Sociology

Marriage, as an institution, facilitates the union of man and woman enabling them to raise a family. If the spouses belong to same culture, their cultural influences on their behavior and thinking are similar, and so marriages are done within ones culture. But with the advent of globalization, people from different cultures are not only interacting with each other but also marrying each other. People from diverse cultures are leading their lives with each other and trying to assimilate themselves in the culture of their spouses. One type of cultural encounter that is happening regularly is the interaction of people from Islamic culture with the people belonging to the Western culture. The cultural encounters, where two cultures meet and unite in the ties of matrimony are depicted in numerous literary works. One such work which focuses on the cultural encounters in context to marriage is the book Not Without My daughter by Betty Mahmoody. The protagonist of the story, Betty Mahmoody, a Christian woman belonging to the Western culture gets married to Sayyed Bozorg Mahmoody, an Iranian doctor practicing in America. The Western culture of Betty and Islamic culture of Mahmoody meet each other and seek to assimilate into each other, as Betty seeks to lead her life by incorporating Iranian culture in her American way of living.

Culture
The term culture is used to define the social environment, religious beliefs, values, behavior patterns and attitudes of a person. Culture of a person is shaped by hisher religion and the region in which heshe is living. The culture is transmitted from one generation to another through the social unit of families. It is in the family that a child is taught about hisher culture. As the child grows up, the parents strive to instill cultural beliefs in minds of their children.  Owing to this influence of culture in hisher growing up years, an individual continues to lead hisher life in accordance to his culture throughout hisher life. It is the culture of a human society that influences all the aspects of human lives, from religious beliefs to hisher day to day living. The dressing, food habits, behavior, thinking and attitude of an individual are shaped by hisher culture. For instance, an individual belonging to an Islamic culture will lead hisher life according to the Islamic values. But this adherence to Islamic values can change from one country to another. The culture of a person living in an Islamic country would be somewhat different from that of an individual residing in a non-Islamic country. The culture of a society determines the gender roles of its members and also decides the social position of men and women. As culture is a significant factor that influences the behavior and thinking of an individual, people belonging to the same culture bond easily with each other. Even in the matter of marriage, human beings tend to prefer a spouse from their own culture. But this trend is changing with the advent of globalization, as people belonging to diverse cultures are interacting with each other regularly. This interaction is leading to marriage between people belonging to different cultures.

Cultural Encounters
Cultural encounters resulting in marriages come across as a meeting point where people belonging to different cultures lead their lives together. When a person belonging to a Western culture marries an individual who has grown up in Islamic culture, both the individuals seek toadapt to each others culture. For instance in the book Not Without My Daughter, Betty who was raised in Western culture tries to assimilate into the culture of her Iranian husband. She accompanies her husband to Iran to spend a two-week vacation there. As she is aware of the fact that a woman is expected to cover her head in Iran, she uses a scarf to cover her head even beforereaching Iran. She also allows her daughter to be named Mahtob, which was an Iranian name. Through these attempts, Betty tries to become a part of the culture to which her husband belonged.  Bettys marriage was a union of Western culture and Islamic culture. Although there were many differences in the culture of Betty and her husband Moody, they lived amicably after their marriage. Living in America, Betty and Moody led a happy and contented married life. In a marriage where the spouses belong to different cultures, it is very important that each spouse adapts and understand the culture of other spouse. In a house where two cultures exist, the children are reared in a social environment which is influenced by the culture of the mother and father.  The behavior and thinking of the children display the influence of both the cultures. The meeting of two cultures in a marriage has positive effects as well as negative effects. It depends upon the spouses whether they convert their marriage into harmonious union of two cultures or conflicting meeting of diverse cultures.

Positive Effects
Marriages which follow cultural encounters remove the barriers that have divided people on the basis of culture. Owing to such marriages, people belonging to different cultures try to understand and respect other peoples culture. The wide gap that exists between a person, who has led hisher life in Western culture and an individual who has been brought in Islamic culture is narrowed considerably owing to such marriages. Living with each other, these individuals belonging to different cultures get to know about each others culture and interact with members belonging to a culture which differs from their culture in various aspects. An individual who has lived in Western culture will come to know about the kind of life led by a person belonging to
the Islamic culture and vice versa. This kind of marriages will also lead to unity in the society, as the distrust that have developed in the minds of people while looking at persons belonging to other culture will be erased completely. Children, who have grown up in families where the spouses belong to different cultures, learn to respect others peoples culture even if it is far different from their own cultural beliefs. An understanding of a foreign culture will also aid human beings to comprehend the vainness in dividing the society on the basis of ones culture. The conflicts, which arise in a society owing to the biased attitude of persons belonging to a particular culture while interacting with people who are members of a different culture, will be reduced drastically. People would stop judging persons raised in other cultures on the basis of cultural stereotypes.

