+1 862 207 3288 Order Description
Instruction:
Create a mini-portfolio focused on your ‘critical & creative thinking’ and ‘interdisciplinary research & inquiry capacities’.
Then, please write a 600-700 word framing essay that introduces the reader to the artifacts, explains their significance and why you chose them.
Now, you should aim to be as specific as possible in explaining to the reader how the artifacts you have chosen evince your abilities with regard to ‘critical &
creative thinking’ and ‘interdisciplinary research & inquiry’.
IMPORTANT: **Remember that your reader will be unfamiliar with your work, so that you will need to describe it (rather than simply gesturing toward it)**.
Mills, Peter
BISSKL 302 A – Summer 2014
Research Paper
Differences in a Leadership Style (skills) between Men and Women
Introduction:
In a dynamic and competitive business scenario, it is very essential for every individual to develop competencies that can assist him to survive successfully in the
corporate world. However, every coin has two sides and every individual has weaknesses and not just strengths. Leadership is a capability of an individual to lead a
team and enable them to achieve organizational objectives (Montana, 2008). It is a social process under which one individual assist and supports the others in
accomplishment of a task (Chemers, 1997). Leadership is only an occasional act that can come from any direction including outside the group. Showing leadership means
convincing others to change direction.
Roles of a leader:
Leading the team – The foremost role of any leader is to lead a team and achieve the organizational objectives. A leader needs to keep the team together and see that
there are no conflicts.
Delegation of duties – A leader has to delegate different tasks among my team members. Using the leadership skills, a leader cab identify the right person for the
right task and assign it to them to ensure maximum quality (Schultz, Duane, Schultz & Ellen, 2010).
Motivation – One of the major aspects of an organization’s success is motivating the employees. By providing hard benefits or soft benefits to the team members for the
good work that they have done, a leader can ensure that they remain motivated in all their tasks.
Decision-making – A leader has a major role of undertaking tough decisions by controlling my cognitive processes and differentiating rightly between rational and
irrational decisions.
Conflict Management – Every team will have several embers and all of them will be different in terms of their mindset, attitude, behavior and capabilities, and there
will be times that these differences will lead to conflicts (Tittemore, 2003). Therefore, it becomes important for a leader to counsel the employees regularly, so that
they work as a team and not as individuals. Sometimes, the reasons for a conflict might be small misunderstandings, and being a leader should identify it and resolve
the conflict immediately.
Types of leaders:
1) Autocratic leaders – Focus on power and authority rather than the team. The leader has the sole right of making decisions while the others have to follow them.
2) Democratic leaders – These leaders follow a bottom up approach and provides right to everyone to speak. The decisions are made with everybody’s consent.
3) Charismatic leaders – A charismatic leadership style can resemble transformational leadership because these leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are
energetic in motivating others to move forward.
4) Bureaucratic leaders – They work “By the Book.” They follow rules rigorously and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely.
Males and females leaders:
Having understood the meaning of leadership, the roles of a leader and different styles of leadership, and it is highly imperative to identify the ongoing debates in
the subject matter. In the recent past, there is a constant debate about differences in the leadership styles of the males and the females. Both these dominant genders
across the world have shown different traits of personality, and it is mostly estimated that with the different kinds of traits while the leadership patterns are also
changing. Till a few decades back, many experts across the globe had a view point that females are not effective leaders as they do not have the same thinking
capabilities that men possess. The females were highly ignored and were mainly confined to the four walls of the home. Unfortunately, this concept even exists today in
some of the gulf countries and in many countries of Asia. According to Azad (2012), glass ceiling is very much prevalent in some parts of countries such as India,
Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bolivia, Bangladesh, etc. The notion of glass ceiling states that females are not provided with adequate leadership opportunities to the
females and they are forced to work on the clerical jobs. However, the females in the last two decades have proved themselves as effective leaders in almost every
sphere of life. It is a very transparent fact across the globe today that the females have assumed the role of a leader at par with the males and have gained the
respect of the society.
In every sector such as manufacturing, education, banking, real estate, services and many more, the females have proved their capability to lead small or large teams
and accomplish the short run and long run objectives of the organizations. Nevertheless, many experts argue that the differences in the leadership styles of the males
and females might have a direct impact on the overall operations and profitability of the organization. Depending on the situation and the circumstances, an
organization should select the leaders as the two different genders can have different kinds of leadership patterns that can guide the team to act differently on
different occasions. In fact, this will be discussed in the next section.
