culture between researcher and participant can complicate the research collection process. However, social scientists are trained to anticipate these kinds of problems and to deal with them when they arise, so interviews are a common and successful survey research method. Telephone Polls A telephone poll is a questionnaire that is done over the telephone. The response categories are typically pre-defined (closed-ended) with little opportunity for respondents to elaborate their responses. Telephone polls can be very costly and time-consuming, and since the introduction of the Do Not Call Registry, telephone polls have become harder to conduct. Many times respondents are not open to taking these phone calls and hang up before responding to any questions. Telephone polls are used often during political campaigns or to get consumer opinions about a product or service. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Can any business afford to be socially responsible Research Paper

Can any business afford to be socially responsible - Research Paper Example usiness ethics and the social responsibility are two aspects of a business that go hand in hand, thus a business person will have to tackle the aspect of social responsibility in the running of the business. This research report uses scholarly sources, as well as books, to draft a detailed report, and as sources of references. The sources were immensely helpful and helped us to come up with solutions that concerned the topic at hand (Rachael, 2007 p2858). The sources gave compelling evidence and sample case that all came at handy in the research. All sources had the same theme of corporate social responsibility and all had the same view point on the same (Rachael, 2007 p2859). This research was carried out by reading reports of projects carried out on corporate responsibility; this included the book by Jean Brick. The research was majorly carried out in the internet where we found many sources with detailed reports on social responsibility. Internet resources that are relevant to this research project include a website by the brotherhood of St. Laurence on cooperate social responsibility among others. However, this document, by brotherhood, provide detailed arguments on the social responsibility of the cooperate world. The research was carried out for several days. This period was used to read the various reports that touched on the business and social responsibility. The research found out that social responsibility is a key factor that affects business functionality and productivity. All businesses should be socially responsible (CPA Australia, 2006 p11). Companies are judged by the way they conduct themselves in the context of pursuing their business aims and objectives (Brotherhood of St. Laurence, 2006 p2). In this respect, a business deals with the environmental and social issues that influence its business operations. These issues also play significant roles, in how the society will perceive the business, which also affect the company, in a positive or

Benetton Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benetton - Speech or Presentation Example For example that of children working in developing nations at a construction location. The young people constitute a large part of Benetton’s group of customers. As the company foresees, young people have a major amount of income that they are ready to spend on its products. Thus, they have been termed as the generation â€Å"X.† (Rectanus, 2002). The generation is made up of persons between the ages of 16 and 27 (Rectanus, 2002). The reason being they are more connected with the media, which Benetton uses to sell its products. They also have the sense aspect of style that comes with most of its products. This generation also makes up the youth, ages 10 to 24. It is worthy to note that the youth make up 29 % and 19 % of the population in developing and developed countries respectively (Mueller, 2011). Hence, majority of its youth customers are in the middle social class in developed and developing nations. The amount of income that is generated from the youth is considerable bearing in mind the youth in the world are said to have the ability to spend US $100 billion. Thus its sales amount to more than $2 billion from the youth (Information Resources Management Association, 1994). In order to get to maximally market its products to the youth, it has to ensure its technological features are strong as the youth are becoming more and more reliant on technology. Hence, it has to be a step ahead technologically. Benetton utilises computer facilities of high technology to design and cut the attire it produces. The machines it uses are connected to the micro-computers that use the CAD-CAM software. The company has what is normally termed as the Benetton system. The system ensures that there is an intricate network in place for quick product delivery to shops around the globe. The system made up of the information systems and the company is run as whole from the company; hence, the company is known as