One more positive effect of marriages between people coming from different cultures is the positive influence it will have on the culture of the spouses. As the spouses are living together, they will value each others culture and incorporate some of the positive aspects of their spouses culture in their culture. And when these cultural values are passed on to their children, the positive aspects of both the cultures will be blended into the lives of their children. These cultural values would aid the children in their overall development and also contribute to the welfare of the society by bonding people from diverse cultures. If people belonging to different cultures comprehended the fact  that each culture can have some positive influence on the life of
its followers then they would not harbor dislike towards any culture.

Negative Effects
Although there are numerous positive effects of cultural encounters resulting in marriages, conflicts can emerge between the spouses owing to their different cultural influences. For instance, a person who has grown up in the Western culture would find it difficult to accept the restrictions placed upon the freedom of an individual in the Islamic culture. Owing to the inability of one of the spouses to adapt to other spouses culture, conflicts begin to arise in the relations of the husband and wife. In the book, Not Without My Daughter, these types of conflicts are experienced by Betty in her relation with her Iranian husband. While living in America, Betty lived happily with her husband who has been reared in Islamic culture. But when she arrives in Iran, her life takes an ugly turn, as his husbands behavior changes completely.

Betty discovers that her husbands culture stands in contrast to her culture. She is unable to adapt
to her husbands culture which limits the freedom of a woman and places her life under the control of her husband. The cultural beliefs of her husbands society surprise Betty. She is so shocked by her husbands changed behavior owing to the influence of his culture that she decides to divorce him. Under the influence of his culture, Moody not only mistreats Betty but also prevents her from returning to America.  Although Betty tries to incorporate some of her husbands cultural values in her way of living, Moody fails to appreciate Bettys efforts. On the contrary, he expects her to lead her whole in accordance to his cultural values even though these cultural values were restricting her freedom. As Moody tries to impose his culture on Betty, their married life turns sour. The cultural differences of Betty and Moody are reflected in their behavior and the emergence of conflicts in their relation.

Another negative effect of marriages between people belonging to different cultures is the conflict experienced by children regarding their cultural identity.  Children growing up in families, where the parents belong to different culture, are unable to identify themselves with one particular culture. As they have grown up in a family where beliefs of two different cultures are being followed, they are confused regarding their cultural identity. This confusion is experienced even in their religious beliefs, as their cultures preach religious values which are in contrast to each other. For instance, the religious values preached by Western culture are far different from those taught by Islamic culture. And when conflicts begin to emerge in the relationship of a husband and wife owing to their different cultural values, it affects their children also. The detrimental effect of parents conflicts on children is evident from Mahtobs situation in the book Not Without My Daughter. Mahtob has to bear with the mistreatment of her fathers relatives, owing to her fathers insistence to lead their lives according to his culture. In a marriage which has resulted from cultural encounter, it is necessary for each spouse to respect each others culture and behave accordingly. When the spouses fail to understand this and try to force their culture on the other spouse, the cultural meeting turns into a conflicting situation. Cultural encounters resulting in marriage are beneficial for the society, as they bring unity among people belonging to different cultures but at the same time these marriages can result in conflict among the spouses owing to the difference in their cultures.

Task 1
Business ethics are important for efficient and effective running of any business. It constitutes agreed code of conduct and mainly instituted to ensure that business meets its moral and ethical obligations. Although business ethics can wholesomely apply to all businesses, every industry has its own code of ethics depending on its level of interaction with its customers. Business ethics also goes beyond the basic internal operation of the company to including the external environment. In this regard, the business must be particularly careful about its performance in regard to the environment and to the surrounding community. This concept of ethical care towards the environmental and the surrounding community has come to be referred to as corporate social responsibility, one of the benchmark for success of any company. Let us look at ethical considerations that the business needs to look into.

For a business to be successful, it must be responsive to the needs of its stakeholders. Stakeholders include all individuals who rely on the operation of the company or who draw benefits from the companys operation.  All stakeholders have an obligation towards the company and therefore the company also has an obligation towards them as well.  First, the business needs to be responsive to the ethical needs of its investors. Investors are the owner of the company and hence they have the controlling power through the board of directors which has selected to take care of the operation of the business.  Investors looks towards getting returns form their investment and therefore the business operation must be in a position to ensure the continued of profit and wise investment for the company.