Leadership styles of males and females:
As discussed above, it has been proved in several researches that males and females have different kinds of leadership styles and an organization needs both these
genders for the effective management and leadership. According to a research conducted by Talent innovations with a sample size of approximately 14000 leaders in the
United Kingdom, the males are considered as more strategic leaders whereas the females are better in leading the projects for the organizations. This implies that the
males have a better sense of planning for the long run for their respective organizations. They have a better sense of judging the entire situation which helps them to
foresee the future and plan for the short run as well as the long run for an organization. However, the females are more proactive in leading the entire project. They
are more sensitive towards their employees, implement a democratic style of working and encourage the involvement of the employees in the decision making of the
organization. This inculcates a good work culture and motivates the employees to work hard towards the organizational goals and therefore making them better leaders.
Moreover, the report mentioned that the males are a little rigid in their leadership approach than the females in reference to managing the diversity of an
organization.
Workforce diversity is an integral part of the organizations today and almost every organization has vast diversity in terms of age, qualification, designation,
experience, culture, religion, etc. Sometimes, the leaders might find it tough to manage their diverse work force because treating different employees differently
might lead to partiality or discrimination. It is usually seen that the male leaders are not much comfortable in leading the teams that has high diversity which can
lead to conflicts in the team. The judgment of partial and impartial in a diverse teams are not really identified by the male leaders who are more rational in their
overall approach and are just concerned about getting the results. The female leaders on the other hand are more comfortable in leading the teams that have diversity
and are able to understand all the team members in an adequate manner.
This eliminates the feeling of partiality or favoritism amongst the team members and promotes the team spirit. This can assist the organization in accomplishing its
short run and long run objectives in a convenient manner. This directly implies that the female leaders are more capable of creating an alignment between their
rational and emotional intelligence that can work in their benefit. Hence, the research conducted by talent innovations has rated the females with some additional
leadership skills as compared to the males that may help them in becoming more efficient from the organization’s perspective.
According to a research conducted by Forbes (2008), there are minor differences between the male and female leaders when it comes to working in an organization. The
research states that both males and females have equivalent skills. Nevertheless, because the personality traits of both these genders differ; as a result, it might
have several differences in some aspects. For instance, the males have a better self-motivation level and can even boost their morale during the low times. It is
imperative for a leader to be a self-motivator, so that the team members can also stay motivated. However, the females can get pressurized which can create a panic
amongst the team members as well. Moreover, the report mentions that by working in an absolute rational manner, the male leaders can easily justify their worth to the
top management and will get their work done under any kind of circumstances. On the other hand, the females work with a lot of empathetic and emotional feelings that
encourages the democratic or participative style of leadership. It should be noted here that this empathetic style may also go against them on several occasions but
ultimately they are at a winning end in a majority of cases. Nevertheless, the research has not highlighted many significant differences between the males and the
females in reference to their leadership styles. The personality traits of the males and the females are different and thus have the mentioned differences in their
leadership styles as well.
In addition to that, Eagly (2011) identifies in his research that there are huge differences between the male and female leaders in the organizational set up. This
research mainly emphasizes on the “Transformational” attitude of the male and the female leaders apart from the points already mentioned above. The research states
that females are more transformational in their approach. This implies that the females are more flexible in terms of accepting the new changes as compared to the
males. They have better interpersonal skills, and therefore they feel more comfortable in accepting the new things in the work place. In contrast with this leadership
quality of the female leaders, the males are not so transformational in their approach. It might be correct to state that they are a little rigid in their approach and
do not accept the changes very easily (Kent & Schuele, 2010). They do not feel very comfortable with new things happening around them and are a little reluctant to
accept them. Another point of difference between the leadership styles of males and females that has been highlighted by this research is the “Command and Control”
that the leaders have on their teams. The research mentions that since the females were considered as incompetent in many countries a few decades back, they might have
an impact of this perception that might reflect in their leadership abilities.
Ironically, even today in many parts of the world, females are not considered as competent as compared to the males. This can have an influence on their leadership
styles as soon as they assume the role of a leader. Consequently, the female leaders are a little submissive in managing their teams and thus might not have a very
good command and control on their team members. On the other hand, the males have been the dominant gender of the society since ever. This has made them more
confident, dominating and despotic in their approach. At the same time, this also encourages them to have a better control and command on their team members. As a
matter of fact, they can become very strict and go to the extent of retribution to keep discipline amongst the team members in case it is required.
Causes of differences in leadership styles of males and females:
In the previous section, we have already discussed about the different leadership styles of males and females. However, Patel (2013) mentions that males are more
dominant leaders as compared to the females who are more participative in their approach. Furthermore, this research states that these differences are because of a
combination of different reasons. First of all, it is usually seen that males are more confident than females specifically in reference to the financial decisions that
are to be made (Sharma, 2008). The females find it a little difficult to be confident while making many decisions that are related to finances. Thus, it is very much
evident that the males tend to be more dominant than females in their leadership styles.
