Primary Socialization Theory Essays - Conformity, Social Psychology

Primary Socialization Theory Traditional sociological analyses tie secondary socialization sources to behavior, usually using linkage through stress. Situations, personal traits, etc. lead to stress, and drugs relieve them. According to Oetting and Donnermeyer, these secondary socialization sources operate only via their effects on primary socializations sources. "Unless a personality trait, a community characteristic, stress, or any other factor influences bonding with the primary socialization sources or alters the communication of norms through those sources, the theory proposes that there will be little or no effect on deviant behaviors. (Oetting and Donnermeyer, 1998) Thus far (there is to be a series of three articles, only one of which has been published) the major analysis has been of adolescents. Three primary sources of socialization are proposed: family, school and peer groups. While any of these groups are capable of transmitting both prosocial and deviant norms, family and school are seen as being primarily prosocial and peer groups carrying the main risk of trasmitting deviant norms. Family socialization contains two components which impact an adolescent's risk for deviance: the strength of the family bond, and the use of those bonds to transmit prosocial norms. Dysfunctional families may either alienate their children and/or provide deviant normative information to them. The family bond of concern in these cases is not just a matter of support of love. It is more specifically limited to the level to which an individual is willing to accept and adopt values and norms from the family, and thus to behave accordingly. Society currently assigns schools the responsibility of transmitting certain cultural and behavioral norms. In the same way that there are dysfunctional families, there are also dysfunctional schools which have parallel weaknesses. The typical image of a dysfunctional school, of the resignation to chaos and deviance is only one type. Even in the best schools, there will be alienated peer groups. Poor grades, disciplinary problems etc. tend to erode the bond between an adolescent and school, and thus erode the ability of the school to transmit prosocial norms. These students are forced outside the circle in which other peers may be receiving normative socialization. Studies of these disaffected groups have shown that students experiencing alienation, lack of success within the school framework, and other problems with deriving rewards from school have a greater tendency toward drug use and deviancy in general. Peer groups form the last primary socialization group, and have the greatest impact on those alienated from the first two groups. These groups may be formed on the basis of, among other things, ethnicity or activity - including drug use. An individual's choice of peer group has been shown to correlate with their risk of drug use/abuse (Oetting and Donnermeyer, 1998). Primary socialization theory thus provides a powerful tool in analyzing the sources of risk for subtance abuse. It integrates many other theories, and thus it's applicability is extremely wide. In terms of policy implications, it points to the importance of maintaining social ties between family, school and adolescents. Moreover, it can reveal certain alienating aspects of punishment as counterproductive in the school's role as transmitter of prosocial norms. Finally, it suggests that a certain emphasis in creating social bonding among recovering addicts is uniquely important in successfully treating addiction. As an overall theme, there are two components to all of these instances. First, there must be a strong social bond of a very unique sort. It is one among people who draw upon each other when making normative judgements intimate to their lives, or more specifically, the course of action with respect to drugs. Identification with this group with respect to the judgement at hand is essential for the adoption of similar norms. The second component is that these bonds must become used to transmit that normative information. Strong bonds do not prevent drug use if that identity does not in some way involve a consideration of drug use as deviant. Finally, the limitations of this theory must also be considered. That is, in some cases, drug use stems from a perception that all social bonds have been severed. Thus the behavior is not learned from an intimate peer group, but from the environment in general. In this case, the old-fashioned