Normative ethical subjectivism Essay Example for Free

Normative ethical subjectivism Essay Normative ethical subjectivism is an ethical stance that attempts to specify circumstances under which an action is morally right or wrong using four distinct arguments that try to prove this claim. Normative ethical subjectivism claims that an act is morally right if, and only if, the person judging the action approves of it. Stemming form this view on ethics a normative ethical theory has been made. An ethical theory is a theory of what is right and wrong. This stance on ethics is the opposite of another ethical stance called methethical antirealism. Methethical antirealism is centered on the idea that because there is no right and wrong actions, just personal preferences there is no such thing as morality. It also states that morals are just a personal preference. Normative ethical subjectivism makes its claim in four different arguments witch are democracy, tolerance, disagreement and atheism. The democracy argument makes the premise that if everyone has an equal right to have and voice moral opinions then everyones moral opinions are equally plausible. The next premise states that everyone does have an equal right to have and voice moral opinions. These two premises lead to the conclusion that everyones moral opinions are equally plausible. The first premise of the argument creates a problem because not everyones moral opinions are equally valid and plausible. I have lots of opinions like the location of LSU, how far away the moon is and, the speed limit on College Drive. My opinion is LSU is located in Arizona, the moon is 100 miles away and the speed limit on College Drive is 75 miles per hour. My opinions are all incorrect showing that the plausibility of an opinion really has nothing to do with ones right to hold it. Having a right to an opinion is one thing, the truth of that opinion quite another. This undermines the first premise of the argument causing me to reject a crucial part of the democracy argument. Consequently making the argument for democracy unstable and not a good foundation for supporting normative ethical subjectivism. The next argument for normative ethical subjectivism is the argument of disagreement. The first premise states that if there is a constant disagreement among educated, open-minded and, good-willed people about some subject matter, then that subject matter does not admit to an objective  truth. Followed by the premise there is persistent disagreement about ethical issues among educated, open-minded and, good-willed people. These two statements lead to the conclusion that there are no objective ethical truths. There is persistent disagreement among educated, open-minded and, good-willed physicists and mathematicians. We assume that their work is aimed at discovering objective facts. Physicists continue to disagree about that started the universe. But this is not evidence that their views are subjective, it is evidence that the facts they arrive at are merely expressions of personal opinion about some fact. This shows that a professions may deal in objective truths even if its open minded and educated deeply disagree with one another. In rebuttal to this, normative ethical subjectivist would state that objective truths dont exist, but for a finding to be true someone has to believe in it. Thus proving that the first premise of the argument of disagreement if false giving no support for normative ethical subjectivism. The tolerance argument of normative ethical subjectivism has two premises. The first premise states if normative subjectivism is true, then no ones deepest opinions are more plausible than anyone elses. The next premise states if no ones deepest opinions are more plausible than anyone elses, then we have to respect and tolerate the opinions of all others. Generating the conclusion that if normative subjectivism is true, then we have to respect and tolerate the opinions of all others. Tolerance is defined as the capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others (Websters Dictionary). In the normative ethical subjectivism argument tolerance is good thus making it good for others to respect the actions and beliefs of that other people. The tolerance argument is still not a persuasive argument for normative ethical subjectivism. The problem with tolerance argument is that we all have to be tolerance of peoples opinions if they truly believe in them, making their opinion morally right. If a person truly believes in intolerance and that intolerant behavior is acceptable then according to normative ethical subjectivism it is morally right. According to the tolerance argument if a racist feels that be does not what to be tolerant of other races and goes around killing them off but truly feels that that he is doing is right then to a normative  ethical subjectivist we must be tolerant of opinion. The tolerance argument does not seem to be helping persuade a person towards normal ethical subjectivism view. The final argument for normative ethical subjectivism is the atheism argument. The atheism arguments premise states if ethics are objective, then God must exist. Followed by the premise that God does not exist. Structuring the conclusion ethics is not objective. Since it cannot be proven through science and nature that God does exist, it validates the atheist argument. But lets suppose God does exist and he does issue commands on that is morally right and wrong. This brings up the euthyphro question, which asks are actions good because God commands them, or does God command them because they are good? The first part of the question, actions good because God commands them, makes Gods commands arbitrary and so if God commands us to throw our children into volcanoes, to rape, or to murder, then these actions would be good actions according to God. And for the next part of the question, God command them because they are good, seems to imply that there is a standard of goodness over God. It also leaves open the question who is the commander behind moral commands? These arguments against the euthyphro question create doubt in the atheism argument. The arguments for normal ethical subjectivism are not very strong and could deter persons away form relativism. The above arguments against normal ethical subjectivism are few in numbers. For the majority of moral values and situations, actions are not complete but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. Lets say there is an objective moral fact that lying was wrong for all cases and should never be done. Avery close friend of yours is on the edge and suicidal. He asks you if he is an attractive person. You are this persons only friend and every thing you tell him he takes very literally. He could be the most hideous person you have ever seen, but if you tell him he is ugly he will without doubt kill him self. According to the objective moral fact about lying that I have just made, you have to tell him the truth, that he is revolting. Or you could have a relativism stance and tell him he is an attractive person and stop him form killing him self. In this situation it would be ideal to save the persons  life and prevent the mental problems stemming for know you killed someone. Although normal ethical subjectivism and metaethical antirealism are different but there is a relationship between them. Both of these views on ethics are subjective and both have its problems convincing people to follow them. Facts are mentioned as not important in their arguments. In the atheist argument of normal ethical subjectivism, Gods commands are not to be taken as facts but as suggestions. A big part of metaethical antirealism is that moral facts dont exist but facts are just part of the role in making decisions. Normative ethical subjectivism is an ethical stance that attempts to establish the situations under which an action is morally right or wrong. It states an act is morally right if the person judging the act approves of it. Normative ethical subjectivism uses the arguments of democracy, tolerance, disagreement and atheism to try proving this claim. Methethical antirealism is an ethical stance that claims there are no right or wrong views or stances on ethical options. Methethical antirealism goes on to state that morals do not exist at all. Even thought normative ethical subjectivism failed make its calm a person can still be a relativist, but I still feel that every moral case must be taken on a base to base cineraria. Works Cited Tolerance. The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary. Revised and Expanded edition 1981.