Secondly, the males are more bound to bluff and cheat the other parties in business as compared to the females. The female leaders are more innocent and guiltless in
their approach. This might be the main reason because of which males are more inclined towards an autocratic style of leadership whereas the females are happier with a
democratic style of leadership.
Thirdly, the males are not considered as very efficient in reference to managing their emotions as compared to the female leaders. The females have always been known
for managing their emotions such as anger, fear, happiness or anxiety in the best possible manner (Hein, 2014). This makes the male leaders more aggressive in their
approach whereas the female leaders are more calm and patient in their approach.
Lastly, the males have less ability to undertake social risk as compared to the females. For example, the male leaders might not be able to accept their defeat in a
business negotiation process as they might find it to be against their self-esteem and respect in their teams and the organization. Nevertheless, the females are in a
better position to accept these kinds of social risks to their image by learning from them and moving on in life. These differences in the personality traits of the
males and the female leaders shape their leadership styles as well. The following chart is some of the main differences identified by Patel (2013) as a consequence of
the differences in the personality traits of the males and the females ->
On the basis of the above diagrammatic representation, Patel (2013) identifies that the females are more people oriented and wants to work with the team. They do not
really want to dominate their juniors and encourage more participation from them. On the other hand, the males are stricter in their approach and emphasize on
controlling the entire team in a more appropriate manner. They are more likely to take corrective actions (if required). However, the research report does not really
focuses on whether the team members are more disciplined under male or female leaders.
Conclusion:
In general, the term of “Leadership” is the ability of an individual to lead the teams in the most efficient manner and accomplish the organizational objectives. In
addition, it should be understood that different leaders have different leadership traits and may lead their teams as per their expertise and experience. The
organizations ever since the twentieth century have preferred both the males and the females as an integral part of their operations. Despite the leadership
differences between both these genders, the organizations always look for creating a pool of leaders that has males and females. This is mainly because it can provide
consistency to the organization in terms of managing the teams (Andersen & Hansson, 2011). In fact, both genders can display their skills, and the final outcomes are
directly correlated with the results that they get for their organizations.
A debate that has always surrounded this topic is who is better: male or female leaders? However, it is not really possible to answer this question because both the
genders have proved their skills and capabilities while leading their teams. Even though a huge majority of the research reports have mentioned that the female leaders
have an upper hand in terms of their leadership styles purely on the basis of their positive behavior, attitude and employee management skills, this does not
completely overpowers the efforts of the male leaders globally in the last so many decades. Hence, it may be concluded that both the genders have performed
exceptionally well as leaders and have proved their capabilities. Every individual has strengths as well as weaknesses, and the same are experienced by both the
genders while leading their respective teams. As a result, it must be said in the end that both the male and female leaders can prove to be an asset for an
organization provided they work as per their capabilities and accomplish the objectives established by the organization.
Works cited/Reference materials
Andersen, J. A. & Hansson, P. H. “At the end of the road? On differences between women and men in leadership behavior.” Leadership and Organization Development
Journal. (2011).
Chemers Michael, An integrative theory of leadership. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (1997).
Eagly, Alice. Gender and Work: Women as leaders. Harvard Business school review. (2011).
Eagly, A. & Carli, L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: the truth about how women become leaders. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Forbes report. Women v/s Men: Who is better at business? Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/28/gender-strategy-behavior-lead-manage-cx_mk_0528sexes.html,
(2008).
Hein, David. “Ride the High Country: An Elegy on Leadership.” The Statesman, (2014). http://www.centerforajustsociety.org/ride-the-high-country-an-elegy-on-
leadership/#sthash.cmM78oP1.dpbs.
Montana, Patrick J.; Bruce H. Management. Hauppauge, New York: Barron’s Educational Series. (2008).
Kent, T. W. & Schuele, U. (2010). “Gender Differences and Transformational Leadership Behavior: Do Both German Men and Women Lead in the Same Way?.” International
Journal of Leadership Studies.
Patel, Gita. Gender differences in leadership style. Commonwealth Secretariat. (2013).
Tittemore, James A. Leadership at all Levels. Canada: Boskwa Publishing. (2003).
Schultz, Duane P. Schultz, Sydney Ellen. Psychology and work today: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (10th ed. ed.). Upper Saddle River,
N.J.: Prentice Hall. (2010).
