Experiences Of Women Mature Students In Higher Education

Experiences Of Women Mature Students In Higher Education Internationally there has been a large body of literature presented on the experiences of mature students, who have returned to higher education after a significant absence from compulsory education (for example, Baxter and Britton, 1999; Baxter and Britton, 2001; Lister, 2003; O’Donnell and Tobbell, 2007; O’Shea and Stone, 2011) to name but a few. Within much of this literature Baxter and Britton (1999:181) would point out that despite the marginalisation of women in educational research studies, this has not been the case in the literature presented on mature student whereby the â€Å"mature student is usually assumed to be female† and studies have particularly focused more so on women returners rather than both genders. Up until the late 1980s through to the early 1990s the primary research method used to conduct much of these studies was the large-scale quantitative survey, (for example, see Watkins, 1982) where the findings illustrated that mature students had a shared set of characteristics including educational background and educational achievements (Baxter and Britton, 1999; Parr, 2000). However, mature students are not a homogenous group, as each student’s higher education experience will be determined by factors including class, gender and ethnicity (O’Donnell and Tobbell, 2007; Morgan, 2013). Therefore, Richardson (1994:322) would state that to research the life experiences of mature students in higher education, this cannot be â€Å"carried out by means of bare quantitative procedures such as questionnaires† where the appropriate approach required would be to conduct individual semi-structured interviews. The defining feature which categorises mature students is based on age but this can vary on the country in question, for example, in Sweden, Norway and Australia the mature student is classified as someone who is over twenty-five years of age (Thomas and Quinn, 2006) as opposed to the UK where according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority the mature student is someone who is over twenty-one (HESA, 2014). According to Smith (2008:1) the term mature student â€Å"identifies a category of learners who embark on a course of study later in life† and can include any adult education programme such as further and/or higher education Historically, the role of women was to devote themselves to the position of homemaker. However, as western society as advanced to become more egalitarian this has witnessed a rapid shift in mothers with child/ren returning to education to become more self-sufficient and to gain a sense of self-identity. However, Baxter and Britton (2001) would argue that while trying to balance their student role, women still have a multiplicity of other roles were they shoulder the responsibility of childcare and domestic life, therefore, inequalities between genders are still widely seen. In recent times, the subordinate role of women in societies for example non wage winner, 2nd class citizen etc.throughout the world has significantly improved, slowly closing the gender gap in equality. One of the many advantages to this in modern society is that women have now the opportunity of gaining a good education. According to Parr (2000) this has led to increasing numbers of mature women returning to educ ation, not just to gain a paper qualification or to obtain better job opportunities but also to become more self-sufficient and to gain a sense of self-identity. This increase in mature women returning to higher education can be linked to the formation of ‘lifelong education’ (O’Shea and Stone, 2011). The concept of lifelong education is not new whereby, ancient societies emphasised the need â€Å"to learn from the cradle to the grave† (Gishti, 2009). However, it was not until the late twentieth/early twenty-first century that lifelong education became ‘heralded’ as an new age phenomenon, and became high on the social agenda of many governments and international organisations such as, UNESCO (Jackson, Malcolm and Thomas, 2011). In 1972 UNESCO International Commission on the Development of Education published the â€Å"Faure report† with the aim to assist governments in formulating and implementing new strategies in lifelong education. The primary underpinning of this report emphasised how important it was that every individual had the opportunity to lifelong education (Learning to be, 1972). This led to the UNESCO institute becoming the first institution to address the needs and aspirations of adult learners and in 2006 the name was changed to UNESCO Ins titute for Lifelong Learning, to reflect the institute’s focus on adult learning (UNESCO, 2013). According to Lister (2003) the primary focus in the role of lifelong learning is to combat social exclusion and target previously excluded groups. One of the many disadvantaged groups that lifelong learning particularly aims to benefit is those of women who have caring responsibilities and childcare commitments. Encompassing a broad perspective Lister (2003) would also note that the role of higher education plays a key part in the development of lifelong learning However, Jackson et al (2011:5) argues that in western societies women continue to be limited to their choices of learning when returning to education as â€Å"the gendered nature of the hidden curriculum [†¦] restrict women’s access† to many courses. This in turn can create difficulties for women who are interested in following a particular career path. Nonetheless, for mature women lifelong learning can be a source of empowerment and emancipation (Bhattachra, 2014). Therefore, â€Å"education is seen as empowering, in that it opens up employment opportunities and is a vehicle for the development of the self.† (Baxter and Britton, 2001:87). Upon commencing on this journey of self-discovery, O’ Shea and Stone (2011) would note that as mature students, women may harbour feelings of self-doubt and hesitation. In trying to play the role of the student, O’Shea’s (2014) study found that mature women encounter many anxieties where they feel like ‘imposters’ in a higher education institute after having been absent from education for such a long time. According to O’Donnell and Tobbell (2007) many adult students in general, regardless of their gender, feel vulnerable because they lack experience in formal education and also because they have additional pressures outside of education to contend with, such as family responsibilities. From the scoping review of the literature above there is a clear demonstrable opportunity for research on mature women that return to education after a significant gap. Therefore, this dissertation aims to explore how non-traditional mature women manage their student role along with the multitude of other responsibilities that they shoulder. Within the framework of this study, this dissertation will also examine the emotional journey of mature women from the transition of ‘expected’ roles to the enablement of participation in life-long learning and personal capacity building. Coming from a feminist perspective the social specific issues which will be addressed include the empowerment, inequality and oppression of women with children or other caring responsibilities.

