Social Work Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social Work Methods - Essay Example This definition bears a common denominator to most definitions of social casework, definitions which, given by sociologists, do not derive from any traditional social construction, but from a methodology formulated for the sole purpose of reinstating the social situations of particular groups or individuals in a statement by Periman. â€Å"Casework begins with a study phase to clarify the facts of the problem, followed by a diagnosis during which the practitioner analyzes the facts; casework finishes with treatment, during which the practitioner and client attempt to resolve the problem.† Prominent among the applications of social casework theory are those of its Anti-oppressive Practice (AOP). AOP is directed towards the sanitisation and restoration of the society to justice and human dignity, and seeks to eliminate the three recognised forms of oppression; namely, structural, cultural, and personal. Social caseworkers, therefore, take special interest in situations involving any of these three forms, and work conscientiously to address the specific injustices or traditional eccentricities in the situation in hand. Through AOP, they work towards the restoration of the oppressor party or parties to a sense of equity, seek to compensate the oppressed for oppressive damages, and, through enlightenment of both the oppressed and the oppressor about the proprieties and codes that do or should regulate human interrelationship, offer an uplift to societal human relations. â€Å"Anti-oppressive practice entails workers both acknowledging and challenging these three levels of oppression-structural, cultural and personal-in their daily practice. This understanding is incorporated into social work and welfare practice with clients by actively using strategies to bring about change at all three levels.†(Ronnie Egan, Jane Maidment; Allen & Unwin, 2004,

Quality Education to Students in Monroe College Essay

Quality Education to Students in Monroe College - Essay Example I have always believed that studying at Monroe College would bring many benefits to my life. Education wise, Monroe has received nothing but positive reviews regarding the quality of its curriculum. Given the opportunity to study at Monroe, I am confident that I will grow in leaps and bounds in the field of my interest which is criminal justice. Starting from when I was still a child, I always dreamt of working in the criminal justice department. The interest I have had in this career has led me to expand my knowledge and interests by reading related journals, enabling me to expand my view on the subject. Monroe will certainly provide me with the greatest honour in growing in this career both as a student and as an individual. I still believe that there is more to come because criminal justice is a wide and detailed area of professionalism. Criminal justice entails law enforcement, legal studies, human services, corrections, probation, and parole. In addition to that, it extends to h uman services offered at both the federal and state level. Monroe College will adversely provide me with the opportunity to study and understand the wide range of issues that exist in our society. Currently, my community is ravaged by a mirage of problems, all criminal related. Existing solutions seem to work, but there is a need to provide long-term solutions especially for the complex problems. I believe the knowledge that I will garner at Monroe will provide me with the knowledge and skill to provide lasting solutions to the benefit of the community.

Failure Of The Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill Project Construction Essay

Failure Of The Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill Project Construction Essay In the quest to develop its policy in the steel sector the Federal Government of Nigeria under General Gowan era promulgated Decree No.19 on April 14, 1971 setting up the Nigerian Steel Development Authority (NSDA) which was charged with the responsibility for the planning, construction and operation of steel plants in the country. It was in addition tasked with carrying out investigations related to geological surveys, market studies and metallurgical research. The NSDA also embarked on short and long-term training of staff in overseas countries such as India and the Soviet Union on the operation and management of an iron and steel plant. Hence, in 1973, Tiajpromexport (TPE) of the then USSR was commissioned to prepare a preliminary project Report (PPR) on the iron and steel industry in Nigeria. The Report submitted in 1974, studied alternative production schemes based on both local and imported raw materials and was accepted in 1975. A contract for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) signed in 1975 with the USSR was submitted to the Nigerian government in October of 1977. With the assistance of Sofresid of France as consultants, a variant of the steel plant was accepted in June 1978. The DPR specified broadly the general layout, composition and requirements as well as a tentative master schedule of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. It was on the basis of this Detailed Project Report that the Global Contract was signed on the 13th of July 1979 between Nigeria and Tiajpromexport of the Soviet Union for the construction of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. The signing of this contract signified major commitments on the part of the Nigerian government and the USSR to the development of an iron and steel industry in Nigeria. The Nigerian government on 18th of September 1979 promulgated the National Steel Council Decree No.60 dissolving the NSDA. The new decree provided for the formation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant as well as five other limited liability companies. These are the Delta Steel Company Ltd., Aladja; the Jos Steel Rolling Mill, the Oshogbo Steel Rolling Mill, the Katsina Steel Rolling Mill, and the then Associated Ores and Mining Company Ltd., now, National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) at Itakpe. However, the very long gestation period of the Ajaokuta project meant that the rolling mills had problems of inadequate supply or lack of billets to operate optimally. This contributed significantly to the poor performance of the Nigerian steel sector. The steel companies, rolling mills and the mining company have all now been incorporated as limited liability companies and are expected to be self-funding (BPE, 2005).However, the government of Nigeria wishes to fully divest its equity holdings in the rolling mills. It seeks prospective core/strategic investors with an initial sale plan of acquisition of 80 per cent shares of the rolling mills, while the remaining shares will be offered to the staff of the company as well as the local community (Bureau of Public Enterprises, 2003). 