https://www.echeat.com/ Introduction Over the recent years, the use of social media has grown to become one of the most popular activities among teenagers. While there are various social media networks, Facebook stands as the most used social site by teenagers between 13-17 years old in the United States (Ba´nyai et al. 1). A recent report indicated that 71 percent of adolescents using social media have access to at least two social networking platforms and 24 percent of teenagers are continuously online owing to the pervasiveness of the usage and increased number of smartphones (Ba´nyai et al. 1). The heavy involvement of teenagers on social networking avenues has a significant influence on their behavior as it tends to be shaped by the content they are subjected to in social network platforms. While social media is attributed to improving connectivity and the sharing of information among teenagers, it has also caused significant negative effects among adolescents such as low self-esteem, shaped a negative attitude towards obese persons, social contrasting and envy, lower mindfulness, depression, cyberbullying, social isolation, and poor social skills among others. Definition and Description of Social Media Understanding the meaning of social media is particularly important in the discussion of its effects on teenagers. Different persons variously define social media. However, this paper will have a specific definition of social media for purposes of uniformity. As such, social media refers to applications, which enable individuals to hold interactions with others and establish social connections that enhance social capital (Huang 9). Commonly known avenues of social media entail Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Polyvore, and Myspace (Heinemann and Gaiser 13). The social medium enables individuals to set up a profile within the site, which may involve a personal picture, avatar, email address, screen name, symbol, or other depiction (Brunty and Helenek 1). Once created, a profile provides users with a specific and unique identification that facilitates other persons to identify and distinguish one individual from the others within the system. Moreover, the profile created enables social media users to find and connect with other members on the social network. Some of the other members within the site involve friends or acquaintances from the real world to individuals whom the user meets in the site. Upon the users’ connection with others on the site, he or she is not only able to see his or her connections made through the site but also connections, 2019-02-20T04:18:55.6-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-Media-and-its-Effects-on-Teenagers-45478.aspx Resolving Ethical Dilemmas Dilemmas are the instances and situations where one has to choose between two or more options that are conflicting and have moral and ethical implications. There are many dilemmas in society. For instance, people have different definitions of what is right and wrong. These differences lead to conflicting views on various issues in society. One such issue is abortion. Abortion is a controversial subject in most societies. A section of people believes that abortion is wrong as everyone, including the unborn, have a right to life. Other people also take the stand that a mother has the right to choose whether to have a child or not. Such people claim that by dictating whether one should have an abortion or not, the law interferes with individual privacy. The paper discusses abortion as a contentious issue in the United States. The Fundamentals of the Policy Described in the Article The article describes an abortion issue involving a 17-year-old teenager (North, n.d.). The teenager was an immigrant and had applied to have the abortion since she could not sustain the pregnancy. Before then, there had been changes to the abortion laws relating to immigrant minors. Such laws required the minors to seek permission. The minor had sought permission and was waiting for the determination of the case. However, the government was determined to prevent her from having the abortion. A District judge ordered the government to allow the minor to have her abortion (North, n.d.). In return, the government appealed and got an order allowing them to delay the abortion even longer. Judge Kavanaugh who has since become a president appointee gave the delay order (Gerstein, n.d.). There were numerous concerns about his appointment to the Supreme Court. Many were worried about the fate of abortion cases. In his ruling, he had indicated that the Director of the refugees had the right to block an immigrant minor from obtaining an abortion. The dilemma, therefore, involves the right of minors to obtain an abortion. Certain groups and individuals maintain that before a pregnancy reaches a certain age, a mother has all the rights to terminate it should she wish to do so. Such a choice would thus be a personal choice. However, there are people with a contrary opinion. These claim that the government has the right to delay or even block some people from obtaining an abortion. According to Reamer, there 2018-11-19T03:14:28.55-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Resolving-Ethical-Dilemmas-45460.aspx Assertiveness Activity Author Institution Sometimes, individuals usually experience situations, which make it difficult to say no. At times, saying no to a friend or someone close may bring some guilt, but it is always to look for a 2018-05-21T03:58:15.943-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Assertiveness-Activity-45440.aspx To Ms. Thrifty The Supervisor, CC. Members of the Department Having participated in the course for just a month, I am confident it is worth the department’s investment. I am halfway through the assigned lessons and it has already made an impact in my life. The first section of COMM 1103 emphasizes the need for having effective communication models in institutions. Given the numerous business conversations that take place within our department, I would recommend adoption of some of the proposed measures for ensuring improved productivity. In this email, I will be recommending five major writing tips that can be embraced to reform our company’s business communication approaches. Tip 1: Knowing the Audience It might seem obvious but knowing the person a message is intended for is very beneficial and may offer adequate results. For instance, while communicating with members of the senior management, one should be respectful and clearly state the intention of the message. Some other factors to consider regarding the audience include age, level of education, and his/her familiarity with the topic of discussion. The writing should also be addressed to the target audience. The audience may be a group of workers or specific persons. Tip 2: Avoiding the use of Company’s Buzzwords and Acronyms This practice is common with some members of our department. I have found myself using them at some points of my emails while addressing some of my closest friends in the office. However, I have come to realize that they might be offending to the audience even if they don’t say it. Using a simple grammar is particularly a good practice while addressing anyone within the department. Tip 3: Utilization of the Prime Questions Even before one starts writing a letter, email, or other notifications its good practice to reflect on their purpose. Asking ourselves what we want the reader to know and the expected responses may help us come with good letters, emails, memos, or other types of written messages. Identifying the reader is also a reliable step at this point. Tip 4: Drafting Ideas It’s good to draft the message and reflect on whether it meets all the requirements. As a result, one is able to add more content and exclude less important points addressed in the material. This approach also helps ensure that every sentence in the piece of writing serves the general purpose. Tip 5: 2018-02-20T03:02:14.143-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Letter-45418.aspx Marx, Ehrenreich, and Fuentes’ Description of Labor Name Institution Marx, Ehrenreich, and Fuentes’ Description of 2017-08-24T06:30:42.903-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Marx,-Ehrenreich,-and-Fuentes’-Description-of-Labor-45366.aspx Social structure and crime Student’s name Instructor Institution Date Introduction There are factors in the society that play a significant role in the occurrence of crime or discrimination. Durkheim and Merton use sociological concepts to explain the causes of immoralities. They provided explanations on how social structures control the ability of an individual to engage in behaviors and activities that don’t conform to societal norms. Durkheim explains anomie using the difference in suicide rates across different religions (Nam, Parboteeah, Cullen & Johnson, 2014). He compared the differences between Protestants and Catholics, women and men, single and engaged people, and soldiers and civilians. Merton (1938) uses social structure and anomie to explain the origin of deviant behaviors in an individual. The two theorists have similarities in defining certain abnormalities in the society. This paper discusses what Merton draws from the concepts of Durkheim in explaining the contributions of social factors to deviant behaviors. Merton borrows a lot from Durkheim. The former understood the influence of social factors on deviant behaviors by comparing different groups of people. His main interest was the reason why rates of deviance vary across different societies and different subgroups within a given society. He explains that individuals in the low class don’t have the same opportunities people in the high-class have. The comparison is evident in the way Durkheim explains the role of social factors on suicide rates across different religions, sexes and so on (Durkheim & Thompson, 2004). The data from his study showed that there was a low suicide rate among the Catholics was a result of their social structures that are different from Protestants. Merton (1938) adopts a concept from Durkheim to analyze the situations in which the society creates deviance and disunity. Both employed anomie but using different terms. In Durkheim’s usage, anomie is the phenomenon where cultural norms deviate as a result of a sudden change (Durkheim & Thompson, 2004). He gave the example of anomic suicide, which increased when members of the society are not able to achieve goals they pursue. In the theory of social structure and anomie, Merton changes the concept slightly to the situation where there is no consistency between norms of society that defines success in life and the norms that describe the appropriate ways of achieving success. The variables that define success and ways of achieving success are goals and means respectively. Merton (1938) used anomie as an explanation for the deviant 2017-08-24T06:23:16.8-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-structure-and-crime-45365.aspx Name Institutional Affiliation The Analysis of Geertz Reliance on Thick Description In his essay, Geertz thoroughly offers an archetypal instance of interpretive approach. He comprehensively examines commonplace practices of gambling and gaming to create an account of prominence hierarchies and machismo in Bali (Geertz, 2008). However, he uses the analogy to explain how the humanity culture develops as an ensemble of texts that people find hard to read. In comprehending, how the essay relies on the thick description, it is imperative to highlight its meaning. The approach evaluates behavior that uses practices initially developed for examining literature (Selby, 2017). In this regard, the paper discusses the anthropological importance of Deep Play as occurring in The Balinese Cockfight as well as its parallelism to the thick description. The interpretive approach involves the infinitesimal analysis of a precise framework in a highly participatory manner. By using specific examples of gambling, Geertz manages in offering explanations on the social change of gaming as well as how numerous casual elements interrelate. Thus, for people to interpret a culture, they should first detach its components, identify internal linkages, and illustrate the system in a universal manner according to signs around which it exists. In fact, his reliance on thick description arises when he posits that his evaluation is not experimental but interpretive (Selby, 2017). The concept of “deep play” offers him a way of elucidating the representative dimensions of money and status as entrenched into the configurations of the Balinese cock fight. In this society, people risk honor, status, demonstration, and money for a game of cock fight (Geertz, 2008). However, considering the gains that one might attain, the stakes of the contest are high. Geertz’s reflections of the betting index the explanatory turn in anthropology, as they contain too much textualism. In fact, his use of details when he recounts the heart-throbbing pursuit, the cockfights, and the appearance of the police draws the reader into the community. The event of the cockfight helped Geertz transition from a stranger to a partaker and his comprehensive account makes the audiences feel as if they are active contributors in the performance. Moreover, it helps to establish a subjective authority, which means Geertz appears as knowledgeable in telling the story. According to the analogy, Bali people form a most interesting society based on a culture that they seem to seek to uphold through tooth and nail. Notes on the Balinese Cockfight offers critical insights 2017-08-24T06:11:17.14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Analysis-of-Geertz-Reliance-on-Thick-Description-45364.aspx Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation In what ways is The Sorcerer and His Magic an Example of Structural Anthropology? Structural anthropology is based on Claude Lévi-Strauss' notion that undisputable deep structures occur in all cultures. Thus, all cultural undertakings have homologous complements in other cultures, that is, all cultures are equitable. The Sorcerer and His Magic expresses many instances of structural anthropology including the reality of magic, having Kwaikutl believe in sorcery, having the notion that normal people view life as meaningless, and when Nambicuara magician made his community to have a belief in magic. The conviction which makes magic operational comes from structural anthropology. Magic is efficient because people get better by seeing the shaman. This belief is according to Levi-Strauss emanating from the practitioner-patient-relationship. Having the three parties believe that magic has been used in a certain case makes magic real. This is exemplified when Levi-Strauss indicates that one party failed to trust magic, but later believed in it. This was the Zuni boy who was blamed of conducting sorcery by his supposed victim. At first, he refuted the allegation, but due to pressure, he acknowledged and began to brag about his powers. The community, his victim, and him have an influence that his magic is real (Douglas, 2013). Hence, as per Levi-Strauss, magic is existent implying an undisputable deep structure in the culture. By having Kwaikutl believe in sorcery, The Sorcerer and His Magic is an example of structural anthropology. The community and the patients influenced Kwaikiutl to believe in magic, which is thought to be an undisputable system. He partook of learning the trickeries of sorcerers through apprenticeship. He was beckoned to heal, and was considered successful. He had desired to uncover sorcerers, but he started to trust that some of their practices were less fabricated than others. This happened after he met the neighboring shamans who were not able to release the bloody worm spat by Quesalid during the healing process. As such, Quesalid encountered two insufficient systems, that is, the one from his village, and the one from the other village. However, he discovered that one was more valid. Hence he went back to Kwaikiutl to compete with him pertaining the learned technique, and he succeeded. Consequently, Kwaikiutl begged Quesalid to teach him the trick. However, Kwaikiutl ended up performing his tricks, and confessed that he was fake and became mad (Levi-Strauss, 2014). Quesalid persisted with his career, and 2017-08-24T02:35:20.297-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/In-what-ways-is-The-Sorcerer-and-His-Magic-an-example-of-structural-anthropology-45363.aspx Name Affiliation Date How Rose uses the Genealogical Approach Genealogy usually looks at the transformation of the historical events associated with a certain concept and the knowledge and philosophical assumptions that have been incorporated. Hence, it compares the past and the present while seeking the rationality that people should adopt in analyzing certain issues such as the sexuality and democracy. Governing “Advanced” Liberal Democracies by Nikolas Rose analyzes how liberalism has changed over the years and its benefits to the electorates. This essay will reveal how Rose uses genealogy in showing the history of the liberal rule, showing the relationships between knowledge, politics and the human subjects as well as the power dynamics in the society. Rose (1996) relies on genealogy to discuss the limits of power in politics and how the society can make the changes in making the relations more productive. In particular, the insights reveal how power has been associated with authority and politics. For instance, the political institutions believe that they are the ones that retain the responsibility of determining various tasks that should be undertaken in the society (Dean, 2002). However, they have ignored the non-political bodies that also have the ability to identify how certain activities should be done. In this case, Rose (1996) uses genealogy in discussing the limits that have confined the society into believing that they are powerless. The reading also highlights that the political forces and the technical procedures do not retain the capacity to control the electorates. Instead, they also have the liberal or democratic duty of seeking what will benefit them in the long-run. Furthermore, Rose (1996) uses genealogy in looking at the conventional history of the liberal rule and how it relates to reason and rationality. In the process, Rose (1996) is able to highlight the three prepositions that reveal how the liberal rule has transformed over the years. For instance, he shows how the nineteen century had liberalism that focused on the philosophical assumptions that evaluated how people lived or even engaged in various economic activities. The analysis also shifts to the twentieth century where the political powers enhanced their expertise and expanded their authority over various institutions in the society (Rose, 1996). Lastly, he even talks about the advanced liberal rule shifting to the morals and treating the electorates with the equity needed (Rose, 1996). More importantly, genealogy is used in capturing the history while illustrating the reason that is 2017-08-24T02:16:33.207-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/-How-Rose-uses-the-Genealogical-Approach-45362.aspx Name Institutional Affiliation FOOD RELATED RESPONSE WRITING How Food Systems are affected by Climate Change, Cause & Effect Feedback Loop The food industry has experienced a significant change in structures over the years. Farming has been left to a few people who own large farms making the individuals very powerful and influential. The change in climate has compromised the food quality and which explains why there are many challenges to food safety consumed by people today. For example, animals are no longer fed on grass as their regular foods but on corn. Farmers resort to this to boost their yield and bring down the costs. The implication of this is that infectious forms and pathogens that are highly resilient to drugs like E-coli have come up. Also, antibiotics are extensively used in animal farming. These pathogens are effortlessly channeled to humans when they consume such products. Thus, it does affect their health negatively. Renewable, Renewable but exhaustible, or Non-renewable Foods Kenner highlights some foods whose quality are compromised in his movie. Renewables foods include food plants and animals that are growing. For example, the cow or plants like the corn. The moment the corn or animal’s genetic system are genetically modified, the no longer become renewable. Water is also categorized under renewable. Non-renewable foods include genetically modified beef, goat’s meat, and other animal meats. Thus, to the consumers, they are unhealthy foods, but to the manufacturers and producers, this is a profit making venture. Non-renewable foods can run out when used by consumers. Animals’ products are sometimes renewable but exhaustible. Their continuity is cut off after sometimes. Natural or Synthetic Foods Most foods in the industry are genetically engineered, but there are others that are not genetically engineered. The non-genetically engineered foods remain to be the natural foods. For example, the non-genetically engineered soya beans or other food plants are natural. Genetically engineered soya beans and trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup are synthetic foods presented to consumers. They are synthetic foods because their genetic components have been manipulated. The synthetic foods have formed the fast food nation. Tragedy of the commons in Food Inc. Draw a diagram to illustrate this. One of the major tragedies is the letdown of the United States Department of Agriculture to prevent the food plants that produce food products of low quality. Foods that have tested for E. coli has continuously been channeled to the 2017-06-14T00:48:09.88-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/FOOD-RELATED-RESPONSE-WRITING-45342.aspx Student Professor Course Date Men are Believed to be Bold in Difficulties Compared to Women Since back in the medieval period, men are believed to be capable handling difficult and stressing situations in life. In the past, men were primarily involved in war and hunting in dangerous places. The community tends to believe that men are powerful and less affected emotionally. As a result of misconceptions, numerous men have perished from depression due to cases such as post-traumatic disorders. The society discourages men from expressing their emotions publicly. The paper discusses the issue of gender over-expectations regarding men and ways of enabling men to express their emotions in the community without the fear of being disgraced. As discussed by Joan Morgan, hip-hop music is one way in which women and men relieve their stress, especially the African Americas (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle P. 535). As indicated by the following statement, “much content in the hip-hip music is about chemical dependence, substance abuse, and alcoholism," shows that singers composed their songs to console themselves out of depression. As exhibited by Morgan, hip-hop singers who are especially men tend to utilize words such as “hos and bitches” which is a sign of low self-esteem. For instances, the Africans Americans have experienced discrimination and grueling situations such as unjust killings and long jail terms (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle p. 534). Due to the limited advocacy to counsel and help men heal their current and past wounds, a majority have shifted to hip-hop songs, not to educate the mass, but to entertain and drive away their thoughts. According to the views of Morgan, due to the choice of words used in hip-hop music, many men who are African American rarely attain the maturity level (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle p. 534). Her statement is showed by the sentence that men’s expression in the music makes them appear less powerful, instead of confronting the evils affecting their community directly. The book shows that the community encourages men to utilize harsh methods including bloodshed to solve key issues. Moreover, the author exposes some of the regrets uttered by the black individuals who have been jailed for involving in violent activities. “Although I admit that the charges leveled against me are unfair, I believe I should not have paid with my life" statement shows that confrontation is a dangerous way of solving key 2017-06-02T02:33:24.54-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Men-are-Believed-to-be-Bold-in-Difficulties-Compared-to-Women-45338.aspx The Madeleine Theory Student’s name Institution Instructor Date Introduction The theory of culture care diversity and university propagated by Madeleine Leininger is my suitable choice basing on this week’s reading. Leininger, just like other researchers and scholars, had a keen interest in developing knowledge in the nursing 2017-05-05T03:07:36.273-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Madeleine-Theory-45322.aspx Human Resources Strategic Plan Name Course Instructor Date Human Resources Strategic Plan Organizations must plan effectively in the HR section in order to ensure that they do not only adhere to the demand and supply of labor but also to ensure that the workforce is in line with the operations and strategy of an organization (Bach and Edwards, 2013). In respect to the presented case study, a variety of actions should be taken in order to streamline the activities of the HR department in order to ensure that they serve in supporting the overall organization strategy. Research on current HR functions The first step will involve conducting research in order to understand the root cause of the current problems. This will involve an examination of the possible measures to put in place in order to ensure that the HR functions are supportive of the employees as opposed to serving as barriers for employees from achieving the organizational goals. According to Gashi (2013), research should serve in addressing the way HR functions would further serve in supporting employees’ needs in order to eliminate disengagement at the place of work. Where employees’ needs are balanced in the place of work, it leads to increased productivity as employees are motivated to work. Goal setting and strategic planning Planning is crucial in the HR department in that it enables in selecting the best employees that will enable in achieving the vision and mission of an organization (McGuire et al., 2012). Before coming up with an HR strategic plan, the HR must set specific goals they intend the workforce to achieve and are in line with overall organizational goals. Development of core competency It comprises of a set of skills as well as knowledge essential in enabling the organization to achieve a competitive advantage (Martocchio, 2015). It is equally important in enabling value creation to the customers. Centralizing HR This will enable in defining roles and tasks of individuals running the HR department in order to avoid confusion (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2016). Considering that the HR is involved in various processes that impact on the overall workforce, centralization is imperative in ensuring that specific tasks are assigned to specific individuals that are responsible and accountable to such tasks. Furthermore, by centralizing the HR, it will become easier to identify the necessary skills required in the organization’s workforce and recruit to fill such positions. Review possible need for downsizing Currently, the organization is in need of 2017-04-26T03:36:58.07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Human-Resources-Strategic-Plan-45317.aspx The Manobolandia: Discourse of its Ethno-History and Extent of Dev. Interventions. The paper delves with: 1. The Tribal History before colonization; 2. The tribal history of colonization; 3. The tribal history after second world war; 4. The tribal history after liberation 5. The tribal history of martial law; 6. The educational services of the Phil. state; 7. The creation of agricultural school; 8. The rich ancestral domains and the majority Bisaya used; 9. The site situation; 10. Community development interventions; 11. Construct of socio-cultural views; 12. The tribal institutions; 13. The oral literature; 14. The ethnography; 15. The Peace and order situation during martial law; 16. The need of tribal school 17The mandate of NCIP 18. The ancestral domains; 19. The tribal identity; 20. The future. The paper delves in the discussion of the ethno history of the Manobo’s in Surigao del Sur, Philippines. It covers in the dialogue of their world views, oral tradition/narratives, topography of their earliest settlements, indigenous religious ceremonies and rituals, socio-cultural change and drivers of cultural transition. The ethnographic method was used. Free, Prior and Informed consent was secured in the Manobo communities. Among the most potent drivers of cultural transitions of the Manobo’s were the introduction of tertiary education in the heart of the Manobolandia (Manoboland) in Carromata San Miguel Surigao del Sur which provided quality and affordable higher education to the Manobo’s, the opening of lumber and mining companies in the sites, the passage of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples The act of 1997 made them aware of their rights such their ownership of the ancestral domains claims. Movement for the preservation of their cultural institutions as part of Philippine traditions/cultural inheritance and for posterity had been instituted by various Philippine agencies.References Cited/Bibliography: 1. Almeda, Fernando A. “Surigao Across the years.”Heritage Publishing House, Quezon City, Philippines.1993. 2. Azarcon, Gelbert “Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and (ADSDPP) of Indigenous Peoples of San Miguel). San Miguel, Surigao del Sur Philippines, 2009. 3 Beyer, Otley H., “The Negritoes and the Aboriginal Peoples of the Philippines “, Manila, Philippines, 1917. 4. Burton, Linda .”Manobo Religion and Rituals “, Kinaadaman, Vol.111, No.1, Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, 1985. 5. Caynap, Dianalyn S. et.al. “Tud-om of the San Miguel Mnobos”BA English Language Thesis. Surigao del Sur State University, Tandag City, Philippines, 2009. 6. Cole, Fay –Cooper. The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Field Museum of Natural History Publication # 170. Anthropological Series XII, 1913. 7. Eleazar, Eulogio V. “Cantilan in 1571-1899: A History of a Town in Surigao del Sur” Cantilan, Surigao Del Sur, Philippines, 1985. 