Sharma, Sugandha. Leadership styles of males and females. The Advertising Express. (2013).
Mills, Peter
BIS 340 B, Spring 2014
Research Assignment #4
The Awareness of GMOs in Our Society (cont.) – Final Proposal
PART ONE
Based on your preliminary research what did you learn that you didn’t already know?
As I stated in my previous research assignment (the Research Assignment #3), my research question guiding this research will be staying the same as “How does the
public perceive and understand the GMO foods and technology, and what myths come up as a result of the understanding?” from the Research Assignment #3 to this final
proposal. Honestly speaking, based on the preliminary research that I carried out, I have learned a lot of different things which I did not know before. First of all,
I have learned that not all the people who discuss the effects of the use of GMOs understand the technology. In some of the studies carried out, I found out that even
though the public discusses about the GMOs, they do not have the scientific understanding of the genetic engineering of crops and animals. For example, in the article
“It just goes against the grain” which was carried out by the author named Alison Shaw (p. 274), the results stated that most of the public uses the information
disseminated by different institutions in order to make choices about the GMOs. Secondly, I have learned that people related genetic engineering to the issue of
morality, while some people think that any process which alters the natural genetic composition of the crops and animals goes against the basic principles of normative
ethics as it is mentioned in the article “Consumer attitudes towards genetically modified foods”, that was written by the two authors named Magnusson, Maria K. and
Koivisto Hursti Ulla-Kaisa (p. 10). In addition to that, I also found out that there was a relationship between the levels of education, perception and age towards the
GMOs in a published paper, which was written by Gaskell George (p. 384) called “Worlds apart? The reception of genetically modified foods in Europe and the US”.
Regarding to this particular study, it states that the older people are more skeptical towards the GMOs than the younger folks. Likewise, the more educated people tend
to embrace GMOs when comparing to the less educated ones.
Why do you think this research is interesting and important?
In my point of view, this research is interesting and important in many aspects. The climatic change calls for genetic engineering, so that genetically modified
crops can withstand the harsh climate as it is claimed in the article called “Fish Genes into Tomatoes: How the World Regulates Genetically Modified Foods” by Ed,
Wallis (p. 421). However, the genetic engineering can only be successfully if the GMOs are fully embraced by people while it is told by the authors named Saher,
Marieke, Lindeman Marjaana, and Koivisto Hursti Ulla-Kaisa (p. 324) in their research “Attitudes towards genetically modified and organic foods”. Moreover, I think
this research is important because it comes out with the answers to the question about the understanding and perception of the public towards the GMOs as well as the
study is interesting since it tries to understand the effects of GMOs controversy on the lay people who understand a little about the science of genetic engineering.
What was most surprising about your research?
Here, the most surprising findings about my research were the fact that some institutions had managed to misinform people, especially the less educated folks that
about the risks and not the benefits of the GMOs.
What did you expect to find? How was this similar to or different from what you found?
To be honest, I expected to find most people to be opposed to the use of GMOs. Nevertheless, I realized it was not the case from the findings when I found out
that younger people and the more educated members of the society were not very skeptical of the GMOs.
What methods did you use? What were the strengths and weaknesses of these methods for cultural research? What specifically did you learn from different methods and how
did your multiple methods strengthen your insights and findings?
For this time, I used observation and text analyses as my methods of study. In the method of observation, I used a focus group, and I felt like this method is
quite advantageous because it is easy to interact with all the participants and pose follow up questions as it is also mentioned in an article called “Marketing
research: a practical approach “ by Bonita Kolb (p. 138). Along with that, I was able to ask the participants more questions about their understanding of the GMOs. An
example is when some of the participants associated cancer with GMOs. I asked for further clarification in order to know if their fears were out of ignorance or out of
proper information. In the same breath, some of the probing questions that I used when dealing with the focus group are shown in the appendix section of the
assignment. Back to the focus group, according to the article “Marketing the e-Business”, which were written by Lisa Harris and Dennis Charles (p. 52). I totally agree
with them that it is actually quite easy to get answers from nonverbal responses, such as the body language and the facial expressions. For instance, when a question
was posed, I would tell those who understood its meaning by looking at how their faces beamed with smiles. On the other hand, the disadvantage of the focus groups is
that its size may not be representative of the entire population as it is stated in an article called “International business research” by James P., Neelankavil (p.
117). Since I only interacted with a group of ten people; therefore, it is kind of difficult to come up with representative findings. On the other side, I think that
document analysis is advantageous because it saves time while searching information from secondary sources is easy since researchers do not have to go to the field to
collect data as it is also mentioned in the article “Research methods for criminal justice and criminology”, which were written by Michael Maxfield and Babbie Earl (p.