Sony Corporation :: essays papers

Sony Corporation Than fifty years, â€Å"Sony†, founded by: Honorary Chairman Akio Morita, has been leading the industry in a number of areas. Sony has changed everyone’s life as we know it. From producing batteries to the new wireless networking system, they are number one. Have you ever wondered who produced the system, they are number one. Have you ever wondered who produced the great games you love to play or the MP3 player you got from your husband? From DVD movies, to digital cameras and camcorders, Sony is leading the world into a new frontier. Electronics, games, music, pictures and insurance are just a few of the side products of the billion-dollar company. Sony has four products categories as gateways to the networked world: digital TV’s and set-top boxes, VAIO home-use PCs, mobile devices and the best selling of them all is the Playstation 2 (PS2). With all of the new products like the PS2 and Sony.com, released their sale were still low. Sony consolidated net sales decreased 1.7% and operating income fell 30.9%. However, on a local currency basic, it as a year in which Sony’s businesses performed well. The PS2 went on sale in 2000 and shipped over two million units in less than three months. The biggest reason for me choosing this company was because of the great products they produce. From Vega’s TV’s to blockbuster motion pictures and all that fall in between, Sony has proven to be a well-rounded company. Sony’s Internet service provider So-Net, which has operated in Japan since 1996, offers some great features like: network-based content and service. In February 2000, Sony established SonyStyle.com in Japan to conduct marking and sales of Sony products. As a hardware company and a provider of content and services they are number one in many of today’s homes. At the end of march 2000, the market capitalization of Sony Corporation was  ¥13 trillion. This was a big increase form the previous year amount of  ¥4.5 trillion. Income before taxes and net income figures for the year included gains of  ¥58.7 billion and  ¥30.7 billion. Sony’s financial conditions are now strong and remain strong. Total assets increased by  ¥508.1 billion, or 81%, this year. It was estimated that the total assets would have increased by approximately 15% compared with the previous year.

