Short take on Globalization and Human Rights

Since human rights have always been a burning global issue, globalization will inevitably have influence on them. In fact, Globalization has hugely impacted human rights worldwide. It was not so long before that people around the world raised their voices for the human rights situation of a particular country. For instance, there is ever increasing support against violent conducts of Syrian regime against its people. Similarly, it was due to international concern on human rights that Israel and Palestine finally agreed for a ceasefire. We can only imagine the devastating results if a global perspective on human rights conservation was absent.

In the same way, a number of international organizations are working globally to ensure that people are not denied from their fundamental human rights. They have helped in preserving human rights during armed conflict, releasing people from militant captivity, and even making people aware of their socio-economic rights by publishing reports about corruption. Also, the global efforts have consequently aided in establishing Human Rights Commissions in many countries.

However, there are some negative effects of globalized efforts too. For example, the right to self-determination has been controversial in a sense that separatist groups are gaining momentum in some European countries without any serious political reason. Scotland is about to take a referendum on its independence, Catalonia (in Spain) is wishing for the same, and the case is similar in Belgium too, and all of these just to prevent possible economic austerity in their region. 

Obedience and Psychology

People carry out commands of an authority figure under certain conditions. They obey the commands because it is same as their personal opinion, or to be liked by the authority and peers, or when it is a compulsion i.e. they have no other way. And in certain conditions, they refuse to obey because of high self-esteem, i.e. when their personal values are stronger than authority. Also, they disobey when they think that their freedom of opinion is at threat (Stangor, 2010).

Human nature has stayed consistent over the years, despite the changes in thinking and lifestyle. This trend also applies to obedience of authority. People still have the similar patterns like 40 years ago when we consider Milgram’s Obidience Experiment and its replication later. This is also supported by the fact that when the level of authority or the pressure was decreased in the experiment, people were less harsh in the punishments (Stangor, 2010). That is to say, even when the influence was less, people still agreed to punish the “learner”.

Although authority studies are related with influence from a powerful entity and conformity study is related with influence of a group, they are related in some way. We can take the example of minority conformity in this regard. The minority in this sense can be the small group of people with strong opinion and persuasive ability, which is very much similar to an authority, where generally a minority influences the opinion of large number of people.

These experiments suggest that although we have our own intrinsic qualities, we are largely influenced by the situations. We generally want to interact with the group of our interest, and we may change our behavior in order to fit into it. Also, these changes are gradual i.e. we take some time to get conditioned to the new behavior or opinion (Britt, 2009).

References:

Britt, Michael (2009), Episode 97: Stanley Milgram Obedience Study Finally Replicated, Accessed: October 31, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2009/06/episode-97-stanley-milgram-obedience-study-finally-replicated/#ixzz1HOBFKZ9g

Stangor, Charles (2010), Introduction to Psychology, Psychology in our social live, p. 449-453

Poverty in Nepal and Impacts on Childhood Development

Poverty situation in Nepal is very critical. Although it is blessed in terms of natural resources and a lot of development potential, it is one of the poorest countries in the whole world. Fulfilling just the basic needs like food and shelter is a major concern for many poor let alone some vital facilities like health services and education. While most poor do not even earn a dollar a day, the government efforts have been futile so far regarding the situation in past few years. According to World Bank Data Sheet (2007-2011), the per capita GDP of Nepal is US$ 619. The inflation rate is at double digits while the economic growth is not even half of it. These are just the examples and statistical facts; the reality is much more pathetic.

The main problem behind it is certainly the long standing political instability. The country is still recovering from a decade of armed conflict, and currently is in a transition to a new constitution. That is why, no significant improvement can be expected, until the new constitution is promulgated.

Poverty has direct impact on infant and childhood development. It is supported by the fact that infants who are introduced to new kinds of “objects and simulating activities” have better knowledge and abilities (Charles Stangor, Introduction to Psychology, p.167). Clearly, poor parents cannot provide diverse activities for their children. Similarly, physical development is equally vital, which is also hindered by the economic inability of the poor parents in managing proper food and care. Also, as the children become aware about the social comparison, at the age of 5 or 6 (Charles Stangor, Introduction to Psychology, p. 173), they might feel themselves inferior to the richer children, and thus, develop a pessimistic attitude towards themselves. These all factors show that poverty affects the infant and childhood development negatively.

There are many ways in which poverty can be alleviated in Nepal. Firstly, Nepal is historically famous for its mountains and natural beauty. Thus, tourism and mountaineering can be developed to increase both employment opportunities and foreign investment. Also, there is a huge potential in hydroelectricity, which is a renewable energy, and it is estimated that only 1% of the actual capacity is currently being generated. Even if just these sectors are developed, poverty can be reduced drastically.

References:

WorldBank.Org (2007-2011), GDP Per Capita (current US$), Accessed: September 25, 2012, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

Stangor, Charles (n.d.), Introduction to psychology, Growing and Development, p. 167 and 173. 

Research Methods and Threats to Validity

Research methods:

Research	Descriptive Research	Correlational Research	Experimental Research
Objectives:	To summarize the current situation of the subject of study.	To study the relationships among variables under study.	To study the influence of the independent variable(s) on the dependent variable.
Advantages:	·      Fully summarizes the current data. ·      Helps in developing ideas for further research.	·      Helps in testing whether the predicted relation between variables is valid or not. ·      Helps in testing relationships of interdependent real-life events.	·     Helps in determining relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable.
Disadvantages:	·      Relationships among the variables cannot be determined. ·      Violates ethical issues when the population is observed without informing.	·      We cannot draw conclusions about the set of independent and dependent variables i.e. when one variable causes other.	·     Handling many variables is difficult. ·     It is not cost-effective as well as time-effective.

Threat to research validity:

Threat to Validity	Explanation	How it affects accuracy?
Construct Validity	It deals with how well the values used in research evaluate the conceptual variables- the basic ideas behind the research.	It may not necessarily evaluate or represent the original conceptual variables.
Statistical Conclusion Validity	It deals with the level of accuracy of the researcher’s confidence about the absence of random error in data.	Statistical tests may not have been applied to check the validity of results or the results of the tests may be misinterpreted.
Internal Validity	It deals with how confidently the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables can be trusted.	A third variable, confounding variable, may have affected the participants’ response.
External Validity	It deals with how well the results of a research can be applied to a similar scenario.	The conclusion may have been made under circumstances that are not applicable to another.

Electronic Discourse: compared to written and spoken language

Our life comes to a full-stop without communication. Being a social animal we need to be in touch with our community. Whenever we need help or express our ideas to others, we communicate. Our curiosities as well as the need for co-existence propel us towards sharing our words with people. Even animals make noises and gestures to signify their feelings or describe a situation. Being human, we have several coherent ways to communicate. Traditionally we have either expressed ourselves orally or in writing but with advancement in technology we have become familiar with “Electronic discourse” or the “Computer mediated communication” in technical terms. Electronic discourse has both similarities and differences with the spoken or written language. It is originated from the traditional communication system only, but provides a platform where we can exploit both the benefits of written as well as spoken language.

Electronic discourse is similar to written language in many ways. We type in our emails, text messages and social networking updates which is electronic form of writing. When in forums or discussion rooms, we type in our responses alike formal writing. In the same way, when we post things in our blogs or websites, we can edit our work, select from a large vocabulary and consult different materials before finally publishing them, which is quite similar to writing. These points can also be used to contrast the electronic discourse from spoken language.

On the other hand, electronic discourse can be dynamic like instant messages where we can quickly respond to any queries or clarification. Also, most of the instant messages are volatile, whole chat is lost when we close the application unlike a written text. We can use a single click to signify something just like clicking “Like” button in Facebook. The recent functions like “Video Chat” are also totally different from written language. And as above, these points can be used to signify the resemblance of electronic discourse to spoken language.

Therefore, electronic discourse possesses both the qualities of spoken as well as written language and thus has collapsed the gap between them. And so, it has both similarities and differences when we analyze from any one perspective. But one of its greatest drawbacks is that unlike natural ways of communication, it allows anonymity to a large extent and hence has given rise to criminal activities over the electronic media.

Challenges of Online Learning

Everything in this world comes with benefits and with it the challenges. Such problems can be me minor but sometimes seriously disturbing too. Although we can choose different approaches, it is hard to ignore the hindrances and move on. In the same way, there are challenges related with online learning too, which can affect the overall study mechanism, and need to be addressed.

Firstly, the most obvious challenge we face in online learning is that it is totally different from traditional study methods. There is no live contact between the instructors and students as there is no specific time frame to study. It is also possible that they might never come into live communication since they can be in assorted time zones. Also, there are none of the things like cross-questioning, additional explanation and sharing contextual ideas as in traditional classrooms. 

Similarly, not all students have access to similar technologies. It can also be due to unavailability of resources or inability to afford them but on the whole, affects the learning process. The variation in technological aspects like internet speed, strength of devices, and compatibility issues make it difficult for both the students as well as the educators to manage things in an equitable manner. In addition, all the students may not we be pre-equipped with good computing skills. 

Also, it is a challenge for the instructors to prepare, maintain and asses the study materials and student responses in a limited time frame. Unlike traditional system, online learning can have hundreds of times more students enrolled in a program and so, it is very difficult to identify and help weak students, motivate the bright ones and, review and grade individual works with good efficiency. Additional time is spent to check and reply the queries, and discuss with the students as well.

Finally, apart from study, there might be some external issues related with online learning too. These issues contain but are not limited to payment problems (problems with payment can mean you cannot register for coming courses or sit for the final exam), technical problems (you have power cuts or problem with your internet connection or PC), work load (you work full time and it is hard to keep up the pace) and response time (even if you report all these problems to the institution, they take some time to get solved). Thus, they might also obstruct the study process.