Second, the board of directors which has been selected to take care of company operations must work efficiently and openly. They must be accountable to stakeholders as regards the operation of the company. The board of directors has the responsibility to run the company in a way that all other stakeholders benefits from its operation. They have the moral obligation to ensure that the business meets the needs of all stakeholders as they are trusted with the operation of the company. It its code of ethics, Global innovation has clearly outlined the essence of corporate reporting accurately. It has also clearly outlined ethical issues arising from conflict of interest between board of directors and the investors.

Third, the company must be able to meet the moral and ethical obligations towards its employees. Employees are the engine that drives the company. They are usually trusted with making sure that the day to day operation of the company goes on as planned. Employees should not conspire to bring the company down as they benefit in form of wages and other benefits. The obligation of employees towards the business is to ensure they perform their duties diligently for the success of the company. Employees must also show their loyalty and respect to the company be keeping the company secrets. In its codes of ethics, Global Innovation has clearly outlined the need for confidentially from the company itself and from the employees.  The company vows to keep confidential employee information and consequently the employees must also keep company information confidential.

Fourth, the company must meet its ethical standards towards its customers. Customers drive the company since if they fail to buy company products, the production line would not roll again. Therefore the most important ethical obligation of any given company is towards is customers. The company must offer products that meet the needs of the customers. Company products must be of high standards and not in any way harmful to the customers. The company must also sell its products at a reasonable profit which is based on a reasonable profit margin. The company should not take opportunities of monopolistic opportunities to hike prices but should be guided by ethical considerations that do not make use of any opportunity that exists to exploits customers. Considering that the portfolio of company customers includes even military, the company must ensure that it provides quality product and practice honesty in transaction since military touches on the lives of peoples defense directly.

Fifth, the company must observe its ethical standards towards the environmental and the surrounding communities. It is important to note that although company operations are likely to benefit many people, it may end up having negative effects on the surrounding communities and the environment. As currently documented, almost all companies have an impact on the surrounding communities and the environment. The impact of company operations on the environment has become a subject of heated debated in the recent past with the continued deterioration of the environment. There is a general concession among the public that company operations must be friendly to the environment or must not have negative impact on the environment.  The company operations must also benefit the local community. This means that the company must be responsive to the basic needs of the local community even if they dont form a large market base for the company products.  For example the company must do something to provide basic needs like water, electricity, jobs, and others for the local community especially if the company is operation in communities that have low economic status. This builds a friendly business sustainable environment for all.  In line with this, Global Innovation must lay more emphases on meeting the needs of the local community and the environment.  As part of its corporate social responsibility, the company must ensure that its pays close attention to the needs of the local community and the environment as well.

Task II
There are a number of areas as reviewed above that Global Innovation has performed excellently well. The company has already put in place ethical standards that govern the ethical obligation of the board of directors and employees that need to be observed. The company has also put in place an ethical code that guides employees in dealing with the company, the board of directors in dealing with investors and other stakeholders. Its code of ethics address issues of conflict of interest, compliance with business laws, disclosure that deals with accounting issues, corporate opportunities, confidentiality,  and others. However there are areas like environment that need to be readdressed.

In order to function effectively in line with the ethical considerations, Global Innovation will have to strengthen its code of ethics to take care of the above aspects. It is worth noting that in the company code of ethics, little has been mentioned on the obligation of the company towards the environment and the local community. Therefore it is important that the company comes up with policy framework that clearly outlines the ethical standards towards the environment and the local community that Global Innovation must observe. This will ensure that the company becomes more responsive to the needs of the local community in Texas where it is situation and the environment as well.

The citizens of the United Kingdom strive to obtain or achieve things that are desirable to their culture. These things may be cultural or economic and will range from occupation, healthcare and education to social activities, housing and holidays. These things  are not often distributed equally and so one has to struggle to obtain them. An individual ability to get their fair share is referred to as life chances. As Archer and Louise (2003, p.16) assert, there are three elements of an individual life chances power, economic factors and opportunities. If ones economic situation is healthier, your status and power will be greater, and this will better your life chances.