1.1 THE AJAOKUTA PROJECT OVERVIEW The Ajaokuta project was established on the 18th of September 1979, with formation of Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd. Which was charged with the responsibility of constructing and operating the Ajaokuta integrated iron and steel plant. The project at inception was envisaged to produce 1.3 million tonnes at its first stage, 2.6 million tonnes at its second stage, and 5.2 million tonnes per annum at the third phase of long and flat products. The principal units of the Ajaokuta Plant include the iron making plant, steel making plant, the rolling mills, repair facilities, auxiliary facilities and the electric power supply system. The envisaged features of the Plant include 150mm Wire Rod Mill, 320mm Light Section and Bar Mill, 700mm Medium Section and Structural Mill and 900/630 semi-continuous Billet Mill Cross Section of ASCL: Source: Julius Berger Plc; Construction period, 10/1980-06/1990 ASCL, 1990). The Ajaokuta integrated plant, which is based on the blast furnace process of iron making, has a raw materials preparation unit that includes the Sintering plant, Coke-oven and By-product unit under the iron-making unit. The rolling mills are four, two of which, namely, the light section and Wire Rod mills were supposed to be the priority rolling mills. In terms of product mix, the Preliminary Project Report (PPR), proposed equal amounts of flat and long products. However, during this period, the national economy was buoyant with the construction industry enjoying a boom, and this led to the decision that the first stage of the plant would be devoted to long products only, while the second stage an expansion to 2.6 x 106 tones, would be for the production of flats. The first phase was therefore designed to produce long products like iron bars, wire rods, angles, squares, channels, beams, and structures. Most of the products were expected to be used in the civil engineering construction industry. However, hindsight shows that the change of the original concept of the plant was a serious error (Ogbu et.al, 1995). 1.2 COMPLETING EFFORTS OF THE AJAOKUTA PROJECT Several successive administration of the federal government had taken measures in the completion of the Ajaokuta project since its inception yet till date the project had not attained the first phase of its installed capacity. In line with the industrial policy of the civilian administration, a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between FGN and a Japanese firm, Kobe Steel Ltd, was entered into on May 31, 2002 to provide a Fastmelt Technology for the completion of the plant-phase I. Six months later, another agreement (Financing Agreement F.A) was reached with SOLGAS of USA to finance the project between the FGN and Kobe Steel Ltd on the 29th November, 2002. In a space of another seven months ON June 30, 2003 the Federal Government signed yet another agreement with the same SOLGAS: to extinguish earlier agreements reached and to move ahead to manage the project leaving in the wake too many loopholes, thereby putting into serious questions our techno-managerial ability. As this arrangemen t was in progress, there was on standby TPE to stage a come back. TPE actually submitted to the ministry to rehabilitate the plant at the cost of $300million. The recent effort of the government is the constitution of the 16-man Interim Management Committee after the concession of Ajaokuta steel company to an Indian based company, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GINL) failed in 2008 on the ground that the Indian firm was short-changing the interest of the country (Olaitan, 2010). The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development received the business plan of the Interim Management Committee for re-operationalising. With this, the seed fund of Six hundred and fifty (N650) million naira only was approved by the federal government to be released to the Interim Management Committee for re-operationalising the Light section mill, the Wire rod mill, the engineering workshops, the Thermal Power Plant at the Steel Plant. According to the Minister à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"the immediat e phase is re-operationalising, the second is completion of the plants and the third phase is privatizationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ , (Mukhtar, 2010). 1.3 MAJOR CHALLENGES OF AJAOKUTA PROJECT The major problems inhibiting the proper functionality of Ajaokuta Steel Company can be categorized under the following: Funding. Raw material development. Infrastructure. High cost of energy and natural gas. Inappropriate capital structure. 1.3.1 FUNDING. à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Many ex-regimes save the Shagari Ekwueme era of the Second Republic had had but a smattering on the importance of the steel dream. Suffice it to say that in the Abacha regime the project was said to have been mortgaged much to the chagrin of compatriots in the industry and the country in general.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ,(Omonihgo, 2004). It could be concluded that the government has spent a lot on the project, but poor funding has been the bane of completion schedules of the project Second to it is the lack of working capital for the operation of the Rolling Mills and other units of the steel project led to the shot down of these plants resulted in idleness and deterioration of the completed units. There is no gain saying that for a reactivation of these units, substantial working capital is required. 1.3.2 RAW MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT: Mines development, access roads, procurementinstallation of plant and equipment are still outstanding for a number of raw materials input in steel production apart from iron ore. There also, lies the problem of identifying and determining sources of imported raw materials like bauxite and manganese, cooking coal etc. 1.3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE: Apart from raw materials, external infrastructures to and from Ajaokuta steel are lacking. The completion of Warri-Ajaokuta rail line, dredging of, River Niger, and installation of bulk handling facilities at the ports are still outstanding. 