8. Garvan, John M. “The Manobos of Mindanao “.Memoirs of the National Academy Government Printing Office, Washington 2017-04-24T12:23:54.907-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Manobolandia-Discourse-of-its-Ethno-History-and-Extent-of-Dev_-Interventions-45314.aspx Social Change Blog Name Institutional Affiliations Social Change Blog Bandiera and Natraj, (2013) note that whenever we talk about gender, the topic of equity does not acquire the attention it demands. Women have been consistently underserved throughout the human history and although much has changed, there remains much to be addressed (In Givens et al., 2014). The feminist movement has been critical in the awakening of the society, particularly through the spread of awareness concerning equity and rights (Hooks, 2014). Therefore, at this juncture, it is important to acknowledge the role that psychology has played in the feminist movement as per Hooks’ (2015) perspectives in the book Feminism is for Everybody. One of the key roles played by psychologists is the enhancement of self-recognition measures through the affirmation of the position of women in the society (Bandiera & Natraj, 2013). Additionally, the authors also claim that assessing the contribution of emotion and the general nature of women to the prevailing social condition is possible through the integration of psychology. In Givens et al., (2014) clearly highlight that Violence is also broadly considered as a faction of feminist psychology where feminists have showed the tendency to dispute the family structure as long as domestic violence exists. According to Bandiera and Natraj (2013), it is regrettable that the modern society has not embraced differences in ethnicity and that such differences further undermine the well-being of women in the society. The author also points out that African-American women have been the most notable recipients of gender oppression that has been exaggerated by the relationship between ethnic groups. Ideally, Hooks (2015) asserts that there are different metrics and indicators of gender equity that include life expectancy disparity, political empowerment, access to education, and distribution of opportunity. Therefore, gender inequality should remain a priority to every person, particularly because it affects the entire population as per In Given et al. (2014) views. Moreover, some of the actions committed against women such as rape, physical violence, and murder are beyond the denial of the basic human rights in agreement with the above authors’ points of view. Although women 2017-04-24T04:25:17.017-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/--Social-Change-Blog-45313.aspx Smoking: Target Market Teens Canada Name: Date: Smoking: Target Market Teens Canada Customers are vital to the success of any business. Consequently, existing firms looks at ways of retaining customers while new businesses develop unique approaches to attract clients. Usually, the number of consumers who use a service or a product determines the market share of a firm. In addition, it translates to the level of revenues received by the enterprises. Naturally, firms do market research to identify gaps in the market that are not met by the existing products. The new goods or services are therefore, designed to fill the gaps (Hiilamo, Crosbie & Glantz, 2014). For any new product, wrestling market share from the existing product or business may not be easy. Therefore, each product is designed to serve a target market. Simply, a target market is the potential customers. The paper will discuss marketing strategies that can increase the number of cigarette sales among the teens in Canada. The study shows most people start smoking at teenage. Consequently, tobacco companies in Canada are developing marketing plans intended to hook this group. Typically, the adult smokers are dying because of age and other health issues, the only way to keep tobacco companies up and running is to encourage teens to smoke (Hiilamo, Crosbie & Glantz, 2014). The effects of smoking on the health of an individual are known, and governments across the globe are developing regulations to combat tobacco use. Therefore, tobacco companies have to develop market plans that win the mind and hearts of potential smokers and the regulators. Advertising Plan The legal smoking age in Canada is 18 to 19 years. Therefore, the target market for the product is the high school and college students. Research show many teens who smoke in Canada think smoking is stylish. In addition, the challenge facing the cigarette market in Canada is the dwindling number of smokers due to age and health related issues. The strength of the market is the higher rates of teen smokers compared to other Western societies. Simply, the market for the cigarettes in Canada is growing at higher rates than other western countries (Hiilamo, Crosbie & Glantz, 2014). The threat to the market is the contraband from the United States that constitutes almost a third of the market share. The other threat is the government imposition of taxes, which is making Canadian cigarettes too expensive and attracting dealers in contrabands. Canadian 2017-04-22T04:08:04.32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Smoking-Target-Market-Teens-Canada-45311.aspx Name: Institutional Affiliation: Tutor: Date: Hero A hero is an individual who in the opinion of others, has exceptional achievements, abilities or personal qualities, and is considered as a role model. A hero is a genuine person who cares for the well-being and prosperity of others without seeking for fame. Someone who goes beyond societal norms and expectations. Heroes are important because they give people something to aspire for, provide hope and meaning to people’s lives. In the movie “Truman Show” the leading actor-Truman Burbank in the film is the hero. Truman Burbank is a 29-year-old, insurance salesman, who lives in a prosperous town called Seahaven, which is located on an island, probably off the coast of Florida. Truman is a sincere and kind person who begins to suspect that there is something strange going on in his life. He gradually learns the truth that he has been his entire life has been filmed for a television show that is broadcasted 24 hours daily. All the people he knows are professional actors who are paid to be part of his life. Discussed below are reasons why Truman Burbank is the hero in the movie “Truman show. “ Truman is a courageous individual. He has a phobia of water. This fear started when Truman was young. When he was young, he witnessed his father drown in a storm. As a consequence, he developed paranoia for traveling in water. The producer of the movie wanted Truman never to leave the island. Eventually, Truman becomes determined to leave the island. He had never left the island before. He is willing to go and look for the girl she once loved. Despite the producer manipulating the weather conditions to the extreme, Truman is not frightened to continue with his mission of leaving the island. Truman is dedicated and trustworthy. At work, Truman appears dedicated and honest, although he is “secretly” trying to create a picture of his lost love, Laureen, from models in magazine ads. Even though many years had gone since he last saw the girl she loved, he was still determined to look for her. In another instance, every means of transport was blocked. Cars, buses, and boats were no allowed to leave the island. Truman, because of his determination, seek different alternative of escaping from the island. At this point, Truman’s past comes back to him, and reminds him why it’s so difficult to 2017-02-24T01:30:58.85-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-hero-is-an-individual-who-in-the-opinion-of-others,-has-exceptional-achievements,-abilities-or-personal-qualities,-and-is-considered-as-a-role-model_-45289.aspx Elderly Abuse Introduction A. The old experience varying forms of abuse by their families and caretakers because of their venerability due to old age or deteriorating mental and physical health. B. The old depend on other people for activities of daily life. Main points A. The main forms of abuse include physical, financial, and mental abuse and neglect. B. Identifying risk factors and warning signs are essential in developing preventive strategies. Topic A. Physical abuse is the most prevalent in all community, which involves hitting, spanking, burning, restraint and imprisonment, as well as sexual assult. B. Financial abuse has evolved into an important issue. It is perpetrated by member of the family, caregiver, institutions or strangers through financial exploitation or using resources to control the individual. C. Emotional or mental abuse involves senior citizens being humiliated, ridiculed, blamed or molested. D. Neglect entails being deprived essential goods and services such as food, medical care, clothing, and other necessary commodities. E. Incidences of abuse can be detected through; a. Identification of signs of physical abuse. b. Changes in behavior or personality. c. Large bank withdrawals and unnecessary spending. d. Visible signs of neglect such as poor hygiene, malnutrition, unsafe living environment and lack of proper medication Nursing Implications A. Result in premature mortality due to reduced functional ability and worsening of physical and mental health. B. Reporting of identified or suspected incidences to the relevant authorities is critical for nurses. C. Training and awareness among health care professionals can have huge impacts on elderly protection. D. Community service nurses have a greater responsibility in promoting patient welfare. E. Nurses have a role in identification of risk factors and development of appropriate countermeasures and strategies. Conclusion A. Elderly abuse remains an important social and health issue in the modern society. B. A huge percentage of elders are at risk of abuse. C. Nurses and other medical workers have a huge responsibility in protecting the welfare of elderly patients. Abuse Name Course Instructor Date Abuse In all societies, the old experience varying forms of abuse by their families and caretakers. This is mainly caused by their venerability due to old age or deteriorating mental and physical health. The fact that they depend on help from others in activities of daily life increases the risks. Some of the main common types of abuses include physical, financial and mental abuse as well as neglect. There are several ways through which incidences of elderly mistreatment can be dealt with. This is mainly through identification of the warning signs. Identifying risk factors and consequences is critical in developing strategies that protect the 2017-01-05T22:47:36.963-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Elderly-Abuse-35265.aspx SOCIOLOGY: THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY Student name Institutional affiliation Sociology: The Role of Religion in Society It is well understood that religion serves the purpose of giving people a sense of responsibility to a greater being or power, the creator, and ruler of all life forms, or rather the Supreme Being. From this perspective, it is evident for one to see that religion serves the purpose of promotion of human morality and other associated norms of acceptable social behavior. The principles of morality in existence, and which traverse the core ideologies of most religions include but are not limited to righteousness, justice, kindness, honesty, tolerance, brotherhood, and equality. These principles are also known as virtues, which serve the purpose of ensuring human beings live happy and fulfilling lives (Davie, 2013). Several people have come up with different theories on religion. To further look at the subject matter of the role of religion in society, this paper will review a few of those theories. More specifically, the theories or viewpoints of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim will be considered for this discussion. According to Durkheim, religion poses as a system of beliefs, norms, and practices that are unified and about sacred things. These beliefs unite people to form a moral community such as the church for instance. Weber on the other hand credits religion for serving to shape the worldviews of individuals. In some way, Weber observes religion as a system of beliefs that fills the gap of intelligence of the unknown. The unknown in this case refers to matters like the origin of life, what happens to the spirits of people after death and the origin of the universe among other things. These beliefs, which fill an ideological vacuum, are responsible for the convictions that religious people experience. Then again, Marx’s theory of religion sees religion as a sanctuary where people can be relieved from the harshness of life, as they know it. The renowned scholar even once termed religion as “opium of the people” (Davie, 2013). As such, and according to Marx, religion implores people to accept the true realities of difficulties and challenges in life with hope for happiness and rewards from the Devine. Aside from the postulations of the theorists, it is safe to say that the role of religion has experienced some changes over time. During the medieval times, religion played roles in determining approaches to governance and 2016-11-02T08:09:33.507-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/the-role-of-religion-in-society-35239.aspx Motivos, finalidades y causas de las consultas en cartomancia Palabras clave: cartomancia, tarot, arcanos, oráculo, consulta, tirada, consultante, cartomante, tarotista, insatisfacción, malestar, incertidumbre. Fecha: Año 2016. Santiago de Chile. Autor: Ismael Berroeta, diplomado en Estudios Holísticos, Academia Syncronia; diplomado en la Univ. de Louvain (Louvain-la–neuve); ingeniero agrónomo de la Univ. de Chile. Título original: Somos Sufridos. Por qué consultamos el Tarot. Investigación empírica. Extensión: 165 p. tamaño carta. Anexos: El original incluye anexos con 42 gráficos, 20 cuadros estadísticos y descripción de decenas de casos. Edición in extenso en la WEB: www.academia.edu; es.scribd.com/; http://www.4shared.com; http://es.slideshare.net/; http://myslide.es/; issuu.com. Resumen: El estudio comienza por presentar una descripción sumaria del mazo cartomántico conocido con la denominación de tarot, esquematiza los contenidos gráficos de una carta en general, describe los usos dados a esta baraja desde el punto de vista ilustrado y erudito, para luego explicar que, siendo un instrumento simbólico, es posible “traducir” sus significados o mensajes tal como se puede leer o traducir cualquier idioma. En el capítulo segundo se recuerda que una de las principales motivaciones para recurrir a este instrumento es la demanda de las personas por saber la verdad mediante una guía alternativa, dado que son insuficientes la información y los recursos mentales o lógicos para obtener respuesta. Se hace referencia a la antigüedad de las mancias así como a la puesta en duda de su verdad, también desde tiempo inmemorial. Se reconoce el aporte de C. G. Jung en realizar un estudio sistemático de algunas mancias, entre ellas el tarot, y de atribuir un mecanismo psíquico para explicar en parte su funcionamiento. Luego, el estudio –con la misión de aportar un nuevo enfoque al uso de la cartomancia- declara que se tuvo en cuenta un total de 911 casos de consulta oracular, de los cuales se escogieron 752, por entender que respondían culturalmente a un universo que compartía cierta homogeneidad y se consideraba representativo de la sociedad chilena (años 2005-2012). Las consultas fueron recibidas en una casilla electrónica y fueron respondidas por el mismo medio, compartiendo las condiciones de anonimato, de gratuidad y de responsabilidad (pues se envió respuesta respaldada por escrito). La entrega de los datos personales por los consultantes fue completamente voluntaria. La información sistematizada y procesada permitió describir las características de la población o universo, sus sexos, opciones de género, edades, actividades (71 actividades específicas y 11 grupos ocupacionales), estado civil y la correlación de éste con el sexo y la relación de pareja real, así como el grado de fidelidad/infidelidad en las relaciones. Las preguntas recibidas permitieron agrupar los motivos o temas principales que impulsaron a los consultantes, reconociéndose un total 2016-06-16T15:15:43.287-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Motivos-finalidades-y-causas-de-las-consultas-en-cartomancia-35203.aspx Gender changes has become a well debated issue in the last two to three decades as it has impacted the customary happenings of the world. The researcher plans to specifically touch on the impact it has had on the males and children of Southfield, St. Elizabeth. Gender, as a social construct, became popular during the 1960’s and 70’s and refers to a set of qualities and behaviours expected from males and females by society, that is, those differences which are socially constructed and subject to change. Almost all feminists agree that “gender” is socially constructed. This means that gender roles are learnt rather than determined by biology, and the most significant institution where we are socialised into our appropriate roles and norms of behaviour is the family. Weber (1947) had defined patriarchy as women and younger men being dominated by older men, who were heads of household. While a few feminist theorists have followed the Weberian definition, the more common approach has been to discard the generation difference among men and define patriarchy as a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. Sociologists argues that while white feminists have traditionally conceptualised the family and home as a major source of women’s oppression, this is not the same among Blacks where the family is not a major source of women’s subordination. Indeed, increasingly it has become a major site of their liberation as more and more become heads of households. Sommerville (2000), a liberal feminist, recognises that significant progress has been made in both public and private life for women. She stated that the system is more likely to accept small policy changes, while it would resist revolutionary change and argues that this is an ethnocentric view – it reflects the experiences of mainly white, middle class women. Against Liberal Feminism, they argue that paid work has not been ‘liberating’. Instead women have acquired the ‘dual burden’ of paid work and unpaid housework and the family remains patriarchal – men benefit from women’s paid earnings and their domestic labour. Some Radical Feminists go further arguing that women suffer from the ‘triple shift’ where they have to do paid work, domestic work and ‘emotion work’ – being expected to take on the emotional burden of caring for children. Caribbean countries were colonized by typically patriarchal European nations and after Emancipation women were named ‘second class citizens’. 2016-05-22T23:42:33.97-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Changing-Gender-roles-in-the-caribbean-35194.aspx SOMOS SUFRIDOS ¿Por qué consultamos el Tarot? Estudio empírico Ismael Berroeta Santiago de Chile 2016 2 Agradecimientos El autor dirige sus agradecimientos a Karin Baeza V., Socióloga, titulada Univ. de Chile, Master Territoires, espaces, sociétés, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, París. Miembro del Centro Integración Ingeniería y Sociedad, Facultad de Ingeniería – USACH. Perfil Ismael Berroeta es el seudónimo registrado de Antonio Muñoz Pereira. Titulado de Ingeniero Agrónomo en 1979 en la Univ. De Chile. Diplomado en 1988 en Pedologie Tropicale en la Univ. Catholique de Louvain (Louvain La Neuve). Diplomado en 2004 en Estudios Holísticos en la Academia Syncronia, Santiago de Chile. Practicante de la consulta de tarot, profesor de cartomancia, colaborador de la revista SOMOS (Santiago de Chile). 3 CONTENIDO Agradecimientos 2 Resumen 6 Capítulo 1 El Tarot: un juego que atraviesa los siglos 10 Capítulo 2 La urgencia de conocer la verdad 19 Capítulo 3 Un grupo de consultantes representativo de la sociedad chilena 27 Los datos disponibles Los consultantes chilenos y sus actividades. Edades y género Estado civil y grupo etario Estado civil y sexo Estado civil y relación de pareja real Relación de pareja e infidelidad Capítulo 4 Los motivos o temas de los consultantes 36 El motivo y la pregunta Cantidad de motivos Preponderancia de motivos Relevancia de motivos Las secuencias prioritarias de motivos Capítulo 5 Los objetivos buscados por los consultantes 43 Identificación de objetivos Relevancia de objetivos Relación entre motivos y objetivos El motivo “amor” y sus objetivos específicos El motivo “trabajo” y sus objetivos específicos El motivo “familia” y sus objetivos específicos El motivo “economía” y sus objetivos específicos El motivo “salud” y sus objetivos específicos El motivo “desorden de ansiedad” y sus objetivos específicos 4 El motivo “símbolos” y sus objetivos específicos Capítulo 6 Reacción de los consultantes a las respuestas del oráculo 52 Los consultantes son agradecidos Los consultantes opinan Capítulo 7 Felicidad, malestar, situación crítica 56 Capítulo 8 Describiendo las situaciones críticas de los consultantes 62 Los consultantes expresan sus situaciones críticas Las personas en “situación crítica” son agradecidas La relación entre los “motivos” y los “descriptores” de las situaciones críticas Capítulo 9. Causas inmediatas de las situaciones críticas descritas 66 a) Causas inmediatas de la situación de tensión b) Causas inmediatas de la situación de dolor c) Causas inmediatas de la situación de expectativa dolorosa d) Causas inmediatas de la situación de desorientación e) Causas inmediatas de la situación de desconcierto f) Causas inmediatas de la situación de inseguridad g) Causas inmediatas de la situación de soledad h) Causas inmediatas de la situación de desesperación i) Causas inmediatas de la situación de incertidumbre j) Causas inmediatas de la situación de impotencia k) Causas inmediatas de la situación de descontrol l) Causas inmediatas de la situación de abatimiento Capítulo 10. Preponderancia de las causas inmediatas 73 Capítulo 11. La relación 2016-03-22T08:36:51.587-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Motivos-y-finalidades-por-las-cuales-los-consultantes-recurren-al-tarot-35183.aspx TAMPA, FLORIDA ORGANIZATION 1 The new organization in Tampa, Florida is a very diverse, but an interrelated medical practice for several reasons, mainly through the physicians that have combine together to create this practice. The Obstetrician, and the Gynecologists, along with a Urologist is the three well established physicians that combined together to form this new organization. The relationships that are formed through this group of physicians, and staff are important when detailing vertical and horizontal dimensions. The vertical dimensions of this organization would be the upward and downward channels of communication, decision making and the direction of activities taking place. By employing the appropriate staff for each doctor is important for a smooth and accurate business. The staffing must include the following: the schedulers, a billing department, nursing staff, act. A business manager to keep the business operations and the staff organized is also important in the vertical chain of command. In this case, a liaison is appointed to the medical staff, in which the doctors can depend on to make sure a smooth coordination between the organizations and with the medical building/hospital. The horizontal dimension of this organization is in place to keep each specialist a unit, in the medical building, but also, to be very specific to their different practices. A good example of this would be is the Obstetrician needing a nurse practratal specifically in the practice to ensure that the help that is needed is there. Combining similar doctors is conventily for their patients, but also very important that the division is present so that the organization is in place. Authority and Responsibility relationships that are present within this new organization are obviously apparent through the specialists that are combining together to form a practice. More specifically, the authority is present with the people that is the main purpose, is to give orders and oversee activities. For example, the liaison that tends to the hospital and the doctors, TAMPA, FLORIDA ORGANIZATION 2 as well as the office manager that oversees the staff, and business productions. The responsibility part of this organization is entirely up to the office staff, as well as the doctors to follow close instructions and show that responsibility is very important in a successful business operation. By organizing the office in this way, it will give more responsibility to just a few people that can 2015-05-27T00:24:43.693-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Tampa,-Florida-new-organization-35114.aspx Place is generally described by geographical location, however the identity of a place and how it is socially perceived depends on how it has been designed, constructed and by the specific communities that use it and how they do so. The identities of a place may be perceived differently by specific individuals or social groups, resulting in a creation of differences and inequalities between social communities. This essay is in two parts, the first part will examine how places can be a source of social inclusion and exclusion by looking at social identities in detail, including how they are constructed, valued, connected and constantly changing with the moving picture of society with social order, in order to smoothly and successfully form complex personal identities (Taylor, 2009, p.173) The second part of this essay will use The Spectator article to examine how identities may be idealised and imagined to cause discourses and create social exclusion. Places can have identities which evoke positive or negative feelings of belonging, memories and emotions which contribute to personal and social identities. However, places do not only have an identity, but they also play a part in the construction of social identities. Ways in which people, identities and places are connected form a situational identity of an individual or group, which then becomes one of the multiple identities brought together in order to create a complicated personal identity through identification referred to as subjectivity (Taylor, 2009, p. 171).These multiple identities can be group or collective, situated or relational and are often linked to one another. A group or collective identity is formed when a group of people share similarities such as social class or religious beliefs. Relational identities are formed by the relationships between people, such as the identity of being an employee, employer, father or son. Situated identities are created by being ‘in place’, such as when somebody visits a new city they assume the situational identity of a tourist. Association with places form and 2015-02-22T01:29:46.693-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Examine-the-argument-that-places-can-be-a-source-of-inclusion-and-exclusion-for-specific-communities_-35087.aspx The way in which individuals form and maintain social lives with others and with the things around them is founded by social ordering; a concept defined as a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce ways of relating and behaving (Wikipedia, accessed on 25th June 2014). This essay will compare and contrast the theories of social ordering suggested by Goffman and Foucault, comparing and contrasting the different concepts of how social order is produced, reproduced and maintained. Both theorists are interested in the links between the individual and the social and seek ways of understanding how and why society interacts the way it does, however they explain these reasons in different ways. The first part of this essay will look at Goffman's view of social order, his concepts and how they help to structure and organise his claims and the second part will compare and contrast Goffman's views with those of Foucault, highlighting the similarities and differences between their claims and concepts. The third part of this essay will look at two examples of social ordering in practise and present the evidence supporting the theories put forward by both social scientists, using a modernist approach shown in the Buchanan model.and a flexible approach shown in the Monderman model. Goffman's concepts of performances and interactional order focus very much on the behaviour of individuals in specific social contexts and how they interact in their everyday lives. In Goffman's view, social behaviour is 'dramaturgical' and he uses the metaphor of a theatrical play to explain his theory, with the claim that people perform roles in specific contexts with individuals behaving like characters in a play, trying to give their best possible performance (Taylor, S. 2009, p. 172). Social interaction and individual behaviour differs with changes in context and the way in which individuals perform and interpret roles involves the use of interactional processes such as body language, eye contact and the use of language to construct social order through rituals and repetitive practices used in everyday activities by people as they live their life. When disorder arises in society order is repaired and reproduced through processes of social interaction, which lead to innovations in the order of social life and creates social change. Goffman gathered evidence to support his claims 2015-02-22T01:23:12.03-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Compare-and-contrast-two-social-science-views-about-the-ordering-of-social-life_-35086.aspx In order to address this claim, I will firstly look at how the state is defined, perceived and presented in everyday before discussing legitimacy, how it is claimed through practices and the relationships between the institutions acting on its behalf and on behalf of its people. The following part of this essay will explore the connection between state legitimacy and democracy and how conflict and social inequalities may lead to the legitimacy of the state being contested, using the Northern Ireland and the United Nation's reaction to piracy in Somalia to as examples of how state legitimacy may be challenged. The final part of this essay surmises the arguments and evidence both for and against the claim. According to Georgina Blakeley and Michael Saward, ‘the state is: an idea based on shared expectations about the ordering of social life; a set of organisations; and a set of practices’ (Blakeley and Saward, 2009, p. 355). The state is perceived by society through methods of political order, whereby the absence of social conflict and disorder is governed by sets of institutions and services which seek to shape and regulate social order (Blakeley and Saward, 2009, p. 352). Blakeley and Saward portray the state as an abstract concept made up of various parts that provides institutional political order and is present everywhere, through institutions such as schools and hospitals, people such as teachers and police officers, practices such as driving within the legal speed limits and discourses such as the media. The state's authority to rule its citizens largely depends on the belief in its legitimacy. 'A state that is (believe to be or accepted) as legitimate is more likely to succeed in its constant tasks of political ordering than a state that is perceived as illegitimate' (Blakeley and Saward, 2009, p. 366). Evidence of the state regulating order in everyday life is seen in various activities narrated in 'Jill's story', such as the use of childcare and the Post Office and also in the payment of tax (Blakeley 2015-02-22T01:17:08.247-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Examine-and-assess-the-claim-that-the-contemporary-state-is-in-a-constant-process-of-legitimation-Blakeley-and-Saward,-2009,-p_-371-_-35085.aspx Thomas Aquinas was an Italian priest who were the pioneers of theological teachings and famous for his Eucharistic hymns in church. Aquinas is a distinguished saint honored by the Catholic Church for his contributions in natural reasoning and several teachings of theology. The papal that undergo training go through his teachings and the pope of the Catholic Church has ordained him as the doctor of the church and the greatest philosopher and theologician of all times. Aquinas was considered a philosopher by his mates but he strongly objected and criticized other philosophers who pagans that the missed the massive wisdom available in the Christian revelations. Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who formulated the theory of ethical deontology (Fagothey) Kant was a strong proponent of enlightenment rationalism which basically meant that for something to be good , it must be from a good will so and that the action just follows the will and the moral law. He also perpetrated the principle of universibility and strongly believed that for an action to be permissible by the society, must equally apply to all the people in the same manner and not biased. He also believed in the theories of perfect and imperfect duty and advocated that the perfect duty should an obvious thing in the eyes of the humanity such as committing murder is a criminal to both the mind and the soul and can be referred as a perfect duty. Imperfect duty such charitable works can be substantiated and simply bases on different to people to church the act as good or bad therefore, it is an imperfect duty to the human race. (McInerny) Several philosophers have criticized the theories of Kant terming it inconclusive and prescriptive. They argue that Kant was biased in his theories and was influenced by other past philosophers and even his parents. The catholic church has seriously criticized his laws terming as a disregard of the Christian values ,ethic and beliefs and that he changed the ethics into virtues of the day today living. Aquinas as he was a priest was a strong proponent of the Christian ethics a compared to Kent who was more of rationalism and imperialism. He believed that the human mindset is driven by the natural law that dictates that the acts of virtue is the caused through inquiry of reason and that any act is conducive for well living so long as 2014-12-01T21:45:51.203-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/kant-and-aquinas-35067.aspx Candace Wegrzynowski Final research paper 04/17/2013 The American Indians have been abused by White conquers for centuries. An entire ethnic group has been almost completely annihilated by the dominate society and in more modern times mocked and misunderstood. Researchers have shown that from colonial times to modern times, Whites have seen Native Americans as primitive savages, blood thirsty warriors, childlike, children of Satan, squaws, exotic, otherworldly and doomed. Not long ago a dualistic version of Indians became the norm. Indians came to be seen as evil or good and this dividing into two types of Indians came to construct how Americans today see Indians. (Lacroix, 2011 p. 3-4) An entire race of people is simplistically and unfairly put into either all good or all bad categories. History has shown that the early Europeans that followed Columbus no more understood the Native Americans than the Indians understood the destruction of their entire way of life was soon coming. (Schaefer, 2012 p. 149) The White settlers saw the Indians as pagan inferior beings that needed to be taught how to be civilized and eventually forced to assimilate in to White Society. In the early nineteenth century Quaker and missionary reformers tried new ways to 'civilize' the Indians. They were uncomfortable with extermination policies used by the US government and began to put together ideas of assimilation. (Landis 1996) The reformers tried a new experiment — reservation boarding schools. According to history, to assist the missionaries, Congress created the Civilization Fund, an annual appropriation of ten thousand dollars to pay for this forced assimilation of the Indians. (Adams 1995 p. 6) Researchers explain the Quakers plan that students would live all week in the boarding schools that were built a little farther away from the reservations; but as time went by, the families simply moved their tee pees closer to the schools. (Landis 1996) To the religious groups at the time it was very important to convert the Indians to the Christian doctrines and White culture. The cultural heritage of the Native people was of no importance to the dominate society. In an article featured in the Indian Country Diaries on PBS.org (2006), in the 1870’s Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt, who coined the phrase “Kill the Indian save the man” played a huge role in this 2013-06-24T21:42:13.7-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/American-Indians-34900.aspx What Psychology is to Me After taking Psychology 1000, psychology means much more to me than it did prior to taking the class. At the beginning of the semester, I was asked to define the word psychology, and the best definition I could muster was simply the study of the mind and how it works. After examining the large realm of the science of psychology I now realize that this definition was quite incomplete. My initial definition simply covered the branch of psychology known as cognitive psychology, and this is only one of many areas that are actually included under the title psychology. Many psychologists focus on more quantitative aspects than the function of the human mind. There are several different areas that are more easily researched than that of the brain's functionality. An example would be behavioral psychology in which the focus is put on observing behavior rather than on the processes going on inside the brain that invoke the subject's behavior. This is just one of the many examples that illustrate this point, and that makes developing a working definition of the term psychology extremely difficult to attain. The range of topics that are considered psychology is very surprising to a newcomer in the field. Everything from determining which parts of the brain are responsible for controlling certain senses to analyzing the influence of society on behavior and development is considered "psychology". So it is obvious that my original definition was extremely limited, but it has now been vastly broadened. In addition to recognizing the broad range of topics that psychology covers, I also realized that there is large number of different occupations a person trained in psychology can hold. My original idea was that a psychologist was a person who dealt only with psychoanalysis, and I would imagine that this is a common misconception. The possible career fields for a psychologist is much greater than I had imagined it to be, it includes everything from school counselors to psychiatrists to sensation and perception researchers. Each different area of psychology has many differences from all of the other areas, but the origins of these areas enables them all to fall under the incredibly large topic of psychology. Although psychology is a very large topic this immense field is still relatively young and has many unopened doors. 