This essay will base on two arguments academic controversy used currently over the occupational classification, that is not neutral and has some impacts and the way this classification system is actually applied, that is, in terms of social class as perceived by the UK. Social class can be defined as large clusters among which there exists uneven distribution of economic goods andor uneven division of political prerogatives andor prejudiced demarcation cultural values as a result of political oppression or economic exploitation (Dargin and Justin, 2007, p, 87). Social mobility hinders the class formation process (Aronowitz and Stanley, 2003, p, 14). This paper is going to examine whether the social class of a person is linked to their live chances. The paper will consider the United Kingdom of the 21st century.

The notion of social class is derived from the tax-system of the Roman-Empire whereby class signified tax bands (Aronowitz and Stanley, 2003, p. 14). In the 21st century, social class is still debated among social scientists who usually reflect the wider social struggles and political debates in the United Kingdom. The fall from grace appears to be revealed from the way bureaucrat statistics portray the British community, making it complicated to think of differences in their educational achievements (in terms of class belongings), earnings and also obscuring the duty of the greater public who are concerned with life chances and social mobility opportunities. The UK society has unrelenting inequalities between population groups that are defined by ethnicity, gender and socio economic background.

Classes in the United Kingdom
The UK has been using two classifications systems that are parallel the Socio-Economic group (SEG) and the Social Class (SC) that was based on occupation. SC favoured a view of occupations that was hierarchical, which based upon occupational skill (Archer and Louise 2003, p.16). These occupational categories related with a variety of inequalities in education, income and health. Though SC lacked theoretical coherence together with the class hierarchy it was relying upon, it was revised on several occasions. As Day and Gary (2001, p.77) examined, the landowner, lunatic, capitalist, expert (undefined), and business speculator were grouped together.

The SEG was established from the 1951 census onwards, it consisted of 17 occupational categories, and it aimed at bring together individuals with occupations of similar economic and social status (Pevalin, 2005 9). Most United Kingdom governmental departments, such as the BHPS or General Household Survey, have been using it until 2001. NS-SEC (the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification) was adopted in 2001 in UK as the main tool for categorizing the population basing on occupational groups. NS-SEC was intended to be applied in administrative registration purposes, surveys and census. The purpose of this new system was to be able to differentiate positions within production units and labour markets (prospects of economic advancement, income and economic security) in terms of their employment relations.

As Archer and Louise (2003, p.16) point out, the differences of social class is that these categories grouped people with occupation features that are similar other than according to more relational or dynamic features such as life chances. Those categories are expected to relate with several indicators of social-inequality. NS-SEC can further account for classifications that are traditional on the labour market (employee, employer and self-employed). The employer group is responsible for differences between employers in small and large organizations. The employer group can further be classified into jobs that are identified by intermediate occupations, service relations or labour contracts. Moreover, it is responsible for occupations that lie between blue-collar and white-collar jobs. According to Cohen and Elizabeth (2003, p.98) classes do exist in categories that are relational, an impact in incrementing the size of a group will simultaneously decrease the relative advantages and limitations linked to it. If the service occupation range decreases, the difference in the labour-contract class becomes less pertinent. Individuals who have never-worked would be categorized in the same group as the long-term unemployed (even by applying the 1 year rule). This is logical with the occupation-based classification. If one applies this tool as a procedure of mapping social hierarchy, serious problems might arise, since this category can include highly-heterogeneous circumstances most unpaid employees, retired and disabled individuals would be unable to apply it as a means of understanding social-exclusion patterns. Similarly, since this grouping is based on occupation other than the status of employment, labour-market situations of less-advantaged employees, such as numerous types of casual or temporary work might not be considered. NS-SEC does not give a means of a detailed-analysis of subsidiary forms of unemployment whose long-term effects on life chances are scarcely insignificant.

How Social Class Affects Life chances in the UK of 21st Century
According to Aronowitz and Stanley (2003, p. 14), social classes were derived from the overarching economic organization of capitalists communities. The bourgeoisie was identified by its exploitation of the working-class through surplus value appropriation. Class formation is as a result of attempts that are bourgeoisie to retain economic authority. Social classes have experienced criticisms that are substantial such as continued decrease in the number of working class, traditional firms and employment, and the rise of service-economy Welfare development state of 21st century and emergence of middle class emergence of analytical groups, such as ethnicity and gender as main variables competing with distortion of a class for an individual life-chances, and consequent criticisms that that classes are genderethnicity blind. Thereby, leading to continued inequalities in the life chances to the majority of individuals across the United Kingdom, basing on their social origins. As Cohen and Elizabeth (2003, p.98) puts it, not only has the share income between the poorest and richest increased, but also educational achievements or employment continues to be determined by the individuals social background.