1.3.4 INAPPROPRIATE CAPITAL STRUCTURE: Ajaokuta steel company being a public sector steel company has found it extremely difficult to source for funds in the financial market. Consequently, the government has been their source of funds. Sadly, the dwindling economic fortunes of the country via mal administration have made the government incapable of meeting the financial needs of these companies adequately. However, in as much as the nation is over independent on oil and its non diversification of the economy, politics both local and international, corruption has been the bligh of the realization of the steel dream, it remains inevitable that the completion and commissioning of the Ajaokuta steel plant remains the bed rock to Nigerians quest towards industrialization. 2.0 THEORY 2.1 Per Capita Consumption of steel The per capita consumption of steel is the index used to determine the level of industrialisation of a country. The per capita consumption of steel in Nigeria is woefully very small: 10kg, some say it is less than that; while the world average is 130kg. Statistics show that Nigeria is lagging behind even other African countries, with lesser endowments; like: Zimbabwe (25kg), Egypt (42kg), Algeria (38kg) and South Africa (112kg). But Nigeria is richly endowed with extensive deposits of metallic and nonmetallic materials across the country, which is why confronted by this gloomy economic outlook, the African Iron and Steel Association, AlSA, in May 2002 advised the Nigerian government that the nation can deploy her resources to raise up her level of per capita consumption of steel to 100kg, so as to jumpstart industrialisation within the next 10 years, Adding that Nigeria, with a population of over 150 million has a very large room and huge domestic market that can sustain such rapid g rowth. The country will also save for herself a lot of foreign exchange earnings if ASCL and DSC can come on stream, according to AISA. From the foregoing therefore, Nigerias demand for steel is estimated at about 12.0million tonnes per annum to begin industrialisation proper. If ASCL and DSC are operating optimally, then, they would contribute annually 5.2 million and 1.0 million tonnes respectively or cumulatively 6.2 million tonnes per year to the domestic market. It behooves, therefore, that the remaining 50 percent will still need to be imported or, another Ajaokuta and Delta Steel Complexes are required to argument the short-fall in supply. 2.2 Build Own Transfer Solution 2.3 Corporate Governance 3.0 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RESEARCH

business in asia Essay -- essays research papers

DOING BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE BACKGROUND Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and gained its independence. It subsequently became one of the world’s most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links, (its port is one of the world’s busiest) and with a per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. Singapore is located in the South-eastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. Because of this strategic location, Singapore has been known as a trading center almost continuously since the 7th Century, when it was a Sumatran seaport called Temasek. Singapore has probably gone through more changes in the last 30 years than any other country in the world. Family life is particularly important to Asians. The socialization of children within the family creates powerful patterns, which will remain with your counterpart for life. You will be dealing with the families of your customers, employees, bankers, and other business counterparts. Singapore was settled originally by male immigrants seeking work. Because they left their extended families behind, most families in Singapore consist of only one or two generations. Today, Singapore is a modern multiracial state. Seventy seven percent of the population is Chinese; fifteen percent is Malay; six percent Indian or Pakistani; and two percent European. Singapore has four official languages: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English. The national language is Malay and English is the primary business language. The three Asian cultures of Singapore, Malay, Indian, and Chinese, have been influenced by Western culture since the arrival of Portuguese traders in the Sixteenth Century. By the time the British dominated the island, some three hundred years later, local Asians were feeling the full brunt of western imperialism. Its aggressive mercantile spirit and confident Christianity left certain marks, such as the use of English for business. GOVERMENT Singapore is one of the world’s few city-states. A city-state is a small self-governed country, primarily dependent upon the commercial activity of a single city. City-states were common in the ancient world and the Middle Ages. Today only a few survive: Monaco, San Marino, and Singapore. The political history of Singapore is closely intertwined with the person o... ...gether with Asian talent, could help solve this problem. Movies could also be made in Mandarin, which is widely spoken throughout North and Southeast Asia. Singapore just launched Channel U, a new television channel in Mandarin, hoping to attract millions of viewers who speak that language. A substantial amount of young viewers in Singapore are bilingual and want more television shows in English and Mandarin, which means this audience would probably embrace movies in either language. Competition in Singapore is scarce. A small company with adequate funding could be able to make movies that appeal to an extensive market. Why do business in Singapore? Singapore is an attractive base for an Asian corporate headquarters because people speak English; it is less costly than Tokyo or Taipei and it does not have the political problems of Hong Kong. Singapore offers manufacturing corporations well-trained labor at reasonable wages. For traders it offers a free port. For international financiers the island provides a location, which bridges the time gap between business hours of major world stock exchanges. Finally, the government actively encourages foreign trade and investment.