2013-02-20T06:03:40.423-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-Psychology-Is-To-Me-34803.aspx With the spread of literacy ,libraries have become essential for the learning. Public instruction is making rapid progress everywhere in Canada.it is no more the privilege of the well-to-do only to acquire knowledge as it was no so very long ago. there are school and colleges in almost very part f the country.21st century dawns with a sure promise to be 2013-02-18T23:50:15.873-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/libraries-34802.aspx Every society has spoken and unspoken rules that members of the populace respect. Social norms are apart of our every day life and we follow these unspoken guidelines with out thinking twice about it. When you assigned me this challenge to violate an informal norm, it took me some time to think of the right norm to break. After running through a couple ideas, I decided that making out with your boyfriend in the middle of a store is definitely against our societies customs. Besides on a high school campus, I hardly ever see people so wrapped up in each other. Literally. Public displays of affection attract a variety of emotions from onlookers. Some people find it annoying, inappropriate or even get jealous. While others feel that it signifies that you care about your partner. I thought that it would be really amusing to find a store or place of business that people visit because they have to, not because they’re just hanging out. Since the bank, which was our first choice, was closed on Sunday, my boyfriend Nick came up with the idea to make out in the jewelry store at Bella Terra. I brought my brother with me not to watch us do it, but because I needed a third set of eyes to watch our audiences reactions since we were going to be a little busy. While we were walking to the store I could tell Nick was pretty uncomfortable. It was understandable; we were about to put on an interesting show. Personally, I was kind of excited. How often do you get to break an informal norm like this and get points for it in class? So we all walked into the store and Nick and I started “browsing” the jewelry. To set the scene, we were the only people in this store besides the four sales associates behind the counters. All eyes were on us. Immediately the girl behind the counter starts trying to show us stuff and following us around. We told her that we were looking for our one-year anniversary present. After trying on some bracelets that were so not my style, I had to keep myself from giggling when I was acting interested in them, I turned to Nick and said, “You are just the sweetest guy for buying me jewelry!” and planted a big kiss on his lips. That got the 2012-09-16T19:51:14.51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Informal-Norm-Violation-34646.aspx INTRODUCTION Advertising is one of the major promotion tools that are commonly used by marketers to communicate with their various target audiences. It is so commonly used that some use the term interchangeably with marketing. Although this standpoint is erroneous, it is a pointer to the popularity of advertising from societal point of view. With reference to a body of literature Boddewyn (1992) rightly stressed that societal members are bombarded by several millions of different advertisements every year. In fact, it is stated that the average consumer is exposed to about 3000 commercial messages in a day. While such messages could be targeted at a variety of audience depending on the marketing objectives of the advertisers, one area of concern of using this tool which has generated significant attention is the social effect it has on Women. One of the basic assumptions about the media is that the mass media have an important influence on peoples’ lives and sometimes change their beliefs and opinions. This subtle influence or impact of the mass media on the habits of the audience is what is referred to as social effect of the media of which advertisement is a tool. We live in an age inundated with advertising, from commercials on TV to posters on the sides of buses. We see advertisement every time we open a magazine or call up a Web page on the Internet. All that exposure has a significant effect, and the stakes are often more than deciding whether or not to buy a certain product. Women, in particular have suffered some serious psychological blows from the subtle and pervasive effects of advertising aimed at them. This term paper will be looking at the social effect or impact that advertisement is having on women by delineating the overview of what scholars and researchers have said concerning the issue, and also to outline various influences and impacts advertisement has on women as well as prevention measures. This paper argued that media advertises and promotes a very unhealthy trend of extreme dieting and other bad eating habits to women and there after conclude that women need to be sensitized on the impacts and influences it has on them. Overview of the Social Effects Advertisement have on Women Advertisement defined by television, posters, magazines, internet etc and the overall concepts and content they portray, is a huge part of the lives of most women. An American 2012-06-05T03:35:40.44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-effect-of-Advertisement-on-Women-34584.aspx The concept of identity can vary from the very physical, abstract and or logical depending on the primary focal point of discussion. Identity on its own may vary or differ and in some cases bear resemblance. These semblances may be results of biological (genetics), sociological, psychological and physiological dictates etc. In the case of an individual they may just describe the very characteristics by which they are known or identified externally, such as name, passport, bank account, job role, to name a few; whilst in social semblances, identities are fashioned by norms, values, beliefs etc. It is worthy to note that these identities can be shared by more than one individual or entity. The objective of this essay is to illustrate issues that the concept of ‘Identity’ as the product of the relationship between the individual and society poses, in Sociological context. Therefore, the terms Identity, Individual and Society as applied in this essay are defined below for clarity. In this essay, the term; Identity is defined as: the characteristics; or collective aspect of a set of characteristics by which an individual or group of individuals differ from or are similar to a social group (adapted – Simmel (1908). For instance, the Yorubas (West African tribe) have the characteristics of giving distinct facial marks on new born babies to identify them as belonging to the Yoruba tribes. Nigerian Yoruba (NY) tribal marks differ to Ghanaian Yoruba (GY). Therefore, a NY is distinct from a GY, though they both belong to the Yoruba tribe; i.e. the same marks that define them, also serve as boundaries. Jerkin’s (2008) assertion that classification is meaningless outside relationships supports this point. This can definitely define positively or negatively the way an individual’s identity is formed and how they co-relate with the society. Society on the one hand can be classified as the relationship between humans distinguishable from other groups and having a shared character, culture and institution. For centuries, many, including the modern theorists, have toiled with the idea of a core ‘self’, which is viewed as the core entity of an individual, untouched by society. This can be looked at as individualism, people seeing themselves as different or unique due to the assumption that they control their own thinking and personality, and hence, are distinct. However, many sociologists have disputed the existence of a ‘self’ that is unrelated to social processes. George H. Mead’s 2012-01-11T10:14:01.447-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-concept-of-Identity-a-Sociological-Perspective-on-the-Relationship-Between-Individual-and-Society-34418.aspx “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." In 1923, this statement was admitted to Congress under the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution granting equality between men and women under the law. If the Era was passed, it would have made unconstitutional any laws that grant one sex different rights than the other. However, in the 1970s, the Era was not passed, and therefore did not become law. The idea for an equal rights amendment first became acknowledged in the early part of the twentieth century. In 1916, Alice Paul founded the National Women's party (NWP), a political party dedicated to establishing equal rights for women. Traditionally, women were viewed as weaker and inferior to men. The purpose of the ERA was to prohibit any person from acting on this belief. Alice Paul viewed that equality under the law was the foundation essential to full equality for women. In November of 1922, the NWP voted to work for a federal amendment that could guarantee women's equal rights regardless of legislatures' indecisions. The NWP had 400 women lobbying for equality. Despite strong opposition by some women and men, the NWP introduced and Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1923. In order to become law, the amendment needed a two-thirds vote in both houses of the congress of the United States, or a supporting petition of two-thirds of the state legislatures. Then the amendment would have required ratification by three-fourths of the states. However, it failed to get the two-thirds majority required to move onto the states for approval. The proposed amendment also failed in following sessions until 1972, when it won a majority vote in Congress. The main objectives of the women's movement included equal pay for equal work, federal support for day-care centers, recognition of lesbian rights, continued legalization of abortion, and the focus of serious attention on the problems of rape, wife and child beating, and discrimination against older and minority women. The ERA would have addressed all of these issues if it were passed. Had it been adopted, the ERA would have resolved the paradox of an oppressed majority, by adding to the Constitution a provision 2011-11-04T06:30:31.087-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Bill-of-Rights-How-many-do-we-have-34305.aspx One of the unfortunate side effects of the modern media age is that many people spend more time in front of television sets or computers than they do with other humans. In the most extreme cases, this has led to a phenomenon known as the “parasocial relationship.” In a broad sense, the parasocial relationship involves the direct interaction between a media viewer and media characters. More precisely, the term has often been applied to describe a type of psychological problem in which the viewer believes that the media character is actually speaking with them (Horton & Wohl, 1956). In exploring the nature of this problem as well as its roots, it becomes apparent that a variety of factors come into play in generating parasocial relationships. Above all else, this disturbing modern phenomenon is attributable to a combination of developmental and societal causes. An excellent introduction to the problem of parasocial relationships is provided by Horton & Wohl in their seminal 1956 article Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction. In this article, the authors refer to parasocial interaction as a form of “mediated human contact” in which an individual develops a relationship with a character seen on television. In essence, the viewer experiences the illusion of face-to-face contact with a television performer. An example of this might be a news anchorman who talks directly to the audience. In the parasocial relationship, the viewer sees that the anchor man is looking right at them and starts to believe that they are actually having a conversation (Horton & Wohl, 1956). The parasocial relationship manifests itself in many different ways (Horton & Wohl, 1956). In some cases, the viewer actually talks back to the television performer. In other cases, the situation becomes pathological and the person carries on an imagined long-term relationship with the television “person.” Resulting behaviors vary from sending flowers to fictional people, breaking into homes of stars, or even stalking and killing the star in question. Thus, it is apparent that the parasocial relationship has major significance in modern society. On one level, the parasocial relationship is a dangerous phenomenon that must be curtailed. On the other hand, the parasocial relationship tells us a great deal about certain problems with modern society. Indeed, in looking at the probable causes of parasocial relationships, we can note many areas that 2011-10-31T22:21:51.493-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Parasocial-Relationship-34268.aspx Life changing patterns By Navirah Zafar Jilani With the rapid advancement of media and technology, the packaging of needs have forced small molecules in the human brain to think otherwise. And it goes far beyond that. The choices one makes in life dictates what types of clothes you wear, where you live, who you marry, the colours in your home, the type of plants and flowers you have in your garden, what you eat for breakfast, who you choose to dine with, the type of car you drive, what you watch on television, the music you like, and the list goes on and on. An individual’s lifestyle is dictated by the choices one makes, if that person disregards the existence of the divine spirituality, he/she is nothing but a fool in paradise. Times have changed people have changed. Yesteryears were innocent days, where a disagreement between father and child seemed objectionable, a disgrace on the child. But now as one looks around you see people’s faces and questions of wanting it all. Life encountered miseries have left the land of amphibians in a chaotic mess. Gazing in the eyes of an infant a father cherishes his heritage, unaware that it is “I” (infant) who will break you down. “What is life”, is it the diamond necklace one bedazzles or is it food on a poor man's table or is it the pleasure a father gets holding his new born. Back in the days life was simple(not that I'm that old), for some as a kid going to the regular super market to have ice cream was considered a delight, one still recalls the oooh’s and aaaah’s of agitated mothers when asking for ice-cream money. Now if you ask a kid to eat the market ice- cream, he/she might throw tantrums on not agreeing on anything less than McDonald’s sundae. Society on many intervals have questioned their own kids and the new generation; unquestionably terming old days as good. Surely they were good in reference to the circumstances they entailed says Mahmood Zafar, a banker residing in Sharjah. But with the mingling of technology simpler things in life have changed. Undermining the society with regards to change would be abnormal. The present life requires technology to facilitate daily workings, if one does not incorporate technology with life; the whole essence of living in the 21st century is lost. Taking a glimpse at a 2009-03-20T08:15:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Life-Changing-Patterns-34020.aspx Pets lighten it up! Adeel Salman There are many terms used to describe ways in which animals can help rehabilitate and heal people with special needs. These include 'pet therapy,' 'pet facilitated therapy,' or 'animal-assisted therapy.' Pets can help people with a variety of mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Fish, birds, pocket pets, rabbits, cats, dogs, and horses have all been employed in pet therapy. Animals are warm and fuzzy and alive. Being able to hold and pet another living creature can provide a great deal of comfort. Many people have a close relationship with their pets. These people treat their birds, cats, or other animals as members of their family. In your opinion, are such relationships good? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Some people do not have any pets in their house, except for unwanted ones such as a raccoon or mouse. These people think that there is no place for animals in their places. However, other people have animals such as dogs, cats, and birds in their families and they have a close relationship with their pets. Personally, I belong to the people who treat their pets as members of their family. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that such relationships between a man and an animal bring many benefits. First of all, when people treat their pets as members of their families it means that they feel responsibilities for their little ones. As a result of this people care about their pets' health, their diet and shape, and I think both sides benefit from this kind of relationships. People do not feel alone and pets are in good hands. Personally, I think that pets give people a great opportunity to feel they are needed by these little but at the same time very courageous animals. Second of all, pets teach people, especially children, kindness and devotion. Children grow up kinder, more attentive and friendlier. Finally, often pets are the closest and most devoted friends of people and I am sure that we return them the same feelings. I think it is great and makes everyone a little bit happier. For example, when I was a child my family had a beautiful puppy named "jimmy". We loved him very much and treat him as a member of our family. So, when he died we could not get used to the 2009-03-13T10:07:44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pets-Used-in-Therapy-34012.aspx A Culture of Consumerism "You are what you buy." In one way or another, everyone’s identity is related to the products that they purchase. Nearly every product on the market is directed towards a certain group of people, whether it is based on their gender, age, or even their income level. Trying to target a particular group of people is one of advertisers biggest concerns. Some products, such as make-up, are always directed at females ranging from teenagers to middle age women, other products such as cars are usually directed at middle-age males. Advertisers could not care less who buys their product, but directing their ads towards a certain group of people will result in higher sales. Though there are exceptions to the statement, “you are what you buy”, the product a consumer purchases is generally based on either their gender, age, or income level, just as the marketer intended. The majority of products on the market today are directed towards either a male or a female. Different toys, clothing, make-up, and even cars are just a few of the products normally directed towards a particular gender. Whether the advertisement has a male in it or it has a setting in the woods, it is clearly implying that the product is targeted towards males. Just as if an advertisement has a pink background or all females in it, it is directed towards a female. It would be very awkward to have a male model for a commercial on cover girl products, because that product just was not made for a man. Nearly every toy is made for either a male or female. Looking at the toys I had when I was little such as GI Joes and Transformers, one would guess I was a little boy. Other toys I owned such as remote control cars or squirt guns would still generally be for a boy, but probably a boy who is a little bit older than I was when I was playing with action figures. There are some toys I have owned my entire life like sports equipment that would still imply that the consumer was a male, but not of any particular age. Toys possibly suggesting the consumer was a little girl would include Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, or playhouses. Once the girl was more 2007-05-04T17:18:13-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Culture-of-Consumerism-33187.aspx The Incidense Of Tuberculosis Among Low Income People Summary This paper explores whether the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is higher among low income people because they are less likely to seek medical care. It investigates two urban districts that compare in terms of race and income level, these being Harlem and West Central, USA. To determine the role of race and economic disadvantage in the incidence of tuberculosis in these geographic areas, ethnographic methods were used to analyze the information. It appears that there are significant race and class dimensions to the incidence of tuberculosis in these areas, but there are other confounding factors – such as (human immunodeficiency virus) HIV and the times at which sufferers sought medical help. This study suggests that there is a pressing need to improve our understanding of the socio-economic aspects of problems affecting public health, such as TB in the United States. Background i. Statement of the problem People in economically disadvantaged positions living in medically under-served communities are at an increased risk for tuberculosis. The disease does continue to be a barometer of poverty and race, but there are other significant factors associated with the incidence of TB. Studies in South Africa suggest that those qualified as black or coloured had significantly less access to health care, and thus stood less chance of being diagnosed than their white counterparts (Andersson 1990). Those in this disadvantaged condition tended to suffer disproportionately from other socio-economic related medical factors, such as malnutrition and incidence of HIVAIDS that are closely linked with the incidence of TB. The pattern is similar in other countries, including the USA. The problem in the United States is that there is limited population-based data on TB by social class (Lifson et al. 1999). There is even less data on the incidence of seeking medical care between the onset of symptoms and the visit to a medical center. The incidence of TB is indeed higher among low income people because they are less likely to seek medical care. But the objective of this study is to suggest that there are other critical factors in the complex social dimension of public health problems associated with TB. These will be discussed in parts iii and iv of this section. 2007-05-04T17:11:13-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Incidense-Of-Tuberculosis-Among-Low-Income-People-33183.aspx Moguls In India Moguls were a Muslim dynasty in India from fifteen twenty-six to about eighteen fifty-seven. Let’s first define the word Mogul. The word Mogul means an Indian Muslim of or descended from one of several conquering groups of Mongol, Turkish, and Persian origin. The word Mogul is the Arabic and Persian version of Mongol. The Moguls were a Muslim dynasty founded in fifteen twenty-six by a man named Babur. Babur was a descendent of both Genghis Kahn and Timur. The dynasty ruled much of the Indian subcontinent until the mid eighteenth century. Babur claimed the subcontinent as his right of inheritance because of the conquest of Delhi by his ancestor Timur. Babur was a highly cultured man from Persia who disliked many facets of Indian life but nonetheless established the most glorious empire in India’s history. Babur reigned util fifteen thirty and was a man of culture as well as a military genius. Babur defeated the last Lodi kind of the Delhi Sultanate at Panipat. He then established a policy of tolerance toward his Hindu subjects even though he disliked India. Babur had a son named Humayun. Humayun ruled from fifteen thirty to about fifteen-forty. Ten years or so. And again from fifteen fifty-five to fifteen fifty-six. He ruled despite the challenge mounted by the Afghan Sher Shah who ruled north India for five years. Humayun spent most of his reign attempting to consolidate Mogul rule over Baburs conquests. Humayun had a son named Akbar. Akbar was said to be the greatest of all Moguls in India. Akbar and hi successors, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Auramgzeb are generally considered to be one of the finest group’s of kings that ever ruled in succession over such a long period of time. Akbar built the administrative machinery that forms the basis for many present day practices in India. Akbar was one of the most tolerant Moguls in India. Akbar abolished a discriminatory tax on Hindus and did much to combine Hindu and Muslim motifs in palace architecture, art, literature and music. Akbars son and successor Jahangir was a heavy drinker who reveled in luxurious living. Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan followed very closely in his father’s footsteps. He too was a 2007-04-23T03:49:06-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Moguls-In-India--33092.aspx Mediocrity In America Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt is a satirical depiction of the mediocrity of business America. Lewis's anger with the mass conformity of the 1920s businessman is portrayed through his middle-class protagonist George F. Babbitt - the embodiment of the materialism, hypocrisy and ignorance by which Lewis is so appalled. Lewis portrays Zenith's middle-class citizens as similarly standard, completely defined by their comfortable, homogenized world. Babbitt recognizes and then seeks to expose the hypocrisy and emptiness of middle class life, but he only succeeds in realizing that he is trapped by his way of life. Lewis uses Babbitt as a vehicle to show the reader America's radical homogenization of lifestyles, activities, and ultimately, views on life and themselves. George Follensbee Babbitt is a 46-year-old real-estate broker who lives in Zenith, a midwestern urban center of which Babbitt is especially fond. Both Zenith and its inhabitants are characterized with a depressing sameness. Lewis never reveals the location of the city, and if "a stranger suddenly dropped into the business-center of Zenith he could not have told whether he was in a city of Oregon or Georgia, Ohio or Maine, Oklahoma or Manitoba" (53.) This ambiguous city is home to Babbitt and his family, who live in a moderately expensive and modern house that is almost identical to every other house lining the groomed streets in their stereotypical neighborhood. Lewis describes that although their house has "the best of taste, the best of inexpensive rugs, a simple and laudable architecture, and the latest conveniences…it {has} nothing to do with the Babbitts, nor anyone else" (15.) Babbitt's desire for his house to be like everyone else's is based on the idea that if his house fits the homogenized mold, then he can never be accused of not having an adequate and luxurious lifestyle. The downfall to Babbitt's strategy is that their house has no personality, no individuality. "It {is} not a home" (15.) This lack of personality is all too apparent in other aspects of Babbitts life, such as how he chooses to occupy his time. Every morning Babbitt wakes up, gets in his mediocre car, and drives through Zenith to the tall building where he works amidst a sea of other Babbitts. He lunches at the Zenith Athletic Club, which Lewis describes as "not athletic, {not} exactly a club, 2007-04-23T03:43:33-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Mediocrity-In-America-33087.aspx Homosexuality in Modern Society What is homosexuality? Homosexuality is the manifestation of sexual desire toward a member of one's own sex or the erotic activity with a member of the same sex. (The Greek word homos means "the same"). A lesbian is a female homosexual. More recently the term "gay" has come into popular use to refer to both sexes who are homosexuals. Dr. Strauss's definition fails to differentiate between homosexual orientation (i.e. same sex feelings of attraction) and homosexual behavior (i.e. sexual activity with a member of the same gender). Many people have been taught during childhood that homosexual behavior is condemned both by God and by their religion as unnatural and morally degenerate. If they discover later in life that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual they often go through a spiritual crisis. Too many realize that their sexual orientation is unchangeable, and that they cannot go through life as someone that they have been taught to hate; they commit suicide. (About 30% of teen suicides are due to this cause; one of the costs of homophobia). Survivors experience a conflict between what they are and what they believe. They sometimes abandon their religion. Some become enthusiastically anti-religious. When discrimination against a minority group is condoned by a religion, government or society, then the most extreme forms of hatred are released. We have seen this in its most extreme form of genocide, rape and "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia, directed against Muslims and others. We see hatred in our own public schools, directed against gay and lesbian students. School administrations which ignore the problem are, in effect, declaring open season on sexual minorities. The word "homophobia" originally meant "fear of homosexuals or of homosexuality." But the English language is in a continuous state of flux. Words develop different meanings as people develop a new consensus on their definition. This is why older translations of the Bible (e.g. the King James Bible of 1611 CE) are difficult for many people to read. Homophobia is an attitude; homophobe is a person who exhibits homophobia; homophobic is an adjective. But the word "homophobia" is hopelessly inadequate to cover the full range of people's negative beliefs about individuals of minority sexual orientations. For example, some people: actively work towards defining homosexuals as a minority group which should be deprived of those fundamental human 2007-04-19T21:43:32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Homosexuality-in-Modern-Society-33067.aspx Monogamous Relations vs. Polygamous Relations In today’s society this question has been raised numerous times. Should we let polygamy be accepted or should monogamy remain. In my point of view’ I feel that we should abide by the monogamy marriage meaning be limited to only one man or one woman. Emotions, especially love and sexual desire, are the result of a man’s basic values. Thus he will naturally respond positively to All the women that he perceives to manifest those values. There is no inevitable conflict between what a women feels for one man and what she feels for another, if she is responding to the same values manifest in both men. Thus it IS psychologically possible for one person to be deeply and romantically in love with two or more others at the same time. Let me tell you a little about the two; monogamy is being married to one person at a time whereto polygamy is being married to many at the same time. Monogamous relationship it’s you and your mate there is no need for being jealous of anyone. Also, in monogamy relationships there is no adding of a new wife, worrying about which one of you will your husband slept with that night. According to the Great Conversation by Norman Melechert he states “in ancient times it was allowable for men to have many wives, but it is not allowable. Melechert states it’s not allowable now because of the circumstances of numerous children being produced. But that utility is not present now. What counts is whether a man has one wife or many, but the state of his “loves”, whether its cupidity or desire to enjoy flesh for it’s temporal delights or charity.” In a polygamous relationship the wife has to adjust to the addition of a new wife, rotation of the husband, social-emotional relations, living arrangements, and finances. If you have insecurities, neuroticisms, or any other lack of authentic self-esteem, then this type of relationship is not for you. According to Why Monogamy by Mary C. Still she states “ in a polygamous relationship the first wife receives special treatment and the wife who has the first son receives special treatment." On the other hand the other wives receives whatever is left over. Polygamy relationships 2007-04-18T00:43:51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Monogamous-Relations-vs_-Polygamous-Relations-32937.aspx Irish Immigration to America There are multiple reasons why groups immigrate to the United States: liberty; whether it be political or religious, the desire for a better life, or in the case of the Irish: starvation. The agricultural collapse of Ireland, widely known as the Great Potato Famine, forced 4.5 million Irish to come to the U.S. between 1840 and 1914. As discussed in the course, this makes them the first major non-protestant group to enter the US, immediately causing Americans to perceive them as a threat. Though the Irish were seen as a threat, they arrived at a time when unskilled labor was needed and a wide range of civil service and state government jobs opened up, thus giving them a niche in society as well as opening up some channels of mobility. As a result of the famine, many Irish families were forced to emigrate from their country. By 1854, between 1½ and 2 million Irish left their country due to the harsh living conditions. In America, most Irish became city-dwellers: with little money, many had to settle in the cities that the ships they came on landed in. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, Massachusetts; New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, Irish populations were prevalent among American mining communities (Quinn). Today the Irish are so thoroughly assimilated into the larger American society that it is difficult for anyone to remember how harshly and unforgiving they were greeted as they arrived in the great wave that began in the mid-1840s and lasted for a decade, but white America equated them with blacks and stereotyped them accordingly as "childlike buffoons, lazy, superstitious, given to doubletalk, inflated rhetoric, and comic misuse of proper English (Quinn)." For African Americans and the Irish alike, Quinn explains the attitudes against them: "the stereotype became so ingrained in popular attitudes and perceptions that it passed from being regarded as a theatrical parody to a predetermining of group behavior." Blacks were called Sambo, while Irish were stereotyped as Paddy. Gradually, though, Paddy evolved into what Quinn calls Jimmy, a blend of New York's flamboyant Mayor Jimmy Walker and Jimmy Cagney. Jimmy "expressed the style of the urban Irish in its definitive form. These Jimmies had the blend of musicality and menace, of nattiness and charm, of verbal agility and ironic sensibility, of what today 2007-04-16T19:20:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Irish-Immigration-to-America-32923.aspx Sociology of Iraqi Families In the 1950's, a newly married American woman named Elizabeth Warnock Fernea accompanied her husband to a rural Iraqi village, El Nahra, where he was performing field research for his doctorate in anthropology. The adjustment for her was profound, because she lived in a mud hut with no indoor plumbing, didn't speak the local language, and found it advisable to wear the veil in order to fit in with the local conservative Islamic community. Under the advice of friends, Fernea transformed her journal into Guests of the Sheik, which covers the day-to-day life of the women in the tribe, the process of slowly making friends with them as she learned their language, and the local Shiite religious observances that she shared in. She talks about the veiling of women, the hard manual labor that is part of everyone's life, the religious customs, the food that people eat, the structure of society, and, most importantly, the many different aspects of family life. Familial groups are the fundamental social units, regulating many activities that, in Westernized societies are the functions of political, economic, religious, or neighborhood groups. In Iraq, personal rights and obligations center on the extended family and lineage. The extended family is the “basic social unit” (pg 160). A mutually protective attitude among relatives is taken as important. The father, brother, and sons are responsible for care of the women. They see to it that she has an adequate home, meals, clothing, etc. There is always a chance of a man taking on a second or third wife, as in the case of Sheik Hamid, who had three wives. With polygamous marriages, all the wives have a status in the family and will be taken care of by their respective children and a network of relatives associated with the husband. The father or eldest male, in theory, has absolute authority over the activities of the members of the household, both within the confines of the house and outside. Each time Laila wanted to go somewhere with Beeja (Elizabeth), she pressed Beeja to ask Mr. Bob (Beeja’s husband) for permission if they could go, then Laila’s father would let her go. The father also decides what education his children will receive, what occupations his sons will enter, and, usually in consultation with his wife, whom his children 2007-03-06T22:41:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sociology-of-Iraqi-Families-32758.aspx Homelessness And Sociological Perspectives 'I've detached myself from everyone and have become anonymous. I don't participate in life, nor do I care to participate in life. I'm just an observer,’ said a homeless guy on the street. He looks hopeless and hungry and walks off. Here we are in the 21st century and still in this great nation of ours we face a dilemma of problems. What are these problems? These problems range from drugs to terror and even to homelessness. Over the past year, over 2 million men, women, and children were homeless and this number is sure to go up in coming years. Why is this? No one really knows why but many factors can cause one to become homeless. Losing ones job, becoming ill, and a lack of affordable housing can all play a major role in ones becoming homeless. What exactly does it mean to be homeless? The word homeless means having no home or permanent place of residence. To better understand the issue of homelessness it is necessary for one to not look at it in only one way but from a few different angles. You have to look at the way that different homeless people act and behave in a society; you have to look at it from a sociological perspective point of view. Within sociology, there is not a single theoretical perspective, but many theoretical perspectives. The three main perspectives are the functionalism, the conflict theory, and the symbolic interaction perspectives. The functionalism theory is about social organization and how this organization is maintained throughout the society. This theory emphasizes the importance of stability and integration in a society. The ideas come from natural sciences and look at society like a biologist would look at a living organism. They both try to identify the various parts or structures and see how they work and/or function. In this theory homelessness is viewed as inevitable and basically a must for the society to well, “function.” Individuals occupy specific, fixed roles in the society. Homelessness is just looked at as nothing more but a social class which is needed. It is believed that once one is part of this class, one will remain with this class for as long as he or she lives but if there ever is change and one moves up in class, the change will be very slow and gradual. The functionalism 2007-03-05T00:17:20-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Homelessness-and-Sociological-Perspectives-32728.aspx The book is an autobiography of David Pelzer. He writes about his struggle to stay alive in a home where he is treated like a slave and an animal. The book begins with the people at Dave's school finally report Dave and his condition to the authorities. The whole book is a flashback, except for the very beginning, when a policeman is taking the boy away from his mother, to freedom. His mother was the "perfect" mother, when he was younger than four. She taught them something new every day and took them on many fun family vacations. Then, singled out one of her children to be the family slave, but it didn't stop there. She also played cruel games, with the boy. Some of her favorites were the gas chamber, and the starvation tease. She played "games" with David; these games were sick and twisted. Although David had to learn how to cope and "play" these games in order to survive. There were three main characters, Dave, (the boy,) his mom, and his dad. The writer makes me believe that these people are real by describing them in very fine detail. I like Dave, because he seems really kind to everybody that he knows how to be kind to. Also, he tries to be honest, and is almost always hopeful and wishful. He is innocent, and smart. Here is a quote about him thinking about his relationship with his brothers: "After the boys had carved their pumpkins, I could hear mother, in her soothing voice, telling them a scary story. The more I heard, the more I hated each and every one of them. It was bad enough waiting, like a dog, out in the backyard on the rocks while they enjoyed dinner, but having to lay in a cold bathtub, shivering to keep warm, while they ate popcorn and listened to mothers' tale made me want to scream." As the book progresses so do the amount of abuse David receives from his mother. David was fortunate enough to remain hopeful throughout his abuse and was eventually taken from the custody of his mother. When talking David speaks calm at some times and with extreme rage at other times. David's mother is the only one who speaks slang in the book; this slang is usually the result of her being drunk. I don't like Dave's mother because she is the abuser. She is very 2007-02-26T02:57:58-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Child-Called-It-by-David-Pelzer-32696.aspx The Social Construction of Race What is race? It is defined as descendants of a common ancestor; one of the distinct variations of the human species; race or lineage. (Websters New Dictionary 1998). As our society becomes more educated the debate on whether or not this is the true definition of race, or as today’s Sociologists see it, is race merely socially constructed. Race, as it applies across scientific lines, is determinate to represent the human species as a whole, therefore there is but one race…. Human. The readings of “ House behind the Cedars” by Charles W. Chestnut, “Black like Me “ written by John Howard Griffin, and Life On The Color Line: The true Story of a white Boy Who Discovered He Was Black, By Gregory Howard William’s, ask the question of the determination of race. This question is still being asked from the early nineteen hundreds to the late fifty’s and up until the recent nineties. Many descendants of duel ethnicities are asking of question of “ who am I”. They are confused as to where they fit into the equation of the categorization of race We are still consumed with the notion that there is some possible generalization that can used to determine who belongs and who doesn’t, to a certain category of ethnicity. Throughout the process of natural selection, uninhibited love and the freedom of choice, we humans continue to cloud the reality for the concept of race. This social construction of race no longer holds as a scientific factor. Physical features such as skin color and eyes and hair have been proven scientifically to be components of the location of environment. These traits were not only used to identify one “race” from another, but also as a measure to “prove” racial superiority. As we move forward in our human history the debate of nature Vs nurture proves to be a progressive thought pattern for today’s Sociologist. John Warwick (who is considered a mulatto) demonstrates this theory, as he successfully integrates into the dominant white society. After having studying, practiced and mastered the cultural values that are expected of the privileged class he is excepted as such However, he is aware that during this time,“of certain law [s] the instrument by which tyranny riveted the chains upon it’s victims, had revolted now and than against the senseless and unnatural prejudice by which a race 2007-02-02T18:07:51-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Social-Construction-of-Race-32549.aspx Understanding the Foreign Culture of Japan Japan has a population of about 126 million (the eighth largest in the world), 75% of whom live in urban areas where population density is very high. In the industrial areas there is no discernible gap between cities. Yokohama and Tokyo, although separate in name, really make up a single urban metropolis - the largest in the world. Much of Japan however is very sparsely populated; there are large national parks and vast mountainous regions where the people's way of life is unrecognizable from urban Japan. In order to protect Japan's rice crops from cheaper foreign imports, rural lives are government protected, although for how long no one can be sure. Be it in the sparsely populated countryside or in the large cities, Japan is still a country of remarkable ethnic and cultural consistency. Inhabitants of non-Japanese origin make up only just over 1% of the overall population. The vast majority of these are Koreans. The ancestry of the Japanese is a matter of much debate. The indigenous population of Hokkaido originally included a variety of ethnic groups, now collectively known as the Ainu. Many place names in Japan can be traced back to the Ainu language. One striking thing about Japan is that amongst the young there is a whiff of rebellion in the air. Their parents were brought up with the promise of a job for life and worked day and night as the post-war bubble grew seemingly inevitably bigger. However, for the younger generation the bubble burst in the 80s crash and the old certainties no longer hold true. Add to this concoction, kids who have until now been denied nothing, who see no need to work the inflexible and long hours their parents did and the specter of rising unemployment and it is clear why dissatisfaction is growing. Symbolic of this is perhaps the furita, the twenty-somethings taking on a number of part time jobs and then going to Bali to escape for a month or two of surfing. Change is a slow process in Japan, a cultural reality not helped by the fact that politics are stagnant and the ruling LDP coalition has been in power for nearly all the post-war years. Economic problems and general dissatisfaction with the Japanese work miracle has meant an increase in crime. Having said all this, Japan is still a very wealthy and relatively extremely safe country. 2007-01-12T03:32:28-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Understanding-the-Foreign-Culture-of-Japan-32394.aspx Evolution of Civilization Civilization first started when hunter and gathers crossed an economical threshold of immense significance. They began settling and domesticating plants and animals in order to survive. This mode of living steered the human society in altogether new direction and started a new period called the Neolithic Era. From this day forward, the human society began to evolve, creating an easier life style. The first step the human society made was developing a fine way to find food without having to move from place to place. They notice the life cycles of plants as well as how the temperature, the rain, and the sunshine effected the vegetation. Also, new tools made out of copper were developed to facilitate the agricultural work. Rice, beans, pepper, maize, yams, peas were some of the food that they cultivated. They also domesticated animals rather then stalking wild games. Sheeps, goats, chicken and pigs were the common domesticated animals. Agriculture made it easy for the society to expand its horizons. While food is being produced in a widely way, the population multiplies twice its original size. Therefore there are more people that helps to cultivate, producing more food and multiplying its population. While the population increased and land was scarce they began to stratify, dividing their valuable resource in unequal parts. This made the people to invent another strategy to keep surviving in this world. Due to the surplus of food it enable to some individual to concentrate their time and talent on enterprises such as pottery, metal working and textile production. From these services they began to exchange their enterprises for food. As time passed, cities established marketplace where attracted buyers and sellers from distant part of the world. This external trade made a mean to exchange food to food, thing to food or thing to thing, as well as exchanging thoughts and ideas. Ideas like metal working and agricultural techniques were spread through the world by trade. Writing was spread by the method of trade. Writing is a sophisticated cultural tradition that was originated invented for purposes of record keeping. It quickly became an undependable tool for government, administration, and trade. I t also made trade to be a little simpler by annotating who was in debt and what was the prices of the product. The earliest known writing came from Mesopotamia. They first experimented with pictographs representing sounds syllables and ideas as well as 2007-01-11T19:38:56-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Evolution-of-Civilization-32371.aspx “Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better” says by Henry Rollins. Most people, however, are terrified of living alone. They are used to living with others – children with parents, roommates with roommates, friends with friends, and husbands with wives. But I think everyone needs to know how to live along because in our life circumstances often force people to live alone. For example, many high school and college graduates move away from their hometowns and continue their educations or take jobs. Also, married people might feel they will always be together, but currently one out of two marriages ends in divorce or even sadder: the death of a spouse. These facts show that most people have to live by themselves at least once in their lives whether they want to or not. One good way to prepare for living alone is to learn how to take care of practical matters. For example, some students and newly single people might not know how to do something as simple as opening a checking account. When divorced or widowed people were married, perhaps the other spouse did the choosing or the couple made the decisions together. But how long can a person manage with a refrigerator that cannot be repaired or a car that will not run? The confidence that single people get from learning to deal with practical matters can boost their chances for establishing new friendships. When singles feel self-reliant, they can have an easier time getting out and meeting new people. Likewise, the idea of going alone to the beach or to parties can paralyze some singles. However, people alone usually find that almost everyone welcomes a new, friendly face. Probably the most difficult problem for people living alone is dealing with feelings of loneliness. At first, they have to understand the feeling. Some people confuse being alone with feeling lonely. I think they need to remember that unhappily married people can feel very lonely with spouses, and anyone can suffer from loneliness in a room crowded with friends. Second, people living alone have to fight any tendencies to get depressed. Depression can also drive people to fill the feeling of emptiness by getting into relationships or jobs that they do not truly want. Sometimes, for a short time, loneliness becomes my best friend and at this time I like 2007-01-10T23:25:46-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Academic-Essay-on-Loneliness-32332.aspx A History of Body Piercing throughout Society Throughout history people have decorated and altered the appearance of their bodies in many different ways. Body piercing is one of the oldest and most interesting forms of body modification, yet the reasons for piercing the body are as diverse as the cultures they come from. Throughout history body piercing have been practiced by many cultures for many centuries; it is believed as long as five thousand years. Body piercing was often identified with royalty and portrayed courage and virility. Egyptian Pharaohs pierced their navels as a rite of passage. Roman soldiers pierced their nipples to show their manhood. Mayans pierced their tongues as a spiritual ritual, and both sexes of Victorian royalty chose nipple and genital piercing. In our culture we have brought to the mainstream some of these ancient and tribal practices. The big difference here is the expression of self choice. In our more permissive modern day society an individual can pierce their body for any number of the reasons listed above, but is not limited or obligated to a specific set of rules or conduct. Another unique principal behind modern day piercing is that unless the piercing has been overstretched, it can be viewed as temporary. The person can take out the jewelry if he/she desires and re-transform their "look" again and again! We believe that much of the recent attraction and popularity of this "piercing renaissance" stems from the fact that up until the present - people were just unaware it was possible to pierce the body in so many different ways! Nose piercing is very attractive, and can accentuate the face, because the nose is the face's most prominent feature; Leonardo Da Vinci believed that the nose set the character of the whole face. Nose piercing was first recorded in the Middle East aproximately 4,000 years ago, it is mentioned in The Bible in Genesis 24:22 Abraham requested his oldest servant to find a wife for his son Isaac, the servant found Rebekah, and one of the gifts he gave her was a "golden earring" the original Hebrew word used was Shanf, which also translates as "nose-ring". This practice is still followed among the nomadic Berber and Beja tribes of Africa, and the Bedouins of the Middle East, the size of the ring denotes the wealth of the family. It is given by the husband to his wife at the 2007-01-03T16:05:22-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-History-of-Body-Piercing-Throughout-Society-32186.aspx Reasons for Immigration Coming from a life of poverty and despair would cause anyone to search for a better life; a life in which there is the belief that all of your dreams can come true. This is the belief that many Mexican immigrants had about “El Norte,” they believed that the north would provide them with the opportunity that their life in Mexico had not. Many Immigrants believed that the United States was “the land of opportunity,” a place to find a successful job and live out the life that one only dreamt about living. The North was an open paradise for the immigrants. They were told by the people who had already ventured to the north that the United States was a “simple life, in which one could live like a king or queen, but in reality immigrants were treated like slaves in the new country that promised them their dreams. Most Immigrants who enter the United States are searching for work and the opportunity to live a better life. They are from small towns deep within Mexico that do not offer much opportunity for the people of the town to live a prosperous life and to provide for their family. In the small town of Sierra Mixteco, men women and children arrived in town at various times of the day bent over loads of fire wood gathered from the mountains to sell in the town market (King, 14). For those who did not sell fire wood, they spent their time making straw hats to sell in the markets of larger towns, both of these jobs only provided pennies a day for the families to survive on. So the stories that the men brought back from the North gave the people of the small towns the hope that a better life did exist. It was typical for the men to travel to the north first in order to find a job and set up the life for his family. In the town of San Jeronimo, 85% of all men over the age of 15 had left the village in search of work in other parts of Mexico and in the United States (Light, 14). The men would make the trip alone and would send the money that they had made to their wives and children back in the 2006-12-29T16:56:22-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Reasons-for-Immigration--32163.aspx Study of the Women of Afghanistan Since the Taliban took power in 1996, women have been persecuted and threatened in public for not following the laws of the Taliban. First of all, Women are not allowed to work or even go out in public without a male relative. Secondly, Depression is becoming so big that it has reached emergency levels. Lastly, It is a t the point where the term “human rights violations” has become an understatement. Women have been beaten and stoned to death for not following the strict laws and rules of the government of Afghanistan. Professional women such as professors, translators, doctors, lawyers have been forced from their jobs and restricted to their homes, they cannot be seen in public without a burqua and must were silent shoes so that they will not be heard. Homes in witch women lived the windows had to be painted so that they would never be seen by outsiders. The women must wear silent shoes so that when they go out they are not heard. A women was beaten to death by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm, another women was also stoned for trying to leave the country with a man that was not a relative. Women who were once educator and doctors are now severely restricted and treated as subhuman. They live in fear of their lives for the slightest misbehavior. Women without male relatives are either starving to death or begging on the street because they don’t have the right to work. Depression in Afghanistan is becoming so widespread that it has reached emergency levels. There is no way in such an Islamic society to know the suicide rate but they estimate that suicide rates among women are extremely high. Women that cannot find proper medication and treatment for severe depression would rather take their lives than live in such conditions. At one of the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak eat, or do anything. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most in fear. When what little medication that is left finally runs out, one doctor is considering leaving these women in front of the presidents residence as a form of protest. Women suffer from deep depression 2006-12-19T17:06:47-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Study-of-the-Women-of-Afghanistan-32091.aspx Marriage in Russia It is common sense that as time progresses, changes occur, whether they are intentional, planned changes or not. When large, full-scale societal changes occur, however, there is often even greater fluctuation among the other aspects of society. Marriage has long been held as an institution that upholds the ideals of a nation, culture, or tribe. The ideas that are validated by this institution often manifest themselves in other parts of the society. Because marriage is such an integral part of social ideology, it is no wonder that it would be affected by vast changes in other institutions in a society. The changes that have occurred in Russia since the downfall of the Soviet Union are a prime example of this. Because of the economic strife and political change that occurred during the breakup of the Soviet Union and the consequent fall of Communism, the marriage rate decreased tremendously. Although the Cold War never actually escalated to a tangible conflict between the two nations, it was in virtually every other sense, a tactical war. The advent of war, no matter how long it has been anticipated, inevitably comes as a shocking surprise. Its outbreak is experienced as a great crisis full of stress and uncertainty. The sense of insecurity is not nourished solely by the particular event which sets it off…but also upon whatever factors may give rise to personal insecurity in industrial society: competitive pressures in markets, achievement competition, gaps between personal aspirations for success and frustrated endeavors, etc. The intensity and volume of insecurity at the outbreak of war focuses and polarizes all otherwise dispersed and segmented feelings of insecurity.(Gerth, 341) It seems, evident, then, that chaos ensued, as the Cold War began. The Communism which had provided for the needs of the Soviet people was under close scrutiny, to see if it would be capable of continuing to provide for the needs of the people and withstand the pressures from outside, as well. When Communism fell, a new sense of insecurity entered into the Russian people. They no longer knew where they would get their next meal, many times, much less were they concerned about marriage. According to statistics, the marriage rate in the Soviet Union has been steadily declining since 1970, while the divorce 2006-12-08T03:02:55-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Marriage-in-Russia--31945.aspx The Current Problem of Famine in Africa This paper is about two African third world countries that have serious problems with hunger, Ethiopia and Sudan. Looking at the people, the land, and the history in each country, a comparison will be made about the causes and effects of famine. Famine in Ethiopia and Sudan is apparently due to ethics, politics, and global weather patterns, but the specific causes of famine in these two countries differ greatly. Famine has stricken both Ethiopia and Sudan very harshly, with many people dying of starvation and others just waiting to die from the horrible hunger. Starvation threatens 365,000 people in Sudan, with the numbers just increasing, with no sign that they will stop increasing either (Nelan, 20). The whole country of Sudan is going through these troubles, but the famine is having its biggest impact in the Southwest and the Northern areas of Sudan (Nelan, 22). Throughout the whole country, 2.5 million square miles of land are empty, without crops that could hold valuable food for the starving people in Sudan. Those numbers are almost nothing compared to the country of Ethiopia though. It is estimated that in Ethiopia there are 4.6 million people starving or currently dead (www.news). Part of this is due to the fact that their crops became stunted drastically with the elongated dry season and an exceptionally short rainy season (www.news). All of these things make people miserable so they are forced to focus on other things to try and block out the famine troubles in both countries. Wars and other hardships have, and still are dominating the attention of the government to try to focus on something besides their own famine troubles. Ethiopia is constantly fighting “border wars” with their neighboring country Eritrea (Keller, 46). Some people in Ethiopia go as far as to fast to protest the fighting that is going on (Keller, 47). Even with the little food they have to begin with, they choose to fast to get the Government’s attention. In Sudan though, the famine does not escape the people’s attention, with their constant riots in order to try and stop the horrendous famine (Prusher, 7). But the government has done nothing, in fact they have caused more trouble by causing civil wars between Islamic Fundamentalists, and Christians (Prusher, 7). In both countries, the main focus is always is on the 2006-12-07T19:31:19-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Current-Problem-of-Famine-in-Africa-31934.aspx The Black Robes and Huron Nation Religion To the natives, dreams were very important because they guided them and also showed the future. The Huron nation had shamans to interpret the dreams that their tribe had. When the Black Robes and French arrived the Huron originally thought that they were demons come to steal there souls. When the Black Robes told them about their paradise the Huron laughed because in their paradise everyone lived as spirits and the warriors hunted spirit animals at night. The Huron believed in many spirits and for example the spirit who guided you into paradise was the She-Manitou. One amazing belief they had was that if you cried out when you died the killer would have your soul. Death Ceremonies The Huron were a little brutal with their dead. If you died in the bush you were left to rot there! It was different though if they had time to prepare your burial. Your most precious possessions were placed with you and then you were placed in a tree. If you were close to death then a shaman would be summoned to try and save you. Ceremonies and Celebrations The Huron had many different types ceremonies and celebrations. For example they had a hunting ceremony where the hunters would dance and pray for a good hunt. They wore elaborate clothes with beads and feathers imbedded in the cloth. They didn’t ever use instruments except the drums and their own voices. Often there were celebrations that lasted for days. Clothing The Huron wore leather clothes in summer as was customary among Native American tribes. In the winter they wore heavy fur coats over top of their leather clothes. When war broke out they covered their faces with war paint. One thing they were meticulously known for was that they always shaved their facial hair off. Education When the Black Robes came over, many of the inventions they had startled and surprised the Hurons. They had no written language and most of their knowledge was shared among the tribes. They needed no road signs because they could tell where they were because of the trees. Any Huron had an incredible knowledge of the environment around him. They often relied on their village elder or shaman for advice. Weapons and Warfare The Huron nation used only 3 weapons. They had the normal bow and 2006-12-07T19:26:37-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Black-Robes-and-Huron-Nation-31931.aspx Cultural Differences Between French and America There are many cultural differences between the United States and France. Some of these are simply social and others are cultural. The differences include different freedoms that have been given to French teens and not to Americans. Some of these include; drinking, driving, school, and many others that are not as obvious. Education in France is really different than in the US. You need a high school degree for almost anything in France. Even some of the “burger flipping” jobs require a degree of some kind. Consequently education is taken very seriously and it is very difficult. Students in middle school will go to school six days a week, and it is not uncommon to stay until four or five in the evening. They study all the time, and also many different subjects. They are required to take at least two foreign languages, some take even more. French students usually know what field they are going into by the time they leave middle school. This allows them to go into a more specific high school, and get classes that are more angled towards there future. In the US. It is very common for students to not really have an idea of what they are going to do as the receive their diploma at graduation. Before a French student leaves middle school he has to take a very hard test, in the subjects of; French, math history and geography. They also have to take even a harder one to get out of high school. This test is called the Bac. They are first tested on French at the end of there eleventh grade and then the next year they have to take another which covers math, science, history geography, ECT.. This test is very hard and it is done through out the country all on the same day. The pass rate has risen in the last couple of years to 65-70%. This percent to many is a little too high. They feel that the test should be a bit harder. In the United States there is a cultural, and maturity coming, this happens when you turn sixteen and you receive your driving license. This allows you 2006-12-07T15:29:14-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cultural-Differences-Between-French-and-America-31923.aspx The intention of this essay is to explore the issues surrounding research carried out by Nottingham University. The research has suggested that students lose their morals after returning from working in business. In this essay I am trying to find out why this is. I think that everybody starts out with their own opinions or views on how to judge ethics. For some religions, cultures or age groups the view has a major difference. In business I think it is different again, surely the whole point of being in business is to try to make your business as successful as possible? And the way that business is measured as successful is usually in the way of its profits. But if the public were to disagree with a company’s ethics, would it affect their profits? In my opinion, this quote from Ambrose Bierce says a lot about the way businesses pass the blame “Corporation, n., An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility.” (Ambrose Bierce, 1906) I had a look for examples of business practising immoral behaviour. When I started my research I was looking for the actual manager, being the person to blame for the immorals. I found that it was very hard to get one single name or one person who was taking the blame. My first thoughts are that the Nottingham university students are following the example of businesses we see as successful. But when we look closer at how the businesses made their profits, lots of them have sacrificed their morals in order to make money. So are we just following in their footsteps, knowing that the easiest way to become successful is to abandon our morals? One of the first companies I came across was ‘Nestle’. Nestle is a worldwide company that has thousands of products though it is mainly known for its breakfast cereals and coffee. Two years ago, there was a huge boycott against nestle for their breast milk sales in Africa. Nestle owns over 50% of the worlds breast milk substitute market and most of its products are sold in third world countries. It started by nestle promoting their products by giving away free samples to struggling mothers. In promotional advertising in these countries nestle was pushing the idea that twins and premature babies need to have breast milk substitute as they are unable to breastfeed. Also, a lot of their instructions or health warnings are 2006-12-05T13:22:09-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Ethics-Vs-Profits-31876.aspx An Overview of Canada No change is needed to encourage Canada to develop a stronger national unity. Just some guidance on the system we already have. Canada’s current federal governing system is built on a strong platform of Canadian pride. Although this system has failed to provide Canada with a firm grasp on achieving oneness, we have experienced enough to push our way through the crowds. Canada is home to a wide variety of cultural groups. The Canadian landscape consists of mountains, tundra, forests, lakes, and prairies. The climate is wet, sunny, cold, and snowy… all at the same time. Not any where in the world will you find a country that offers such diversity. The people of Canada must take advantage of all that this country has to offer. Using the true contrast to unite Canadians, rather than separating them. By all working together, and developing Canada to it’s greatest potential, will real unity be achieved. Canada has made a choice to govern it’s nation by federalism. By doing this Canada has agreed to unite. This will improve the protection of the future, prosperity, and freedom. So if Canada has agreed to unite, it should eventually be accomplished. Dreams don’t come true over night. But as Canadians, we should believe that we can make this country a promising nation for all. Once you have set a goal you don’t back down. Canada has remained truthful to creating a secure future for everyone. Canada’s goal is marriage, not divorce. This requires love from both sides. The people of Canada must support and accept decisions made by the government, and trust they are for the better. In return the government should allow more say by the public. What is it that Canadians really want? How can everyone’s needs be met, and standard of living be equalized. Doing this will ensure a win-win situation for everyone. The results will not lead to divorce ( complete independent nations), nor will it lead to a "one-power" relationship (unitary system). Being the Prime Minister of Canada is no easy job. It’s like being the parent of two younger children. If one gets something, the other wants it too. Nothing is fair, nothing is even. But in the end they realize everything was to benefit them. Like Canada’s east and west. The governments have to provide for the high demands in the 2006-11-17T02:29:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Overview-of-Canada-31796.aspx Issues in the Australian Educational System "The Senate should pass vital the State Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill without further delay", Dr David Kemp, the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs said today. "Only when this Bill is passed will every school in the country be able to benefit from the record levels of funding it provides." The State Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Bill is the biggest ever investment by any Commonwealth government in primary and secondary education. It demonstrates the Commonwealth’s commitment to improving educational outcomes for all young Australians with increased funding, strategic intervention, improved standards and choice. It will boost public confidence in Government schools by providing not only record levels of funding, but also measures by which schools can demonstrate to parents that their children are receiving