The issue raised by social class appears different from the ideas that are promoted by most social-democratic governments in the United Kingdoms new labour and to have equal opportunities. Meritocracy legitimizes the merit-effort. Therefore, it ought to be the main driving-force behind an individuals achievement in life. Meritocracy promotes disparities that are not considered as violating opportunities that are equal and fair. Furthermore, it seems that the social class of a child is determined by his fathers occupation, and this wills often be the social-class which his career path will be placed and his level of education. Low levels of education are defined by the conditions upon which an individual works. Those with low levels of qualification are forced to accept circumstances that would be unacceptable to higher-classes, because of their financial situation. Similarly, those that are unemployed are mainly from lower classes with social backgrounds that are disadvantaged. A key factor to an individuals survival is health, but in the UK, this can be influenced by the economic factors of an individual. Those that lie in lower classes with lower income and lower levels of education can hardly afford private health cares (such as BUPA) with comparison to higher social classes. Apart from essentials, life chances can have an impact of day-to-day aspects of an individual. Though holidays are luxuries, they greatly vary according to life chances. The frequency and length of holidays also rely on life chances (Cohen and Elizabeth, 2003, p.98).

Conclusion
An individuals economic situation, power and status are often affected by social class, which in turn influence their life-chances. These life chances usually rely on each other, and can change an individuals power, status and economic situation. An individuals place in the society can be altered by these three elements. The social class that one inherits determines everything about hisher identity, and ones access to health care. Social class also determines ones accessibility to higher education and how law is applied to them. In spite of the myth that is generally accepted, everyone has to rise above their expected classes, those cases are far between and few. Most individuals stay in the class that they were born to, but with a class system that is used presently in the United Kingdom, at least there is a possibility at vertical mobility.

The notion Media refers to a variety of communication channels. Mass media is a term implying media meant to be accessed by a huge audience. The communication channels include radio, television, internet and newspapers (Goidel, Freeman  Procopio 2006). The media influence, otherwise known as media effects, concerns theories that explain the impact of mass media upon their audiences way of thinking and behaving. Mass media plays a crucial role in the formation and reflection of the public opinion. Mass media links the world to individuals and reproduces the self-image of society. The interaction between media and the society is a complex one, with the former obtaining information from a system of affairs and influences and the latter interpreting and evaluating the information that media provides, and also obtaining information outside the media framework. The implications and consequences of the media are related not only to the way media events are perceived, but also to a massive amount of cultural effects that function through the media (Bryant  Zillmann 2002).

Mass media have a very strong cultural and social influence on the society. This is based on their capability to get to a wide audience with their strong and influential communications. Marshall McLuhan uses the expression the medium is the message. This means that the distribution of a message can be more significant than its substance. It is due to the persuasive power of the media that messages are accessible for the target audience. This has been the influential part of the media as they have been able to structure peoples day to day lives and routines (Heyer 1988).

The Importance of Media Influences
In the current age it is important to appreciate the fact that the media influence is crucial in our daily lives. Media and communication have a considerable impact on human beings. Media are all around us, and it is quite obvious that everything around us influences us in a certain way, either positively or negatively. It is a way of connecting people and mirroring the society that we exist in. In spite of the adverse effects of media on the society, the fact that they are important is undeniable (Shrum 2004). We are living in the society that depends on communication and information to stay on the track and keep moving in the right direction and be able to carry out our daily activities. Media are the public means to keep themselves informed on the events happening around them. This is very vital for the world becoming globally interconnected. Media is also a key source of entertainment. Some types of the media are established solely as sources of entertainment. However, the media can be forced to come up with entertainment that the society wants. The media influence is important, because it is the only way that the daily happenings around the world can be reflected (Goidel, Freeman  Procopio 2006).

The public does not only comprise the audience, but it also forms a certain part of the content itself. In the present world, life without the media seems utterly unimaginable. Media provides the public with entertainment, information and comfort (Kellner 2003).  It is worth knowing that most of our decisions, beliefs and principles are all based on the facts we know for sure. In work situations, the decisions are based on the experience and studies, however, in day to day life, people rely on the media to acquire current news and facts on the important issues that they should be aware of. Many theories have been put forward by different academics to explain media influences on the society. Many of the theorists suggest providing evidence that media has some influence on or affects the society (Shrum 2004).