English as the official language of the U.S. Essay

The English language has already been established as the official language in 28 States; this would beg the question, what made these States pass such an Act, especially since the Courts already designated such a law as being unconstitutional and infringing upon the First Amendment speech rights (Feder, 12). This question will be addressed throughout the paper, which will first consider the legal proceedings that have occurred thus far for this ‘Official English’ movement. The finding of this paper is self-evident in that the objections to this movement have been rendered invalid, largely due to a lack of irrefutable arguments as the paper will demonstrate. The numerous advantages that will be highlighted will argue for, and show, the benefit to the nation – to both the majority as well as the minorities – of making English the official language of the U. S. U. S. Legislature As of the publishing of the CRS Report in 2007, 28 states in the United States have declared English as the official language in their state constitutions. On the flip side, the U. S. Constitution has enacted several laws such as the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act in an effort to protect the language rights of the country’s minorities. These Acts authorize, amongst others, the use of voting materials in states and political subdivisions, with instructions in two languages at the same time, as well the use of languages other than English, when deemed essential, to provide effective and efficient public and private services. The U. S. Congress initiated its effort towards the Official English movement in 1984 with ‘The English Language Amendment’ that was proposed for the Constitution, and it culminated when ‘The Language in Government Act’ passed the House in 1996, but failed to do so in the Senate. Amendments to ‘The Language in Government Act’ were later introduced, with the Inhofe Amendment passing in the 109th Congress which affirmed English as the ‘national language’, and later as the unifying language of the U. S. ; at the same time, ensuring the rights of minorities (Feder, 4). Consequent to Amendments that were later introduced, the passage of such Legislature would now largely be a symbolic one with negligible or zero actual effect on the inhabitants of the country, with regards to the legal aspects. This is largely because â€Å"†¦ an affirmation by the Congress of the central place of English in our national life and culture †¦ would not, of its own force, require or prohibit any particular action or policy by the government or private persons. Nor would it, without more, imply the repeal or modification of existing federal or state laws and regulations sanctioning the use of non-English for various purposes,† as stated in Feder, 4-5. Benefits The basic principle upon which the proponents of this movement rest their reason for making English the official language of the United States is that it serves to create a bond of unity. While this bond can be used in order to address any issues through more effective communication between the relevant parties, it also does not rob anyone of their heritage. As stated by Adams, 111, â€Å"All languages and cultures are precious in our history and are to be preserved and maintained. These are not, however, public responsibilities. † Parsimonious equity is another, much touted reason for the movement. Where equity states that all judicial hearings should allow a defendant the right to be heard in the language (s)he is most conversant and comfortable with so as to permit the population to be served by the government. Parsimonious equity, on the other hand, maintains that in order to ensure that the government is not bogged down under administrative costs of ensuring an interpreter for each individual need, an official language must be recognized that will ensure that all legal and government related proceedings be dealt with in English. Such a system remains equitable, as well as, limits the costs associated with such activities (Fishman, 59). With regards to the ‘language-rights’ argument it must be noted that while protecting the rights of minorities in of itself is a sufficiently altruistic and, in the case of the U. S. , required task of the government, it must be ensured that the majority not be discriminated against either. Such a paradox would result in the formation of extreme political parties that would effectively shut out the minorities, due to their large, and united, numbers. In light of this argument, the proponents stress that by officiating the role of the English speaking majority in the United States the government will preclude the establishment of such highly biased and extreme parties, and maintain the unity and equity of the nation. Therefore, while it may be historically justified for minorities to seek redress for past acts of subjugation, as usually happens with minorities, and oppose the majority, it would be more I keeping with the â€Å"interest of [the] linguistic minorities to seek a balance,† as stated by Joseph, 62. To an extent it seems understandable that the minorities might feel as if they are being presented with a raw deal, but when the minorities themselves start supporting the cause for making English the official language this argument against the movement is rendered void, and is in fact turned into another reason for supporting the movement. Such a case was witnessed in Alabama, where the black-majority counties voted for the movement by a significant margin (Tatalovich, 244). Learning from Canada Looking at the northern neighbor of the United States, proponents of the movement have found several examples that corroborate their stand of maintaining a single official language for the country. The numerous political conflicts that Canada has faced over its bilingual official languages status have merely served to show how not to operate in one’s own country, in addition to clearly distinguishing the effect of considering the language issue as irrelevant and trivial. As stated by Ricento, 37, â€Å"the disconcerting strength gathered by separatism in Canada contains a lesson for the United States and its approach to bilingual education. † In trying to placate a larger amount of people by using its dual official language system, Canada