the quality education that is their democratic birthright. This legislation delivers some $22 billion to schools over the next four years and provides increased funding for all schools. Included in this legislation are. •implementation of the new socio-economic status (SES) funding arrangements for non-government schools which is essential to provide improved funding for schools serving the neediest communities.. "The former category 1 schools –the subject of so much media attention and pretended outrage from the Labor Party - will get about 2.8% of the total funding "said Dr Kemp. "The previous mechanism for funding non-government schools which the Labor Party put in place and twisted through constant political manipulation is now history," said Dr Kemp. "In its place is a fairer and more equitable funding model that provides a significant funding boost for the neediest non-government schools and which reflects the actual needs of parents with their children at these schools." •Funding for government schools over the next four years will total $8.6 billion. Government schools will receive $1.4 billion more in the next four year funding period than in the last quadrennium. The legislation also contains a streamlining of Commonwealth equity programs and much stronger accountability for Commonwealth funding. •The Commonwealth’s new Strategic Assistance for Improving Student Outcomes program is aimed at improving learning outcomes of students who are educationally disadvantaged, including student with disabilities and student struggling to reach the national performance benchmarks in literacy and numeracy This program will provide $1.2 billion over four years. The streamlining of the literacy and numeracy and special education programs gives education authorities greater 2006-11-17T02:23:45-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Issues-in-the-Australian-Educational-System-31794.aspx [b]An Overview of Life in Mexico[/b] Since Mexico is such a close neighbor to the United States, one may find oneself curious of its culture. For those who have been curious enough to visit, there are usually no regrets for time well spent. Mexico has much to offer culturally. Its population is diverse and through the years, they have produced fine literature, art, and music. Moreover, because of Mexico’s closeness, the United States is easily able to relish its cuisine. It is becoming more common to come across a Spanish-speaking family or individual in the United States. It is also very common to find a preponderance of Spanish speaking people in a community as is evident in parts of California, Florida, New York, Texas, and New Mexico. There are well over 2 million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles alone. Mexican people are crossing United States borders daily and settling in this country. As they become more a part of the country and integrate their background with American culture, a look at their culture becomes more enticing. Moreover, it becomes more important to be more sensitive linguistically. Firstly, we must accommodate Spanish speaking Mexicans in our businesses, stores, banks, and government buildings by including directions and signs in Spanish. Secondly, some of us may find it necessary to acclimate ourselves to the Spanish language in order to communicate effectively. This especially holds true for teachers that find themselves with a Spanish speaking student who is lonely and scared in an English speaking classroom. The intent of this unit is to allow elementary students the opportunity to discover Mexico and its culture. The way in which students will do this is with as many hands on activities as possible. Experiencing a particular subject matter in this hands on fashion will make learning more meaningful and exciting. For example, students will not just taste Mexican food, but they will cook it. They will read recipes, gather ingredients, and cook the food in the class. They will not just look at an article of traditional Mexican clothing and pass it around, but they will make clothing and wear it during the day. In addition to this, they will make murals in the style of famous Mexican artists and display them throughout the school. The more students can stay away from ditto sheets and the “paint by numbers” approach, the more effective this 2006-11-17T01:59:20-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Overview-of-Life-in-Mexico-31784.aspx Marriage in the Colombian Kogi Tribe Marriage rituals exist in all types of societies whether it is in today’s society or past societies. Researching this particular topic, the Colombian Kogi Tribe, the role of women and their marriage rituals are very different in today’s post-modern society. This tribe is found in Santa Marta Colombia. They reside primarily in the Sierra Nevada, a place where snow can only be found in this South American country. Residing in the rainforest the Kogi Tribe migrated towards the Sierra Nevada for lack of salt and was the only tribe that was not decimated by the Spaniards. The Kogi Tribe were a culturally and technology advanced culture. Since they needed salt to survive the Kogi Tribe traded gold with the Spaniards in exchange for salt. The Kogi also view their creator as the Great Mother. They claim, “The Great Mother gave us what we needed to live and her teaching has not been forgotten right up to this day. We all still live by it.” (Falvey). A girl becomes a woman at menstruation and is right away ready for marriage and love. After the girl’s second menstruation she is placed aside and not allowed to be touched by anyone. A Mama speaks about this process, “So then, we know this, so even today we keep a young woman who has just had her first period in a corner, that woman cannot be touched. When she has had her second period, she has become a woman. Then she is ready to love, and then the Mama blesses the man, orders the man to confess. He orders the young woman to confess whether she has committed any sin without the Mama’s permission of her mother, then she asks for forgiveness and the Mama makes a payment, purifies the person so that she will be cleansed, will have clear mind, good heart, good soul and marries them.” (Falvey) In the Kogi Tribe marriage is considered long term monogamy. Marriage for love is viewed as a possibility but doesn’t necessarily always happen. Lineage orders must be met to balance the good of society when marriage comes into play, which is why arranged marriages are the basic process for the Kogi Tribe. The nuclear family is the basis for 2006-10-28T20:35:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Marriage-in-the-Colombian-Kogi-Tribe-31606.aspx Institutional Study of Marriage and the Family The Three Myths I chose to write on were Myth 2: The Self-Reliant Traditional Family, Myth 4: The Unstable African American Family, and Myth 5: The Idealized Nuclear Family of the 1950’s. The Myth of the self-reliant family leads people to assume that, in the past, families were held together by hard work, family loyalty, and a fierce determination not to be beholden to anyone, especially the state. It is popularly believed that such families never asked for handouts; rather, they stood on their own feet even in times of crisis. The families of yesteryear did not accept or expect “charity.” Authors debunk this myth by stating that U.S. families have always depended to some degree on other institutions. For example, colonial families made extensive use of the collective work of others, such as African American slaves and Native Americans, whose husbandry and collective land use provided for the abundant game, plants, and berries colonial families consumed to survive. African American families have been the subject of far more sweeping generalizations and myths. The most pervasive myth, the myth of the collapse of the African American family, is fueled by racist stereotypes and media exaggerations and distortions that overlook the diversity of African American family life. According to social historian Andrew Billingsley, three distinct classes are visible in the African American community: (1) a small upper class (approximately 10%) that stresses family and is politically conservative; (2) a middle class (approximately 40%) concerned with family, respectability, and individual and family achievement; and (3) a lower class (approximately 50%) made up of stable working-class families and both stable and multi-problem poor families. It is generally from the multi-problem poor families within the lower class that stereotypes and generalizations are made about all African American families. The authors state that to generalize these behaviors to the entire African American community, however, is inaccurate and misleading. Moreover, to attribute these behaviors, when they do occur, to a deteriorating, immoral family life-style and a lack of middle-class family values ignores historical, social, and political factors, such as a history of servitude, legal discrimination, enforced segregation and exclusion. The myth of the Idealized Nuclear Family of the 1950s leads people to see the family as a middle-class institution consisting of a wise father who worked outside the home; 2006-08-27T16:30:28-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Institutional-Study-of-Marriage-and-the-Family-31317.aspx Wife or Slave?: An Essay on Female Roles in Society “Do you woman, take this man, to become his concubine, to pamper and slave over, through sickness and in health, now and forever, till he decides to replace you…?” With vows as “tempting” as these being presented at the altar, surely females would jump at the chance to be married, right? Men, as well as women, have requests of their significant others, some requests are expected, others slightly selfish. An agreement is eventually reached, or tension mounts between the two. There are always small percentages of males that exhibit the characteristics of the common caveman…always wanting, but never giving. Ironically enough, there’s always that same percentage of women that accept the ways of the caveman…waiting, hand and foot, on the male with no hope of equality. Despite the thoughts displayed in Judy Brady’s “I Want a Wife,” the typical male isn’t searching for a mate to subjugate over. He is searching for someone to compromise with, to receive from and to give to equally. Brady, both a wife and a mother, hides behind her title as “feminist writer” to give her writings a somewhat harmless look about them. Unfortunately, her degradation of the opposite sex gives readers an unclouded view of her sexist attitude. To soften the blow against males she throws at her readers, she takes the liberty of taking on a male role. With this, she accomplishes her ulterior motives. First, she implicitly attacks males, not openly so that her readers won’t immediately tag her as the bad guy. This makes her accusations and insinuations seem like a harmless show of opinion. Second, she speaks from our point of view as a subtle way of mocking us. She makes us out to be little boys, helpless and overly demanding to women, even uneducated. “I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent on me” (Brady 274). Honestly, there are men that want their wives to do most of the work in the house, both his and hers; that can’t be denied. To say that males want their wives to pay for their schooling is ludicrous. As if a male being helpless dependants wasn’t enough, Brady also makes males out to be insensitive and uncaring to the feelings of their wives. Most males 2006-08-27T15:47:48-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Essay-on-Female-Roles-in-Society-31310.aspx Elements of the "American Dream" The American dream. It consists of a family, house, cars, and other luxury items. How did it become the American dream? Why do we feel so compelled to pursue it? The reason is because we, the American public, have been convinced through advertising to acquire it. It is a very powerful way of persuasion. Advertising affects us so powerfully that it sometimes sets our views of society for us. We constantly absorb images of families, houses, and cars through commercials and magazine ads. It persuades us so strongly to the point that it can alter our social consciousness. Alter it to the point that we feel that the American dream is no longer a luxury, it has become a necessity. Today there is almost no way to escape advertisements. The radio, television, and magazine ads make sure of that. The more we view these advertisements, the more we are persuaded toward the American dream. With a television in almost every household and magazines only an arm’s length away, advertisers basically have us on our knees. We must digest advertisers the views so frequently that you would think it was necessary to sustain life. Advertising’s main goal is to persuade. They want us to see the American way through their eyes. They tell us what to eat, drink, wear, drive, and think. Advertisers start this form of brainwashing on us at a very early age. They lay the groundwork of ideals early on because it is easy to persuade a child. Now, with the two-income family, children are left to interpret not only advertisements but television programming as well without supervision. Children are forced to make their own evaluations and most of the time they go along with the views of what they see. How many times do children want something because they saw it on television? With the unending viewing of shows and advertisements who could blame them. By age twenty, Americans have viewed an estimated half a million commercials. Now that is a major amount of influencing on a young person. This is exactly what advertisers hope to accomplish with young people. They want them to associate advertisements to purchasing. It starts out with toys and leads to the American dream. One day they want a matchbox car and a few years later they want a real Porsche. Do not all boys want a fancy car? Do not 2006-08-25T20:51:30-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Elements-of-the-American-Dream-31283.aspx Medugorje Pilgrimage Medjugorje: it is an obscure mountain village in central Yugoslavia. Until 1981 very few had ever heard of this place, let alone been interested in visiting it - but on June 24th of that year at a most wonderful and exciting thing happened that has changed not only the lives of the local people but those of millions of people all over the world,. On this special day six children from the village off, parish of St James Dean, sought vision of a woman and child appear on a small mountain behind the village. They were Catholics and were immediately able to identify the vision as that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The response to this first sighting has been phenomenal. The visitors from all over the world, regardless of race or religion, have responded to the message first revealed to these children, "it opened their hearts and reconciled with God." The children from that date, and saw the vision of what they referred to as a "gospel" (Blessed Mother) on a daily basis and the widespread very quickly struck the village and neighboring countryside. Visitors came in their droves, hoping to experience what these children and at that time Yugoslavia was under a Communist rule and were officially the non-believers have gone. They, as you can imagine, were absolutely furious at what was happening. People were put in prison, including the first pastor, father Jozo Zovko, because of their loyalty to the apparitions. The six young people were threatened and verbally and physically abused by the local police. The government did some terrible things to try to prevent the spread of this "nonsense" but to no avail.) the very beginning, those who go to medjugorje experience the power of God's love coming through the Blessed Virgin Mary - man can never, ever, a complete with God and expect to win. And they didn't this time! The six visionaries, we the only children, initially asked questions by relating to themselves, their lives and their families. On the second day they asked "why have you come here - what you want to." very plain wiles a "there are many devout believers here. I have come to convert and reconcile." The Blessed Mary is messages can therefore be summarized in five words: Conversion, Faith, prayer, penance, peace. 1) conversion: she is calling us to turn from sin and asking us to 2006-08-12T14:52:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Medugorje-Pilgrimage--31235.aspx A Study of Civilization and Isolation Transformations in the way early humans developed their culture and society led to the marked distinctions that define their civilization. Intellectual, cultural and material developments are the driving factors behind the formation of the Mesopotamian civilization. Civilization in the West states that the Mesopotamians had survival in mind when they began forming a civilization ; however, I believe that they envisioned a greater existence in forming a civilization. The Minoan civilization was destined to remain isolated on the island of Crete. In contrast, the Mesopotamians' option of migrating anywhere in the Middle East proves conclusively that they sought a better life for themselves through the formation of a centralized civilization. Mesopotamia is considered the first civilization ever created and it was no accident that it formed. One could say that the people of Mesopotamia came together to fight the powers of Mother Nature. It was obvious that Mother Nature was not on their side, whether it be the thin soil in the north or the lack of rain in the south. Mesopotamians that once settled in scattered towns and villages came together to form small settlements and towns that they used to build irrigation systems. In centralizing their population, they benefited from the additional manpower that was necessary to carry on the irrigation systems that gave them a better day to day life. Organization of an agriculture system was one of the first signs that Mesopotamia formed a civilization. Incorporating other Mesopotamian towns into the control of the settled towns denoted expansion. Urbanization followed expansion, thus allowing people to congregate in one designated area. However, as a result of the pressure put on the cities' food supplies, inhabitants would pursue material development by stealing from surrounding neighbors. The benefit that the Mesopotamians reaped from forming a civilization was that they could seek protection within the walls of their settlement. In other words, they sought protection in numbers. Before forming civilizations, the people of Mesopotamia were not isolated as the inhabitants of Crete were. Hence, there had to be certain motivational factors other than isolation that brought the Mesopotamian people together. The small cities that were so important to protection also served other purposes. Arguably, the most important purpose is that they brought together the ideas of so many people into one congregated area, a feature that the island of Crete provided without migration to cities. 2006-08-09T13:29:31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Study-of-Civilization-and-Isolation-31199.aspx Race, Religion And Ethnic Origin The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination identifies discrimination on the grounds of race, colour and ethnic origin as an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations among people, cooperation between nations, and international peace and security. The Convention has been ratified by a majority of the United Nations' member states. Yet, as the world enters a new century, the problems of racial and ethnic discrimination persist. As evidenced by events on several continents, we are a long way from seeing an end to ethnic conflict. In Canada, open hostility between groups or communities is rare. Problems of this nature do arise, but judging by the complaints the Commission receives, racial discrimination in this country is most frequently encountered in the form of systemic barriers to employment, or in situations involving individual workers or service users. When such discrimination does occur, it is often subtle, and consequently more difficult to address. Visible Minorities in the Public Service In 1997, the Commission published a study entitled Visible Minorities and the Public Service of Canada. The report noted that the federal government's record in hiring and retaining members of visible minority groups was inferior to that of the private sector. The report also suggested that visible minority employees often viewed the public service as unresponsive and hostile. There was a general feeling that some aspects of the staffing system acted as barriers to the hiring and promotion of visible minority candidates. In April 1999, the President of the Treasury Board set up the Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service. Lewis Perinbam, who chairs the Task Force, is a former Vice President of the Canadian International Development Agency whose career has included work with the World Bank and UNESCO. The Task Force is made up of former public service employees and representatives from the private sector, academia, and visible minority organizations. It has indicated that it will consult widely, and develop an action plan aimed at improving the participation of visible minorities in the public service. The Commission views the establishment of the Task Force as a positive step, and looks forward to the publication of its report and to the government's subsequent response. The need for action to address barriers in the public service has been reinforced by the results of the Public Service Employee Survey, which were published in November 1999. 2006-08-06T20:29:53-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Race-Religion-and-Ethnic-Origin-31072.aspx Importance of Cultural Integration in Society Cultural Integration is when material and non-material culture become interrelated. Material culture includes aspects like technology of a society. Non-material culture includes things like norms and values of a society. In cultural integration, both material and non-material culture impact each other. For example, some culture’s religion influence what individuals wear in that particular society. In some middle-eastern religions, women are required to wear veils over their face at all times. Veils would be an example of material culture, while religion is a form of non-material culture. Cultural Integration is important because it maintains a unity and a certain balance in a particular society. Also, cultural integration helps keep a society together, so all can share the same beliefs and values in a social system. Therefore, it helps to reduce conflict in a society where cultural integration is present. If all parts of a society are linked together, it becomes more homogeneous, which affects the amount of conflict present. Functionalist thought is a general consensus that socialization helps integrate people of a society. Everyone in that particular society follows the rules of that culture. These rules can be described as an invisible agreement, which is put forth by the culture in which the society follows or practices. Functionalism believes that cultural integration has a special purpose in a society. Its purpose is to join people of a society into a common bond. It draws the people into a similar way of thinking. Functionalist thought believes that cultural integration is directly responsible for the amount of deviance in a society. If people are culturally integrated and share the same beliefs and values, then the amount of deviance must be low, compared to a society that is not integrated. In conclusion, functionalism maintains a special purpose for cultural integration in a society. That purpose is to keep the people of that society on the same page, and therefore the society will be held together in a common bond. Conflict theory basically states that socialization helps maintain a certain inequality in society. Every society contains groups inside, and each group has their own culture in order to cater to their particular interests. According to conflict theory, a dominant group will reign over all the other groups 2006-08-05T10:39:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Importance-of-Cultural-Integration-in-Society-31019.aspx Comparing Mexico to the United States As we sit in the comfort of our homes knowing where our next meal will come from, we watch on the our televisions, news of a country in Africa that is poverty stricken or a country in Asia where a person cant get a job. We watch this not being able to imagine how things can be so bad just half a world away, but we don’t have to go that far to see this. Mexico our neighboring country to the United States faces all of these realities every day. Are there not enough jobs in Mexico for people to make money? Or are the people of Mexico lazy and rather starve than go to work? Is Mexico poor of natural resources? Or can it be that the politics in Mexico is what is holding the people down and not allowing them to live in the same wealth as the United States? In my youth I lived in Mexico and for a fact I know that my people are not lazy. Mexico is the number one producer of silver in the Americas so the land is rich of natural resources. There are also many jobs for people its just that the jobs they have do not pay enough for the people to have a good standard of living by American standards. So it is evident that the poverty that has stricken the people of Mexico face today can be blamed on the government that they have. The population in Mexico is nearly a third of that in the United States and yet our gross domestic product (GDP) is over eight times that of Mexico’s. The United States (GDP) is thirty three thousand nine hundred, while Mexico’s is at four thousand one hundred. I could sit here for hours and write numbers that would blow you away when you see the comparison of living between these two neighboring countries but instead I will show you how Mexican politics compare with the politics of the United States and the result of the quality of living fro the peoples of these two governments. Mexico’s government is a federal republic just as the United States. Mexico has two major parties in its government they are the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) which means Institutional Revolutionary Party. The other party is, Partido de Accion Nacional (PAN) (party 2006-08-01T19:50:24-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Comparing-Mexico-to-the-United-States-30973.aspx The Life Of Medieval Women I have been asked to write an essay on the subject of the role of women in the middle ages. In this essay I am attempting to out line the opinion that how hard life for women was. There were some ways that women could gain both personal and legal freedom but this was very difficult. Women could not even say or do what they wanted without permission from men. What kinds of work did medieval women have to do? Different classes of women would have done different jobs. The poor women would have worked because their husbands would not have been able to support them and their many children on his wages alone. She would have had so many children due to the high death rate because there was no cure for disease and there was no contraception. She would have taken any jobs she could find, for example gathering hay in a field and they worked with no shoes on their feet. – Source 0. Women would have helped her husband ploughing and even he would have been working for a farmer. She took her baby with her in the freezing cold. – Source 9. If she had of been a widow she may have taken over her dead husband’s job. This may have been a blacksmith, to do this job she would have had to be very strong. – Source 5. A stonemason would have also had to be very strong –Source 13. Women who had no money could become a nun; this would mean she had rights, as they remain celibate, because as soon as they marry their land and property becomes her husbands and at his disposal. – Source 3. This would provide protection as they grow their own food and have a secure home. They would have a chance to live a religious life and it gave them the chance of a career. There were also many famous nuns and abbesses. - Source 18 A midwife was another occupation for a woman as no males were admitted to the ward when a woman was giving birth. Some of these 2006-07-30T21:19:50-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Life-Of-Medieval-Women--30845.aspx Theory of Rationalization And Theory Of McDonaldization When the task of comparing and contrasting the works of two acclaimed sociologists is asked of you there are many things that leap into one’s mind. Firstly there is the factor of time or circa, the first of the two being Max Weber who was born in 1864 and is considered to be one of the forefathers of sociological theory. The second, George Ritzer is a man of our time and in fact still a lecturer at the University of Maryland in America on sociology today. Max Weber was committed to the study of causality, the probability that an event would be followed by another event not necessarily of a simular nature. In addition to this he also believed that social scientists should not let their personal values influence their scientific research. In this area Weber thought that sociology should be “value Free”. One of Webers best-known contributions to contemporary sociology is the ideal type. An ideal type is a concept constructed by a social scientist, based on his or her interests and theoretical orientation, to capture the essential features of some social phenomenon. Weber also analyzed the levels to which rationality was becoming institutionally embedded in modern industrialized societies. In short the rationalization process is the practical application of knowledge to achieve a desired goal. It has been shown to lead to better efficiency, coordination and control over what can be assumed to be both the physical and social environment. Rationalization is the guiding principle behind bureaucracy and the increasing division of labor. IT has led to the unprecedented increase in both the production of goods and services, and the up rise of secularization, depersonalization and oppressive routine. Bureaucracy was according to Weber a form of organization superior to all others, and due to this fact further bureaucratization and rationalization was most probably an inescapable fate. Webber wrote in one of his many books: Economy and society, “Without this form of (social) technology the industrialized countries could not have reached the heights of extravagance and wealth that they currently enjoy”. Weber believed that this capacity for social order would lead to the evolution of the iron cage, and as a result a society that was technically ordered, rigid, and dehumanized. Like Weber, George Ritzer’s theory on McDonaldization also deals with the “Iron Cage” of existence. 2006-07-30T20:33:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Theory-of-Rationalization-and-Theory-Of-McDonaldization-30825.aspx Cultural Study on Mawi Asgedom from Ethiopia When Mawi Asgedom was three years old he fled the war-torn country of Ethiopia with his family. He ended up in a refugee camp in Sudan where he spent three years of his life. In these camps, him and his family heard magnificent stories about a place called “Amerikha.” This, of course, caused them to want to move there. After about a year they were able to immigrate to Chicago, Illinois. When they arrived in Chicago they lived in a one-room motel room while an immigration office tried to find a church to sponsor them. After that failed, they were moved to the rich suburb of Wheaton, Illinois to see if a church would sponsor them there. They did find a church there and they ended up living in a nice two-story home, which the church paid for most of. But the years ahead of them would be long and hard. Throughout Mawi’s life in adolescence and as a teenager, he had to deal with many conflicts that all made his life harder. First of all, all of the kids at the school he went to made fun of how him and his brothers/sisters were black. Kids would wait after school for him just to beat him up and make fun of him. Another thing that he had to deal with was language. He didn’t speak much English, which made it very difficult for him to learn things. Poverty was another thing he had to cope with. Him and his family had to get all of their clothes from a dumpster. Poverty also led him to stealing. He once found a parking meter and took it off of its hinges with his brother. They tried to open but before they could a police officer found them. They ran all of the way home and they never got caught. After a few years, Mawi learned good English, which allowed him to learn in the classes a lot better. He ended up being an extremely good student who always got straight A’s. In his senior year of High school, Mawi received a letter from Harvard University. They were giving him a full scholarship to their school. Mawi went to Harvard and ended up graduating in the top eight of Harvard in 1999. Mawi lives in Chicago to this day. He is twenty-four years old and 2006-07-29T16:32:54-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cultural-Study-on-Mawi-Asgedom-from-Ethiopia-30798.aspx Key Features of "Culture" Culture. What is culture? How do you define it? How does a culture become just that? Culture is a way of life made up of groups of things. There are many upon many groups and they are all important. Three key features are social organization, customs and traditions, and finally arts and literature. Social Organization is the social structure to which every culture bases its self on. Each culture has it’s own basic needs that is met through this social organization. The most important unit is the family. This is where the children learn how they are to behave and what they are to believe. Each family has different morals and ways to teach their children. Within the family status there lives the nuclear family and the extended family. The nuclear family holds a husband, wife and children. This is the typical family patter in many industrial societies within the United States. In this family unit there does not need to be many members. For this family buys what it needs with the earnings that it has made. Next, in the extended family there are several generations living together in one household it is common in this family to find that respect for elders is strong. The elders are the ones that pass on the wisdom so in that aspect they are given high respect. The people with authority often vary throughout different cultures. In most societies, and those before us were patriarchal. In a patriarchal family men are the ones with authority. In some cultures matriarchal is present. Matriarchal is when the woman contains the highest authority. Most all cultures have social classes in to which they base or rank their people by. The more modern social class is based on money, occupation, education, ancestry or some other form. In some societies religious leaders are the highest in their social class. Usually in the past you had to be born into a class of the upper society or you “change your stars.” Customs and traditions are made entirely of the most important element in its class, which is a culture’s rule of behavior. As known rules may vary in importance and different rules are enforced in different ways. Some 2006-07-25T15:35:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Key-Features-of-Culture-30639.aspx Study of the Republic of the Philippines The islands of the Republic of the Philippines have many natural resources that could aid in making this new Disney Park which include timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, and copper. With its abundance of forests, over 46% of the Philippines are woodlands; there will be more than enough wood to build rides and/or buildings. The Philippines also have many ways of getting electricity to power the Park. For example, it has hydropower, fossil fuels, and various other ways. Also, some of the Philippines major industries are electronic and electrical products so there should be no problem getting electricity anywhere in the Park. There are many different forms of transportation available to people on these islands. Out of the 199,950 kilometers of highway, 39,590 kilometers are paved, 3,219 kilometers of waterways, 76 airports with paved runways, and many ports and harbors. In total, there are 459 merchant marine ships, which can carry just about anything from cargo, livestock, passengers, and vehicles. There are also 212 total airports with unpaved runways so that when more tourists come, the airplanes can land there as well as at the airports with paved runways. The people who will be working on building this new Disney Park will be quite educated. By 1988 the literacy rate was 88% nation wide. 56% of the people nation wide are enrolled in high school and enrollment in institutions of higher learning exceeded 1.6 million in the late 1980’s and is increasing. Filipinos consider education to be its primary path towards a better society and economic mobility and are using the United States as a model for its educational system. Language should not be a problem since on of the two officials languages of the Philippines is English. Also, the life expectancy rate is about 67.8 years with a birth rate of 27.37 births per 1,000 people and a population growth rate of 2.03%. The labor force is approximately 48.1 million, 5.8% of which are construction workers. There is a 10% unemployment rate that the government would like to decrease, and the construction of this park would help give many people jobs, which would help this country’s economy. The Philippines consists of over 7,000 islands, which cover a total land area of 298,170 kilometers, which is slightly larger than Arizona. Terrain is mostly mountains with coastal lowlands below. 