The Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Holocaust - Essay Example Though anti-Jewish laws have been adopted, Hungarian authorities opposed to the German demands for deporting the Jewish to the death camps. The situation changed in 1944, when the German army occupied Hungary. During the 42 days, starting from the beginning of May, more than 437 thousand of Hungarian Jews have been sent to Oswiecim - Birchenough. While the world community pretended, that nothing was happening, the Germans killed in gas chambers 12 thousand people every day. Only at the beginning of July 1944, the head of the Hungarian government, Miklosh Horti, signed the order to stop the deportation, or to slow it down, and about 200 thousand Jews from Budapest have finally avoided deportation. The neutral diplomats of Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican have given their assistance to the Hungarian Jews. However, already at the end of 1944 about 30 thousand Jews more died during the so called 'death marches' to the Austrian border. (Braham 1981, p24) Italy has also been a German ally; and as well as in Hungary, the anti-Jewish laws have been adopted there. ... ty, and only after the failure of the Mussolini's government in July, 1943, German troops were able to capture eight out of thirty five thousand of local Jews and to deport them to Oswiecim-Birchenough. All this took place with the support of Italian Nazis. (Berenbaum, 1998, p86) After the German occupation in April, 1944, Yugoslavia has been divided into several parts. The total number of Jews living in the country was 80 thousand, out of which about 16 thousand lived in Belgrade. The Germans used thousand of Jews as cheap labor force, having deprived them of their entire inventory beforehand. In August, 1941, the wave of mass arrests seized the country. The bigger portion of Serb Jews has been killed. In spring 1942, in the Semline concentration camp in Belgrade suburbs, people were killed by gas, using the specially equipped truck. Only several hundreds of Serb Jews remained alive by summer 1942. (Braham, 1994, p144) Croatian fascists have also become close allies of Germany. Croatian Jews were obliged to carry the 'David's Star' and their property has been confiscated. The regime was constantly destroying Serbs, Jews and Gypsies all across the country. Only in Yasenovo concentration camp, dozens thousands of Serbs and twenty out of thirty thousand Croatian Jews have been killed. By the end of October, 1941 almost all Jews of Croatia have been destroyed. About seven thousand of those who remained alive were sent to Oswiecim. During the whole period of war, about sixty thousand of Yugoslavian Jews have been killed. (Berenbaum, 1998, p91) Greece has been simultaneously occupied by the two armies - German and Italian. The Jews, who appeared to be in the Italian zone, have not been subjected to repressions until 1944. As for the German zone, the 50-thousand Jewish

Ethics Paper Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics Paper Management - Assignment Example The decisions concerning strategic planning and management are usually taken by the shareholders of the company or the top level executive unit (Board of Directors). These decisions are related to all resources and structure of the company. The strategic action plan has to be fundamental, stable and long lasting. For these reasons a company needs to involve in its strategy concepts like vision (where we go, what we want) and mission (who we are, what we do). Values and beliefs that are shared within the organization show additional consolidation and commitment of the unit and the staff. Different types of mission statements are issued and among all those of importance to us are the â€Å"product – service oriented† and â€Å"customer – market oriented† ones. In her â€Å"Ethics Awareness Inventory† Williams (2011) argues that to succeed in the long run a company or an individual needs to consider topics like Character (what is good to be rather than what is good to do), Obligation (duty or obligation of individuals), Results (the consequences of our actions, where good should prevail over evil) and Equity (issues related to justice, trust and honesty). Since strategic planning is done mostly by shareholders and Board of directors then â€Å"is it done for their sole benefit, only?† When being asked, managers make an interesting rating for the objectives of their business behavior placing customers and government at the top, followed by stockholders and employees. Clifton and Amran (2011) share that the â€Å"Stakeholder Approach† is supportive in corporate practices and this is a proper way to achieve a sustainable world. Freeman (1994) is even more straightforward by writing that â€Å"Corporation shall be managed in the interests of its stakeholders, defined as employees, financiers, customers, and communities†. In most strategic and business managing sources stakeholders are described as the individuals , groups and institutions most deeply interested in the business of the company and its results. The short list would include customers, competitors and suppliers, as well as administrative, social and political institutions. Ferrell (2004) considers that â€Å"customers are key stakeholders that help establish the firm’s reputation and identification† and later â€Å"Understanding customer needs and wants and providing customers with high-quality products are the key to the company’s success.