has only shown to its more powerful neighbor how it is sometimes in the interest of the minorities to ignore their protests and support the decision of the majority. By catering to the Quebec speaking individuals in their country Canada has given them the right to lose out on greater economic benefits as shown by the research conducted by Li, 135-136: the effect of the use of an official language is signified by the â€Å"†¦$911 [male earnings] above the mean even after controlling for other variables,† and similarly, in the U. S. (Zavodny, 449). Conclusion The English language is the language of the majority as far as the U. S is concerned. There has been a movement towards making it the official language of the country in addition to it being so in over half the States already. However, this movement has subsequently led to the minorities crying foul over the perceived loss of their rights and the perceived inequitable behavior that they expect. The proponents of this movement, on the other hand, cite the greater cause of national unity, as well as that of parsimonious equity to vie with the concern of future lost income of minorities. It is the duty of the Government to now realize the potential benefits that will result in letting Acts based on making English the official Language through Congress. Especially since the greatest objection of minority language rights and perceived subjugation by the majority has been proven to be baseless in light of the Alabama vote. The remaining minorities should seek to overcome their emotional attachment to their original heritage, and understand that this movement will not necessarily threaten their roots; instead, it will result in greater opportunities for them through a more equitable treatment at court and business. Beyond these realizations, the government should initiate a budget towards facilitating the teaching of English to immigrants who cannot afford to learn it through their own devices. This is in light of the view that current instructions for the English language, in the United States, are inadequate to prepare them for their future life in the country (Citrin, 108). With Canada serving as an example of the effects of having more than one official language, the United States can ensure that it does not fall into the same trap by creating the equivalent Spanish-speaking enclaves in their country. Economically, politically, and culturally, having only English as the official language will help deal with a lot of problems along these facets of life that will prove to, over time, strengthen the role of equality in the society – a value that is immensely appreciated in the current era, especially in these neck of the woods. Eventually this movement will succeed, because it not only enjoys widespread support from the majority and a few minorities of the U. S. , but it has also managed to secure enough political support behind it to make it a key bill: one that is presented to the Congress in almost every sitting since the mid-1890’s. Works Cited Adams, K. L. & Brink, D. T. Perspectives on Official English: The Campaign for English as the Official Language of the USA. Walter de Gruyter. Fishman, J. A. The Rise and Fall of the Ethnic Revival: Perspectives on Language and Ethnicity. Walter de Gruyter. (1985). Joseph, J. E. Language and Politics. Edinburgh University Press. (2006). Ricento, T. & Burnaby, B. Language and Politics in the United States and Canada. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (1998). Tatalovich, R. Nativism Reborn? : The Official English Language Movement and the American States. University Press of Kentucky. (1995). Citrin, J. â€Å"Language politics and American identity. † Public Interest. (1990): p96-109. Feder, J. â€Å"English as the Official Language of the United States: Legal Background and Analysis of Legislation in the 110th Congress. † CRS Report for Congress. (January 25, 2007): pp18. Li, P. S. â€Å"The Economics of Minority Language Identity. † Canadian Ethnic Studies. (2001):

Theories of Communication: Narrative Theory

In other words, language use in self-narratives accurately reflects human personality. According to communication theorist Walter Fisher, humans are natural storytellers (1978, 1984, and 1987). We continually weave discrete events and experiences together into coherent wholes that have all the features of stories; a plot: characters: action: a sequence of beginning, middle and end: and a climax. 1. 1. 1 Narrative Paradigm Narrative paradigm is a concept in communication theory and was developed by Walter Fisher. The concept is adopted from the oldest form of communication – story telling.He stated that all meaningful communication is in the form of storytelling. Calling his theory narrative paradigm, Fisher defined narration as â€Å"symbolic actions- words and/or deeds that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create or interpret them† (1987, p. 58). Fishers claimed that narrations abound in everyday life. You go to a mosque, church or temple, and a religious leader tells stories. Lawyers too tells stories when they give Jurors accounts of what happened and why and who is to blame (Burner, 2002).Peoples past experiences influence our need for communication and also base our behavior. Thus narrative paradigm is very helpful in analyzing the nature of human communication. 1. 1. 2 Good Reasoning In western cultures, rationality is considered extremely important. We are taught to evaluate the worth of ideas and arguments by Judging how much evidence is provided. Fisher thought the Western emphasis on â€Å"pure logic† and conventional rationality was excessive. He also thought that logic or strictly rational thinking do not always explain why we believe what we do.In his original statement about narrative theory, Fisher (1978) claimed that telling compelling story is more persuasive than cads of statistics, expert testimony, and logical deduction. People are basically story telling beings. We make decisions and form beliefs on the bas is of good reasons. We consider a good reason depends on history, culture, personal character and biography. Narrative rationality is evaluated by the coherence and fidelity of stories. Life is a set of stories: in choosing to accept some stories to reject others, we continuously re-create our lives and ourselves. 