The Hypodermic Needle Theory
The hypodermic needle theory also referred to as Hypodermic-syringe model is one such theory. It is the first major theory explaining the effects of mass media on the society. This is a communication model also called the magic bullet perspective. According to the theory,  an intended communication is received directly and wholly accepted by the recipient. The model implies that mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on the audience. The theory has its roots in 1930s behaviorism established by the Frankfurt School in Germany. Mass media in 1940s and 1950s were considered to have a very strong influence on the behavioral changes. A number of factors contributed to the strong effects communication theory. The factors include the rapid rise and popularity of the radio, the coming up of persuasion fields like advertising and propaganda, the Payne Fund Study of 1930s, which was focused on the effect of motion pictures on children, and Hitlers monopolization of mass media during the World War II that united the German public in support of the Nazi party (Chaffee 1988).

The model argues that the mass media can influence a vast group of people by shooting or injecting them with suitable messages aimed at triggering the required response. Images used in expressing the theory, that is, the bullet and the needle implies a strong and direct flow of information from the sender to the recipient. The theory graphically suggests that the message is the bullet that is shot from the mass media gun straight into the audiences head.  The model suggests that media messages are shot directly into a passive audience, which is instantly influenced by the message. In the model there is no way of avoiding the influence of the message. In this model people are seen as passive and with a lot of media messages shot into their heads. They end up thinking in the way they are told, because they have no other source of information. An example of where the model can be applied was the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds by Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater Group on the eve of the Halloween, where a radio program was disrupted and a broadcast of the Martians invasion on the earth at a place known as Grovers Mill in New Jersey. The broadcast caused a wave of mass hysteria, interrupting the normal life of the people, some of whom fled the city to seek safety. This shows how the media can influence passive audience. This has led theorists to believe that this was one of the key ways, through which the media shape audience perception (Mihailidis 2009).

The hypodermic syringe model proved to be complicated for more media researchers, who sought to explain the link between audience and the media text more precisely. In the times when the mass media became more important part of human life in societies globally and did not make people a mass of unthinking drones, researchers sought a more refined explanation. Researchers, Paul Lazarsfield, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet analyzed the process of decision making by voters in the 1940 presidential election campaigns (Burton 2005). They published their results in a paper known as The Peoples Choice. In their findings it was discovered that the information does not go directly from the source into the minds of the recipient unmediated. It is first filtered through opinion leaders, who then communicate the massage to their less active associates. It is on their associates that they have influence. The recipients then contemplate the message they receive directly from the media with the thought and ideas that the opinion leaders express. Therefore, the audience is not influenced directly by the direct process but by a two step flow. The two step flow became another theory in the attempt by researchers to establish the influence that media has on the audience and hence the society (Perse 2001).

The framing theory
The concept of framing relates to agenda-setting but extends research by explaining the fundamental nature of the issue at hand rather than on an exact topic. The basis of the model is that the mass media focus the interest on particular events and then puts them in a field of meaning (Mihailidis 2009). The core of the theory is that the media attract the public attention to particular topics and decide what people should think about them. This is the original agenda-setting thought in communication. The way, in which the media item is presented, and the frame, in which the item is brought, are all chosen by journalists. Therefore, the frame refers to the gatekeepers organizing and bringing the news items, the items they cover, and the ways, in which the recipients interpret what they are presented with. Frames are theoretical views that serve to structure social meanings. Frames influence the insight of the audience. This sort of agenda setting tells the audience what to think and also the way to think about it. Framing is a quality of communication that leads others to believe one meaning instead of another. In media, the way, in which the media items are presented, influences the kinds of choices the people make.  Framing is not a bad thing but in fact an unavoidable part of the society as far as communication is concerned (Burton 2005).

Conclusion
All these theories support the fact that media has a considerable influence on the society. They also support the argument that the media influence on the audience sometimes comes as a blessing, while in other situations causing a negative impact to the society. The media, whatever their effect on the society, have brought great benefits. Politically, the media have led the society to making informed decisions in elections. The media have also assisted in upholding democracy by letting the people know what is happening within their governments. They have assisted in the process of globalization, because they have brought public attention to the matters happening globally. These are just a few of the benefits accrued from the influences that the media has to the society.