† An interesting issue is to discuss one specific group of stakeholders – parents and family members. The Forbes columnist Scott Reeves (2005) cites M. Sophie Beckmann, a certified public accountant and certified financial planner at  A.G. Edwards  in St. Louis to have said that "Responsibility increases with children" and that "You're now responsible for your spouse and the children. That means planning."  And we add: â€Å"That means strategic plannin g.† A family with three children will spent not less than 15 to 20 years being engaged in college-related topics and thus behavioral, money and housing issues. Consider a possible student loan from the U.S. government Direct Loan Program with 10 years repayment period (U.S. Department of Education, 2011) and then it makes a period of nearly 30 years. People from that group of stakeholders would be delighted to learn and know about a company like the American Campus

Research and study on the deviant woman

Research and study on the deviant woman Living in a period which had totally ignored women and the study of female deviance (prior to 1960s), Professor Frances Heidensohn saw, as other criminologists, the immediate need for research and study on the deviant woman. As a pioneer of feminist perspectives in criminology  [i]  , Heidensohns work provided the too much mans land of criminology and how women have been unfairly treated and neglected in previous studies. Heidensohn is considered to be a revolutionist in this field of criminology due to her pre-feminist work (Heidensohn 1968 and 1970) on the invisibleness and silence surrounding the female offender  [ii]  .Throughout her work and extensive research on a variety of different writers and criminologists, she stressed the lack of attention on gender dimensions and the tendency to over-sexualise women crimes. Clearly upset of this status quo, she pointed out also the necessity of taking into account autobiographical experiences of female offenders, who are the act ual objects of this study. Frances Heidensohn; a professor in the Department of Sociology at London School of Economics, by her investigation on the study of gender in the context of crime, could be said to have set the foundations for next generations studies on feminist perspectives in criminology. Her biggest question mark was why the chapter of women and crime has been buried for such a long time and why there has been a failure to examine such an important issue. Most of her books and articles try to provide adequate aetiologies to all these question marks. Fortunately, things changed since the 1960s and feminism criminology was developed. As Heidensohn suggested in a metaphorical way, Like a wardrobe of new exciting clothes, a whole treasure generated in criminology. It offers us a great deal more to enrich our knowledge of women and crime. But there is much more on offer too.  [iii]  In other words, Professor Heidensohn held that even thought feminist criminology has been developed there are still many gaps and much more to be done. Thus, Heidensohn illuminated the path towards the understanding of female criminology. In the field of criminological study and most sociological research and writing, analyses of criminal women cannot be found before the 1960s. But even where they are considered, they are subject to marginalising and distorting treatment as Oakley noted in 1982  [iv]  or similarly as Klein suggested female criminality has often ended up as footnote to works on men that purport to be works on criminality in general  [v]  . This lack of interest was really surprising in Heidensohns eyes.  [vi]  As Frances Heidensohn noted in an important early article on deviance, virtually no serious scholarship has been undertaken to explain the dramatic difference between male and female lawbreaking.  [vii]  Hence, this status quo, which was much more due to male dominance, impelled her to start an extensive research on the subject to provide sufficient answers to all these questions raised. What was central to her work was the amnesia and neglect of women in previous studies in crimi nology and the fact that even where women were recognised, they were depicted in terms of stereotypes and based on their supposed biological and psychological nature  [viii]  . Her major argument which she highlights in all of her books, articles is the necessity of exploring gender in terms of understanding crime. Her discussion was concerned with personal experiences and autobiographies of women offenders in relation to the courts, the law and the police. She strongly stressed that at all levels women have been treated differently than men and in some cases harsher. Under the provisions of criminal law, women are theoretically equal to men. Conversely, she underlined that in many cases the laws on prostitution, for instance, prejudice against women and in general