Social theories help Essay Example for Free

Social theories help Essay Social theories help us to understand the world and the society in which we live in and to interpret why people behave the way they do in the context of the existing social norms. In sociology, rational choice theory and the institutional paradigm aid us in exploring various social aspects in clear detail. The key difference between the rational choice theory and the institutional paradigm rests on the focus of each of the theories. For instance, rational choice theory addresses the pursuit for self-interest of human beings and their capacity to make choices that are generally based on the costs and benefits of their individual actions. On the other hand, the institutional paradigm maintains the belief that social structures have important roles in social relations and that these social structures influence the behaviors of human beings in every possible way. Rational choice theory also asserts that even our most altruistic actions and decisions have their innate strands of self-interest despite the observation that such actions and decisions are seen as selfless. Moreover, the theory also seeks to understand why people are inclined to work as a group in meeting a common goal even though the realization of the goal or even the process of reaching that goal may become inconsistent with the personal welfare of each of these individuals. The theory also finds that issue intriguing in more complex and larger human organizations since the difficulties present become larger as well. While rational choice theory espouses the idea of individuals able to come-up with informed decisions which in turn lead to how the society becomes structured, the institutional paradigm gives room for â€Å"accidents† or unintended consequences. More specifically, the institutional paradigm asserts that even historical accidents can happen, outcomes that are not the results of the rational decision-making process of an individual or a group of individuals. There may be people who were simply at the right place and at the right time, thereby resulting to consequential decisions that are neither planned nor carefully thought of in a rational way. Another key idea of the paradigm is the idea that the social institutions created by human beings such as social rules are open to change since human beings can undo the things in the society that they have set forth for themselves. Both the rational choice theory and the institutional paradigm can explain the issue of the widespread influence of religion such as Christianity and its religious practices in the contemporary society since it began. Rational choice theory will argue that Christianity and its practices have survived the years because people have chosen to integrate the religious edicts into their lives based on how they promote the interest of the followers. People tend to devote themselves to religion in general because of the benefits they can get weighed against the costs of their decision to follow the religion. Without the benefits, people will hardly join Christianity or any religion in general. On the other hand, the institutional paradigm will interpret the influence of Christianity as a result of the force of social norms on people. The rulers at the time and the high-ranking officials at the time may have compelled their subjects to join Christianity and that force was carried over through the following generations until it became a social norm. People may not necessarily have resorted to their rational decision-making capabilities since they do not have the power to resist the social norm. As a result, individuals become simply inclined to become Christians or followers of any other religion even without depending on their rationality and their pursuit of self-interest. Work Cited â€Å"Thinking Sociologically†. 2009 February 5. http://www. sociologyonline. net/text/intro/main/c2e848w. htm#choice.

Companies to Watch: The Gap and Nordstroms :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I chose to research two very different apparel retail stores. The GAP, Inc. and Nordstrom, Inc. are very interesting companies to me because they deal with something that is very important to me and a lot of people, clothes. Everyone buys and wears clothes, and these are two companies who have succeeded in this venture. They both started out with the same intentions, to sell apparel through specialty stores, but at this point Nordstrom’s has been more successful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In theory these two companies are very similar because they are trying to accomplish the same thing. They both sell apparel, shoes and accessories for women, men and children through specialty and clearance stores. The clearance stores mentioned are Nordstrom Rack and GAP factory outlet stores. They also stress the use of personalized customer service. The GAP and Nordstrom feel that good customer service is the way to keep customers happy and thus keep them loyal. Because of this, they have many employees to serve their customers and spend a lot of time training these employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These companies are also set up in the same way. They each have a chairman, president, and a couple of vice presidents. They both operate on the New York Stock Exchange. Another interesting similarity is that they both are based out of the west coast, The GAP in San Francisco and Nordstrom in Seattle. But this is where the similarities end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sizes of these two companies are very different. The GAP is a global retailer with about 3,700 stores and 166,000 employees worldwide. Nordstrom on the other hand has about 77 stores nationwide and 43,000 employees. It does operate one international boutique, Faconnable, mainly in Europe. The GAP has three brands including GAP, Banana Republic and Old Navy, all operating in their own stores. Because of this huge difference in size, the GAP has much higher revenue than Nordstrom, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a better company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the news lately, the GAP has been under a lot of scrutiny because its sales have been down so much causing their credit rating to lower as well. Investors feel that this is due to the sharp slowdown in consumer spending, growing competition and series of fashion misses. It has too many stores open to sustain this major hit on sales. They have very little debt, but analysts think that this combination spells a future bankruptcy.

Wireless network management

The 802.11 protocol is defined for a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and is based on a cellular architecture in which the network is divided into cells where each cell (called a Basic Service Cell (BSS)) is controlled by a base station called an Access Point (AP).The basic access mechanism implemented in the protocol is a Carrier Sence Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA). The CSMA protocol works as follows:Â   if a station wishes to transmit information through it network, it senses the medium. In case the medium is busy (another station in the network is currently transmitting information) then the station will delay its transmission requests to a later time. Otherwise, the medium is free and the station is allowed to transmit the desired information.The problem with the CSMA protocol is the case where a collision occurs. A collision may occur if two different stations sense the medium as free and begin to transmit information. For this purpose, we use a collision avoidance mechanism: a station willing to transmit senses the medium. If the medium is busy, it defers its request.Otherwise, it sends an RTS (Request To Transmit) which includes the source, destination and the duration of the transaction. If the medium is free then the destination station will respond with a packet called CTS (Clear To Send) which will include the same duration information and once the source station receives this packet, it starts to transmit. The destination station checks the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) and sends an acknowledgment package (ACK).Receiving the ACK informs the source station that no collision had occurred. If the source station does not receive the ACK it will keep resending the data or will throw it away after a given number of retransmissions.When a station wishes to join an existing BSS, it needs to receive synchronization information from the BSS’s AP. First, the station needs to go through the AP’s authentication process. Durin g this process, the station and the AP exchange information proving to each other that each side is familiar with a specific password.

Data Sheet Analysis for Kafkas Metamorphosis Essay

Noah Watkins Nosky Analysis of Major Works 12/4/12 Major Works Data Sheet |Note: You may download from Edline or email me for a Word version of this sheet. | | |Details of the setting (include changes in setting): | |Author: Franz Kafka |The entirety of the novel takes place within the confines of the | | |Samsas apartment, save for the final paragraph, where the family | |Date of Publication: 1915 |goes off to†¦show more content†¦For some this may cause a lack of interest in the | | |book, as we never feel fully entranced. Kafka demonstrates this | | |throughout, as he talks about the metamorphosis as a normal incident. | | |Stanley Corngold writes: The Metamorphosis is dominated by an | | |aesthetic intent. The intent to literalize a metaphor produces a being | | |wholly divorced from empirical reality (9). The Metamorphosis is | | |simply trying to come to terms with Gregors literal metamorphosis. | | |Finally, Kafka begins his sentences normally enough, but by placing the| | |past participle at the end, he creates a snappy, surprising ending.. | | |This is much more apparent in the original German than in the English | |