The Un and Peacekeeping

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION Since its inception in 1945, the United Nations has been involved in peacekeeping operations and conflict resolutions in the international system. According to Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, the UN is expected â€Å"to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by lawful means, and in conformity with the principle of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace. The United Nations has been charged with vast responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security. Two organs were created for this purpose: the Security Council (which consists of fifteen members, five permanent members with veto power and ten non permanent members) and the General Assembly (which consist of representatives from all member states). This essay seeks to examine and analyze the role of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security using the Korean War as a case study. THE UN AND PEACEKEEPING Peacekeeping is defined by the United Nations as â€Å"a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict, create the conditions for lasting peace. The Security Council of United Nations has been given the responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. The â€Å"Uniting for Peace† resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1954 imposes the responsibility of maintenance of international peace and security on the General Assembly under certain conditions. The United Nations, after the approval by the Security Council sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage combatants from resuming hostilities. Since the United Nations does not maintain its own military, peacekeeping forces are voluntarily provided by member states of the United Nations. The founders of the United Nations envisaged that the organization would help to prevent conflicts between states and in the process, prevent outbreak of another major war in the future. The United Nations would have been able to achieve this successfully if not for the outbreak of the Cold War. The outbreak of the Cold War made it extremely difficult for the United Nations to successfully resolve issues and conflicts because of the division of the world into hostile camps. The United States and Western Europe on one side and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and part of Asia on the other side. This caused a stalemate in decision making in the Security Council as both powers (United States and Soviet Union) used their veto power to check each other. The United Nations found it extremely difficult to come to a resolution on issues where both super powers had national interests. In such case as the Korean War where after the Soviet Union used her veto power to reject resolutions and left the Security Council completely paralyzed, the General Assembly through the â€Å"Uniting for Peace† resolution assumed the responsibility of making decisions. In spite of the various obstacles the United Nations faced during the Cold War era in conflict resolution, it was however to an extent successful in maintaining international peace and security and most importantly, the outbreak of another World War. THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE KOREAN WARThe Korean War from 1950 to 1953 was the most severe test the United Nations had to face since its inception in 1945. As part of the Cold War scenario, the Korean War was a complicated issue with which the United Nations had to successfully deal with or lose credibility just five years after it had come into being. The Korean experience tested the United Nations ability and credibility in maintaining international peace and security. In some ways the Korean episode could be regarded as the United Nations finest hour. Here for the first and only time in its history, the Security Council called on its members to go to the defense of a state under armed attack1. It also marked the first attempt by an international organization to check an act of aggression, and it stands as the only occasion on which enforcement action had been taken against aggressor states or other authorities2. Here in consequences the forces of a number of countries fought under the United Nations flag to defend the principle that aggression should not be allowed to succeed3. But the concept of collective security was not upheld as only a quarter of the membership of he United Nations sent military assistance to South Korea and the sixteen states which did so were all Western countries. This was an example of alliance strategy than of enforcement action by an international organization; of collective defence rather than collective security. The fact that a great majority of the United Nation membership though pro- western were u nwilling to send significant armed support to the country whose existence was threatened showed that the action would scarcely be said whole heartedly to fulfill the ideals enshrined in the Charter of the UN4. The dominance exercised by the United States over the entire operation in the Korean crisis deprived it of the name of the genuine collective security. This was demonstrated in the early stages by the fact that most of the Security Council initiatives and resolutions were really in origin United States proposals. At the onset of North Korea attack on South Korea, the United States was the first state to send assistance both financially and militarily to South Korea even before the United Nations had taken a decision on the matter. The military operation was headed by a United States commander and decision that were taken originated directly from the White House and not from the UN secretariat. This defeated the purpose of collective security by placing the responsibility of a peacekeeping mission in the hands of a super power. This contrasted radically with the subsequent practice of the UN in organizing peace-keeping forces from 1956 onward. In these cases the super power were normally excluded from participation altogether. And no single power or even a group of powers was able to dominate policy in the way the United States was allowed to do in Korea5. This gave a clear indication that the UN was dominated by the United States. Nearly 90% of all army personnel, 93% of all air power and 80% of all naval power for the Korean War had come from the United States. The Chinese got involved in the war (this escalated and prolonged the war) on the basis that they viewed the whole operation not as an United Nations peacekeeping mission but an effort by the United States to gain control of Asia using the United Nation as a cover to invade both Koreas and China. The decision of the United Nations Forces to cross the 38th parallel also originated from the United States. The United States brought the proposal for the United Nations forces to cross the 38th parallel and enter North Korea before the General Assembly even though most of the participating states were against it. Even though there were other states that participated in the peace keeping operations, their opinion were barely considered by the United States. Major of the decision making processes was held in Washington rather than New York. While the success of the United Nations in repelling aggression in Korea had been in large part due to the contribution of the United States, the dominant role of the United States weakened the collective character of the operation6. Throughout the whole episode, the United Nations failed to institute or even attempt to institute any effective negotiations among the parties concerned as in the case of South Korea and North Korea and also the United States and the Soviet Union after the division of Korea. The United Nations also failed before 1950 to bring the two parties (North and South Korea) into discussion to as to bring about a resolution or involve the use of a mediator or good office to help along with negotiations; instead the United Nations held on to its demands for all Korean – election under the UN auspices. The Korean experience has shown that the Charter provision and machinery for which the Charter provides can be adapted and utilized under certain conditions to defeat aggression and to discourage aggression in advance7. Since the decline of the Cold War, the UN however, has been more effective and efficient in maintaining international peace and security. The Korean experienced questioned the UN as a useful and promising means of dealing with threats to and breaches of the peace by collective measures and its limitations. The â€Å"Uniting for Peace† resolution which was passed by the General Assembly during the Korean War created a whole new dynamic. The veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council sometimes cripples the Council as it make decision making harder and slower in cases where the super powers have different contrasting interest as could be seen in the Korea conflict where the Soviet Union used her veto power to cripple the resolution passed by the other members of the council. The â€Å"Uniting for Peace† resolution gave the General Assembly the power and responsibility to make decisions under such circumstances where the Security Council is crippled and in capable of making decisions concerning the security matters. The Korean experience served as an important lesson for the UN in its pursuit of international peace and security. It has also shown that the purpose of collective security is to restore international peace and security and not do justice, particularly if the doing of justice, which often is highly controversial and in practice requires some accommodation of conflicting interests involves a serious risk of extending the war. Furthermore there is the additional danger where one member has disproportionate share in the direction of the operation that the member will seek to use the operation for implementation of its own national policies, policies which may not be in harmony with the interests and policies of other members of the United Nations. The United Nations could justifiably hold that it had fought a successful war to defend a nation under attack what it could not claim, after eight years of discussion, was that it had brought any nearer a resolution of the Korean problem. CONCLUSION The Korean War served as an important lesson to UN. In spite of the various obstacles it has faced the United Nations had been able to improve and make amendment. Since the decline of the Cold War which was a major factor in the outcome of the Korean War has also strengthened the United Nations in the area of conflict resolution and peace keeping operation. ENDNOTES 1. Evan Luard, A History of the United Nations Volume 1: The Years of Western Domination 1945-1955 (Macmillan 1982), p. 71-272. 2. D. W. Bowett, United Nations Forces. A Legal Study of United Nations Practice (London, Sterens and Sons, 1984), p. 30 3. Evan Luard, A History of the United Nations Volume 1: The Years of Western Domination 1945-1955 (Macmillan 1982), p. 272. 4. Ibid, p. 272-273. 5. Ibid, p. 273. 6. Leland M. Goodrich, â€Å"The United Nations and the Korean War: A Case Study†, Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Vol. 25. No. 2. United Nations: Success or Failure p. 103. 7. Ibid, p. 102.