there is tendency to over-sexualise female crime. Frances Heidensohn objected this attitude towards female crime. Prostitution was seen only as sexual deviance and not as the rational choice for some women who need the financial support for themselves and their children (Heidensohn, 1968, p.168)  [ix]  . Klein also shared this opinion. Furthermore, criminal laws and lawyers tended to apply stereotype notions of what a proper woman is and does and dual assumptions such as virgin and whore were made when dealing with female offende rs. Yet, Heidensohn did not criticise that and she recognised that one cannot divorce the law and lawyer from the society in which they operate with its enormous cultural heritage and traditions  [x]  .Although she did argue about the too much mens world that existed, truly annoyed by the domination of men in administration as well as in the draft of legislation because of the implications that had on female offenders. Further, the courts even though women committed fewer and less serious crimes than men, were often harsher with women. According to Frances Heidensohn, there were several reasons that explained this stance by the courts. One of the strongest arguments that she made was that female criminals were considered to be doubly-deviant. Women criminals were very rare phenomena, a fact that biased the behaviour of the courts towards them. As Heidensohn had pointed out in one of her earliest presumptions, Women defendants therefore seem stranger and thus less comprehensible than men: they offend both against societys behavioural rules about property, drinking, or violence and also against the most fundamental norms which govern sex-role behaviour  [xi]  (Heidensohn, 1970, p.134). In other words, if they had been morally wrong, then they will be punished more; Courts and other agencies treat women as deviant twice over: they have broken criminal law and social expectations of proper female behaviour.  [xii]  In addition, the whole court procedure is something particularly bewildering, alien and unfair to female offenders.  [xiii]   While doing her research, Frances Heidensohn gave a great emphasis on the stereotype notions and the social standards that the society held for criminal women. In patriarchal societies, women were perceived as a source of disorder. Moral values and accepted social standards, especially in previous periods of time, rendered women subject to stricter rules. Moreover, the witch image as well as that of the whore seemed to be the key portrayals of the deviant women. The stereotype of witchcraft, which has always been linked to women, gave the idea of deviant women as especially evil, depraved and monstrous  [xiv]  . On the other hand, the tendency to sexualise the female offences portrayed them as whores. Professor Heidensohn argued that no such notions exist, equivalent to male deviants. On the contrary, male deviants either receive public approval-boys will be boys,- or are at least more positively portrayed  [xv]  . She continued her argument and she strongly criticized the ro le the media had overplayed in forming these ideas; male offenders in novels, films were presented as heroes, something that affected the public reaction and opinion. In reviewing traditional criminology and classical criminological writers, Heidensohn observed that female criminality was determined by their biology and psychology. Lombroso; the father of criminology, and Ferreros research, which focused on the meditation of the skulls, bones and appearance of female criminals, came to the conclusion that women deviants could be recognised by their physical appearance and they had very similar characteristics to male deviants. Women criminals like their masculine counterparts, had certain allegedly atavistic features, notably unfeminine features and built and dark masculine hair.  [xvi]  Additionally, they claimed that criminal women are abnormal. Following these lines, Professor Heidensohn found herself contrary to this presumption. She argued that his analysis of photographs of fallen women is as objective as adjudication in a beauty contest.  [xvii]  Furthermore, Lombroso and Ferreros theories did not provide us an adequate and precise understanding of female crime.What they did show us was the attempt to rationalise and justify the status quo, the existing position of women and the double standard of morals of their day.  [xviii]  Thus they did not draw away from the stereotype notions and the dual assumptions about women (good or bad, normal or abnormal). Deviant Womens experiences was a central method used by Frances Heidensohn and feminist writers towards the understanding of female delinquency; concentration on the researched and their experiences. Even though this methodology received much criticism (Ramazanoglu and Holland 2002)  [xix]  , Heidensohn and Gelsthorpe argued that close reading of feminist discussions ultimately reveal no fixed absolutes beyond the need for sensitivity in the research task, for personal reflexivity and commitment to make the research relevant to women.  [xx]  This methodology vested women the right to speak for themselves, their experiences, their feelings and thoughts. The technique of viewing the world through womens eyes was successful in making women visible in criminology and additionally created awomens world too. The concentration on womens experiences led to some crucial developments in female criminology and feminist contributions to criminology. Feminism standpoitism as Harding puts it (1987)  [xxi]  reflected the concept of viewing the world through womens eyes and encouraged both theoretical and personal reflexivity in relation to knowledge and the process of knowledge production through research.  [xxii]  However, the key aspect of focusing on the experiences of female criminals was that it rendered gender as the basis of understanding and interpreting crime and social conduct rather than simply as a statistical variable. As a synopsis of her study, Frances Heidensohn argued that what seems to be needed in the study of female deviance is a crash programme of research which telescopes decades of comparable studies of males.  [xxiii]  Also, she was consistent with what Mannheim recommended, who held that an objective and scientific approach should try to treat female crime as a topic in its own right.  [xxiv]  She therefore concluded in her book on Women and Crime that in order to gain understanding on women and crime other analyses such as family life, position and social control of women, male dominance should be taken into account. Arguably, she supported that this could not be achieved through feminist criminology or sociology of deviance.  [xxv]   Frances Heidensohns observations have not been subject to too much criticism as Lombrosos or other criminologists theories. However, some points that she did make were subject to debate and disapproval. Allison Morris was one of those who contravened with some of her presumptions. Her enantiosis was basically on the fact that the criminal justice system is a peculiarly alien an unfamiliar world  [xxvi]  only for women. Morrison focused on the belief that criminal law is sexist in the treatment of deviant girls and women and she went on to say that such factors as race, family circumstances and commitments, types of offence and previous record all clearly mediate the treatment of both female and male defendants and may be that some of those factors are as important as gender, if not more so.  [xxvii]  Indeed, Heidensohn relied on this assumption; that sex is the most crucial aspect and that it is not only women who are being deprived in the criminal justice system. However, wh at Morrison strongly argued was Heidensohns failure to identify other groups of people who could be treated unfairly under the criminal system or the court could be biased against them and to whom the whole process might be unfamiliar and alien. Such groups of people, as Morris suggests could be for young black and working -class men or minorities.  [xxviii]  Finally, she pointed out that it is wrong to present womens experiences in the criminal justice system as a unitary experience. We know that black women are over-represented in our prisons. We need to be able to account for this.  [xxix]  In my personal opinion Morrison made a full disclosure of the reality; that minorities or black people or people of different social standards, could also be treated unfairly in court or could be subject to discriminatory wrongs. She made a very strong argument which did take into account and tried to defend other social and powerless groups and not only women, something that Heidensoh n failed to do. Moreover, that could be the basis for other perceptions that Heidensohn provided. This is the one of economic rationality or that of stigma. Consequently it is not only women who can be motivated by the economic needs to commit a crime; people of a lower class can commit crimes as a result of poverty; or it is not only women who fear the idea of being stigmatised by their offences. Carlen Pat also argued at this part that this stance could cause race or class conflicts. Finally, in general Carlen suggested that no feminism theory could offer aetiologies to three major issues concerning female delinquency; that womens crimes are in the main, the crimes of the powerless; that women in prison are disproportionately from ethic minority groups; and that a majority of women in prison have been in poverty for the greater part of their lives.  [xxx]   Synoptically, Frances Heidensohns contribution to criminology was enormous in relation to female offenders. It could be said as having two sides of a coin. Her research in conjunction with that of other feminist criminologists illuminated the path towards the understanding of the female deviance. However, even though they shed some light on it there are still some dark aspects. As Frances Heidensohn pointed out, the study of female deviance has still a long way to go. The most crucial drawback that I can identify in her work was the lack of consideration of other factors that could play a valid role in the field of understanding crime such as race, class, nationality, age and other social characteristics rather than only focusing on gender dimensions and giving privileges only to women.