Calle Ocho Walk of Fame :: Miami Latin Culture

Calle Ocho Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is known worldwide and is a major tourist attraction. Javier Soto wanted Miami to have a similar Walk of Fame in which Latin stars would be recognized. His dream came true on March 2, 1989, when Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine received the first star on the Latin Star Walk. However, this did not happen overnight. Forming a company, developing the idea, and getting the support and permission of local government organizations took time and became a long and drawn out process. It all started when Soto, a publicist, and his wife, Sara, an operator with ITT, formed the company called Latin Stars, Inc., in 1988. The purpose was to obtain the sidewalks in Little Havana between 12th and 17th avenue on Calle Ocho, the main street in Little Havana, to be reserved for the stars. The idea came about when Celia Cruz, the Cuban salsa queen, received a star in 1987 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Sotos were proud of her accomplishment, but they realized that many Latin celebrities would never be recognized in Hollywood. The Miami Commission gave their approval for Soto's project on December 17, 1988. The Little Havana Development Authority and the Latin Chamber of Commerce began their nominations. A seven-member committee chose the stars. Christina Saralegui, a member of the committee and editor of Cosmopolitan en Espaà ±ol, referred to the project as being a "Hispanic Hollywood". The downfall of Latin Stars Inc., this nonprofit organization run by Soto and volunteers, came in 1991, when the company went broke. An audit was performed, but their financial information was incomplete. Further problems arose when sponsors did not pay on time. These sponsors were needed to help cover the $6,800 necessary to pay for a star. This price is how much it cost in the early 90's to actually build the pink marble star, receive permits that were needed, and cover the price of the event that occurs the day a celebrity gets his/her star. From the money spent on the limousine to the security to printing up the invitations, the dollar amounts added up. In addition, Miami commissioners started to screen the celebrities being picked due to local controversy over the issue and their own concerns. On March 12, the city completely severed all relations with Soto's company. Adding to these problems, Soto was accused of hiring a hit man to kill Miami Commissioner Miriam Alonso.