2006-07-25T12:22:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Study-of-the-Republic-of-the-Philippines-30621.aspx Women in Post Modern Society During the 1960s and 1970s movements emerged such as second wave feminism, civil rights and gay “liberation” whose previously silenced and marginalized voices suggested that the white male was no longer the only hero of the story. These voices variously and collectively claimed the right to speak in their own name and attempted to foster a sense of group “identity” as a way of resisting the systematic oppression that was experienced by each group in different ways. At the same time post modernist theories were also gaining currency. Patricia Waugh (1989:307) has described postmodernism as a “mood expressed theoretically across a wide range of discourses involving a collapse of grand narratives” and this “mood” incorporates the post structuralism notion of the death of the “subject”. My argument in this paper will be that while postmodernist theories were once useful positions to challenge patriarchal, heterosexist, racist society they have become double edged swords for the marginalized and disenfranchised groups who still need to articulate themselves through the now debated “identity politics”. Theorists such as Elizabeth Wheeler (1991:6) have pointed out the irony that just as female and/or non-white subjects began to make themselves heard, the white male declared the death of the subject. The fetish of the textual beckoned in an age where white intellectuals were threatened with the disposition of their words. The central postmodern project is the end of dualism. This challenge to dualism was a feminist project before it was a postmodern one and part of my discussion will be an elaboration of what I believe to be the more sinister implications for women regarding the end of dualism as it is articulated in postmodern epistemological theory, (especially its challenge to the epistemological foundations of feminist theory.) I will be arguing that postmodernism absolutely supports the status quo, which, in our culture is that of consumerism and commodifation. I will also be arguing that postmodernism, whilst claiming to have no stake in its own hegemony (like queer theory) does extreme ‘violence’ to identity politics and only totally reinforces the hegemonic position of white males in our culture. My contention throughout this paper will be that post modernism’s logical outcome can only be a political vacuum where “meaning” is destabilized, commodity fetishism is the only “verity” and organized opposition an absurdity in a culture without a “meaningful” language. I 2006-07-22T12:51:36-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Women-in-Post-Modern-Society-30447.aspx Comparison Essay of "Guys" and "Men" In a world full of ethnic, racial, and sexual discrimination's, it seems only befitting that we go as far as to draw dividing lines within gender. It has long been disputed that there exist many clearly defined points that set a “guy” apart from a “man”. This subject is often tossed around jokingly, with lines such as “Guys start projects. Men finish them.” This statement places the man in a higher place of professionalism, giving guys no credit for being reliable. A classic contrast between guys and men is that guys are more in touch with their basic instincts (eat, sleep, have fun), where men seem to be more in touch with a sophisticated world (drink fine aged wine, read Crichton, and play golf). Men spend so much time trying to be a better man, guys just do not waste time on such trivial things. Ironically though, it is the man who will always say that he is “just one of the guys”. Although the subject may be viewed from many perspectives, I believe that men are simply guys who have been conditioned to a point that they no longer know who or what they are. Men have been conditioned by what they define as “success”. Success drives a man to be a professional in his field, to wear dress shirts and slacks, to put every ounce of energy within into becoming something greater. No matter how powerful or prestigious a man becomes, he will always strive for more. Manhood is defined by an inability to be content, which masks itself as success. Guys, on the other hand, share a different meaning of the word success. To a guy, success does not come in the form of status or stock figures, success comes in the number of suicide chicken wings he can ingest in a period of time, how far he can lob a football, and most importantly, the strength of his friendships. Guys are happy with enjoying life’s simple pleasures, and are content with the notion of doing absolutely nothing. A defining contrast between men and guys, therefore, is that men will never be as content in life as guys will be, because guys simply don’t care. Men, along with being conditioned by their successes, are easily conditioned by women. A man will go out of his way to open doors for 2006-07-17T13:07:09-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Comparison-Essay-of-Guys-and-Men-30294.aspx Discussing Sex in Comtemporary Indian Culture I've never had sex in India, the country where I was born and spent most of my first eighteen years. I've had impatient kisses in the shadows of whale-backed ambassador cars, and I've necked in the bucket seats of crowded movie theaters in Hyderabad, the city in southern India where I was born. But that was a long time ago, when I was young and naïve and India was a conservative, closed nation, where "love marriage" was a dirty term and riotous Valentine's Day celebrations were still a generation away. My high school sweetheart and I were the only lovers in our high school of 2,000 students, save for one other couple: her best friend, a busty Telugu rebel named Nirupama, and Samer Khan, her handsome, brooding Muslim with green eyes, an Enfield motorcyle and a pocket knife. So scandalous was their affair in mid-80s Hyderabad, that Nirupama was banished to her grandparents' in neighboring Tamil Nadu so that she might come to her senses. For months her amore rode all night to rendezvous with her for a few hours. When those visits were curtailed, I heard she tried to commit suicide. My girlfriend's family was less traditional: they had lived in Papua New Guinea, where she kissed boys under the mistletoe at "X-mas" time. I, too, was more progressive, born of a mixed marriage, my mother a relatively liberal Syrian American. We would steal quick embraces in her tiny, doorless bedroom, her grandparents constantly peeking in on us. Once we were caught fondling each other on the roof of her apartment complex by a neighbor. He hauled us into his living room, threatening exposure and subsequent censure unless we listened quietly to his diatribe on morals and bowed our heads in shame for the sins we had just committed. When I left India at eighteen to study at Caltech in Pasadena, California, I imagined I had lifted the prudish veil of my native land and could now indulge in guilt-free, sensuous sex with gorgeous blondes on the hot and sinful shores of the West. I was still a naïve virgin after all, and teen pop culture had led me, like all the rest of my classmates, to believe that America was a land of vice and 2006-07-16T21:49:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Discussing-Sex-in-Comtemporary-Indian-Culture-30262.aspx Effects of Warfare on the Formation of the Modern State The definition of a modern state is debatable, but for the purpose of this essay the definition ‘a distinct form of public power, separate from both ruler and ruled and forming the political authority within certain defined boundaries’, (Chapter 2, Unit 1, p 73) appears appropriate. A modern state has four main features: fixed territorial boundaries, a monopoly on force and the means of coercion, impersonal and sovereign political order and the legitimacy to represent the needs and interests of its citizens. This form of state was to become a common feature of the entire global system. This essay will outline the main historical forces which have contributed to the development of the modern state; warfare, the growth of capitalism, and the process of democratization. The historical period covered is from the seventeenth century, following the English Civil War (1640-88) and the French Revolution (1789). Warfare would appear to be central to the development of the modern state. Competition among states was largely driven by insecurity and vast amounts of capital were needed to enable a state to be secure. A state would need to be prepared to go to war to secure its territorial boundaries. In turn neighboring states, feeling insecure at their neighbor’s war preparation, would also need to arm. A vicious circle of insecurity referred to as the ‘security dilemma’ (ibid p95). Another reason for states to maintain fully equipped armies was the leverage this would possibly give them in negotiations with other states. The ability of a state to secure and/or extend its boundaries was dependant upon the resources available and its ability to extract these resources from the citizens of that state, whether it be manpower, weaponry, foodstuffs or finance. As the state got larger the needs for resources became greater and boundaries needed to be extended in order to increase resources. However, few of the states subjects were willing to suffer the loss of life or resources without gaining some acknowledgement in exchange and there were many conflicts and rebellions against the demands which were made upon them. Accordingly the state built ‘administrative, bureaucratic and coercive structures’ (ibid p95) to control and co-ordinate their population. This administrative infrastructure was a major development of the modern 2006-07-13T12:57:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Effects-of-Warfare-on-the-Formation-of-the-Modern-State-30204.aspx Analysis of Culture and Foods We have seen that the Mikado’s food was cooked every day in new pots and served up in new dishes; both pots and dishes were of common clay, in order that they might be broken or laid aside after they had been once used. They were generally broken, for it was believed that if any one else ate his food out of these sacred dishes, his mouth and throat would become swollen and inflamed. The same ill effect was thought to be experienced by any one who should wear the Mikado’s clothes without his leave; he would have swellings and pains all over his body. In Fiji there is a special name (kana lama) for the disease supposed to be caused by eating out of a chief’s dishes or wearing his clothes. “The throat and body swell, and the impious person dies. I had a fine mat given to me by a man who durst not use it because Thakombau’s eldest son had sat upon it. There was always a family or clan of commoners who were exempt from this danger. I was talking about this once to Thakombau. ‘Oh yes,’ said he. ‘Here, So-and-so! come and scratch my back.’ The man scratched; he was one of those who could do it with impunity.” The name of the men thus highly privileged was Na nduka ni, or the dirt of the chief. In the evil effects thus supposed to follow upon the use of the vessels or clothes of the Mikado and a Fijian chief we see that other side of the god-man’s character to which attention has been already called. The divine person is a source of danger as well as of blessing; he must not only be guarded, he must also be guarded against. His sacred organism, so delicate that a touch may disorder it, is also, as it were, electrically charged with a powerful magical or spiritual force which may discharge itself with fatal effect on whatever comes in contact with it. Accordingly the isolation of the man-god is quite as necessary for the safety of others as for his own. His magical virtue is in the strictest sense of the word contagious: his divinity is a fire, which, under proper restraints, confers endless blessings, but, if rashly touched or allowed to break bounds, burns and destroys 2006-07-10T18:39:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Analysis-of-Culture-and-Foods-30199.aspx Social Definition of Gender What is Gender? Gender is the social dimension of being male or female. Gender identity is the sense of being male or female, which most children acquire by the age of three. Gender typing is the way society stereotypes males and females who have characteristics of the opposite gender. The social learning theory is the view of 2006-07-05T23:30:03-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-Definition-of-Gender-30048.aspx Women's Role in Sociopolitical History Historical influences against women have shaped the role of women in most societies today. Biblical writings that influenced Christianity, Judaism, and other religions, blame women for destroying the innocence of mankind, symbolic by Eve’s eating the Fruit of Wisdom. Ancient Greek beliefs suggested that mans’ strength gave the man the right to rule, thus men were the only ones capable of becoming “guardians” and protector of state, which ultimately gave them political rights. These early writings, which were written mostly by men, helped influence other writers responsible for shaping a countries’ ideology about male dominance and a women’s role in society as housewives and child bearer and thus women were given less opportunities in education for their primary role as housewives didn’t require much knowledge. The national political arena is dominated by men but allows women some select access; the international political arena is a sphere for men only, or for those rare women who can successfully play at being men, or at least not shake masculine presumptions (Enloe 13). In a Cold war interpretation: a patriarchal world is dangerous when masculine men and feminine women are expected to react in opposite but complementary ways. A real man will become the protector in such a world. He will suppress his own fears, brace himself and step forward to defend the weak, women and children. In the same dangerous world, women will turn gratefully and expectantly to their fathers and husbands, real or surrogate (Enloe 13). In conventional commentaries men who yield influence in international politics are analyzed in terms of their national identities, their class origins and their paid work (Enloe 13). Rarely are they analyzed as men who have been taught how to be manly, how to size up the trustworthiness or competence of other men in terms of their manliness (Enloe 13). Jean Jacques Rousseau, a French writer in 1762 said, “There is a difference in the moral relation of the two sexes. ‘One ought to be active and strong, the other passive and weak’. Woman was made to please man and man pleases by the sole fact of his strength” (Lives and Voices 249). His influence along with other writers influenced much of the ideologies of male dominance worldwide. In terms of economic progression, women play major 2006-07-05T16:12:35-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Women-s-Role-in-Sociopolitical-History-30024.aspx Role Greed Plays in Societies Do you want something? If you do you’re greedy. Greed is not a bad thing it is actually good! Greed has been the primary motivating factor in every major historical, scientific, social, and economic event so far. Without greed, our economy as a hole would fail overnight. Without greed, there would be no religion. Without greed, governments would cease to exist. Without greed all the currencies in the world wouldn’t be worth anything at all. It is the greed of the worker, striving to earn more money, which drives our country and the world forward. It's the greed of the buyer, wanting to keep more of his hard earned cash, which causes him consider his buying options and purchase the least expensive product of the best quality, thereby creating market forces which sell goods at a lower price for daily consumers. It is the greed of the holy man seeking after the love of God which causes him to do good works. Webster's Dictionary defines greed as an "excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especialy material wealth) than one needs or deserves." I challenge the accuracy of that definition. There is nothing excessive about desiring more for yourself, regardless of what you have. Whether it is money, love, fame, recognition, or that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you feed the homeless, you are motivated to perform some action because you want something, even if that action is simple emotional gratification. Greed does wonders too people. It makes them work together even do they hate one another there greediness drives them to work with each other because of there best interest not because they want too. You can say that the cheaters in the world today are the greediest of us all. There greed greatly motivates them to find a lope hole in things. Without that greed they would not have a reason too. You can actually say every one is greedy in one way or another. But greed is the thing that makes my life easier. Without it there wouldn’t be any inventions making ordinary work even easier for me. If it wasn’t for greed we wouldn’t have all these great inventions that we see every day in out house. For instance the light bulbs or even the refrigerator. All the things we see today 2006-07-03T23:38:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Role-Greed-Plays-in-Societies-29966.aspx What it means to study Sociology Sociology is the study of human society, including both social action and organization. Sociologists use scientific research methods and theories, and study social life in a wide variety of settings. Sociology offers us not only information but also a distinctive way of looking at the world and our place in it. Whereas most people try to explain events by analyzing the motives of those involved, sociologists encourage us to look beyond individual psychology to the many recurring patterns in peoples attitudes and action, and how these patterns vary across time, cultures, and social groups. Sociologists do not ask simply " what kind of person is Sedum Hussein?" Instead they ask "what kind of social conditions allowed him to rise to such power?" Sociologists do not ignore individuals. they show that to understand the actions of individuals-and our own experiences-we have to understand the social context in which they take place. Take the experiences of the American soldiers who have served in the Persian Gulf. They were very different from the experiences of those who served in Vietnam. was this just because the wars were experienced by different people with different personalities? no. The different experiences arose from different social circumstances. These included different methods of recruitment, an all volunteer army versus the draft. Different ways of developing troops different characteristics of the enemy combatants. All these social circumstances, beyond each individual control, were critical in shaping American soldiers experiences. Understanding this point is a basic illustration of what the great American sociologist C. Wright Mills called sociological imagination. Sociological imagination is a way of looking at our experiences in light of what is going on in the social world around us. We come to see that we are more than just actors involved in our own personal dramas. We are caught up in larger social patterns acted out on a broader social stage. In discussing sociological imagination, Mills pointed out: nowadays people often their private lives are a series of traps. They sense that within their everyday worlds, they cannot quite overcome their troubles, and in feeling this, they are often quite correct. In these terms consider unemployment. When, in a city of 100,000, only one man is unemployed, that is his personal trouble, and for it's relief we probably look to the character of the man, his skills, and his immediate opportunities. But when many 2006-07-02T17:25:13-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Overview-of-Sociology-29892.aspx Study of the Practice of Trafficking Women "Trafficking is the recruitment and or the transportation of persons by others using violence or the threat of violence, abuse of authority or dominant position…for the purpose of exploiting them sexually or economically for the profit or advantage of others, such as recruiters, traffickers, brothel owners and customers." (unknown author, "What is Trafficking?") Trafficking in women and girls has become one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world. An estimate of one to two million women and girls are trafficked around the world, annually, 10,000 to 100,000 of which are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. (International Women’s Issues, "Trafficking in Women and Girls-An International Human Rights Violation") Women migrate to cities or across international borders to support families, and they usually migrate alone. Traffickers in women lure victims with advertisements and false promises of jobs as waitresses, sales clerks, nannies and models. In Thailand and South Africa, women and girls, especially those who are poor, are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, and often times it is the only option open for them. The following is an experience of a Burmese girl caught in the trafficking of women and girls into Thailand. When "Lin Lin" was thirteen years old, shortly after her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage, she was taken by her father from their village of Chom Dtong to Mae Sai. At the job placement agency in Mae Sai, her father was given 12,000 baht ($480) from an agent who assured him he could find a job for Lin Lin in Thailand. Lin Lin was sent on a bus to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The agent from Mae Sai met her at a hotel in Bangkok and took Lin Lin to Kanchanaburi, a city west of Bangkok. She was brought to the Ran Dee Prom brothel and on the third day was told to work. Lin Lin was completey unaware of what kind of work was in store for her. She did not know what was going on until the man started touching her body. He took her to a room, told her to take off her clothes, then forced her to have sex. Lin Lin was kept in Kanchanaburi to work for one month, then sent to Korat, a city northeast of Bangkok, to a brothel 2006-07-02T17:16:31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Study-of-the-Practice-of-Trafficking-Women-29890.aspx Understanding why Rituals Exist in Society Ritual is an act or ceremony carried out on a regular basis, with a specific intention. Ritual has been a part of life from time immemorial. Humans are creatures of habit. People adopt a habit if it proves to be effective, efficient, or serves as a reminder. However, they tend to continue that practice even after that habit’s usefulness has been lost. These habits have evolved into rituals that govern how people run their lives. Religion for example is full of rituals that one may deem unnecessary or antiquated. For instance, In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “Lottery,” there is a group of townsfolk that practice a barbaric ritual only because their predecessors before them had practiced it. One of the ancient practices that modern man deplores as inhumanly evil is annual sacrifice of a scapegoat or a god-figure for the benefit of the community. Rituals give people a prototype on how to behave in situations that they would not otherwise know how to behave. Some of these rituals may be appropriate but others may have lost their usefulness. People should consider their reasons for rituals. Why do they believe in rites? The interesting fact is that people believe in rites mostly because of their parent’s influence in their upbringing. A child observes his or her environment, and learns from it. A major component and influence of that is watching his or her parents performing these rites. The Parents force the child to do the rituals and they try to convince him or her to believe them. For instance, in “Lottery,” Shirley mentioned, “ the children assembled first, of course. ” The enthusiasm of the children can either be taken as the children’s willingness to please their parents or excitement at being allowed to participate in this grown up act. The children do not know where the stoning ritual comes from but they want to experience and take part in it to show they are also grown up and have an interest in the community. As I grew up in semi-conservative Jewish family, my parents were doing the rites and customs that they had learned as children and were passing them down to their own children. They sent me to the Jewish school and I learned Jewish ceremony and rules from schools. I never had chance to ask why 2006-06-26T16:45:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Rituals-in-Society-29843.aspx Social Status of Women in American Sociey Do women have equal rights as men? Can they balance their housework, take care of kids and work outside homes? Do men in our society always overshadow their existence? These questions came to my mind when I first thought about the changes in the status of women from ancient times to the women of today. Throughout history, most societies have held women in an inferior status compared to men. This situation was often justified as being the natural result of biological differences between the sexes. In many societies, for examples. People believed women to be naturally more emotional and less decisive than men. Women were also held to be less intelligent and less creative by nature. Many sociologists and anthropologists maintain that various cultures have taught girls to behave according to negative stereotypes of femininity, thus keeping alive the idea that women are naturally inferior. But in the last 40 years significant changes in the work place, in homes, and have influenced the American political system. The division of tasks that originally had been determined by physical differences became a matter of tradition. Consequently, even after machinery cancelled out the advantage of male strength and birth after birth control gave women the means to regulate their childbearing, women continued to face barriers to entering many occupations. But today there are much fewer barriers than before. Women have proved themselves in every field of work. But this changes occurred gradually yet consistently. The changes began with women's examination of their personal lives and developed into a program for social and political change. Women's groups discovered discrimination in the work place, where women received less pay and fewer promotions than men. They also uncovered barriers to women seeking political office and to female students striving for high academic achievements. Informal women's liberation groups, which were first formed by female students active in the civil rights movement and in radical political organizations emphasized self-awareness and open discussion to combat discrimination and to establish greater equality between men and women in marriage, child-rearing, education, and employment. Large, formal organizations developed alongside the small women's liberation groups that campaigned for the passage and strict enforcement of equal rights law. President John F. Kennedy's commission on the status of women, founded in 1961, discovered a number of legal barriers to women's equality. It reported on laws that barred women from jury service, 2006-06-16T15:19:23-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Social-Status-of-Women-in-American-Sociey-29622.aspx The Lives of Middle-Eastern Women This population-based study by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) documents the degree to which Afghan women perceive 2006-06-16T15:16:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Lives-of-Middle-Eastern-Women-29621.aspx Cultural Ethnogoraphy of the Ojibway Native Americans I sat in awe when a Native American, dressed in traditional regalia, walked forward and began speaking to us about his life and culture. Never in my nineteen years of life had I actually seen a Native American aside from television. Prior to that point I never had any first hand experiences with their culture, so therefore all of my opinions and thoughts were based on stereotypes I had come to absorb over the years. Therefore, he looked how I had imagined he would, but I had no clue what to expect from the person underneath the garb. Gabe Desrosiers, an Ojibway Indian, was able to convey his culture’s message through the song and dance of his people. Through his powwow examples that he was willing to share with us, I was able to add human feelings and emotions to a stereotype that began and ended with physical appearance. Gabe Desrosiers is an Ojibway Indian who continues to spread the song and dance of the Ojibway tradition throughout the North American continent. He hails from the Lake of the Woods area in Ontario, Canada where he is the lead singer and the composer for the Ojibway drum group known as The Northern Wind Singers. Gabe and The Northern Wind Singers have traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada on the powwow circuit. In many ways Native American traditions continue to survive through the powwow. Gabe began his presentation by describing his cultural background. Immediately he stressed the importance of women, and how they are respected greatly. Women are an important foundation in Native American life by being the bearers of life and therefore coincide with “mother earth.” Gabe mentioned that women pass the drum from creator to the tribes. This being inherently important since the drum is considered to be the heartbeat of the tribe itself. That idea provided the basis for Gabe to relate his own beginning involvement with his tribe. At the age of six he started learning about traditional dances and music. Women are given a lot of respect, more than can be seen in many cultures around the world. I was rather surprised at this because I had never previously pictured Native American women as being seen as such large contributors to their culture. 