Capital Punishment Must Be Put To Death Essay -- Capital Punishment, De

Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, has been around for centuries. Like all elements of modern society, the death penalty has evolved over the course of many years. Initially, the death penalty was administered by a royal court or monarchy through brutal stoning. Since then, the guillotine, noose, electric chair, and [currently] lethal injection have all been tools created to administer the death penalty here in the United States. Before the act of actually ending the criminal’s life is performed he or she waits on death row during the course of any court proceedings. In America, death row is the term given to the section of a prison reserved for inmates awaiting trial concerning the death penalty. The term â€Å"death row† is figurative. Due to extensive court proceedings, individuals on death row may await trial or sentencing for months or years. There is no way to determine how long an inmate will stay on death row. However, research has shown that extensive periods of time on death row lowers inmates’ mental capacities and capabilities, and deteriorates their physical health at alarming rates. Inmates on death row have no one to comfort them, to care for them, or to visit them. Jack Alderman is the longest serving death row American prisoner with over thirty-three years prior to his execution. In the state of Georgia on September 16, 2008 Alderman was executed by lethal injection. He was convicted for his part in the murder of his wife Barbara Alderman. Although the â€Å"U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional† (Swarns 1 of 3), the issue has gone back to trial and reinstated. The death penalty is legal rhetoric that is based on heightened emotions and revenge. The â€Å"justice† system that determin... ... Works Cited Hawkins, Steven W. â€Å"It is Immoral and Ineffective†. World and I Sept. 2002: 247 General OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. â€Å"Death Penalty is violation of human Rights: L:aws are not Meant to Punish Anyone but to Bring Change.† DNA (Daily News and Analysis). 11 Oct. 2009. General OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2011 Lafevere, Patricia. â€Å"Group Urges Legislator to Scrap Death Penalty. (Nation)†. National Catholic Reporter 28 Dec. 2001 General OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. Swarns, Christina. â€Å"The Uneven Scale of Capital Justice: How Race and Class Affect Who Ends Up on Death Row†. The American Prospect. 15.7 (2004): A14+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2011 â€Å"Top 10 Pros and Cons: Should the Death Penalty be Allowed?† deathpenalty.procon.org N.p. n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2011

The Importance of Vaccinations for Children

India Tuggle Mr. Stewart ENG 101-A18 Project 5 December 10, 2012 The Importance of Vaccinations for Children Since Edward Jenner introduced the first vaccine, a vaccination against smallpox, in 1778 (Allen, 48) the world has been a bit skeptical. The concept of inoculation is counter-intuitive—what sense does it make to inject a healthy person with the very virus they’re trying to prevent he or she from contracting? The very idea of it seems dangerous, even reckless. The issue with this uneasy feeling about the safety and sense of vaccinations is ignorance.We do not fully understand our own body’s immune systems; therefore we cannot fully understand how vaccinations work. Many people are under the impression that extremely harmful diseases are, for the most part, wiped out or incredibly rare. They may not see the reason for immunizing themselves or their children. But the truth of the matter is that these incredibly harmful, even deadly diseases are very much pre valent in today’s world. People come into contact with these infectious viruses on a daily basis; it is only our immune systems that keep the infections at bay.And our immune systems can only fight off these diseases through the use of vaccinations. There is a growing percentage of the population that is choosing against vaccinating their children. These parents against child inoculation have various reasons for opting not to vaccinate, including health concerns, cost of medical treatment, religious or philosophical beliefs, or their place of residence. Large portions of the anti-immunization population see vaccines as being unsafe.There have been countless claims that vaccines are dangerous and cause brain damage, mental retardation, and even arrested physical development. Some radical anti-vaccination activists assert that parents would be better off to not even vaccinate their children at all. One of the biggest controversies against vaccines is that the MMR (measles, mump s, and rubella) vaccine is supposedly linked to autism, a developmental disorder of the brain in which parts of the brain are damaged or do not develop properly.Autism is an incurable condition marked by an array of symptoms including difficulty understanding and using language, problems socializing and