Performance Appraisal Essay

Appraisal is a procedure by which an organization assesses employee performance based on present standards . The main purpose of appraisals is to support managers effectively, staff companies and deal with human resources, and to develop efficiency . Being â€Å"part of an organization measurement process†, performance appraisals serve that purpose by showing employees how to improve their performance, establish goals for employees and helping managers to evaluate subordinates’ efficiency and take actions related to hiring, promotions, training, job design, compensation and terminations. In the last 30 years companies use the employee evaluations not only for administrative purpose, but also for motivational and organizational planning purposes. The object of this paper is to understand and explain the role of human resources which to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals in a company. Human Resources Management deals with what can or should be done to make working people more effective and satisfied. In a few words, the management of human resources means that they must be recruited compensated,  trained, and developed. It is HRM’s responsibility to make job analysis (describe work and personal requirements of a particular job), to communicate to the employees performance standards (translate job requirements into levels of acceptable / unacceptable performance) and to coordinate performance appraisal programs. Thus, all aspects of human resources managements are critical to an organization’s ability to adequately effectively provide a quality work force. In fact, performance appraisals are a significant part of performance management system responsible for designing a work environment in which â€Å"people can perform to the best of their abilities.† Job description The focus in this paper is on presenting information about conducting a performance appraisal for a bus driver position. I choose this position because, bus drivers are important for our contemporaneous society which is in a continued development. This aspect implies the need of more connections between places, more transits and travel for people. It is essential that this action be done in the most safety and comfortable ways. The behaviour of each bus driver employee has to be evaluated and improved if it is necessarily. The training programs are the key in helping drivers learn how to deal with difficult people and avoid violence while on duty. Making a job analyse, bus driver is a position is responsible for transporting people from one place to another for work, errands, school, or other reasons. Takes fares from passengers, issues receipts, announces routes, and ensures passengers get out safety. Their primary responsibilities imply transport people, operate bus, and drive regu lar routes on a schedule or on chartered trips. They obey traffic laws, stop frequently and check the bus tires, lights, and oil and other basic maintenance. They have to report mechanical problems and accidents. May load and unload passengers’ luggage. A bus driver has to deal with unruly passengers, assist disabled ones and keep passengers informed of delays. Bus drivers are employed by urban transit system, elementary and secondary schools and private transportation companies. According to Service Canada the job prospects in this occupation is good having an annual average salary of 43,895. Thus, customer service skills are important because of the interaction with passengers. For a school bus driver is essential to ensure the safety of the children, which  may include accompanying students across the street and providing first aid in emergencies. The following skills are very important for a bus driver: active listening, operation monitoring, social perceptiveness – being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do, equipment maintenance, operation and control, reading comprehension, coordination, time management, speaking, and critical thinking using reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. Performance appraisal method Measurement of bus driver performance starts with the evaluation of skills and effectiveness during and following the year of work. The primary objective of performance appraisal is to establish whether drivers are performing their job safely serving the customer adequately, and following work rules, policies, and procedures that ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Analyzing the above information and knowing the job description for a bus driver, the behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) would be a good method for performance appraisal. This method scales points and is defined by statements of effective and ineffective behaviours. It puts together the benefit the benefits of narratives, critical incidents and quantified scales by attaching a rating scale with specific behavioural examples of good or poor performance. It provides better appraisals than the other tools. The evaluator has to show which behaviour on each scale describes an employee`s performance. For constructi ng the BARS process imply the generation of critical incidents the development of performance dimensions, the relocation of incidents, the scale of the incidents and the development of final instrument. Managers have a file folder for each employee, which can be hard copy or electronic. Critical incidents are important employee actions which help or hurt performance. The BARS is developed by a committee that includes both subordinates and managers. Thus, the main advantage of this method is that personnel outside HR department join with HR staff in its development. Of course, the employees will have a greater acceptance of the performance appraisal process and its measures. In the same time BARS requires considerable time and effort to develop it. Another disadvantage is that a  scale designed for one job might not apply another. For example, the BARS for a bus driver will contain the rating scale from 4 (exceeds expectations) to 1 (unsatisfactory) and its evaluation of safety, timeliness, student conduct, bus cleanliness and care, and attitude. Identification of appraiser Appraisal and feedback system should be made by a multi-rate assessment because bus driver position is multifaceted and people see different things. A range of people are asked to assess an individual against company framework. The feedback can be from subject`s staff, from their bosses and from colleagues and clients and passengers. This is called 360 ° appraisal. The intention of it is to give a boarder and more objective assessment of employees’ competence. This multi-rate feedback is only use when manager has 4-8 people reporting to them. It is important that the employee do not know how any evaluation team member responded ensuring the anonymity concept of 360 ° system. The exception of this rule is the supervisor`s rating. When this feedback comes from more people, it may lessen bias or prejudice. In the same time, feedback from peers and other may increase employee self-development. In the conclusion of this paragraph, remind that HR department has the primary responsibility for supervising and coordinating appraisal program. Conclusion A valuable performance appraisal program makes feedback and instruction to employees and gives a useful framework to the managers and to the supervisors which asses their staff’ performance. The conduct appraisal program should be set up once and reviewed whenever the manager and the employee meet for the regular performance report or periodically: annual or once every six months. Preferable, managers and supervisors should consecutively estimate and direct employees so that performance imperfections do not go unexamined for a long period of time only to be discerned and debated at the functioning appraisal survey. In summary, the performance appraisal for a bus driver position it’s important for the evaluation of this position’ skills but also for the safety of passengers in  their work and personal environment and their daily activities. That’s why a serious and concrete performance and appraisal method should be applied in a schedule planed time in al l the transportation company. Bibliography Belcourt, Monica, Singh Parbudyal, Bohlander George, Swell Scott. Managing Human Resources. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education, 2014. Service Canada, http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/qc/job_futures/statistics/7412.shtml Sage Publication, http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/45674_8.pdf Transportation Research Board, www.30hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/English/NOC/2006/Profile