The Yoga Sutras, The Science Of The Mind, Body And Spirit

Introduction Top In the Yoga Sutras, Yoga is defined as union of mind, body and spirit. Classically, Yoga is understood as the science of the mind. [1] These days it is assuming importance in improving mental health and quality of life in the treatment of a number of disorders. [2] Several diseases affect a person s biopsychosocial functioning to a greater or lesser degree. [3] These diseases are known as psychosomatic diseases. Psychosomatic means mind (psyche) and body (soma). A psychosomatic disorder is a disease which involves both mind and body. There is a mental aspect to every physical disease. How one reacts to and copes with disease varies greatly from person to person. For example, a rash of psoriasis may not bother some people while it may make some feel depressed and more ill. There can be physical effects from mental illness. For example, with some mental illnesses one may not eat, or take care of oneself, and this can cause physical problems. [4] WHO defines quality of life as individuals perceptions of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. Hence, definition focuses on respondents perceived quality of life. [3] Quality of life means a good physical and mental condition, consisting of two elements: The ability to cope with everyday tasks (the biopsychosocial level) and the patient s satisfaction from his activities at allShow MoreRelatedThe Four Paths of Yoga1673 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Running head: THE FOUR PATHS OF YOGA Abstract Life is full of choices and opportunities for spiritual development. The four paths of yoga Provide wisdom, serenity, direction, and strength. Each path has its own unique goal yet They all work together for a greater purpose. The four paths of yoga have practices that Can be related to other religious traditions such as devotion, prayer, giving, and physical Actions such as fasting that require discipline and commitment to a HigherRead MoreEssay about Medicinal Value of Yoga2978 Words   |  12 PagesMedicinal Value of Yoga What most Westerners picture when you say Yoga, is an Indian guru in cloth shorts or a long flowing robe, twisted up in a some sort of a pretzel pose. You may picture the Yoga practitioner in peak physical shape, as well as, being a very peaceful human being. It is attaining this goal that is the aim of Yoga, but what most of people dont realize, is exactly how much goes into achieving this state. Yoga time honored teaching on how to achieve physical health, psychologicalRead MoreIs Yoga A Metaphysical Practice?1847 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to yoke, join or attach, ’yoga’ can most broadly be thought of as any practice aimed at helping facilitate a union between the limited self and the Divine, or Ultimate Being† (Heerman, 6). For thousands of years the practice of yoga has been used to connect one’s mind, body and soul. We as humans live in a time where it is easy to become detached to our bodies, minds, and spirituality to the world around us. Yoga is a metaphysical practice this is infamous for connectingRead MoreSwami Vivekananda14669 Words   |  59 Pages | | Biography of Swami Vivekananda Birth and Early life Narendranath Dutta was born in Shimla Pally, Kolkata, West Bengal, India on 12 January 1863 as the son of Viswanath Dutta and Bhuvaneswari Devi. Even as he was young, he showed a precocious mind and keen memory. He practiced meditation from a very early age. While at school, he was good at studies, as well as games of various kinds. He organized an amateur theatrical company and a gymnasium and took lessons in fencing, wrestling, rowing andRead MoreCulture of India9032 Words   |  37 Pagescountry. Its culture often labeled as an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures is spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old.[1] Several elements of Indias diverse culture, such as Indian religions, yoga, and Indian cuisine, have had a profound impact across the world. Pakistan and North Indian States follow the medieval Indo-Persian culture, exemplified by its musical, culinary and architectural designs like the Taj Mahal, while South India is larg elyRead MorePunjabi9291 Words   |  38 Pagestwo aspects of Hinduism. There is, on the one hand, historical Hinduism with its untouchability, superstitious worship of rocks and stones, animal sacrifice and so on. On the other, we have the Hinduism of the Gita, the Upanishads and Patanjalis Yoga Sutra which is the acme of ahimsa and oneness of all creation, pure worship of one immanent, formless imperishable God. Given the deviation of lndian tradition from the ideal of true civilisation, Gandhi told his countrymen that to blame the English