Media has different impacts on the behavioural patterns of children as they grow up. Though not new to the human lifestyles, violence in children has raised intensive concern of late following the advancement in technology. Such technology has increased childrens access to media that display violence. Various studies have been conducted by physicians and other children welfare groups concerning the relation of the media content and childrens behaviour, and their findings indicate that the media are largely to blame for the violence on the children (Martin  Julian, 1997). According to a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation report, the U.S. teenagers between eight and eighteen years of age spend about seven hours daily for either the television, gaming devices or even computers, while devoting very little time to other healthier activities such as playing (Martin  Julian, 1997). A survey by Brown on the violent content on the media that these children interact with, indicates that about 61 of children programs aired have violence as the major theme with only a meager 4 lacking violence (cited in Buckingham, 1997). The survey further indicates that 42 of the violence is related to humor and 54 of these violent programs display lethal violence. An initiative by the American medical Association, American Academy of Child  Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians indicate that the exposure to violent actions in the media causes childrens subsequent violent behaviour and negative attitudes (Browne  Hamilton, 2005). Such impacts include aggressiveness, anger and arousal. The initiative further notes that all teenagers are affected, the younger ones being more prone and vulnerable to these impacts. The major issue revolving around media violence and children then is if children really are able to distinctly differentiate between reality and fantasy and if they can discern the purpose of applying violence from the violent media.

It is even more worrying to note that children younger than 5 years old are gaining access to such media, yet this is the age, at which children learn new behaviours through observation and imitation (Martin  Julian, 1997). Linder notes that just like the adult programs, children programs contain as much direct or indirect aggressiveness as the adult ones and this leads one to question the integrity of the producers who produce such media programs. Producers fail to consider the extent of aggressiveness in children programs while rating them. A video game like Grand Theft Auto has a high content of violence and young people known to consistently play the game have been identified to have high diastolic blood pressure which increases their temper and therefore making them aggressive, are uncooperative and have negative attitudes and are highly susceptible to indulgence in alcoholism and substance abuse (Burking ham, 1997). According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the most notable causes of young peoples deaths are the following trauma, suicide and homicide and those related to aggressiveness. Such deaths outnumber those occurring as result of chronic diseases such as cancer. Childrens exposure to violence reduces their sensitivity to violence, thus, they tend to engage themselves in violent activities without the slightest idea of what such behaviour entails, as far as the moral values are regarded. Psychologists argue that a childs behaviour will most likely be influenced by the type of environment the child grows in. This explains why there have been so many reports of teenage violence especially in the west. It is argued that children learn a behavior by repetitively doing something (Bushman  Huesmann, 2001). High numbers of young people specifically in the U.S. are introduced to performing acts of violence, such as in video games, and its likely that this is the behavior they will grow learning.  

Children encountering violence in their early ages tend to embrace violence at their later stages in life as they develop a notion that the world is mean and aggressive. They embrace aggressiveness so as to resist this perceived violence and protect themselves. The children may also develop an antisocial behaviour on the fear of being the victims of this perceived violence. Experts note that children who have grown in the midst of violence in the media will have the desire to encounter more violence through the media and in real life as they perceive this aggressiveness in the media as depicting bravery (Buckingham, 1997).In this respect, children identify with a certain violent character either in a television program, radio program, game or the print media as their hero. As they grow up, they want to imitate the behaviours of these stars without the knowledge of the aim of the violence used by the star in the respective content. These characters apply aggressiveness as a means of leveling conflicts and thus children adoring such stars grow being insensitive to conflict as they also seek to apply it to solve conflicts in the real life situation perceiving it to be an acceptable way of resolving issue. A Congressional Public Health Summit held in the U.S. in 2007 concluded that when a childs hero role model is violent, the impact of negative attitude to a child will likely be greater. Aggressive behavioural change has in the past been studied through a General Aggression Mode through which violent content in the media has been confirmed to increase a persons arousal, hostility and aggression. This mode concluded that the effect is even more depleting long-term exposure (Browne  Hamilton, 2005). There have been a number of real life incidences of violence by teenagers. In February 2003 for instance, Dustin Lynch claimed to have been inspired by Grand Theft Auto episodes when he was charged with a murder case in which he had shot and killed other young people. Most teenagers are socially influenced by events in violent media as they take the real world to be like the medias virtual world

Various efforts have been channeled to identify, how violent media impact children. However, though many people support the fact that media violence impacts negatively on children, they adopt varied mechanisms as to how the impact takes place and this is based on different lines of thought. Some believe that negative influence is as a result of psychological factors relating to the way people learn in that children adopt cognitive scripts that direct their behaviour by following the actions of their stars (Martin  Julian, 1997).