2006-06-06T14:58:54-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cultural-Ethnogoraphy-of-the-Ojibway-Native-Americans-29073.aspx Teaching English in a World of Global Culture Teaching English is it not an easy task, and as future teachers we must recognize that we are going to be dealing with groups of different individuals and not a single student with 40 faces. Student are different in many ways. Some are quick, others are slow. Some are confident, others are shy. Some like working on groups, others are happier working alone. However; what they do have in common is the fact that they need to count on someone and most of the time is the teacher the one that plays that role. Teachers must be aware of the student’s need and they must be empathic in order to influence the student to become a better person. But, What does being empathic mean? According to David Smeeth, an experienced teacher from California, “empathic teaching is being sensitive to and understanding of my student’s experience, of the classroom environment, the subject matter, and myself as the teacher. I then do my best to demonstrate this empathy to my students by making calming statements and observations, such as: • I know this software can be intimidating. • I’ve been stuck with this problem too: it took me a long time to figure it out. • I know it can be hard to take a class when you already know most of what’s covered. • When I get stuck, the first thing I do is take a deep breath and remember to relax. • Understanding this topic takes awhile, just go easy on yourself and it will come. • Stop me if I lose you or if I just seem to go on and on. • Answering your questions is my highest priority.” For me, being empathic is the capacity of recognizing the other person’s feelings, problems, defects, qualities, and also knowing when someone needs your help. And empathic teaching will be developing that capacity in the classroom and to make the students realize that the teacher can not only be a guide, but also a friend that understands them and provides help any time they need it. It is important to make them feel that you care that they learn and about how they feel in the class. Both aspects are important in order to have a good relationship with them. Being empathic will be useful for the teacher to know how he or she can provide the support that students need and make them 2006-05-31T17:52:24-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Teaching-English-in-a-World-of-Global-Culture-28916.aspx Are we living in a post-modern society? Why/why not? The world in which we live is becoming increasingly powerful in that societies are represented through diverse and multifaceted structures that interrelate and bind groups together in order to produce a consistent and rapid growth of changes and continuities. Postmodernity is a recent concept initially introduced in the ‘arts and architecture, spread to the study of popular culture and were developed most fully in philosophy, but they are becoming increasingly influential in the social sciences, particularly sociology’ (Taylor 1999, p.16). The historical processes of the Great Transformation and modernity have played a significant role in the development of a post modern society. Sociological theorists such as Jean-Francois Lyotard and Daniel Bell reinforce the notion of post modernity and its existence in our world today; however Ulrich Beck does not support this concept. The Great Transformation, involving the processes of ‘industrialisation and the expansion of market capitalism’, was ‘first observed in the Europe of the 18th and 19th centuries’ (Holmes, Hughes & Julian 2003, p. 22). The most important change was the ‘great European industrial revolution’ which began in the ‘1780s right through to the 1950s’ (Holmes, Hughes & Julian 2003, p. 24). The great European industrial revolution was ‘…a period of massive innovation in production of everything from manchester to heavy engineering. This revolution also saw the steady movements of populations into cities, looking for wage work in factories’ (Holmes, Hughes & Julian 2003, p. 24). As a result of industrialisation, the establishment of modernity enabled sociologists to enhance greater understanding of where the world was working towards. Modernity is a significant concept used in sociology to: ‘…describe the complex range of phenomena associated with the historical process, commencing in the 17th century, which saw Western societies change from a agricultural to an industrial foundation, from a feudal to a capitalist framework, with most of their populations migrating from rural, village settings to towns and cities, as well as moving beyond Western Europe in the process of colonising much of the rest if the world’ (Krieken, Habibis, Smith, Hutchins, Haralambos & Holborn 2000, p. 7) However, as societies continue to change rapidly and consistently, some sociologists are beginning to acknowledge postmodernity and its role in contemporary societies. The terms postmodernity and postmodernism share similar meanings. Holmes, Hughes and Julian (2003) state that: ‘Postmodernism denotes aesthetic movements in arts, architecture, music, theatre, film and 2006-05-11T14:34:36-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Living-in-a-Postmodern-Society-28832.aspx Abstract Episodic memory is the process of recalling personally experienced past events. The efficiency of this process is adversely affected by age. In a sense, this may explain the level of emotional distress that the aged and their kin and all others feel at the onset of failing episodic memory. Because it relates to individuals and their family and friends in a very personal way, it tends to rob them of past-shared experiences in a way that other memory failures do not. Introduction The mechanism of human memory recall is neither a parallel nor a sequential retrieval of previously learned events. Instead, it is a complex system that has elements of both sequential and parallel modalities, engaging all of the sensory faculties of the individual. On an everyday level, issues about memory and recall affect everyone. It has a bearing on ramifications from the trivial to matters of life and death. Thus, a particular student might worry about his or her ability to remember \'memorized\' material, a person might worry about losing his or her mind, and, there are the more troubling issue of diseases affecting memory such as Alzheimer\'s disease. According to Tulving, episodic memory represents only a small part of the much larger domain of memory (Tulving, 1992, p.1). Specifically, episodic memory is the process involved in remembering past events. This paper is a review of research findings on episodic memory with specific attention to episodic memory in adults and infants. Episodic Memory in Adults In society, it is quite common for people in their golden years or even well before that, to worry about losing their memory. There is scientific evidence to support this notion of degradation of memory with age. It is now well known in neurology that brain cells die off as one ages. Verhaeghen and Marcoen (1993, pp. 172-178) found that the decline associated with age in relation to the ability to perform episodic memory tasks involving deliberate recall appears to be largely a quantitative rather than a qualitative phenomenon. The ability of older adults to recall individual items in lists, or ideas in texts could be predicted based on the performance by younger adults on the same tasks. From their data in a sample of 48 younger and 45 older adults, they postulated a relationship between recall and age with a median correlation of r = .88. Younger or older adults could use 2006-05-07T06:22:45-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Episodic-Memory--28815.aspx Effects of Maternal Emploment on Infant Devlopment The topic of this paper is the debate of whether or not maternal employment has any effect on infant development. Research on this described topic has recently become popular due to the rise of working mothers over the past several decades. Their increasing numbers in the workplace and decreasing numbers as stay at home moms are creating a number of different issues to be studied. The effects of maternal employment are determined by a number of factors that include, the mother’s job satisfaction and drive, amount of work, and the mother’s opinion of quality versus quantity time with children. The main concept at hand here is the importance of an attachment in the first few years as being vital to a child’s later development. One side of the argument backs up this fact saying that it is important for a child to have their mother home with them during this period of development. The other side argues that they are finding that it may be more beneficial for the child to be placed in some form of nontraditional care environment. This paper will examine these different effects on infant development whether they are positive or negative. There are two sides to this argument as expected for any issue in debate. I will discuss these two sides by using the arguments of researchers that have studied this topic and written articles on their opposing feelings on maternal employment. I will summarize separately these two researchers’ different views along with their findings. After I have summarized some of their findings I will be presenting my own personal view on this topic. The authors arguing the yes side of this debate are, Jay Belsky and David Eggebeen. Their purpose in writing on this issue was to touch upon some of the issues involved in what has become known as the infant day care controversy. They reviewed previous studies of maternal employment and of the infants involved receiving various types of non-parental care and found that the children that received the type of non-parental care available in the United States for 20 or more hours a week during their first year of life are at a higher risk of developing insecure attachments to their mothers and have been known to misbehave with adults and act more aggressively toward their peers as 3 to 8 year olds. It was also 2006-05-07T06:18:15-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Effects-of-Maternal-Emploment-on-Infant-Devlopment-28812.aspx Culture Determines Gender Roles Culture definitely aids in the determination of gender roles. Socialization in all cultures is directly linked to the final product of a human being. Culture dictates, at a very young age, how boys and girls are supposed to act, feel and respond to certain situations. Boys and girls are separated by gender at birth. Boys are wrapped in blue blankets and girls in pink. Before a child is born, everyone close to the family wants to know what the child will be, so they will 2006-04-30T07:14:09-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Culture-Determines-Gender-Roles-28763.aspx America is sometimes referred to as a "nation of immigrants" because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants "threaten" American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and encroaching on the "American way of life." While these arguments may seem valid to many, they are almost overwhelmingly false, and more than likely confused with the subject of illegal immigration. In fact, immigrants actually enhance American life by creating, not taking jobs, bolster social service funds through tax payments, and bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to our country. If we are to continue to excel as a nation, the traditionalists who fear an encroachment of foreign-born Americans must learn to accept that we achieved our greatness because of being "a nation of immigrants." A common argument among those opposing further immigration is that foreigners take U.S. jobs and cause unemployment among the displaced American workers. In the July 13, 1992 edition of Business Week , a poll states that sixty-two percent of non-blacks and sixty-three percent of blacks agree that "new immigrants take jobs away from American workers." This is a widely held, if erroneous belief, among Americans. However, Julian L. Simon, author of The Economic Consequences of Immigration, states: immigration does not exacerbate unemployment...Immigrants not only take jobs, but also create them. Their purchases increase the demand for labor, leading to new hires roughly equal in number to the immigrant workers. In the same Business Week poll, eighty-three percent of non-blacks and eighty-seven percent of blacks agree that "many new immigrants are very hard-working." The results of the poll may seem somewhat contradictory, but not necessarily negative. Those polled seem to be at least a little open-minded in their view of the quality of new immigrants. However, in order to overcome their distrust of foreigners, Americans must abandon their suspicions and recognize, as Simon has, that our lives are enhanced by immigrants creating, not taking, U.S. jobs. A widely held belief among Americans against immigration is that foreigners "strain social service budgets." According to the same poll, sixty-two percent of non-blacks and fifty-nine percent of blacks agree "immigrants use more than their fair share of government services, such as welfare, medical care, and 2006-04-25T20:30:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/America-Nation-of-Immigrants-28746.aspx “Immigrants are to hordes what sheep are to flocks, or lions to prides. They swarm rather than arrive, their faceless uniformity evoking the insect world and its ceaseless, relentless capacity to reproduce.” Over the years many things have been done to try to stop the incoming flow of illegal immigration coming over the western border, but most everything has failed which leads to the millions of Mexican immigrants living illegally in the United States. Millions of Mexicans are living illegitimately in California and that number is growing by an estimated half million per year (Long 87;Center for Immigration Studies). Illegal immigration is now a thing of the past. Years ago the flow of immigration was easily monitored and most Mexicans entering the United States were legal. Gradually things became worse and people began to hear stories of vans and cars full of Mexicans trying to cross the border being pulled over and taken to the border police; however no one really knew how bad the problem was or how much worse it would become. The two key factors that attract illegal aliens to the United States are jobs and family values. In Mexico, the average worker only makes about one tenth of what someone working in the same job in America would make (Scholsser 25). Many American companies are willing to hire immigrants because they can pay them a lot less than what they would have to pay a typical American worker. Even this low wage is higher than most Mexicans would be making in Mexico. This is what makes the U.S. seem so great to the many Mexicans trying to cross the border. Another large contributing factor to the illegal immigration from Mexico are the community of legal immigrants who form networks to bring others across the border. These groups of people are what make it easier for many more Mexicans to cross the border illegal. They are “incubators” who worsen the problem rather than help by providing jobs, housing and entry into the U.S. for relatives and other Mexicans (Hanson 2). Once the illegal immigrants have been helped across the border it is overly easy for them to find jobs and 2006-04-25T20:27:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Illegal-Immigration-in-California-28745.aspx Sociology: 'The Dead Poets Society' and 'The Breakfast Club' So far in Sociology we have viewed two movies that paint a perfect portrait of the traditional and present-day education systems. I would like to compare, contrast, and also reflect on both “The Dead Poets Society,” and “ The Breakfast Club.” There are numerous differences between the two movies, and although they’re both in a different setting and different time frames, there are also many similarities. “The Dead Poets Society” is set in the mid 60’s in an upper class prep school. On the other hand “ The Breakfast Club” is set in the 80’s at a typical public High School in a middle-class suburban neighborhood. Although one movie has a timeline of a whole school year, and the other only goes through one day, they both show very clearly how the average student life is and was in their respectable time frames. It is easy to compare and contrast everything from settings and timeframes, to obedience, to discipline, and also even stress given by parents. I believe I could only compare these two movies if they were realistic, and I believe that they were for the most part. It is very clear in these two movies how obedience, and disciplinary action has changed over the years. In “ The Dead Poets Society,” the kids got in trouble for such things as staying up past curfew or not turning the lights off when they were supposed to. Of course this is how some schools still work but it’s definitely no longer the social norm. When’s the last time you heard about someone getting spanked with a paddle in school? It has been a long time since I’ve heard about something like that, In America at least. If a teacher were to spank a child today, not only would they lose their job and never teach again, but they’d also have a lawsuit set against them for millions of dollars, and they’d undoubtedly lose. Now, in “ The Breakfast Club,” the kids are getting in trouble for things like bringing guns to school, assault, and possession of illegal drugs. And all the punishment they get is a simple day in Saturday School. Although the punishment doesn’t exactly fit the crime, it still shows realistically that today’s society is a lot more lenient to such things. It is also easy to compare such 2006-04-19T04:07:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Dead-Poets-Society-and-The-Breakfast-Club-28728.aspx Does Clothing Have an Impact on Social Interactions: An Observational Study in the Classroom There are many reasons why we choose to wear a particular article or style of clothing. Many of us consider our choice in clothing as an extension of our identity. While many others pick items from their wardrobe that reflect their current mood. There are also many times when we choose to dress a certain way in anticipation of being in a particular social setting. Even people who don’t seem to bother with matching clothes or wearing a designer label or walk around wearing clothes that are torn and dirty, are making a statement. What remains to be examined is whether or not there is a clear relationship between the clothing we wear and our social interactions. The implications of such a relationship could lend itself to a variety of benefits. Imagine knowing that if you are dressed a particular way; you are more likely to get better service in a restaurant. We already know that when showing up for a job interview, there is certain dress attire that will make you more likely to get the job. Why do you think that when you’re single and going out, you tend to spend more time getting ready and dressed up? The answer is because we associate first impressions and attraction to our physical appearances. A variety of studies using empirical reasoning in many different settings, have tried to establish a relationship between the two. Pamela Regan of California State University, Los Angeles was cited in the Washington Post as saying “First, people need to dress appropriately – if you want to be treated well, then dress the part,” after she concluded an observational study of shoppers, the service they received and the way they were dressed. Published in the Psychological Reports, 2002 her study titled “Customer Service As A Function of Shopper’s Attire’” revealed that upon entering a store, it took more than 20 seconds longer for an employee to approach a shopper dressed in gym clothes, as opposed to one dressed as if she were on her way to work. She concluded, “Clothing, like other aspects of appearance, seems to exert at least some influence on how we are perceived and treated by others,” (204). For our particular study, we wanted to examine the relationship between the dress of a student and their participation in 2006-04-16T04:40:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Does-Clothing-Have-an-Impact-on-Social-Interactions-28720.aspx Green Light Go, Red Light Stop Classical conditioning shapes many of society’s common, everyday tasks. Whether we know it or not, many actions we do numerous times a day are a direct result of classical conditioning. To better understand why we act the way we do in society, classical conditioning must be defined and described. Classical conditioning is defined as: a process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that already elicits a similar or related response. Discovered by Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is a form of learning. Pavlov revealed this trait when experimenting with dog’s amounts of saliva in response to meat. He started noticing that after many repetitions, the dogs were salivating before the meat was even introduced. Pavlov concluded that some other stimulus that was repetitively associated with the meat was triggering the salivation. This simple concept describes how many actions are carried out in society today. Many times classical conditioning is not something that is purposefully done, but rather an incidental outcome. Conditioning may take a variable amount of time to occur. For example, humans are not born associating red with stop. As we grow, and ride in cars, we begin to consciously or subconsciously figure out that when a stoplight is red-you stop. Stop signs are red, stoplights are red, and brake lights are red. All of these things symbolize stopping. Yes, when you turn sixteen and you get your license you are told that red means stop, but by this point in your life, this is common knowledge. So how does associating red with stopping an example of classical conditioning? Within classical conditioning there are many specific components that are needed. First is an unconditioned stimulus, in this case maybe stopping cars. Next is the unconditioned response. If you see stopped cars, you will probably stop your car. A conditioned stimulus would come from noticing that the stopped cars in front of you are sitting in front of a red light and when that light turns green, they begin to move again. The conditioned response that results from this would show up when you come up to a stop light and no other cars are around. If the light is red, you now associate past experiences with your current situation and stop. Red lights in and of themselves do not convey stopping, but 2006-04-16T04:32:35-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Classical-Conditioning-Green-Light-Go-Red-Light-Stop-28719.aspx Why People Marry- Love and Companionship Desire to have children Adult Identity Connection Personal fulfillment Continuity and Permanence Social Legitimacy, Social Pressure Economic Security Rebellion or Revenge Practical solutions to problems, What do people expect from a marriage- engagement, showers, bachelor or bachelorette parties, and a wedding, commitment, children, happiness Compare, and Contrast the four Micro-Level perspectives on the family. Which do you think best explains the family on a Micro Level? In comparing all four of the Micro-Level perspectives on the family, I find that they all deal with how the family members affect the family. Whether changes in their behavior, contributions, interactions, or the changes that occur over a period of time. In contrast they each define a different change that can occur within the family members. Symbolic Interaction looks at the behaviors of the individual family members that can affect the family, whereas Social 2006-03-30T04:50:39-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Compare-and-Contrast-Why-People-Get-Married-28642.aspx Singlehood- Pros-) privacy, few constraints, independence, varied sexual experiences, challenging lifestyle, freedom from spousal responsibility, Cons-) lonely, depressed, anxious, stressed Cohabitiation- Pros-) maintain independence and still have emotional security, dissolve relationships without legal help, encourages people to establish meaningful relationships, intimacy provides self disclosure, keeps cost of dating down. Cons-) Enjoy few legal rights, experience loss of identity, weaker level of commitment. Same Sex Marriage- Pros-) would allow more benefits to the couples, would help make it easier to work on same sex discrimination in the work force laws Cons-) against 2006-03-30T04:45:37-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pros-and-Cons-of-Being-Single-and-Cohabitating-28641.aspx Sex and Singles “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” Many people feel that having casual sex is a way to fulfill a person’s sexual needs and desires, without the hassle of a commitment. Yet, many people, often women, have a tendency to wonder if the person that they are having casual sex with, cares about them, loves them, or respects them. Many women may feel this way because of the emotional attachment they get when giving themselves to another person. However, it can be a double standard. Some men may also feel this way. The truth is I do not believe that a person that gives himself or herself to another person, in the form of intercourse, is respected or loved unless they are in a relationship with their sexual partner. True, their casual sex partner may care for them, or again, they may not. I think it really depends on the situation, and with whom they are having casual sex. However, in my own personal experiences, I have never found any respect or love. In Chapter 7 of our text “Marriages and Families” the authors talk briefly about casual sex, and if a person will be respected the next day. They justify this by saying, “Maybe” however, a person that experiences casual sex in the single life, may differ in opinion. I personally have been the victim of this non- respectful act, several times. I may only speak for myself but I am sure that I am not the only person that has experienced this. I have had casual sex with people that I really liked and cared for, and when engaging in sexual intercourse, I was under the impression that my partners felt the same way. However, afterwards, or as the text says “the next day” I was not contacted again. There was no love or respect from these casual sex experiences, only lies to get what they wanted. Did these partners say that they loved me, and cared for me before I gave in, and gave myself to them? Of course they did beforehand, in which is the case for many people that have casual sex with another person, without being in a relationship. Our text also justifies my experience by stating twenty years ago, both men and women felt that it was ok to have sexual intercourse with a person that they liked. However, today, less people 2006-03-29T06:11:29-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sex-and-Singles-Will-You-Still-Love-Me-Tommorow-28631.aspx Ending Corporal Punishment: Protecting the Children Worst-case scenario; try a tantrum on for size. Many people do not make it through life without witnessing at least one child, throwing a tantrum. Some people witness these tantrums in the privacy of other people’s homes, or out in the public. The children kick, scream, bite, and pinch, in protest, to get what they want from their parents. It cannot get much worse than this for a parent; so what does one do? Should the parent spank the child, or will that only make matters worse? Many people share different views on the capital punishment of children. Some people feel that slapping, pinching, biting, paddling, and yelling at a child, are legitimate forms of discipline however, other people believe that using corporal punishment, to structure a child’s behavior, damages the child 2006-03-29T06:08:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Ending-Corporal-Punishment-Protecting-Children-28630.aspx The Causes of Divorce In America today, one of many people’s main life goals is to marry the first person they fall in love with, live happily ever after, and skip gleefully away to live the American dream. However, millions of married couples quickly find themselves turning to divorce as an answer, to ending the fairy tale they had once dreamed. Many people would ask “why?” the perfect couple would choose such a negative ending to their once happy marriage. In some cases, many couples have to question their own motives for divorce. Although there are many alternate roots to fixing the simplest problems that may occur in a marriage, for some, simple does not always mean easy. It is certain that the cause of divorce varies from couple to couple, yet lack of communication, money and children, is among the most common causes of divorce. Lack of communication in a marital relationship, is one of the most common causes of divorce, because when two people lack communication, they are unable to solve problems that may occur in the marriage. Many married couples think that the minor problems that occur in their marriage, are insignificant, and are not worth talking about; however, they fail to realize that even the smallest things can cause conflict between the two when they are not able to solve them through communication. Many couples lack communication when it comes to making decisions about shared finances. This can cause financial issues to arise, and arguments to escalade in the marriage. Many couples also lack communication when it comes to making decisions for their children. When one spouse does not agree with a decision made by the other spouse, then an argument can occur, and result by one or both parties sharing a feeling of resentment against the other. Lack of communication in all areas of the marriage, can cause strain on the relationship. It is common for many couples to subject themselves to the distractions of everyday life, therefore leaving very little time for communication. This can cause marital problems to be over looked, triggering a range of feelings to explode in the marital relationship, and result in divorce. Another common cause of divorce is money. Many people say, “Money is the root of all evil,” as in a marriage it can be the root of all problems. When one spouse makes all of the financial decisions, and 2006-03-29T06:01:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Causes-of-Divorce-28627.aspx “Mona Lisa Smile” Set in the American Housewife circa of the 1950’s, the movie, “Mona Lisa Smile” is an inspirational film that explores life through feminism, marriage, and education lead by a modernist teacher at the end of a traditional era. It begins by introducing the lead character, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a liberal-minded novice professor from California, who lands a job in the art history department at a snobbish, all-girl college, called Wellesley, in the fall of 1953. Despite warnings from her boyfriend Paul (John Slattery) that a Boston Brahmin environment was out of her element, Katherine was thrilled at the prospect of educating some of the brightest young women in the country however; her image of Wellesley quickly fizzles after her first day of class, in which, was more like a baptism by fire. Her smug students flaunted their exhaustive knowledge of the text and humiliated her in front of a supervisor. However, Katherine, determined not to buckle under pressure, departs from the syllabus in order to regain the upper hand. She quickly challenged the girls’ idea of what constituted art and exposed them to modern artist not endorsed by the school board. She dared them to think for themselves, and explore outside of their traditional views. This form of art was unacceptable by the students at first however; overtime Katherine penetrated her student’s distain and earned their esteem. The notable exception was the moralistic upper-crust brat Betty (Kirsten Dunst), who sarcastically challenged Katherine from day one, and who caused Katherine’s colleague and friend Amanda (Juliet Stevenson) to be fired by revealing in a school newspaper editorial that the free-thinking faculty member was supplying contraceptives to the students. This was unacceptable according to the staff of Wellesley because they felt that supplying women with contraceptives, was like condoning sexual activity before marriage, in which, sexual activity was not deemed as appropriate behavior for a woman who sought to be married by a man from upscale Harvard. They felt that a woman who had engaged in premarital sex, would not be sought as pure, or worthy of a strong intelligent man. Betty’s editorial caused Amanda, a former graduate of Wellesley, and senior staff member, to be fired from the only life that she had left after the death of her lesbian lover; whom also was a former staff member. However, Betty was strong in her beliefs that the college, society, 2006-03-29T05:57:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Conflict-Theory-on-Mona-Lisa-Smile-Feminist-28626.aspx Gender Studies Human behavior is influenced and shaped by social forces and personal characteristics. Work behavior is social behavior. To understand gender related issues one has to build a joint construct of individual agents and their social cultural context. This is even more true when the countries involved are oceans apart as in this study i.e. the USA and India. Different nations have different cultural heritages which are values collectively held by a majority of population (possibly differentiated by social classes), and these values are transferred from generation to generation through education, early childhood experiences in the family, schools and through socialization in organizations and institutions. These values become social norms for that society. It is hard to see this proce ss in one's own culture. A deep and painfully acquired empathy for other cultures is required before one becomes sensitive to the range of social norms., for truths in one society may be falsehoods in another. Hofstede (1980) after analyzing research data from forty different modern nations has come up with a scale of characteristics that can be used to distinguish the prevailing cultures in various countries of the world.2 Based on that scale Americans would be characterized as high in individualism, low in power distance, low on uncertainty avoidance, and high on masculinity. Indians (middle class) would be high on individualism, high on power distance, high on uncertainty avoidance, and high on masculinity. Management itself is very much an American concept. Other countries can learn new ideas in management and organizational politics from America, however to apply to one's own setting, needs prudence and judgment Indian middle class already shares American values about achievement, that is the reason perhaps McClelland could build on those values when he did research in India.3 Up until 1954 researchers tended to ignore females workers as subjects of their research. Between 1954-66 sex-role measures developed. From 1974 to 1982 androgyny was established as sex-role ideal.4 Later, the females researchers pointed out some meaningful differences between the sexes and new theories of sex-roles are still in formation.5, 6 As far as management motivation is concerned most of the recent studies show that there is very little difference in the aspirations and goals between males and females in Library and Information Science and other fields. 7, 8, 9 The experience by females of finding a "glass-ceiling" (1991)10 at the top of the promotion ladder, and the 2006-01-03T05:06:45-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Gender-Studies--28384.aspx [i:1ca324c1b0]Sociology essay: What constitutes the 'tribulations of the self' in contemporary society, according to Anthony Giddens? Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.