360). However, I also realize that the use of document analysis makes the research lose some aspects of originality while I was reading the article called “Marketing
Research” by Nargundkar Rajendra (p. 38). Since the researchers only rely on the information which is compiled by other people as well as the information there might
be already outdated.
To conclude the entire question, I learned that some people associate GMOs with cancer from the focus group. Meanwhile, I understood that the perception of GMOs
is shaped by a person’s age and level of education from the document analysis. In my opinion, the use of different research methods is good because the methods
complement one another. For instance, document analysis could be having some outdated information while the focus group gives up-to-date information.
PART TWO
Which class readings helped you understand, contextualize, and/or explain your research? You can draw on the readings for their content, approach/theory, or methods.
How did the readings help you see the connections between culture and cultural politics? And how did/will this understanding shape your own research?
The theory about listening, as postulated by the author named Irving Seidman (p. 68), was very useful in the research. The author states in his article “Technique
isn’t everything, but it is a lot. Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences” that listening is very important
than posing questions while interviewing subjects. In fact, I used this approach in the focus group study, and I was keen to listen to what the respondents were
discussing. In this way, I was able to understand the way the public perceive the GMOs. In addition to that, the author advises that it is important to ask questions
in order to clarify where someone has not understood. Actually, this view is supported by the author named Katy Bennett (p.140), who also advises that the researchers
should not overemphasize on observing at the expense of asking clarification questions in her article “Participant Observation”. Here, I posed questions to clarify
what I did not understand. In the same breath, the author advises that it is important to ask participants to tell a story. For example, while I was interacting with
the focus group, I encouraged them to tell stories about their experience with GMOs, and the issue of ethics eventually cropped up. As a result, this actually helped
me understand that the culture of people influences cultural politics while the respondents whose lives were deep in religion were keen on the issue of the ethics of
genetic engineering.
What have other scholars written about your topic and how will your research contribute to our understanding of the topic?
As a matter of fact, different scholars have carried out studies about the public understanding and perception of the GMOs. For instance, the authors named
Melissa L., Finucane and Joan L., Holup (p. 1604) in their article “Psychosocial and cultural factors affecting the perceived risk of genetically modified food: an
overview of the literature”, carried out a study about the psycho-social and cultural factors which influence the way the public perceives the GMOs. Likewise, my
research will enhance the understanding by focusing on specific cultural factors, such as the ethics and how they affect the public understanding and perception of the
GMOs.
PART THREE
After completing your preliminary research, what questions do you have now?
After completing my research, I have a question about the validity of the claims that the GMOs use can lead to cancer. How true and valid are these claims? If
there is any relationship between the GMOs use and cancer, is it purely correlation or causational?
How do you propose to study them in the future? What methods will you use and why? These can be the same methods you have already used or new methods.
I propose to study these questions in the future by researching in many hospitals, and I will focus more on using the methods of interviewing and document
analysis. For interviewing, I will discuss with the physicians about the history of cancer patients and their association with the GMOs. Furthermore, I will seek to
understand whether or not the cancer patients had admitted to having used GMOs. In fact, interviewing will help me understand the underlying issues about cancer and
the use of GMOs. Besides that, I will also use the other method of document analysis to look for the answers to this question. For example, I will be going through
the history of the patients from the hospital records as well as reading published literatures, researching findings, reviewing papers, etc. Through this, I will be
able to find out what other researchers say about the relationship between cancer and the use of GMOs.
What audiences would you like to communicate your research to? How will you share your research with these audiences?
In this case, I think my audience for the research would be biotechnologists, medical experts and lobby groups which are opposed to the use of the GMOs while I
will share the research findings using conference presentations. Also, I will try to seek to publish the findings if I have a chance.
APPENDIX and REFERENCES
In an appendix include copies of photographs, drawings, maps or other artifacts used as part of your methodology. If you carried out an interview, include a short
section of your transcript. If you carried out participant-observation, include one short example of your observations (e.g. describe one event or observation made).
During the focus group study, I was interested in the answers that the respondents gave, especially about the cancer and the GMOs relationship. In the study, I
interviewed a thirty year old man, with a degree level education, to explain further on what he meant by GMOs causing cancer. First, I asked him, “Would you please
give us more details about your fears about GMOs causing cancer”. Then, he responded, “I have heard many people associate the GMOs use with cancer. I will have to go
and carry out a study about it”. From this particular and simple interview/conversation, I understood that most of the fears were informed by rumors and not solid
information while the respondent intimated that he had developed fear towards the use of GMOs after he read several blogs associating the use of the GMO foods with
development of cancer. In fact, I went further and asked him if the blogs were professional, and he told me that some of the blogs he read could not be ascertained to
be professional, such as some of the claims had no scientific backing. Also, he stated that he had read several claims on social media associating the GMOs with
cancer. From this, I understood that most of the information fed to the public is able to distort the truth about the effects of the use of GMOs.