Based on this argument, its argued that children internalize scripts that depict violence as an acceptable and most applicable way of solving conflicts. Others note that the impact is due to the psychological effects occurring following the interaction with violent media and that the stimulated response to violence in media predisposes children to act violently to in the real situations.  Aggressiveness developed due to interaction with violent media could result to one loosing touch with the society and in some cases low self esteem and stereotyping by the community and these could in turn affect the persons psychology. Some people though disagree with the reports that media have negative influence on children arguing that media content does not influence a persons decisions and make one engage in violent actions. Effective ways of controlling media violence exist and which can be very helpful in promoting non-violent behavior in children and such include the use of V-chips, satellite control or cable on TV programming among other means (Martin  Julian, 1997). As the debate on the impact of violence in the media on the childrens behaviour rages, the role of parents and media producers has been identified as paramount in controlling the behaviours children learn by selecting the content that the children have access to through the media.

Researches have in the past time after time contributed to the progress of science and research advancement has been an important condition of the progress made in science. Empiric researches have been the foundation for the development of the modern-day science. Researches have been a major benefit to the modern day medicine as the introduction of new medicaments and medications requires deep research and testing so as to prove the efficiency and safety for human wellbeing. It is at this point that a number of questions regarding ethical issues emerge. All researches for instance involve living organisms which include animals and man in the last stage of the research and experiments. The major question that lingers in the minds of many at that point is whether medical researches are justified or not (The Ethical Issue, 1995).

Role of Belmont report
The Belmont report played a major role in identifying the ethical issues that should act as a guide to all biomedical research and experiments. This report was also aimed at providing principles and guidelines to help in resolving the issues regarding the use of human subjects in research.

Ethical issues
According to Thompson (2005), in the process of developing the modern day medicine, all the principles and outcomes of the research should be clearly stated. Medical ethics play a major role in ensuring that the health of patients is protected and also all forms of harm that a treatment can cause a patient are eliminated. All in all, the progress of science and particularly medicine cannot occur without researches and experiments.

The requirements of these experiments to test medicaments which can be used to treat various illnesses bring in the deviation of the medical researches. However, if the practical part of the experiments is looked at, they will help a great number of patients suffering from various illnesses. This is because they are aimed at developing new and effective medicaments (Dickman, 2000). If that reason was to be considered, then the use of animals and humans in the experiments would be regarded as just. In order to obtain a reliable data on the effects of a certain form of medicament, medical researches require testing as a part of the process. No one can make a conclusion of the effects of a certain medication or form of treatment without the involvement of living beings in testing it. These testing help in ensuring the safety of new medicaments and thus eliminate the dangerous side effects that might result (Mossman, 1997).

However, according to the Ethical Issue (1995), there is one major reason as to why experiments involving either humans or animals or both cannot be ethically justified. This is because the life of animals is put to danger without their consent so that others, either people or other animals might benefit. When human beings are considered, it is not always that a conscious consent of a patient is involved. This is because patients are in desperate condition and mainly tend to accept any form of treatment offered to them (Atac et al., 2005).

Conclusion
Researches and experimental procedures are seen to be useful when looked at from a practical point of view. This can lead to their justification. However, these researches and experiments have been shown to threaten the lives and health of a few individuals and also animals. Therefore if human point of view was to be considered, these experiments are unjust.

Health care ethics are a topic of serious discussion after the Terri Schiavos case that attracted great publicity. Terri Schiavo went into vegetative state in 1990. She died in 2005, thirteen days after she was disconnected from the life support system. A long legislative battle was fought between her husband, Michael Schiavo and her parents, the Schindlers.

The competing rights in this case are Mrs. Schiavos right to live and her right to be free from invasive medical procedures. No one can take away their life at their own free will but they have a right to be free from invasions of any kind and live peacefully. That particular right of an individual cannot be contested even by hisher own parents. There is no way Terri could live as well as be free from invasive medical procedures.

The decision had to be made for Terri as she was in persistent vegetative state and could not make it herself.
Till the end, Michael Schiavo continued as Terris guardian much against her parents efforts to legally remove him. Her parents wanted to continue to give her medical support. Michael argued in court that Terri wouldnt want to live on life support. Witnesses from both the sides gave their statements and finally he won. The parents struggled for a very long time to save their daughters life which was finally lost on 31042005 at the age of 41.