1. 1. Narrative Rationality, Coherence and Fidelity To answer reservations that the narrative paradigm provided no standards for judging the quality of various stories, Fisher presented the concept of narrative rationality. He claimed that not all stories are equally compelling : that is not all stories have the same power to gain our belief. We Judge stories on the basis of a distinctively narrative form of rationality, which Fisher saw as quite different from conventional criteria of rationality. Fisher identified two standards for assessing narrative rationality, which is coherence and fidelity.Coherence refers to formal features of story conceived as a discrete sequenc e of thought and or action in life or literature (any recorded or written form of discourse) e. It concerns the question of whether or not a story coheres or ‘hangs together' whether or not the story is free of contradictions. In a story, we examine how the story strings together, how probable the story seems, are the important details included, is it free from contradictions, how does it compare with other stories, and do characters behave/think consistently.How do you decide whether the story makes sense? Fisher suggested that we first ask whether a story has internal coherence. We Judge whether the storyteller has told us all of the important details so that the outcome is believable. The way we assess coherence is to compare a specific story we are told with other stories about the same or similar situations, events and so forth. Fisher's (1987) second standard for narrative rationality is fidelity, which is defined as â€Å"the extent to which a story resonates with list eners personal experience and beliefs†.According to narrative theorists, we find stories believable when they are act as we do or as we would like to see ourselves acting. Fisher's explains that the standard of fidelity involve Judging the values in narration. When we identify with a character, we regard her or his action as admirable, worthy, reasonable. When we accept a story as true and right, we Judge it to reflect the values in which we believes and the ways of the world as we have experienced them 2.Weakness of the theory There are 3 major weaknesses that are commonly being brought forth by other scholars and they are: I) Incomplete description I') Too broad iii) conservative bias Incomplete description: Most scholar are skeptical that the theory could comprehensively describe all forms of communication. One of the arguments are from Robert Roland(1989) that stated that not all form of communication are narrative and do not attempt to be. As an example, Robert highlighte d that science fictions and science fantasy stories do not attempt to make sense in term of most people's experience and value.He stated that the main purpose of science fictions and science fantasy is to challenge prevailing values, experience and ways of being in the world. In the perspective of communication, scholars have identify 2 types of communications that do not apply to the narrative theory. 1st, Kirkwood (1992) argues that Fisher's view of narrative had failed to explain how stories create new possibilities, new version of ourselves and social life. This is because like the story of Martin Luther King is out of the standard form of storyline among the people within that timeline in how they see themselves and how they are suppose to act. Andy, James Cheeseboard (Bibb) believes that the theory are unpractical to the extend that if it is true it could cause harmful social consequences. For an example, the narratives of injustice and the right to revenge that are very commo n in most stories. Thus we could infer that assuming that the narrative theory is true it would incite riots and killing, thus it seem that Fisher did to account the impact of stories in developing new vision or how it would instigate harm.Too broad: In establishing a communication theory, it is essential to create a distinguish it self from another. Thus when Fisher stated that all form of communication is a form of narrative thus he is simultaneously stating that everything and nothing in the same time. Such sweeping statement on the view of communication do not assist researchers, scholars and the general public to identify the important distinction among the myriad forms of communication.Conservative Bias: Finally the third weakness that one could identify is that the theory is very insensitively bias. In the context of evaluating theory, conservative is referred to the preservation of existing or established values and practices thus due to that, according to William Kirkwood ( 1992)Fisher's idea of good reasons give privilege to prevailing value and attitude and focus less on to the ways in which stories can promote positive changes in the human condition.This contradiction can be seen in one of the narrative rational criteria of fidelity. Whereby there are cases of when even if the stories that we here ‘resonates with the listeners personal experience and lives'(Fisher 1987) but in truth even if it is consistent with our experience we tend to find some stories to be more credible from one to another. As an example, a video entitled ‘A Man Falls down and Cries for Help Twice. The Second Time, My Jaw Drops. On the www. Purports. Mom shows a man wearing a hooded,pair of Jeans and a snowman lying down at a town square calling for help, but after 45 minutes there was no one that came to assist despite of the large crowd passing through. This shows that despite of the general experience of being sick, and the general believe of doing DOD no one was convinced that the guy was sick or need any form of assistance. In addition to that, Kirkwood argues that this standard of Judgment encourage us to say only what will square with the other's experience and to avoid challenging prevailing views, vale and the status quo in social life. . Strength of the theory There are 3 major strengths that are commonly being brought forth by other scholars and they are: I) Heuristic Value it) Parsimonious iii) Dynamism Heuristic Value: Narrative theory is viewed as an original work of study that has a high value of evolve as it has provoke new perspective of communication, the nature of reason and the bases of Judging rationality Narrative is considered to be a major approach to rhetorical