[/i:1ca324c1b0] This essay will seek an explanation of what constitutes the 'tribulations of the self' according to Anthony Giddens (1991). In the first part of this paper, I discuss some central ways language has been viewed focusing the review on social constructivist writings as well as those stemming from the study of human development. In the second part of this paper, I discuss data that leads to the reconsideration of aspects of the language - selfhood interface. I conclude by suggesting some future avenues of research. First the essay will outline the various tribulations that Giddens describes in 'Modernity and Self-identity' (1991). A tribulation of the self is a test or trial for the self, that involves some degree of severity. Many of these tribulations that Giddens outlines are to do with the anxieties brought about by different aspects of life and how the individual deals with them. The first tribulation that Giddens examines is the influence of risk and doubt. Feelings of anxiety arise when the individual doubts or takes risks. Such anxieties may be reduced by adhering to a faith or religion. Often these will dictate a certain lifestyle that either reduces doubt and risk or allows the individual to think about them less (Giddens, 1991). This was certainly the case in pre-modernity. Today more anxiety arises with the awareness that there are several possibilities and choices to do with decisions about life. Anxieties caused by risk may be more often caused by the risk calculations than the risks them selves (Giddens, 1991). Risk taking is an important part of life, people take risks every day and some become so much part of a routine that they appear no longer to be a risk. There are certain risks that are beyond our immediate control. Such as 'ecological disaster, nuclear war or the ravaging of humainity by as yet unanticipated scourges' (Giddens, 1991. p 183). Those who spend all their time worrying about such things are not considered normal yet they are sources of anxiety (Giddens, 1991). Among other things there is awarness of high consequence risks and the notion that 'things go wrong' (Giddens, 1991. P182) are going to cause anxiety in every day life. The next tribulation Giddens examines is 'ontological security, anxiety, and the sequestration of experience' 2005-08-16T09:20:22-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Tribulations-of-the-Self-by-Anthony-Giddens-27703.aspx “Broken” Homes: The Effect of Divorce on Children Going through a divorce is a very difficult situation to be in. Usually it is what is happening between the parents, that concerns most people. However hurtful divorce is on the couple that is going through it, the children end up with the greatest amount of problems. These problems that the children develop are not always obvious, and do no always come to the surface right away. “Most often the children responded to the announcement [of the divorce] with apprehensiveness or anger . . . Several children panicked . . . finally, a great many of the younger children, about one-third of the entire group, didn’t really believe what they had been told. For these youngsters, the single announcement by the parents made it easier for them to pretend that the divorce would soon go away and to postpone their own response to the frightening changes in their lives” (Wallerstein 40-41). Children often try to stop the divorce of their parents, but there are many who seem to accept it at first. These who seem to accept it may even tell their parents that they are happy about the divorce. This is not necessarily the case, as one would see if he or she spoke with the child for a while. There are many things that divorce does to a family, and there are many things that is does to the child. These effects are rarely positive, or helpful depending upon the family’s prior situation. Divorce has many negative effects on the psychological, and social aspects of a child’s life. There are many psychological aspects of a child’s life that change when his or her parents go through a divorce. As previously mentioned by the writer, a child may not show initially how he or she feels about the divorce, but the true feelings of that child eventually surface. Joan B. Kelly, in an article for the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says, “children incorporate repertoires of angry, impulsive, and violent behavior into their own behavior as a result of observing their parents’ responses to frustration and rage” (4). This is something that many children that witness the divorce of their parents go through. The child naturally looks to his or her parent or parents 2005-08-16T08:57:52-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Effects-of-Divorce-on-Children-27695.aspx According To Social Psychologists, How Do Victim, Offender And Third-party Interactions Impact Upon Criminal Outcomes? During the late 1940s, Sutherland (1947) advanced that explanations of crime and deviance are of either a situational or a dispositional nature. Additionally, he argued that of the two explanations, situational ones might be of the most importance. Hirschi & Gottfredson (1986) made a critical distinction in light of this issue, the distinction was between the terms crime and criminality. Crime, they proposed refers to ‘events that presuppose a set of necessary conditions’. Criminality on the other hand refers to ‘stable differences across individuals in the propensity to commit criminal acts’ (Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1986: 58). They went on to point out that criminality is necessary, but is not a sufficient condition for crime to occur, since crime requires important situational inducements. Despite these propositions, social psychologists in the following decades tended to focus on dispositional theories of crime and deviance, that is, focusing on individual differences. There is a wealth of literature focusing on motivations and characteristics of criminal offenders (e.g. Cohen, 1955,as cited in Birkbeck & LaFree, 1993; Cloward & Ohlin, 1960), and a modest amount attending to the victims of crime (Cohen, Kleugel, & Land, 1981). However the suggestion is well documented (e.g. Hepburn, 1973; Athens, 1985; Luckenbill, 1977) that there is a need for research to focus on the sequential development and interactional dynamics of criminally violent situations. This is based on the notion that violence is, at least in part, situationally determined (Felson & Steadman, 1983). Symbolic interactionism is such a guiding approach in this field, so it is important to clarify what sets it apart from others in the area; there are two main important such points. Firstly , social interactionist theory focuses on the objective fact of situations (as overlooked by criminologists), and secondly their subjective definition by actors (as overlooked by both opportunity and experimental psychologists). It was Goffman (1967) who set the ball rolling as it were for symbolic interactionism. He uniquely emphasized the nature of the violent criminal act as important, instead of just the criminal actor. It was his notion of a ‘character contest’ that inadvertently proposed one of the first violent criminal behaviour theories of its kind. An individual 2005-08-13T05:42:04-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sociology-Behind-Factors-that-Influence-Criminal-Outcomes-27603.aspx Analysis On Conformity Conformity is an essential part of every culture. It’s basic a likeness and understanding that can draw people together. A culture who has citizens who conform will be stronger. The regularity brings power, and stability. Because if all men are equal, then those who are together will become stronger than those alone. Conformity can be small things as simple as speaking the lands native language, or it can require more like following the laws and paying the taxes. It can even mean following a religious deity or having an arranged marriage. It’s just allowing yourself to be a part of the norm. There is truth in the statement “united we stand, divided we fall”. Conformity is a necessary tool of all real progression. People die, and things are lost. That’s why cultures matter. Cultures have existed longer than any man can remember, and effected many. If an idea, or invention or anything else is good or substantial, it can be passed on through a culture. Cultures make it possible for the thoughts and actions of man to withstand mortality, more substantially. So by adhering to a norm or a law, you can accept the knowledge of others. By accepting and participating in a culture, you mix the ideals of others with your own, for better or worse. It’s creates a never ending cycle of the growing wisdom of more than one man. By conforming, it means that mankind isn’t damned to repeat itself eternally, because every man only works for himself. Our collective forms our culture, which changes with everything we do. We can grow and become greater, rather than simply existing. For as long as I can remember, I’ve gone to school. School is a tool of learning, and conformity. It prepares me to go out, and work for my government. My knowledge and skill will most likely benefit my culture, which will benefit others. All children are required to go to school. This regularity of knowledge makes America stronger. It makes me stronger, and it makes everyone around me stronger. I’ve been taught to get a job, to get decent grades, and to respect others. All cultural norms. Everyone contributes to society, though their actions. The more educated people become, the richer their contributions to society become, and the faster society will be able to change. The more educated 2005-08-13T05:37:07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Analysis-On-Conformity-27602.aspx Childhood Development Essay Childhood is the culturally defined period in human development between infancy and adulthood. In a historical perspective, this is a relatively new social construction. Early childhood, as an especially important “superperiod” of childhood, most often refers to the months and years between infancy and school age children (Corsini 345). To understand why childhood is such a crucial time in human life it is important to study the development before and after birth along with any factors that may alter life in between. Heredity is the transmission of characteristics for parents to offspring through genes. Genes are information carriers. There are two types of genes, dominant and recessive. Dominant genes will emerge each time they are present. A recessive gene will only appear when paired with another recessive gene (Coon 88-89). These genes make each person unique. They determine what color hair and eyes you will have, your body type, and possible even your personality. A problem can take place in any pregnancy. Such problems can be caused by fate or by fault. Genetic problems are cause by a natural defect in the genes, which are inherited by the offspring’s parents (Coon 88-93). These defects can result in a number of diseases. Cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle-cell anemia are examples of this type of abnormalities (Shelov 522-523). It can be said that genetics is all a roll of the dice. Fortunately, through modern science, many of these defects can be diagnosed through prenatal testing. The invention and use of the ultrasound has made obstetrics a more precise science pregnancy a much less worrisome experience. In fact, ultrasounds have become so common that they are now used in ninety percent of pregnancies today. It is so common because it allows visualization of the fetus without the hazards of x-ray. Ultrasound works through the use of sound waves. Sound waves are bounced off internal structures and can be viewed with a TV-like viewing screen. The second most common test is maternal blood screening. This test is used to determine whether an amniocentesis is needed. During an amniocentesis amniotic fluid that surrounds a fetus is extracted and examined. Because amniotic fluid contains fetal cells, chemicals, and microorganisms it provides a wide range of information- genetic makeup, present condition, and the level of maturity of the growing baby (Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway, What to Expect When Your Expecting 44-51). There are many 2005-08-02T06:07:47-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Childhood-Development-Essay-27519.aspx Educational History Of Non-western Cultures Education is a common practice throughout the world that is the basis for a child’s upbringing. Different cultures teach their children education in many different ways that respond to their respected traditions. We are going to look at the education practices of three different cultures compared to that of the one that I experienced here in the United States. The education practices we will be talking about are the African education, the Aztec education, and the indigenous education. Africa is a large continent consisting of many countries and thousands of different cultures. Although there are many cultures, the educational experience is somewhat the same. The African educational experience is more of a natural process where a child gradually acquires skill and knowledge over time through oral traditions and life experiences. A traditional African education is divided into seven goals. These goals are “to develop a children’s latent physical skills; to develop character; to inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority; to develop intellectual skills; to acquire specific vocational training and a healthy attitude towards honest labor; to develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in family and community affairs; and to understand, appreciate, and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large.” Individuals that complete these goals will be looked at as adults that are respected and honest. This type of schooling is more of a life school than a traditional school that I attended when I was young. In the African experience, people learned all the time. There was no certain time that a child would attend a certain school and stay there for the day learning about history or math. Instead, every adult in the community was looked at as a teacher that could have some important lesson that could be shared with a child. The most influential teachers in a child’s life were their parents. Children would play games that imitated the adults as if they were playing “grown up.” In Africa it was difficult to distinguish between learning and playing when observing a child. As I mentioned before, oral tradition played a major role in the African educational experience. Children would be taught using proverbs, riddles, word games, or arithmetic puzzles. When playing word games, children would quiz each 2005-07-25T06:36:19-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Educational-History-Of-Non-Western-Cultures-27369.aspx Disproving Herrnstein and Murray's Bell CurveHerrnstien and Murray raises the point that the division between the well-paid elite and the lower class Americans are becoming widely divided. Upon raising this point they came up with the Bell Curve. The Bell Curve has two main components that correlate with income, the AFQT test (which measures intelligence), and parental SES (social economic Status). To Herrnstein and Murray, intelligence heavily correlates with income. They argue that that IQ is real and it does matter; in other words the smart people (or people with higher IQ) will get high-quality jobs, hence making their incomes higher. They feel that inequality is, “natural and fated.” To prove their point that IQ does matter and the smart people just keep getting smarter and dumb keep getting dumber they analyzed the National Longitudinal Survey Of Youth (NLSY). Herrnstein and Murray show that the NLSY subjects who scored high on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT, which Herrnstein and Murray treated as an IQ test) were doing well versus those who had scored on the low end ended up doing poorly. But the AFQT does not measure natural intelligence. Another component of the bell curve is a person’s SES (social economic status) social factors like race, age, gender, community, environment, and parent’s social economic status contributes to how well a person is able to succeed. To Herrnstein and Murray SES is not a stronger predictive validity than the AFQT, but it goes hand in hand with each other. They are basically trying to say that riches are usually inherited from one generation to another. For example, a well-endowed family has the money to send their child to a prestigious school, where a highly stressed learning atmosphere surrounds their child. Also coming from a well-endowed family, one can network with other elite people who may own big corporations. On the other hand, a child coming from a low-income household may not be able to attend a prestigious school then they loose out on the learning atmosphere and they do not get the opportunity to network with other elite people. Hence that is why the children of elite parents are less likely to end up poor. Herrnstein and Murray’s Bell Curve is completely inaccurate and it is false. First of all, you cannot base 2005-07-25T06:19:13-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Disproving-Herrnstein-and-Murray-s-Bell-Curve-27366.aspx Organized religion is a duality between the religion and the church which represents it. Sometimes the representation of the religion is marred and flawed to those who view it because of the bureaucracy contained within. Unknown to those who gaze upon the dissolved morals and values of what is perceived to be the contradiction known as modern religion, it was never intended to be this way. Most religions started off as a sect, a minor detail on the fringes of the society it never wanted to represent. Rastfarianism is such a sect. The differences between Rastafarianism and a normal “mainstream” religion are numberless, including: no set membership, no authoritative leader, no offices of authority, no trained clergy and no involvement with the world as a whole. Rastafarianism is based upon an underrepresented minority which needed hope in the face in utter demise. According to Max Weber, religion emerges to satisfy a social need. “In treating suffering as a symptom of odiousness in the eyes of gods and as a sign of secret guilt, religion has psychologically met a very general need (Weber 271). Rastafarianism emerges in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930’s to meet the needs of the poor, unskilled black Jamaicans who needed a hope. The social situation which was emerging in the 1930’s which called for this need was as follows. Jamaica was a commonwealth of the British Empire. It had recently, around 1884, received a write in clause to their constitution which stipulated if the new government did not succeed and the economic life of Jamaica were to suffer because of it, the political constitution would be amended or abolished to meet new conditions. Black Jamaicans had a taste for power in their mouths and in 1938, this erupted in labor riots and violence. This act did nothing for their cause. It would still be 30 years until Jamaica received its independence. Blacks in Jamaica were the victims of social stratification which left them at the bottom rung of the ladder. They had menial jobs such as field worker or an attendant at the sugar plant, if they had jobs at all. The blacks were suffering as a people and as an organized group. Ethopianism had been introduced to Jamaica in 1784 by George Liele, by adding it to the name of his Baptist church, hoping to graft itself onto the African religion of Jamaican slaves. But 2005-02-08T14:50:24-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sociological-View-of-Rastafarianism-26258.aspx Collective violence is a something that takes place all the time. Whether it be a riot, a revolution, or a gang, people participate in collective violence everyday. Barkan’s and Snowden’s Collective Violence provides the reader with a comprehensive look at the theories behind this phenomenon and applies them to the examples that can be found in societies across the globe. This paper will look at how well the book explains collective violence and how the examples provided give the reader insight to the world around them. This book is basically an attempt to explain the occurrence of collective violence. The theory that provides the foundation for the proper evaluation of violent acts and violent groups is giving first. The following chapters of the book address the various forms of collective violence that take shape throughout the world. In each chapter, the authors provide some examples of each form of collective violence, and try to explain them with the use of theory. The major forms of collective violence that are discussed are riots, revolutions, terrorism, cult, militia, and hate groups. Although the author provides the theories in the beginning of the book, the reader is left to apply the theories to the examples provided. This provides the book with some structure while also allowing the reader some freedom to decide which theory applies best. This is an important aspect of the book. By allowing a wide range of explanations for all the forms of collective violence, the reader is given an understanding that such complex issues are difficult to explain. Also, there is usually more than one reason that leads to a group becoming violent. There are five basic theories outlined in the book. These theories provide the framework for understanding the events that are discussed in later chapters. The first theory is presented is the Irrational and Rational approaches. Irrationality was the theory that people do not understand the consequences of their actions when in large groups or crowds. Rationality, discussed by Turner and Killian, is the belief that people that come together in groups begin to develop an emergent norm. This is the expectation that something violent may occur, but in a calculated manner. Psychologists such as Freud, Pareto, and LeBon all researched about irrationality. However, I do not think the point 2004-12-06T16:37:02-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Collective-Violence-25800.aspx Life in America has been molded by many factors including those of the hippie movement in the Sixties. With the development of new technology, a war against Communism, and an internal war against racial injustice, a change in America was sure to happen. As the children of the baby boom became young adults, they found far more discontent with the world around them. This lead to a subculture labeled as hippies, that as time went one merged into a mass society all its own. These people were upset about a war in Vietnam, skeptical of the present government and its associated authority, and searching for a place to free themselves from society’s current norms, bringing the style they are known for today. “Eve of destruction; no satisfaction…and a third motif went rippling through the baby-boom culture: adhesive love” (Gitlin 200). The freedom they found came with the help of drugs. Marijuana evolved from its “black and Hispanic, jazz-minded enclaves to the outlying zones of the white middle class young” (Gitlin 200). This new drug allowed a person to open their mind to new understandings and philosophies. But it wasn’t just marijuana that opened the minds of the youth; a new drug known as LSD came into existence: Depending on who was doing the talking, [LSD] is an intellectual tool to explore psychic ‘inner space,’ a new source of kicks for thrill seekers, the sacramental substance of a far-out mystical movement- or the latest and most frightening addiction to the list of mind drugs now available in the pill society being fashioned by pharmacology (Clark 59). With politicians and law enforcement officers looking on the drug as a danger to society, many expert chemists “set up underground laboratories and fabricated potent and pure LSD…kept their prices down, gave out plenty of free samples, and fancied themselves dispensers of miracles at the service of a new age” (Gitlin 214). It wasn’t just the youth in America who was using these drugs. A statistic from 1967 states that “more American troops in Vietnam were arrested for smoking marijuana than for any other major crime” (Steinbeck 97). The amazing statistic wasn’t the amount of soldiers smoking marijuana; it was the amount of soldiers America was sending over to fight a war that nobody understood. Between 1965 and 1967, troops “doubled and redoubled and redoubled twice more” (Gitlin 261). In a letter to President Johnson 2004-12-05T05:50:54-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Hippie-Culture--25797.aspx Maxine Hong Kingston’s essay “No Name Woman,“ is a gender focused story describing some of the behavior and beliefs of the Chinese culture. It entails Kingston’s mother revealing to her her unmentionable aunt. Her mother tells her of the tragic story of her aunt’s suicide. She explains that her aunt became pregnant by a man other than her husband. She took the life of her and her child as a result of the community’s reaction to her adulterous pregnancy. In the essay, Kingston illustrates several behaviors and traditions that took place in her culture. One that stood out the most was the impression that her society had of women. For instance, the way a woman appeared exteriorly could distinguish her personal disposition as well as her marital status. The fact that women could be so easily judged is described in Kingston’s quote: “On a farm near the sea, a woman who tended to her appearance reaped a reputation for eccentricity. All married women blunt-cut their hair in flaps behind their ears or pulled back in tight buns. No nonsense. Neither style blew easily into heart-catching tangles. And at their weddings they displayed themselves in their long hair for the last time.” (328). In other words a woman was viewed as strange if she primped and fussed over her appearance. If she wore clothes of certain colors or styles it said something about her personality and demeanor. Furthermore, men could tell if a woman was available for marriage if her hair was long and flowing. If a woman was already married it was expected she should pay little attention to her appearance. This perception in Chinese culture endorses that a person can be judged simply by the way they look. In our society this same notion is relevant in the adolescent subculture. In this day and age there are several ways of dressing and expressing yourself. Many of these ways of dressing are named. One example of this named fashion would be what teenagers call a prep, meaning the wearer looks as if they attend a preparatory school. When someone is distinguished as a prep generally the clothes they wear are from particular stores such as J. Crew, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Gap, or Aeropostale. The clothes are very 2004-10-29T23:16:47-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Appearance-Is-Everything-Suicide-and-Chinese-Culture-25613.aspx Some of the topics this surprisingly intelligent film takes on are peer pressure, violence, pressures of an impoverished urban environment, adolescent pride, black/white conflicts, interracial relationships, single teen parenthood, racial stereotypes, racial prejudice, absentee fathers, loyalty in friendships, and more. While failing to adequately address any of these issues, the film makes it known that they indeed exist, and are not to be ignored. The movie proposes that kids, whether suburban whites or inner-city blacks, have the power to determine the course of their lives using determination and talent. The characters are intelligent and almost believable, and are constantly questioning themselves and their social environment in sometimes very realistic ways. The film deals with both real and ideal aspects of race statuses and relationships. While Derek and Malakai’s situation can be very believable, the fact that Sara immediately fits into a society where to say she is a minority would be an understatement is somewhat unrealistic. Taking a further look at Malakai’s character, it’s not unheard of for someone of his status and poor/criminal background to feel that they are incapable of doing anything else with their life. The “happily-ever-after” ending is possible, however not very probable; for what appears to be the only interracial couple in the film to live together in peace and harmony is highly unrealistic. The movie idealistically shows and implies only few instances of conflict as a result of their relationship, whereas in reality, especially in a predominantly black society, there probably would have been more controversy surrounding their relationship. The film both supports and denies race relations as described in the text. As mentioned earlier, the movie had a habit of idealizing interactions between Sara and her dad vs. the rest of the society. Derek and Chenille take Sara to “Steps”, a hip-hop club they frequent on weekends. The people at Steps are all black, with the exception of Chenille’s friend and Sara, who looks like she jumped right off the pages of a Gap catalog, yet she waltzes right in practically unnoticed. From an aerial shot of the dance floor, Sara stands out like a sore thumb, and yet no one appears even the least bit disconcerted. While this may be the way that we’d all like to view the world, it is sadly inaccurate. Taking a more realistic approach, tension is shown between Sara’s dad and Derek. The day Sara 2004-10-29T03:03:43-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Save-The-Last-Dance-Sociological-Approach-To-Race-25588.aspx Ever since Ruth Benedict first distinguished two principal cultural patterns based respectively on the sense of guilt and the sense of shame and cited Japanese culture as the typical example of the latter, most foreign students of Japan seem, despite a certain amount of criticism from Japanese scholars, to have accepted her theory. I myself am on the whole disposed to side with her, but more for what we have learned through the sensitivity of her feeling for the Japanese psychology than from any desire to swallow her theories whole. They raise, in fact, a considerable number of questions, not the least of which is the fact that she allows value judgments to creep into her ideas. Specifically, it is evident that when she states that the culture of guilt places emphasis on inner standards of conduct whereas the culture of shame places emphasis on outward standards of conduct she has the feeling that the former is superior to the latter. A second difficulty is that she seems to postulate guilt and shame as entirely unrelated to each other, which is obviously contrary to the facts. One and the same person very often experiences these two emotions at the same time, and they would seem to have a very close relationship; the person who has committed a sin is very frequently ashamed of what he has done. Nevertheless, the impression still remains that in characterizing Japans culture as a culture of shame she has pointed out something extremely important, and in what follows I shall examining this point in greater detail. Let us first examine the fact that in Western eyes the Japanese sense of guilt appears to be rather sluggish. The reason is probably that where the Westerner tends to think of the sense of guilt as an inner problem for the individual, the Japanese has no such idea. It would be foolish, of course, to assume that the Japanese have no sense of guilt. What is characteristic about the Japanese sense of guilt, though, is that it shows itself most sharply when the individual suspects that his action will result in betraying the group to which he belongs. Even with the Western sense of guilt on might, in fact postulate a deep-lying psychology of betrayal, but the Westerner is not normally conscious of it. What probably happened is that 2004-10-29T02:46:27-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Japanese-Sense-Of-Shame--25582.aspx Deculturalization refers to the "stripping away of a people's culture and replacing it with a new culture" (Spring 1). Deculturalization is one of the most inhumane acts one can partake in. A person's culture is his/her main defining feature. Culture is the medium through which people communicate their beliefs, values, and morals. Inserting one's own culture in place of someone's pre-existing culture is the basis of ethnocentrism. People have repeatedly become victims of deculturalization, especially in the United States, and by analyzing this ethnocentrism one learns the importance of sustaining different cultures in society. There are many methods of deculturalization, such as segregation, isolation, and forced change of language. When the content of curriculum reflects culture of dominant group, it is deculturalization. Also, dominated groups are not allowed to express their culture and religion, which is deculturalization. Use of teachers from the dominant group to teach those that are dominated is another form of deculturalization (Spring 49). "The problem was the assumption that U.S. institutions, customs, and beliefs were the best in the world and they should be imposed" (Spring 42). Throughout much of the past century, the United States sought to stamp its cultural ideal upon almost all peoples who existed within its realm of influence. It is only through the relatively modern ideology of multiculturalism and the celebration of diversity that the United States has begun to make amends for the injustices it has committed on other cultures. Today, with multiculturalism entering into the classrooms and other realms, different cultures are finally getting the attention they deserve. The American idea of cultural and racial superiority began in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the colonization of northeast America by predominantly Anglo Saxon colonists. Ironically, the colonists came to America to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. The Anglo Saxon attitude of cultural superiority was a largely Protestant value that remained prevalent for much of the twentieth century (Spring 2-4). The educational impact of this elitist attitude was far-reaching. The most immediate effects were seen in the destruction of Native American culture and peoples. Efforts to 'civilize' the Native Americans through the use of schooling began in 1819 and continued until the late 1920's. The first schools were the result of Christian missionaries' efforts to gain converts. English was the only language spoken in these schools, 2004-06-10T04:21:30-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Deculturalization-and-America-25093.aspx Falling Leaves By Adeline Yen For years, the world has been oblivious to the painful, degrading traditions toward women that take place behind the “Bamboo Curtain” of China. Falling Leaves , by Adeline Yen Mah, unveils the darker side of Chinese culture through her eyes as an unwanted Chinese daughter. Shocking mistreatment, of not only the author, but also the females in her extended family keep suspense alive throughout the book. My heart sobs at each account of Adeline’s tortured life, but through it all, there was a flicker of her spirit that could not be put out. In China, girls are seen as a possession or a “cheap commodity” (Yen Mah 100). Sons, especially the eldest, are given far more attention and praise. Families that are well off keep their daughters and marry them off to prominent families’ sons through a marriage broker (“mei-po”). Rich daughters often had their feet bound, a process by which the “four lateral toes of the foot are forced with a bandage under the sole so that only the big toe protruded. (It was) tightened daily for a number of years (so as to) permanently arrest the foot’s growth in order to achieve tiny feet so prized by Chinese men” (Yen Mah 11). Their inability to walk with ease is a symbol of submissiveness, weakness, and wealth. This tradition is becoming more rare, but still many older women bear its pain today. Adeline’s grandmother went against these traditions by not torturing her own daughter in such an inhumane way. Daughters of poorer families could only wish for such a life of weakness and delicate manner. These girls often become maids, waitresses, or prostitutes. Street girls play a vital role in the “three vices common to Chinese men: opium, gambling, and brothels” (Yen Mah 7). In my opinion, the treatment of women is the greatest difference between Eastern and Western culture. As Western culture has advanced to bring more rights to women, the traditional ways of China have become a sore thumb on the hand of the world. Even as an Eastern girl ages, she still has little hope for her own independence. Adeline’s grandmother was told by her father these words of shuttering reality: “Your duty is to please him and your in-laws. Bear them many sons. Subliminate your own desires. Become the willing piss-pot and spittoon of the Yens and we will be proud of you.” 2004-06-10T02:43:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Irreverence-of-Female-Independence-in-China-25081.aspx To label slavery a crime is to insist that its white beneficiaries should have known what we know today, or to say that they had information that we now have access to. Southern Honor, Ethics and Behavior in the Old South written by Bertram Wyatt-Brown; maintains that honor was the animating force in the antebellum South, the basis of the slave holding South’s integrity. The white slaveholders valued honor and genuinely trusted their own slaves, loved their families, the people that they were close to and knew best, yet they were convinced that the black race was vile, bestial, and fit for nothing but bondage. Mr. Brown in his book utters the following quote, which he feels explains why the white Southern man defended slavery and why he fought so hard to keep it instilled. “The inhabitant of the Old South was not inspired to shed his own slaves. Ever since man first picked up a stone to fling at an enemy, he has justified his thirst for revenge and for popular approval on the grounds of honor…White Southerners were certain their cause was justified by that prehistoric code.” In summary this quote states that the white Southern planter did not just wake up and defend hid slaves but it was predestined that man defend his property and take revenge against his enemies. The slaves were their property and the Northerners the ones to exact their revenge upon for trying to take their slaves. The white Southerner felt that the black was inferior, an animal, and most certainly property; this opinion this caused the treatment of blacks and especially the justice system to promote the interests of the white slaveholding elite. Blacks free or slave sometimes had trials for offenses committed; many did not get trials and even fewer got fair trials. Slaves were supposed to bestow honor on all whites, it was important to show obedience and respect with sincerity. It would not suffice for the slave to pretend to show respect then the white man’s honor would cease to exist. The slaves were punished heavily by the Slave codes for the smallest infractions. Slaves believed guilty of malicious crimes such as rape, murder, poising, sedition, and insurrection were commonly burned alive or castrated without the benefit of a trail. Since blacks knew how they were to be treated, 2004-06-10T01:56:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Honor-Respect-And-Shame-Life-Of-The-White-Southern-Male-25068.aspx