Cite all your sources in a references section. You have should have at least 10 references. At least three sources need to come from scholarly articles or books other
than course readings. Cite all readings including course readings that you draw on and discuss in your report.
To be honest, I did not really put or search for too much “brand-new” information to support my research on GMOs in this final research assignment since I felt
like I am finally on the right track after completing my previous assignment (the Research Assignment #3). While Professor Gardner gave me a lot of positive feedback
on my Research Assignment #3, I eventually decided to use and address several sources (the first four sources in the list below) which I have referenced from that
research assignment and place them into the right areas in this final proposal.
Overall, the totals of thirteen sources I used and referenced in this research assignment are listed below:
1). Worlds apart? The reception of genetically modified foods in Europe and the US, by George, Gaskell.
2). Psychosocial and cultural factors affecting the perceived risk of genetically modified food: an overview of the literature, by Finucane, Melissa L. and Holup, Joan
L.
3). Consumer attitudes towards genetically modified foods, by Maria K., Magnusson, and Ulla-Kaisa Koivisto Hursti.
4). It just goes against the grain, by Shaw, Alison.
5). Marketing the e-Business, by Harris, Lisa, and Charles Dennis.
6). Participant Observation, by Bennett Katy.
7). Marketing research: a practical approach, by Kolb, Bonita.
8). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology, by Maxfield, Michael, and Earl Babbie.
9). International business research, by Neelankavil, James P.
10). Marketing Research, by Rajendra, Nargundkar.
11). Attitudes towards genetically modified and organic foods, by Saher, Marieke, Marjaana Lindeman, and Ulla-Kaisa Koivisto Hursti.
12). Technique isn’t everything, but it is a lot. Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences, by Seidman,
Irving.
13). Fish Genes into Tomatoes: How the World Regulates Genetically Modified Foods, by Wallis, Ed.
Mills, Peter
BIS 300 H, Autumn 2013
Final Research Proposal
Animal Rights in the United States: An analysis of the causes of Animal Rights abuses in the state of Mississippi during the last decade.
Introduction
Animals are the closest form of nature to human beings by the fact that the two share a number of aspects and factors typical to the human race. For many years since
creation, man has shared his space on earth with animals, with the two interacting at different levels and having a kind of symbiotic relationship. Over the years;
however, man has found many uses for animals and has tamed and hunted wild animals for his own personal use. One of the oldest uses for animals to man has been food.
Man hunted and tamed animals for their food supplies ranging from meat, milk, eggs, and in some remote parts of the world, for blood and other supplies. Man also uses
animals for security, cloths, their horns, hides and skins, hooves, and many other uses as determined by the evolution of the industrial world. Two uses of animals by
man; nevertheless, have aroused the anger and resentment of animal protectionists and activities, who have taken it upon them to protest the use of animals by man in
such manners. One of them is the use of animals for scientific experiments and the use of animals for entertainment. These activists have raised ethical and moral
questions regarding the use of animals in such inhuman manners, which undermine the dignity and wellbeing of the animals. The state of Mississippi in the United States
is one of the leading examples of areas that have and continue to perform some of the worst atrocities for animals (Singer 76).
The paper’s thesis reads: human beings continue to concern themselves about the rights of animals and even seek ways that they can protect these rights on behalf of
the animals, but they have forgotten to consider that the animals themselves have lost the opportunity to fight and determine their own rights as this obligation has
been taken over by human beings.
The purpose of the study
This research is aimed at finding out the different types of and causes of abuses directed at animals in United States currently. I have intentionally selected the
state of Mississippi because Mississippi is ranked as the greatest violator of animal rights in American history recently. I will specifically target institutions that
have been regularly accused for animal rights abuse namely; slaughterhouses, circus homes, animal zoos and animal rights crusaders. The last category has been targeted
is not because they abuse human rights, but they are in the forefront in fighting for their rights. Therefore, they hold key information, and it is actually a rich
source of the information or data which I will be seeking to collect.
In my collection of data, I will be guided by different factors, and I will ask my respondents a particular question in order to get precise information about animal
abuses. Since I need to prove if these claims are true of not; consequently, I will be guided by the main question below in my research:
• Are there animal rights abuses?