criticism (Bureaucrat, 1995, p. 271).Within rhetorical studies, narrative has been theorized as a rhetorical paradigm, and has been used in the analysis of various case studies from the speeches of Ronald Reagan to the rhetoric of the American Civil Rights movem ent (Lewis, 1987; Sells, 2008). The concept of narration also has been said to compliment well with Aristotle ancient treatise on rhetoric, ND it redefined as a primary component of a speech. In a section discussing the organization of speeches, Aristotle (2007) conceives of the narrative as the part of the speech in which a speaker leads the audience â€Å"through the facts† of the speaker's subject or case (p. 38). The narrative section of the speech should vary according to the type of speech delivered. In an influential work, Fisher (1984) has argued that narrative is a fundamental paradigm of human communication. Under the narrative paradigm, human beings are defined by their roles as storytellers, and narrative is a constitutive part of human nature. According to Fisher (1984), rhetoric is â€Å"communicated ultimately as stories meant to give order to human experience† (p. 6).Furthermore, narrative can be conceived as an alternative to rationality as a way of un derstanding the world, and is more intuitive than reason because it does not need to be taught Fisher's narrative paradigm has since been critiqued and expanded upon (for more on the narrative paradigm, see also Fisher, 1985; Fisher, 1989). Parsimonious: Due to the simplistic nature of the theory that uses a limited number of concepts to explain communication, the theory had multiple applications in different fields.Narrative has been studied in fields such as: rhetoric, literary theory, philosophy, history (see for example: White, 1980), psychology, political communication, journalism, studies of folklore, persuasion theory, media studies rhetorical studies, and political communication. In communication, scholars have studied narrative's role in politics and their use in news media. For example, Bennett & Delano (1985) present a pessimistic view of political narrative, arguing that narratives transmitted through mass media act as barriers to solving social problems by casting polic y issues in simplistic, ideological terms (p. 8). For Bennett & Delano (1985), the power of narratives to label political participants as â€Å"heroes† or â€Å"villains† or â€Å"deserving† or â€Å"undeserving† create â€Å"public policies that are rationalized by the construction of social problems for which they become solutions† (p. 159). Other scholars have also examined the ways in which Journalists use narratives in the construction of news content (see for example: Lull, 2001, p. 11-26; Gangs, 1979, p. 78-115) Dynamism: The theory is very dynamic to the extend where it could evolve and compliment in any form or context in the view of life .Fisher had rebutted the idea of how his theory could and would maintain the status quo. In his critical article in 1987, Fisher stated human beings are wonderfully creative and imaginative beings. Thus he claims that we are able to invent and accepts new stories when they are better explained or offer a better direction for future living than the stories had heard and believed. This is proven in the case of Hill vs. Thomas. During and immediately after the court hearing, the national polls reported that a majority of those polled had thought that Thomas story to be more credible than the one told by Anita Hill.However, a year after the hearings, when the people thought more about it, the majority of that poll has shifted their votes toward Anita Hills account. This shows that given time to consider and weigh of both stories, people could come to believe one that initially they had found lack of credibility. This shift suggest that fidelity ,may not be fixed at a moment but may shift in response to additional experiences and or reflection. 4. Examples f the theory 4. An article about narrative theory http://www. Marketing's. Co. UK/trends/brand-storytelling-narrative-theory/ 4007279. Article The Marketing week has made a cover on application, effectiveness ND importance of The narra tive Theory in delivering an effective branding image building. In the article Jonathan Bacon stated that ‘Storytelling, or providing consistent and compelling content to build a picture of a company, is becoming more important as people scrutinize brands and businesses. A research done by Monopole; which was commissioned by brand storytelling agency Aesop; attempts to define storytelling according to 10 criteria, including whether brands â€Å"have a clear sense of purpose†, whether consumers are â€Å"intrigued to see what they'll do next† and whether those brands â€Å"create their own world†. More than 1,500 1-J adults were asked to rate 100 major brands against these criteria before Monopole used the responses to compile a 81st of the best storytelling brands. The following are the results of the research.Thus we could conclude that a good brand story is important and this is supported by Deed Woodcock, strategy director and co-founder of Aesop which believes that a transparent and famous goal is paramount too believable brand story as an example, he state that Apple's top ranking is the result of its almost evangelical commitment to creating technology that improves people's lives and the clarity with which it tells that story. â€Å"Its sense of mission manifests itself in everything it does: from the design of its products and stores to the simplicity of its advertising,† he says.Apple is currently running a campaign using long copy to explain the story behind its products. Woodcock commented that in the cases of utility firms, the ineffectiveness of their branding strategy is due to poor marketing or bad publicity. â€Å"Even though utilities could be said to have a noble mission, perhaps the story the consumer tends to hear is fat cat utility rips off defenseless consumers',† he says This is consistent to Fisher's theory which stated that fidelity and coherence are crucial in evaluating a story.Thus a bad publ icity would tainted the rationality of the theory, with even if it has good reasoning it is not consistent with how the general public perceive these utility companies. Given the central role that storytelling plays in developing a brand's identity, it