Strength and Conditioning Article Critique

Strength and Conditioning Article Critique â€Å"Strength Training for the Warfighter† an article by William Kraemer and Tunde Szivak discusses methods that can be used to make endurance training for soldiers and professional athletes more effective.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Strength and Conditioning Article Critique specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kraemer and Szivak deviate from the traditional methods used in endurance training for soldiers which focused on physical fitness. Kraemer and Szivak propose that endurance training for soldiers should be based on mission requirements that involve tailoring endurance training programs to meet the psychological, physical, and environmental challenges encountered on the battlefield. These scholars maintain that the main purpose of endurance training programs is to increase power and maximal strength because they are the basis of neuromuscular fitness. Another aim of endurance or resistance training i s to shield soldiers from injuries and improve performance (Kraemer , Szivak, 2012). Kraemer and Szivak argue that in order to come up with effective endurance training programs, one needs to understand physiological principles of power and strength development. In order to make muscles more powerful, an endurance training program should be designed in a way that stimulate more motor units. Current endurance training programs used by the military are ineffective because they stimulate a few motor units. In designing an effective endurance training program, certain variables need to be taken into consideration.Advertising Looking for article on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These include choice of the program, order of exercises, load resistance used, rest between exercises, and number of sets. These variables should be designed to enable concurrent training, which is training both the anaerobic an d aerobic metabolic systems (Kraemer , Szivak, 2012). Lastly, Kraemer and Szivak also stress on the need of paying attention to workout styles. In regard to this, Kraemer and Szivak advocate for a flexible nonlinear approach because it incorporates several workouts. Ideally, in endurance training, one should start with minor workouts, followed by light workouts, moderate workouts, heavy workouts, and finally very heavy workouts (Kraemer , Szivak, 2012). Kraemer and Szivak make important points when it comes to designing endurance programs for soldiers. Currently, soldiers are subjected to heavy endurance training, mainly in the form of long-distance running that is not compatible with their needs in the battle field (Ferruggia, 2008). Additionally, long-distance running does not give soldiers the necessary muscle mass and strength they need to deal with the challenges on the modern battlefield. This is because it does not train the relevant muscles and motor units. Kraemer and Sziva ks proposition that military endurance training should be tailored to meet the needs of soldiers is essential.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Strength and Conditioning Article Critique specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kraemer and Szivaks proposal for designing military endurance programs is also useful. They suggest that military endurance programs do not have to be linear and rigid. Military commanders and trainers should let soldiers engage in exercises, they feel comfortable with without forcing them to stick to a strict training schedule. In addition, Kraemer and Szivak maintain that effective endurance training programs should allow soldiers adequate rest between training sessions. This is useful as the current military endurance training programs overwork soldiers, leading to depletion and damage to their muscles, instead of building them (Baechle , Earle, 2008). Kraemer and Szivak clearly indicate that eff ective endurance training programs are not based on long training hours and heavy physical exercises, but on understanding the needs of soldiers in the battlefield and body physiology. However, Kraemer and Szivak fail to elaborate what types of exercises are effective in endurance training. References Baechle, T. R., Earle, R. W. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Ferruggia, J. (2008). Fit to fight: an insanely effective strength and conditioning program for the ultimate MMA warrior. New York: Avery. Kraemer, W. J., Szivak, T. K. (2012). Strength Training For the Warfighter. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(7): 107–118.

IFRS ( international financial reporting standards) Essay

IFRS ( international financial reporting standards) - Essay Example Resulting from this difference, IFRS gives the management flexibility and discretion in preparing the financial statements of a company. In the recent past, most nations have moved towards adopting a common globalized accounting standard. As such, use of IFRS in many parts of the world has gained widespread prominence and popularity. Regions such as the European Union, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia, and other countries have adopted the use of IFRS. In January 2011, Canada adopted the use of IFRS officially; consequently, many countries switched from their accounting standards and adopted the IFRS standard of Canada. The widespread acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards portrays a fundamental change in the accounting profession. This stems from the fact that the use of IFRS has become a common phenomenon in the accounting profession (Nandakumar et al 2011, p. 3). About 100 countries either allow or require publicly held companies to use IFRS while preparing their financial statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in America has considered setting a date in order to allow U.S. public companies to adopt the use of IFRS. The process of setting international standards started several decades back. Industrialized nations saw the need to devise standards, which could be adopted by small and developing nations unable to come up with their own standards for accounting. With the globalization of business, investors, regulators, auditing firms and large companies realized the vitality of adopting common standards that could apply in all aspects of financial reporting (Kirk 2008, p. 2). The adoption of IFRS has some considerable benefits to the company and the investors who adopt these standards. The adoption of international standards allows the governments, and investors and organizations to have a comparison of the financial statements