Although this forms the core research question, it is certainly not the only ones. As I carry out the research, I may come across new information that might require me
to ask more questions. Also, in the course of the research, I am sure that I will acquire a clear picture of the magnitude of the problem of study at hand hence the
need to probe with more questions.
Aside from the allegations, it will be important to examine these abuses or not from the respondents eyes or the points of view. Do they view these allegations as
true? There is so much literature in the globe today indicating these abuses take place. Arora Namit (2013) argues that the cruelty with which slaughterhouses carry
out their activities in their business is a violent one and that even the issue of humans calling animals ‘beef’ even before they are slaughtered is an abuse in
itself. Peter Singer (2002) says caging animals most notable birds like mynas and parrots which spend most of their lives in people’s cages is an abuse to the birds
rights.
However, the views of those who slaughter these animals in slaughterhouses, those who take care of them in the zoos as well as those who tend to them in circus shows
have never been sought. Do they feel they abuse the animals in any way? These are among the views I will be seeking.
As a result, this study will bear in mind the views and ideas of the animal caretakers. Apart from the animal rights activists, I will seek the views of the
caretakers, animal trainers, and those who slaughter them to provide a non-biased wholesome paper. Therefore, the findings of this research will be of great importance
to animal rights crusaders, NGOs and activists if adopted. They will also help the government see how far it has gone and what need to be done. Lastly, it will also
enable the public adopt a more informed approach.
Definitions
For the purpose of this study, the following aspects should be understood as defined below:
1. Animals-Animals have been categorized mainly into two. Pets which involve cats, dogs, birds and rabbits. Poultry and other animals used as food which include
pigs, cows, chicken and ducks.
2. Slaughtering or killing of animals-According to Arora Namit (2013), this includes killing the animal as food, such as cows, chickens, and even dogs cat in some
countries. Killing them for research and medical purposes and also use of animal parts to produce goods; for example, fur coats, leopard jackets and crocodile purse.
3. Taking freedom away from the animals-these include caging animals like mynas and parrots, keeping animals in the zoos like Lions, Gorillas and Tigers which the
most need freedom and keeping pets at home. (Singer 2002)
4. Using animal as entertainment – these include circus homes where the animals are whipped, and others like tigers made to jump through a ring of fire.
Nature and limitations of the study (Methods)
For this purpose, I will use a qualitative research approach method. In this method interviews and observation will be majorly used. It will involve a preliminary
description of the views of animals’ caretakers at zoos, those at slaughter houses, and the views of animal rights organizations and crusaders. However, due to the
large number of slaughterhouses and animal rights organizations, the limited timeframe within which to complete the research and the meager resources available, it
will not be possible to interview all of them. As a result, the number of respondents will be limited to no more than 40 throughout Mississippi. Since this method will
use interviews and focus group studies in order to gather as much information regarding the state of animal rights in the state and the central questions in the
interview questionnaire shall be that of whether animals have rights and if these rights should be treated equally as those of human beings. The participants of the
study will be selected by purposive sampling and stratified sampling techniques. Purposive sampling will be used in identifying the participants who will take part in
the interview process. These will be persons in authoritative positions in the nation, so that they can offer detailed information regarding the state’s treatment of
animal rights and their perception toward animal rights. Some of the participants will include representatives from the animal rights groups in the state, selected
members of the state’s judicial system to explain the sector’s handling of animal rights and treatment issues, selected members of the legislative organs that make
policies to determine the criteria used for enacting animal legislations, and selected members of the public to determine their perception on the case and issue of
animal rights in the state and as a whole. This method will be used alongside the snow balling method, where the purported respondents will be able to refer the
researcher to the next best available respondent in the situation that they are not able to make it for the interviews because of the responsibilities they have to
meet. The researcher will use a standardized questionnaire to interview the respondents, making alterations only in areas differentiated by the ranks of the
respondents. The research will use focus groups for interviewing the general public. These will be chosen through stratified random sampling to ensure that the
respondents include the diversity involved of sex, age, and persons from different socio-cultural background.
Another method that will be used will be that of observation. The researcher and his group will position them in various places including public zoos and in play
circuses to assess the manner that animals were treated. A central theme that will guide the questions that will guide and form the basis of the interview will be
whether animals have rights and whether those rights should be upheld, and the manner in which these rights should be upheld against the view that animals do not have
rights and that their rights should be pegged against those of human beings.
Design of the study
This section deals with the research methods, tools, design and procedures that will be used in carrying out the research.