is perhaps not surprising that the ranking is dominated by some of the world's biggest brands, with Apple topping the list and other brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Heinz featuring in the top 10. But the study also offers an interesting insight into perceptions towards different industries.For example, while retail, food and drink and FMC brands fare particularly well in the rankings, brands in the utilities, financial services and automotive sectors are considered less adept at storytelling. The highest ranking financial services brand (Visa) is 30th out of 100, while the best storytelling bank or building society (Nationwide) is only 53rd. The top storytelling brand in the utilities sector comes 55th (British Gas) and the b ottom four brands overall are all utilities, with Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) receiving the lowest ranking 4.Participation Observation & Interview SURVEY QUESTION ANALYSIS 4. 2. 1 Respondent background A survey was conducted on 21st of April 2014, at KILL cafe and the following are the backgrounds of our respondents. They are separated in two types of demographics which is local and international student of KILL. There are four local students which is consist of 2 Malay, 1 Chinese, 1 Indian ,and there are six international students which is consist of two Indonesian students and four from Arab countries (3 Sudanese, 1 Nigerian ). They are ages group are ranging from 18- 25 years old.The survey was conduct by a face to face interview. . 2. 2 The Finding Overall during our survey, there were one main question that was focused which is how does the general public of KILL student identify and rationalize a lie and it was found that 7 out of 10 respondent has given a response that i s consistent with Fisher Narrative Rationality Criterion. Which are Fidelity and Coherence. This can be seen throughout respondent 4-10 whereby when ask about being lied to all would have similar methodology of identifying a lie.Which are either through Fidelity Leg: There were lack of details that was told (lack of value in narration), She use the lying that I also use to tell people (personal experience) or Coherence [The story that the liar told me doesn't hang together (consist of contradiction). The flow of his story was not consisted with what I know (Inconsistence in sequence)] On the other hand, there are instances during our interviews that were not align with the Narrative Paradigm. [By looking at the pace of his speech (body language), He acted guilty (body language+ personal experience) He confess it by himself] 4. . 3 Summary It can be concluded that; in general, Fisher's Narrative Paradigm theory is applicable to the masses to KILL student but to a curtained extend. As what has been found via the analysis above there are a few findings that shows that there are some of the general student that do not Judge reason only from the sequence of a story and whether it make sense but they use other technicians like body language, analyzing body reaction, or some would Just tell the respondent that they had lied previously.Which to a certain extend derailed from the perspective that Fisher had brought forth which is communication is a form of narration â€Å"that all forms of human communication need to be seen fundamentally as stories-?symbolic interpretations f aspects of the world occurring in time and shaped by history, culture, and character;†( Human Communication As Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action, Walter R. Fisher 1987) as for body language require a skill set and intuition rather than a layman interpretation off unconvincing story.Narrative theory by Walter Fisher is still applicable in this current society. Ther e are certain people who usually talks to themselves but most of them are talking to other people and that makes them involve in becoming the narrator or a storyteller. Secondly, we make decisions on the basis of good reasoning or logic. When we deciding things in our life, we tend to think logically rather than Just Jump into it. In order to make a good decision in life, people will think logically especially in making decision. Fisher's Narrative Paradigm is a very useful theory that explains one aspect of human nature.Fisher tells of how we are basically â€Å"storytelling animals† and how the receiver of the message Judges the credibility of the message due to its consistency or coherence. For example, when we feel sad and automatically our face will turn to something unpleasant. Suddenly there is someone notices the changes of our motions and he or she will automatically ask us about what happen and we explain it to them. The explanation done by us is what we call as nar rative and this is what Fisher trying to explain that human is a natural storyteller.Nowadays the theory is most prevalent in marketing. Marketing executives are actively seeking to fulfill these two criteria to make their brand more appealing towards their customers. Even though there are only two criteria stated by Fisher, there are more criteria a person would Judge a person narrative, especially in two way communication. Thus, even though Fisher succeed to capture on why human is a storytelling species, it does not explain fully on the traits that an individual would Judge others in real life.In conclusion, narrative theory is applicable in the current society and it is present in our everyday life. 6. Suggestion to improve the theory Our suggestions to improve this theory so that it is applicable in current society are to narrow down the scope of the theory. Two major criticism of narrative theory is it could not comprehensively describe all forms of communication and the broad ness of the theory. This problem can be avoided by narrowing down the scope of which narrative theory can cover.This meant that narrative theory needs to specify what type of communication it should represent. Another criticism faced by narrative theory is conservative bias. This criticism the nature of theory that conclude that human beings have a set of template on how they would respond to a specific conditions. Responding into this criticism, narrative theory needs to acknowledge that a person acceptance of a narrative can change overtime. This way, narrative theory can accommodate the flexible nature of human being.