Theme of Motherhood in James Joyces Ulysses Essay

James Joyce structured Ulysses to correspond with events in Homers Odyssey. The relationship between two principle characters in Ulysses, Leopold Bloom as a sonless father and Stephen Dedalus as a fatherless son parallels the circumstances of Odysseus and Telemachus. This interpretation of the relationship between Bloom and Stephen, however, does not account for a significant theme of Ulysses, that of motherhood. Despite the idea that Bloom is a father looking for a son and that Stephen is a son looking for a father, the desires of both of these characters go beyond that of a father and son relationship. Although Joyce makes it evident that Bloom is, in face, in search of a son, Bloom is more suited to assuming the role of a mother than a†¦show more content†¦The intellectual Stephen even ponders the first mother of all life, Eve. Finally, Stephen says that Amor matris, ambiguously defined as either a mothers love for her child or a childs love for the mother (Gifford, p.241 ), may be the only true thing in life (p. 207). The emphasis on fertility in Ulysses also indicates the significance of motherhood. Stephen expresses his concern for the Godpossibled souls that we nightly impossibilise, which is a sin against the Holy Ghost, Very God, Lord and Giver of Life (p. 389). One of the narrators in Oxen of the Sun echoes this sentiment with Copulation without population! No, say I! (p. 423) In this same episode, Mina Purefoy, the mother of numerous children, is currently in labor. The narrator of the episode and Stephens acquaintances at the hospital beatify Mina Purefoys husband for being a fountain of fecundity and for performing his mans work (p. 423). The reference to Molly as Marion of the bountiful bosoms by the anonymous narrator of the Cyclops episode again emphasizes the focus on fertility (p. 319, italics mine). Finally, the importance of fertility is epitomized in the analogy between death and the woman who is no longer fertile: Dead: an old womans: the grey sunken cunt of the world (p. 61). Only Blooms wife, Molly, offers a different perspective on the fertility issue. In Penelope, Molly condemns the apotheosis of Mr.