communicating with other people, inability to cope with changes in routine, repetitive body movements or behavioral patterns, and uncommon reactions to loud noises. Since autism’s recognition as a disease in 1943 (Allen, 371) there is still very little known about its causes. We have now found that autism is a congenital (being present at birth) disorder, but for whatever reason normally seems to become noticeable between the ages of 1 and 2.This is around the same time that children begin receiving MMR vaccines. The vaccination and autism seem to be related, but are merely a coincidence. In 2001 the World Health Organization released a statement supporting the use of MMR vacc ine. It said, â€Å"WHO strongly endorses the use of MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficiency†¦There has been no new scientific evidence that would suggest impaired safety of MMR.On the contrary, all results from vaccine trials published reaffirm the high safety of MMR vaccine. † (Saffer, 93. ) It is true that vaccines are not completely risk free nor 100% effective, but there has been a consistent decline of childhood disease related deaths since vaccinations were put into routine use (Saffer, 10. ) Certain vaccines can cause side effects such as fever, rash, diarrhea, and aches and pains. Some more severe side effects include serious allergic reactions, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and seizures.These are extremely rare conditions and occur in about 1 out of one million doses (Link, 60. ) Today’s new parents know little of the diseases these vaccines are protecting against. They view the rare side effects as being an u nacceptable risk but have no experience with the devastating reality of the actual disease. Today in a mostly immunized population, some parents may choose to avoid these risks by opting not to inoculate their children.They see that this way, with most of the population being protected, that their child will not contract the disease because they are unlikely to come into contact with an infected person and do not have to worry about the potential side effects of the vaccinations. This concept is called herd immunity. An example of the problem with this aspect of protection is that children under the age of 1 cannot receive the MMR vaccine. There is not a serious danger of them being infected by these iruses before this age because the people surrounding them have created a barrier between the child and the disease because they have been vaccinated and therefore cannot infect others. However, if an unimmunized individual comes into the population they create a hole in the barrier aga inst infection. This unimmunized person is now a susceptible dwelling where the disease can grow and replicate, and therefore infect others who have not yet been vaccinated or who have fallen slightly behind their immunization schedule.Since it is not only infants and toddlers that are at risk of contracting these viruses, all 50 states have employed requirements for children to be vaccinated upon entering the public school system. However, according â€Å"School Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, and Legal Perspectives,† all 50 states accept some form of exemption from these requirements (5. ) Many parents against these vaccination requirements argue that it is a violation of their parental rights. They believe that they should decide what form of medical care their child receives.Parents should have say-so over most aspects of their child’s health care. But what these parents are not realizing is that by choosing not to inoculate their children, they are p utting so many other children at risk. The issue of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children is very severe. However only a small percentage of the population are unimmunized, if any of them come into contact with not yet vaccinated children or children behind on their booster shots they put them at risk of contracting these terrifying diseases.As for the aforementioned measles virus, according to a report from the Oregon Dept. of Human Services, â€Å"Measles is so contagious that two to three minutes spent in an ER or doctor’s office waiting room may be sufficient to infect people who pass through the same room hours later. † (Saffer, 8. ) If the MMR vaccine cannot be administered until the age of 1 and any unvaccinated, possibly infected individual comes into even remote contact with this young child, think of what potential harm they are in. As a parent, thinking about any potential harm to your child is unbearable.It is understandable why when hearing abou t the more severe of side effects from certain vaccines many people are frightened. What parents have to remember and focus on are the statistics of the occurrences of these harmful side effects. Vaccines have been proven to be both safe and effective and have now been in routine use for over 200 years. And there has been a consistent decline in the rate of child disease related deaths since the introduction of vaccines. And as a parent, they should understand that it is in no way acceptable to place another child in harm’s way.It can also be unnerving for a parent to hear that they are forced to have certain medications administered to their children. What they must keep in mind is the wide array of diseases and viruses this medication is protecting their child against. Works Cited Allen, Arthur. Vaccine. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. , 2007. Print Diekema, Douglas S. M. D. â€Å"Responding to Parental Refusals of Immunization of Children. † Pediatrics: Offic ial Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics 115. 5 (2005): 1428-1431.JSTOR. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Hodge, James G. Jr. , and Lawrence O. Gostin. â€Å"School Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, and Legal Perspectives. † Kentucky Law Journal 15, Feb. 2002: 1-72. JSTOR. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Link, Kurt, M. D. The Vaccine Controversy. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. 2005. Print. Saffer, Barbara. Diseases and Disorders: Measles and Rubella. Detroit: Thomson Gale. 2006. Print. â€Å"Your Health. Your Family. Your Choice. † National Vaccine Information Center. NVIC. n. d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Academic skills Essay

Academic skills are also very much emphasised in Singapore’s educational policy as our government values meritocracy. Achieving academic excellence is top priority for all school children in Singapore. Hence, many parents are still not in favour of a play-centred curriculum, as they fear this will not help their children to achieve academic success. With ranking of schools’ performance and learning outcomes; teachers and parents are compelled to neglect play in favour of more â€Å"school-like† activities. Similar to the American context as mentioned earlier, Singaporean parents send their children to many enrichment activities to help them to be outstanding in academic studies as well as extra-curricular activities such as music and golf lessons. As a result, children are much deprived of free play. Many children have not acquired the art of making friends and even the ability to make friendly contacts (Tan et al, 1997) The foregoing examples demonstrate that parental perspectives, socio-economic status, cultural factors, and educational policies are some issues that could negate the value and importance of play to children’s development and be viewed as having no â€Å"real educational experiences† (Leong & Bodrova, 2003, pp. 5). On the contrary, Hughes (1999, p. 109) advises that play is very often the context in which the needs of a growing child are developed and enhanced. It is vital to the development of all facets of the young child – personal awareness, emotional well-being, socialisation, communication, cognition, and perceptual motor skills (Hughes, 1999, p. 62-64, 68-69, 81-109 – 111). There are numerous play processes that help develop these many facets in the young child. Infant games such as peek-a-boo, making funny faces in front of a mirror, and water play in bathtub promote adult-child relationship. Playing also encourages and strengthens awareness of self and others; thus, it facilitates the development of a child’s image of himself and others. Indeed, they are not meaningless play especially when adults play with children, the latter will find adults more fun to be with; it is easier to form attachment that leads to securely attached children. Secure attachment is vital to the growing child: it gives him trust and confidence in his environment; it enables him to venture, explore, and learn about his surroundings (Hughes, 1999, p. 196-197, Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2001, p. 77-79). Therefore, open-ended materials such as blocks enable the child to exercise spatial awareness concepts, perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination as well as pretend play and creative imagination (Van Hoorn & Nourot, p.255-256). Children use mathematical skills and science concepts and ideas to further expand their creativity in their construction with blocks; they will add details and complex structures to their block play (Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997, pp. 275-277). Children make use of their bodies and motor skills to move and stack up blocks that is beneficial to their physical development and strategic planning. Much creativity, divergent thinking, and cognitive skills are developed as children engage in pretend play. Thus, children should not be viewed as â€Å"just playing†. Their minds and thoughts are actively involved as they prepare their own scripts and collaborate to direct their play. They plan, negotiate roles and actions, agree and remind each other about the rules they have made. During pretend play, children get to practise their social skills. For instance, when children are unable to agree to play hospital or grocery store, they compromise by combining both. Hence, children play and learn to problem solve (Leong et al, Mar 2003, Rogers et al, 1998).