Setting
The state of Mississippi is one of the states in America located at the lower south part of the United States. Its capital city is Jackson, and it is governed by
Governor Phil Bryant. It has numerous tourist attractions including but not limited to, Geyser Falls, the Pearl River Resort, the Jackson Zoo, the Vicksburg National
Military Park and the Buccaneer State Part. Due to its numerous potential and resources to attract tourists, booming business involving animals have been going on. Its
parks, zoos and the slaughterhouses are all dealing with animals. Over time, Mississippi has become a leading abuser of animal rights in America.
These abuses have continued un-aggravated with little or no attention being paid to the concerns of animal rights crusaders. The states’ ability to raise large amounts
of tax and revenues have overridden it seems its worry and care for animal rights. Therefore, I chose the state of Mississippi is due to its ever rising problem of
animal abuses. The duration of the research proposal was picked as the last ten years because in that period more animal rights activism has been marked than any other
period and most animal rights abuse recorded in the United States’ history.
Consequently, this project will be aimed at studying the treatment of various animals within the state of Mississippi with an aim of establishing whether their rights
are being abused. It will also be aimed at getting the opinion of animal care takers and attendants who for a long time have not been allowed to tell their side of the
story.
Research Perspective
The qualitative research approach is backed by the writings of the phenomenology as a theory as put forward by (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982). I will be seeking to understand
the human events surrounding animals abuse claims, opinions of the caretakers of these animals and the opinion of the crusaders.
Information or data collected from the respondents will be of key importance that has been demonstrated by different writers like Blumer, 1999; Mezirow, Darkenwald, &
Knox, 1975 as these enables the researcher to see the world from the informant’s point of view.
Research design and procedures
This qualitative research will look at the claims of rights abuse of animals, first as observed by the researcher and second as seen in the eyes of the caretakers and
those involved as lastly as seen from the eyes of the crusaders. The interview will comprise of simple but soul searching questions that will open up the respondents
to pour their hearts out as far as the subject is concern. An example of the question would be, “In your period of working with animals, which single moment that an
act by the animals touched or affected you most?” This will open up the respondent to talk of acts he or she may have participated in or witnessed that comprised an
abuse or he felt to be an abuse to the animal.
After interviewing all the relevant respondents, I will take time to observe the animals, and it will be with a view to see if they show signs of distress or
uncomforting in their environment or activities done on them especially in the slaughterhouses and circuses.
After that, I will try my best to seek the opinion of a psychologist to interpret which of these responses may be showing distress or pain by the animals.
Then, the data will be broken down, analyzed and presented inform of graphs, tables and charts for easy interpretation by using the S.P.S.S tool. At last, I will
discuss the results and draw my own conclusions after interpreting the data.
Miscellaneous/Reference materials
Arora, Namit. “On Eating Animals” Humanist. Jul/Aug2013, Vol. 73 Issue 4, p26-31. 6p. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4db16f12-d696-43ec-be15-
c9f378aed34f%40sessionmgr11&vid=7&hid=24. Web.
Peter Singer. “Animal Liberation”. Third Edition 2002 http://www.peta.org/about/why-peta/why-animal-rights.aspx. Web.
The Bible, “King James Version” Genesis19:19-22
McNeil, Donald G. “When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans”, The New York Times July 13, 2008.
Benthall, Jonathan “Animal liberation and rights”, Anthropology Today, volume 23, issue 2, April. 2007.
Stephen Wells, ALDF’s Executive Director. “Legally Brief: Animal Law Conference 2013”. October 24, 2013. http://aldf.org/blog/legally-brief-animal-law-conference-
2013/. Web
Kazthan Mezirow et al “Beast or Creature: The Mississippi Animal”, Texas, Jill Publishers2nd Ed. 1975.
PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “More Info on Animals Used for Entertainment”. 2013.
Austin Peterson. Kate Todd. “Do animals have rights?” 18 Apr 2013. http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/do-animals-have-rights-a-rebuttal/#axzz2j3v7PPqq. Web.
Visral Bogdan & Jasmine Biklen, “The World of a Free Animal”, Minnesota, Minnesota University Press, 1982.
Lawrence Katson. “Who Will Speak for the Animals?” New York, New York University Press. 1998.
George Blumer, “Gentility to Animals; saving the future”, Arkansas, Emmas Publishing House 1999.
Joey Turner. “That’s Progress! New Nationwide Animal Protection Laws Passed”. June 6, 2011. http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/06/06/animal-rights-new-laws-passed-
across-amierca/. Web.
Jonathan Phillips et al. “Animal Rights in the 21st Century America” Texas, Jill Publishers 2010.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂
