Symbolic Interactionism an Example of the Topic Government and Law Essays by

Symbolic Interactionism and The African American Identity The African American experience is one by label and by reality that is distinctly paradoxical. Forcibly relocated from the land of its heritage and perpetuated in a land which had first enslaved it, thereafter oppressed it and perpetually undermined it, the African American nation may not be readily identified either with Africa, from which it is now many hundred of years removed, nor with America, which had persisted for generations to disrupt any opportunities for the development of an independent American identity through physical, social and spiritual brutality. Need essay sample on "Symbolic Interactionism and The African American Identity" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The result is, in retrospect, a culture which would come into definition in simultaneity with the introduction of slavery to the United States and which would develop according to the developments of slavery and abolition. With consideration to the idea of symbolic interactionism, which argues that meanings become creating within the context of cultures, societies and behaviors between individuals and groups, the African American has clearly been deeply impacted by the creation of meaning and the establishment of symbolic identifying factors which accompanied the development of Americas inherently racist culture. Most of the references used to support this claim are drawn from primary sources, derived both from former slaves and from slavers. Such texts should help to illustrate the ways in which psychological conditioning, cultural indoctrination and symbolic repatriation would be utilized to create an Americanized African, shaped for the purposes of improving his compliance with th e requirements of his master. Though it would not succeed in defining definitively the identity of the African American, this experience would nonetheless factor into a psyche unique and separate amongst those of America or Africa for this very reason. The sociological impact of symbolic interactionism is therefore discussed here with consideration to the longterm historical experience of African Americans as a function of Americas core racism. In said discussion, the slave narratives offer something which presents itself as a solution to the present dilemma over defining the point at which an African American identity had been developed, but in another manner, only deepens the complication of the problem from an outside perspective. A recurrent theme in the first-person accounts offered by freed slaves is the value of Christianity to the struggle to overcome hardship and torment such as that inherent to a life of toil and servitude. For many, this was the true salvation of being forced to find a home in an inhospitable nation. But the extent to which this force would occupy the place of hope for many forward-looking slaves cannot be underestimated, as The Life of Olaudah Equiano will attest. Among the first freed slaves to become an active and vocal part of the abolitionist movement from the relatively safer distance from America of the less oppressive Great Britain in the late 18th century, Equiano describes his bondage as the mysterious ways of Providence. (Gates, 3) It would be his transport from slavery in Africa to captivity in the New World that would place him in the hands of a Philadelphia Christian with a generous disposition. The aspect of Equiano that we might consider a most apparent personal perspective is that shaped by his piety, a faithfulness which bore its origins in America. This would imbue him with a quality of graciousness, to which one might owe the perspective taken in the following statement: Did I consider myself an European, I might say my sufferings were great: but when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favourite of Heaven. (Gates, 12) Equiano offers a statement here which might help us to navigate through the apparent contradiction inherent to Americas dual traditions of Christianity and slavery. In understanding the roots of Equianos solace in faith, we might also better understand the capacity of the slave to retain his identity in the face of the dehumanizing conditions which the author describes in reference to his captivity. For Equiano, there would remain a direct connection to Africa which, though no longer relevant to his geographical home, would nonetheless define his experiences in the world. The comparison rendered above between the life of a European and the life of an African speaks volumes to the subject at hand, suggesting that for Equiano, the fate of slavery and eventual freedom, and even the growth of a modest personal estate, marks him as considerably more fortunate than those who would be robbed of their lives or enslaved for the duration by the brutal labor system. Noting this comparison, Equi ano acknowledges that the identification with Africa is, in many ways, an honest identification with a heritage of suffering and shared grief. This may be considered of relevance in our attempt to better comprehend the point at which this connection becomes somewhat more of an abstraction to increasingly more Americanized generations of slave. Indeed, Equianos African birth and forced relocation would orient him toward deep psychological ties to the continent. But for those who would find their freedom only centuries hence, and particularly for those who would be born into slavery, the notion of an African history would not only seem remote but would be pointedly stifled by the mandated assimilation often required of those purchased into white families. This evidence is available in multiple instances for Equiano, who would receive a name change when sold to an American slaver at his 11th year and who would adopt Methodist Christianity as his religion at the behest of the master from whom he would eventually buy his freedom. For his captors, both of negative of positive disposition, Equiano would be a man whom they believed themselves entitled to tailor, and they did so in a manner as to only further separate him from his African birth. In fact, there may perhaps be no more powerful symbolic induction of meaning than to rename an individual who has already grown into his identity. The ability of one to effectively change anothers name has a resounding impact on our understanding of the social aspects of reinforcing the legitimacy of slavery. If a name is only symbolic to start, it does eventually become tied to questions of social interaction and identity. The willful alteration of such suggests something of the social control underlying the theory of symbolic interactionism. Ira Berlins 2003 text helps to capture the disenfranchising sociological effect of this dynamic, with the collective of experiences afflicting those enslaved suggesting that the category African American is one which could only be manufactured in retrospect of this groups development. Certainly, those first who were transplanted to America will surely have viewed themselves as Africans, but this would not be so for the generation which these individuals would immediately produce. And the practice of separating children from parents and deconstructing slave families would help to suppress this history for the coming generations, leaving only the new historical experience of slavery to define the nation of men and women thereby produced. As Berlin would explain this nationalist limbo, although the countenances of these Atlantic creoles might bear the features of African, Europe, or the Americas in whole or part, their beginnings, strictly speaking, were in none of these places. (Berlin , 23) Such is to say that the experience of being forced from Africa and in particular the horrifically detailed travails of the Middle Passage, would begin to shape the history of a people parallel to and separate from the history of Africans, of Americans or of Europeans. In contrast to all of these peoples, African Americans would be a group derived from a wide range of cultural or tribal backgrounds and yet indiscriminately homogenized under the singular banner of American slavery. To this end, we might press forward with the essential argument that the moment at which the African American nation came to be was that marking the initiation and implementation of the slave trade, which immediately began to define a point of transition in the creation of meaning and interaction between Europeans and Africans. It was this process which began to separate the histories of the African people and the African people transplanted to America. This is a meaningful point of inflection with respect to this referenced diversity of culture for transplanted Africans, who would find a unified nation not necessarily with those of similar African backgrounds but with those made similar by the experience of being relocated from Africa to the New World. As this collective of Africans became willfully pigeonholed into a single and indistinct cultural identity, it would increasingly become accurate to say that this was a culturally common group, relatively speaking. As we venture forward to posit the argument that African Americans, as a people, came into existence in simultaneity with the establishment of the slave trade in North America, it is useful to step back and consider another possible case. It might be suggested that to affix a collective identity to a group of people only made culturally common in their shared affliction of slavery is to indulge the composition of anthropological history according to the plan of Americas white slave-holders. Indeed, it would be the pricing of individuals as buyable commodities which would initiate the process of removing from them former identities and meanings. In the Walter Johnson text which explores the slave trade as an industry and practice, the author remarks that any slaves identity might be disrupted as easily as a price could be set and a piece of paper passed form one and to another. (Johnson, 4) It must therefore be distinguished, in conducting the present argument, that the experiences imposed by transition in America would create a new culture that, whether bred of acceptance or resistance, would represent a point at which no return to Africa could be genuinely expected to yield a return to that cultural identity. Generations would be reared into American society under the machinations of slavery, and this very reality would be of greater relevance of meaning than any level of personal acceptance, whether that acceptance would have taken the shape of an abandonment of African cultural identifiers or of the outright acceptance of Christian worship. To paraphrase John Rolfe in the compilation of Holt et al, resistance had been anticipated by slavers and would be dealt with psychologically, systemically or, if necessary, by corporal force.(Holt, 83) Therefore, the indulgence of an identity with roots in the transport of slaves to the New World may be seen as appropriate from the perspective of the enslaved, for whom there can be no other way of identifying the American experience than as a former African. This induction of meaning, though, would not necessarily translate into a good or valuable slave. Thus, all manner of technique would be employed to assail any retained degree of cultural identity, where slavers would attempt to overwhelm natural instincts toward freedom and self-determination to the detriment of rational humanism. A wide liberty was taken in the creation of symbolic meanings which could justify and maintain the practice of slavery. The attempt of the planters to assert control over slave identities . . . belied the probity of patriarchism. (Parent, 226) As such, integrating newly arrived laborers into their bondage would become a matter of ritualistic psychological conditioning. The renaming of slaves, Anthony Parents text would indicate based on primary sources from slavers and other labor-overseers, is a process that would be joined with the symbolic and dually degrading gesture of stripping slaves stark naked and presenting them to their owners. In addition to reducing defiant individuals to a more humbling state, this would be an act of stripping them of their former identities. (Parent, 226) This was done with the intention of bringing these new arrivals to an understanding of their new identity as subjects under the dominion of a slave-owner. Indeed, this indoctrination was conducted with an intention of initiating the captives to their new life in America, and was thus interwoven with distinct symbolic features of what was itself only a nascent culture for European transplants in the colonies. Certainly, this was not a readily accepted fate by the first-arriving slaves. The indignity of renaming an individual well within his own capacity to comprehend his name and attach it to some identity is to rob the individual of any impression of self-volition and simultaneously to rob him of the heritage implied by his birth name. Parents text abbreviates a segment of the Equiano autobiography which underscores the emotional impact of this act, especially as it applies to the meaning of its connection to ones fading culture: Equiano remembered that Igbo names marked either some event or foreboding at the time of ones birth. His given name Olaudah, foreshadowing his life, suggested the following characteristics: vicissitude, fortune, favor, and loud voice. Yet, even though he had his own African names, his captors imposed other Anglicized personal names, first Jacob, then Michael, that called up a miserable, forlorn, and much dejected state. . .which made my life a burden. (Parent227) His capture would take from him the good fortune bestowed by his cultural heritage. The new one put in its place, considered with an absence of judgment, may be distinctly noted as a non-African experience as a result of such profound events. However, it would be remiss to infer from this that the experience has been made any more American either. In Charles Balls autobiography, the early passages offer insight into this difficult dichotomy by placing the third generation slave into direct contact with his grandfather. The old man, a survivor of the Middle Passage and a man claiming to have held some royal ranking in his African village, would only have been Americanized insofar as he had come by absence of any other choice to adopt the lifestyle of an American slave. But the generation gap would be considerable between those with such a direct recollection of adulthood and an ingrained attachment to the African culture and those who would be only two generations and seemingly worlds separated from the native continent. Ball would observe of his grandfather that it is not strange that he believed the religion of his oppressors to be the invention of designing men, for the text oftenest quoted in his hearing was, Servants, be obedient to your masters. (Ball, 15) The author raises a point which suggests that there was not an absence of awareness for many slaves that Christian indoctrination was itself manifested of the same impulses for conditioning and identity casting as would provoke name changing, family dismantling and a general perpetuation of ignorance as to native culture, familial heritage and features of an identity existent prior to being imported into slavery. Nonetheless, succeeding generations rendered it increasingly difficult for many slaves to recognize the aggressive creation of meaning which had helped to instigate their circumstances. This suggests an important resolution in our discussion, which is that prior to the arrival of the first African slaves to America, the culture to which these individuals would be indoctrinated did not exist. Even though Balls grandfather steadfastly remains loyal to the vestiges of his culture, it defines less about his experience in America than do the realities of slavery and racism. Therefore, what he and his fellow transplants have become, and what their offspring will reflect with a deepening ignorance to that which existed prior, is a new culture to be named African American in succeeding centuries of sociological change. Though it is clear that few slaves inclined to write about their experience are inclined to write from a position of comfort and acceptance in an equitable American society, they are nonetheless impelled by some level of recognition that the collective identity of those sharing the experience of slavery in the America would be one underscored by the meanings created by their tormentors. A nation of African Americans would be born and manipulated at the launch of the first Middle Passage voyage. Today, it is this nation which traces its heritage to the arrival of its ancestors to the plantations of the American south, rather than to the villages of Africa. And yet, tracing this line can hardly be said to promote a sense of inclusion, patriotism or national identification. Thus, it seems one must arrive at the resolution that the African American identity began with the inception of the experience of the African people in America, characterized as it would be by the symbolic associatio ns of racism, slavery, inequality and the triumphant and ongoing emergence from these shadows. Works Cited Ball, Charles. (2003). Fifty Years in Chains. Dover. Berlin, Ira. (2003). Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves. Harvard University Press. Gates, Henry Louis (ed.). (2002). Equiano's Narrative Classic Slave Narratives. Signet Holt, Thomas C. & Elsa Barkley Brown. (2000). Major Problems in African American History. Houghton Mifflin Company. Johnson, Walter. (1999). Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market. Harvard University Press. Parent, Anthony Jr. (2003). Foul Means: The Formation of a Slave Society in Virginia, 1660-1740. University of North Carolina Press.

Global Hunger Sooner Than You Think †Humanities Essay

Global Hunger Sooner Than You Think – Humanities Essay Free Online Research Papers Global Hunger Sooner Than You Think Humanities Essay It is frightening to think that one day there may not be enough food left on the planet. For our generation this seems an unlikely fate, but for future generations it could be reality. World population is growing at an alarming rate, and already there are parts of the world where the demand for food outweighs the supply. Currently, one fifth of the population in developing countries cannot find enough food to eat. Out of the whole population of the world, eighty percent are considered malnourished. In 1798 an English demographer named Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population. This essay concentrated on the idea that one day the earth’s natural resources will no longer be able to support it’s population. Malthus had the belief that the speed of population growth exceeds the production of resources, and thus humans would eventually strip the earth of food. Today, there are a few reasons that explain why the world’s population is larger than ever before. First, there is the principle of geometric growth, which Malthus also popularized. This means that the population increases by doubling itself, and thus its rate of increase speeds up. Over the past 50 years, world population has increased by roughly 0.8 billion per decade. In 2020 it is estimated to reach just over eight billion (United Nations, 1989). Most of the growth will take place in lesser developed countries, where birth rates are higher than in the Western societies. This is a product of many factors, including lack of contraception, which is sometimes due to religious beliefs. Certain cultures, namely towards the Middle East, also encourage large families. Families in poverty-stricken countries develop the need to have more children so that they can help bring in income, and in some regions the rate of infant mortality is very high, and parents often decide to have four kids instead of one or two to ensure survival (Blue, 2006). Population growth affects food supply directly. First of all, to put it simply, the more people there are, the more resources will be consumed. Secondly, there is the issue of space. Everybody needs a place to live, and the earth’s surface does not grow with the population. Housing takes up a large portion of inhabitable land, therefore there is a limited space which can be used to grow crops and produce food. Most of the places where food can grow are already occupied, and currently only 11% of the world’s land is fit for cultivation (NSCE, 2006). As the population expands further there will be even less arable land, and there is no doubt that population will indeed expand. This leads to the belief that the Malthusian theory of food depletion is the inevitable. However, â€Å"many have argued that Malthus did not recognize the human capacity to increase our food supply,† (Wikipedia, 2006), so there still may be various ways to counter the crisis which he predict ed. In his time Malthus had a few rather controversial ideas on how to prevent his prophecy of resource diminution. He believed in taking control of the world’s population by using means such as prohibiting early marriages; abstinence; disregarding the conditions of the poor; neglecting the issue of infant mortality, and doing nothing to boost healthcare standards (Winch, 197. In short, he thought that by sustaining a general misery among people, population growth would slow down. Though his proposed plans may not have been ineffective, today they are seen as somewhat barbaric, and there are better ways to solve the looming problem. Since Malthus wrote his essay in the late 18th century, huge technological developments have been made. For instance, humans have developed Genetic Engineering which could yet prove to be the answer to the food crisis. Already with the help of the Green Revolution, which began in the 1940s and used â€Å"modern agricultural techniques† (Wikipedia, 2006) to assist food production, â€Å"the number of people in danger of malnutrition worldwide has decreased significantly.† The question is whether the genetically modified crop movement will be able to â€Å"develop into an agricultural revolution on the scale of the Green Revolution (Rand Corp. 2004). While in some countries genetically modified crops are already being grown, the Gene Revolution cannot yet be adopted worldwide. Environmentalists, policymakers and some members of the public are trying to limit its spreading, disapproving of the idea of â€Å"playing God† and worrying about the side-effects of modifi ed cells. While these fears are not unjustified, it should also be taken into account that genetically engineered crops could be very helpful to countries such as Africa, where poverty and famine is a constant threat (Rand Corp. 2004) For example, scientists have been modifying plants so that they require less water, and in the dry countries where water is scarce these developments could be immensely beneficial (PBS, 2000). Moving away from genetic engineering, researching alternative fuels could cheapen the production and transportation of food. Also, the countries which have a low literacy rate tend to be the ones in economic trouble, so educating people on how to produce their own crops and providing information about contraception could greatly improve the situation. Food aid is another option, and the United Nations have a variety of ideas on how to go about distributing the world’s resources, and deem it a necessary action throughout the coming years. They believe that the earth is able to provide every living being with enough resources to survive, but due to factors such as war, natural disasters and political corruption many people are in poverty and do not have enough to eat (Shaw, 2001). Currently, to say that the earth is running low on food would be untrue. There is more than enough, but it is not distributed evenly. It is a fact that population will grow. However, after taking everything into consideration, it is impossible to know for what exactly will happen in the future. There are countless things which could unexpectedly find their way into the world’s economy, technology, social structure and land structure. Just as Malthus did not foresee things like genetic engineering, today’s scientists may not see future improvements in technology which could lead to a total change in the organization of the world. Research Papers on Global Hunger Sooner Than You Think - Humanities EssayThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part One

Men of the Harlem Renaissance

Men of the Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was a literary movement that began in 1917 with the publication of Jean Toomers Cane and ended with Zora Neale Hurstons novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937. Writers such as Countee Cullen, Arna Bontemps, Sterling Brown, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes all made significant contributions to the Harlem Renaissance. Through their poetry, essays, fiction writing, and playwriting, these men all exposed various ideas that were important to African-Americans during the Jim Crow Era.   Countee Cullen In 1925, a young poet by the name of Countee Cullen published his first collection of poetry, entitled, Color. Harlem Renaissance  architect Alain Leroy Locke argued that Cullen was â€Å"a genius† and that his poetry collection transcends all of the limiting qualifications that might be brought forward if it were merely a work of talent. Two years earlier, Cullen proclaimed: If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET. This is what has hindered the development of artists among us. Their one note has been the concern with their race. That is all very well, none of us can get away from it. I cannot at times. You will see it in my verse. The consciousness of this is too poignant at times. I cannot escape it. But what I mean is this: I shall not write of negro subjects for the purpose of propaganda. That is not what a poet is concerned with. Of course, when the emotion rising out of the fact that I am a negro is strong, I express it. During his career, Cullen published poetry collections including Copper Sun, Harlem Wine, the Ballad of the Brown Girl  and Any Human to Another.   He also served as editor of the poetry anthology Caroling Dusk,   which featured the work of other African-American poets.   Sterling Brown Sterling Allen Brown may have worked as an English professor but he was focused on documenting African-American life and culture present in folklore and poetry.  Throughout his career, Brown published literary criticism and anthologized African-American literature. As a poet, Brown has been characterized as having an â€Å"active, imaginative mind† and a â€Å"natural gift for dialogue, description, and narration,† Brown published two collections of poetry and published in various journals such as  Opportunity. Works published during the Harlem Renaissance include Southern Road; Negro Poetry and The Negro in American Fiction, Bronze booklet - no. 6.   Claude McKay   Writer and social activist  James Weldon Johnson  once said: Claude McKays poetry was one of the great forces in bringing about what is often called the Negro Literary Renaissance.† Considered one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance,  Claude McKay used themes such as African-American pride, alienation, and desire for assimilation in his works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. In 1919, McKay published â€Å"If We Must Die† in response to the Red Summer of 1919. Poems such as â€Å"America† and â€Å"Harlem Shadows† followed.  McKay also published collections of poetry such as Spring in New Hampshire and Harlem Shadows; novels Home to Harlem, Banjo, Gingertown, and Banana Bottom.   Langston Hughes   Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent members of the Harlem Renaissance. His first collection of poetry Weary Blues was published in 1926. In addition to essays and poems, Hughes also was a prolific playwright.  In 1931, Hughes collaborated with writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston to write  Mule Bone. Four years later, Hughes wrote and produced  The Mulatto.  The following year, Hughes worked with composer  William Grant Still  to create  Troubled Island.  That same year, Hughes also published  Little Ham  and  Emperor of Haiti.   Arna Bontemps   Poet Countee Cullen described fellow wordsmith Arna Bontemps as â€Å"at all times cool, calm, and intensely religious yet never takes advantage of the numerous opportunities offered them for rhymed polemics† in the introduction of the anthology Caroling Dusk. Although Bontemps never gained the notoriety of McKay or Cullen, he published poetry, childrens literature and wrote plays throughout the Harlem Renaissance. Also, Bontemps work as an educator and librarian allowed the works of the Harlem Renaissance to be accessible to generations that would follow.

Research Guide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Guide - Essay Example It also aims to publish original and definitive research papers, in which the emphasis is placed on new engineering construction and design developments. The Institution of Civil Engineers’ website https://www.ice.org.uk/ provides student career advice, conference lists, and useful source references for civil engineering aspects. Another relevant website is http://www.icivilengineer.com/, which provides numerous links to hand-picked websites containing information on civil and structural engineering and technology. A third website is http://www.cif.org/, which is managed by the Construction Innovation Forum that seeks to recognize construction industry innovations that improve cost effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of structures and constructions. Finally, the American Society of Civil Engineers runs the http://www.asce.org/ website that has a membership of almost 150,000 in more than 140 countries. This website provides access to journals, magazines, papers, and books related to civil and structural engineering. Lignos, D. G., Hikino, T., Matsuoka, Y., & Nakashima, M. (2012). Collapse assessment of steel moment frames based on E-Defense full-scale shake table collapse tests. Journal of Structural Engineering, 139(1), 120-132 Lignos et al (2012) set out to investigate the critical parameters that influence steel frame structure numerical modeling for reliable simulations of structure collapse. The authors base their collapse evaluations on experimental data from a four-story steel moment frame full-scale shaking table collapse test, as well as a parallel blind numerical analysis contest. They find that prediction of sideways collapse mechanism for regular plan view buildings using 3D and 2D analyses has no clear advantage. They specifically note that a combination of local buckling delays in first story columns and increased bending strength is effective in enhancing

Women rights in Brazil and Egypt Research Paper

Women rights in Brazil and Egypt - Research Paper Example This brought a completely new religion and an all new language. To highlight a current issue of this country, I have gone through a number of media sources and newspapers. The Daily News Egypt is a newspaper that examines various national and global affairs from an Egyptian frame of reference. Al-Masry Al-Youm, on the other hand is an independent news agency that is operational in Egypt. These are the key resources that will be utilized to discuss, elaborate and examine the chosen current issue (Tignor 2011). Brazil, with its capital Brasilia is the second region under debate. The country has a population of 195.4 million. Social conditions can be bitter in big regions of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where up to third of total population resides in slums. To point out a current issue of this country, I have gone through a book called Latin American women: historical perspectives By Asuncion Lavrin. I have also analyzed details available on BBC.co.uk, an online news source that provi des political, cultural and economic insights (BBC 2010). As I researched the above mentioned sources, I found out that women’s right is an issue that is highly being focused.... Many women gathered at Tahrir Square on 8th March, 2011. Their ultimate aim was to remind the government that women make up half of the country and that they should have a say in the construction of a new Egypt. Throughout the uprising of Egypt, while women have played important roles in street protests, they remained silent regarding gender rights in their country. Due to this, they have not only faced aggressive discrimination but also received minimal legal aid against sexual abuse and widespread violence. The second article â€Å"Paving a Way for Women in Brazil† which has been written by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa (2011) and published in the New York Times highlights Dilma Rousseff’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly in the month of September. She, as the first ever female president of Brazil declared this century to be one for the women adding that her motive is to spread democracy and provide equal rights. Ms. Rousseff has taken steps to appoint women at prestigi ous posts such as chief of staff, institutional relations minister as well as planning minister. It has been observed that Brazilian women have made considerable advancement on closing gaps in fields of education and health but there are still gaps in wages, labor force, and the ratio of women’s unemployment and in their contribution to superior levels of hierarchies in businesses. If we compare the two, in order to emerge as prosperous nations, both these countries need to solve women’s right issues on a serious note. As compared to Brazil, women in Egypt are not given much chances as of yet, to contribute in the political sector. Even though they played a prominent role throughout Egypt uprising, they are not been given enough chances to grow and

Benjamin Cardozo Leaders program Essay Example for Free

Benjamin Cardozo Leaders program Essay The final spot in the University of Buffalo’s graduating class of 2011 should be offered to me because I embody the values of hard work, dedication, determination, and self-discipline that are essential in succeeding as a college student and later as a professional in my field. I have always had plans for a successful future in younger years I had thoughts of pursuing the medical field, like my sister, but have since decided that being successful means following my own interests and dreams. I have been fascinated with how things work for as long as I can remember; automotive design holds a special attraction for me. During my junior year of high school I came to the realization that adulthood and the ‘real world’ are fast approaching, and got serious about outlining my plans for the future. Now, as a graduating senior, I am on the verge of proving to everyone else what I have always known I am going to make something BIG out of myself. After careful and diligent examination of my personal interests and values, I have decided that my optimum career choice is to be a self employed mechanical engineer. In this profession I will be able to exploit my passion for how things work, while designing my own creations and being self employed will allow me to reach my full potential, limited only by my dream, drive, and education. Knowing that the quality of my education is essential to achieving my lifetime aspiration will continue to provide me with a hunger for the acquisition of the knowledge and experience of my professors and future student colleagues. I plan to embellish my studies of mechanical engineering with a second concentration in business management, to culminate in an M. B. A. which I believe will help me acquire the knowledge necessary to run a profitable and successful business. It is my true dream to do for the world of mechanical engineering what Bill Gates did for computing and what Sam Walton did for discount retail to become an industrial giant through knowledge, drive, and a passion for doing what I love. The University of Buffalo needs me on campus because of my experience in leadership, through the Benjamin Cardozo Leaders program, my strong work ethic as evidenced by my current employment, and my passion for mechanical engineering. I pledge to use this spot to the best of my ability to simultaneously increase my academic knowledge and to uphold the positive public image that the University of Buffalo portrays. My background in athletics, as well as my high school and employment experience have all increased my people skills, and I plan to hone them even further in collaborating with fellow students and being involved in mentoring programs that import to teenagers how important goals, drive, and education are in the accomplishment of great things. I believe strongly that this college will help me accomplish great things, and it is my intent to accomplish great things while I am there.

Jean Genet’s The Balcony Essay -- Literature Writing Papers

Jean Genet’s The Balcony The Methods of Cultural Appropriation in Jean Genet’s â€Å"The Balcony† The now-famous story of Jean Genet’s ascension to literary sainthood begins with an accusation. The young Genet, an orphan and an outcast in the rural Morvan, was subject to suspicion and, due to his dubious origins, finally accused of thievery. However, instead of shaking the label, Genet decided to embrace it to fulfill all the mordant potential that it promised. From this inaugurating act sprang the literary Genet. As Sartre says in his monumental study Saint Genet: â€Å"For him, to compose is to recreate himself†(584). As a result, Genet’s persona is as famous (or notorious) as his works are. Genet’s early initiation into a mental, if not physical, sort of underworld predicates his awareness of the problems of subcultural existence in a society ruled by signs, symbols, and rituals. His writing often focuses on the detailed qualities of inanimate objects, attributing meaning to them and in the process forging almost personal relationships with them. This is important because Genet is highly aware of the effects of the proliferation of images in the media and their uses for various interests. In his literary career, Genet moves from a consciousness of the importance of symbols and images in identifying and defining a particular subcultural milieu to an awareness of the ways in which these symbols can be appropriated by dominant culture, thus losing their subversive edge. It is in this way that dominant culture disarms potentially dangerous subversive or criminal elements. â€Å"The Balcony† illustrates to a superlative degree his awareness of image and symbol for subcultural elements and the danger of approp... ...ame time casts a leery eye towards the use of images to facilitate this process. However, by exposing the means of appropriation Genet allows leeway for re-appropriation, a way for subcultures to assert their own self-representation. This leads to a kind of cultural barter or negotiation between subculture and dominant culture; the methods of this barter must therefore become the primary concern of subcultures. Works Cited Genet, Jean. â€Å"The Balcony†. New York: Grove Press. 1966. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Saint Genet. New York: Mentor Books. 1963. Hebdige, Dick. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Routledge. 1979. Plotz, John. â€Å"Objects of Abjection: The Animation of Difference in Jean Genet’s Novels†. Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 44, No. 1. (Spring, 1998). 100-118. White, Edmund. Genet: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1993.

Preparation For Life Education Is Life Itself Education Essay

Education is a lifetime procedure with no true beginning or stoping. Education consists of experience, environment, socialization and communicating. John Dewey assumed that â€Å" all echt instruction comes through experience. † I agree and believe that instruction does non get down and stop in a schoolroom. The instruction that we really receive is the amount of experience that we let ourselves to be exposed to. A It is the responsibility of an pedagogue to animate his pupils and enhance that desire to larn by the schoolroom environment that he creates. For Peters ( 1977 ) , instruction is non merely that what develop in person is of import but every bit good that it involves the growing of cognition and comprehension. Furthermore, apart from the schoolroom environment, the course of study, and the mode the schoolroom is managed are cardinal factors that contribute to the quality of instruction that a pupil receives. Like Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( 1712-1778 ) , I think that little categories, dwelling of 15 to twenty pupils are ideal for a good instruction. As this allows for a more friendly relationship between the instructor and the pupils and there is more clip for individualised direction that would let the pupils better success. A instruction doctrine gives insight into your basic beliefs of instruction and acquisition. It reveals the values you wish and want to convey to your scholars. My beliefs about acquisition and instruction are straight linked to my ain experiences as a trainee and a pupil every bit good. For the last two hebdomads as an perceiver in the instruction field, as a pre-service instructor, and as being a pupil for legion old ages, I have realised that there are four facets that make person an effectual instructor: teacher-student relationship, communicating, learning techniques, and uninterrupted acquisition. A positive and safe environment is contributing to effectual acquisition. A good instructor must possess learning accomplishments and the ability to efficaciously learn all sort of pupils. With the socio-economic alteration and the handiness of new information in the field of particular instruction, it is imperative to remain up to day of the month and unfastened minded. The values I want to convey to my pupils are that instruction is power and cognition is indispensable. Through instruction anyone can carry through anything in life. I do believe that non all kids are able to achieve the same educational degree but I do experience that every kid has his ain manner of understanding things that make sense to him. I hope to stress different ways to larn in my schoolroom which may include ocular, verbal and kinesthetic. I plan to integrate assorted methods throughout my learning experience. I want my pupils to be able to larn in every manner they are capable of. During my research I came across a great philosopher which I tend to hold with, John Dewey. Harmonizing to him, instruction is the â€Å" creative activity of cognition through enquiry instead than the transmittal of extant information † . Furthermore, he stated that â€Å" echt instruction is based on the experience of the scholar † . As a pupil, I spent school old ages larning in an improper manner. I was far from being an academically stand outing pupil since I literally did non cognize how to larn. Hence I could non understand how to travel through the most of import things which was necessary to retrieve that my instructors would desire me to cognize and understand. I realised that I learn by making and non by listening to talks. My doctrine is chiefly a combination of progressivism, behaviorism and existential philosophy. I like progressive attack as I understand that instructors need to be at that place for their pupils. Teachers act as a facilitator and a usher to their pupils. Students do necessitate to larn to make things on their ain and at their ain gait, yet with scaffolding. I become witting that pupils are non empty vass instead they possesses innately the â€Å" natural stuffs † and the get downing point of growing ( Dewey, 1934 ) . Dewey strongly agrees that instructors should steer pupil through experience but pupil should every bit voice their experiences ( Nodding, 2007 ) . I believe in the progressivism enterprise to do schooling both interesting and utile. Hence I intend to integrate group-work, field trips and organizing games in my category. Sometimes seeing is better than reading, and making an exercising is better remembered and understood than merely reading it. I besides like the doctrine of behaviourism because it provides positives supports like wagess and congratulations for good and coveted behaviour. This will promote motive, construct self-esteem and innate a feeling of self-responsibility within the pupils. However, to cover with riotous pupils sometimes, in utmost instances, instructors need to follow negative support like excess prep. Using existential philosophy, I want my pupils to be self expressive. There will be all types of pupils from slow, to average, to gifted. I want my pupils to ever experience like they can inquire inquiries and to be able to show their positions. I believe that acquisition is the procedure which a individual acquires knowledge through both direction and instruction. As a instructor my responsibility is to ease that this acquisition is taking topographic point for my pupils. Part of my aim as an pedagogue is to go through on the cognition presented in the class from their different beginnings like the text and other readings, talks and in category treatments. The method I will utilize or type of attack I will utilize to smooth the advancement of acquisition and apprehension are the chief elements of the instruction procedure. Therefore, the tools I will utilize will depend on a myriad of factors. For case, the class type, category size and capable affair. However, it happens that the attack one has envisioned is non needfully the right one, so alteration must be made on my side to relieve any job. For case, when seeking to do an abstract construct as more applicable with the existent fact, it may be required to hold several il lustrations at disposal. This is so as a frame of mention and consciousness may be different than the pupils. The in category talk is still an indispensable tool in the acquisition procedure but at the same clip develop an environment of critical thought and active acquisition. Engagement is a cardinal factor of the in category experience. It gives the pedagogue a signifier of day-to-day feedback from his category as a whole and every bit from each single pupil about the appreciation of capable affair covered in that session. No affair what philosophy person agrees with, all instructors should desire to convey out the best in all pupils and do certain that their pupils are acquiring every opportunity to be successful. If a pupil is non succeeding, we instructors must step in and do alteration as we can and hold the ability to do a difference.

My Memorable Biology Class Experience Essay

My Memorable Biology Class Experience Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have had many memorable experiences in my biology class but there is one particular experience that stands out from the rest. This experience will forever be in mind for years to come. This paper will look at my previous experiences in school and the reason why this particular experience in biology class stands out from the rest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was one morning that after out biology classes that out tutor told us that we would proceed to the laboratory to carryout some experiments. In the previous one moth, we were studying cell and organizational biology. This topic was of much interest to me because it gave me a chance to learn about different biological mechanisms and the interrelationships between different cells in organisms. After the lesson, our teacher divided us into groups of three and every group was supposed to look for an animal to dissect. I and other members of out group decided to dissect a minks and carryout out tests to establish whether there were traces of mercury or other substances in its tissue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When the time came to go to the laboratory, we went out in search of a minks. Every group member went out in search of a mink within the neighborhood. It did not take long before one member of our group caught one. Afterwards, we went into the laboratory to start carrying out our experiment. On arrival, we found that we were the first group to start working on their experiment. Mike, one of our group members assembled all the required tools and equipment. We dissected the creature and started studying its tissue to establish the presence of any harmful substances. After some time, we were joined by theupperclassmen who were doing their capstone research.This was such special time for me because it offered me a chance to get the much needed experience in research.This is such a memorable experience for me because it was the first time that I dissected an organism and carried out tests on its tissues.In addition, this was such a memorable an d surreal experience for me because it was the first time that I completed a hands-on undertaking and not merely sitting at a table looking through a microscope. It also gave me a chance to carryout research in a truly productive manner. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first major memorable experience in the biology class was studying cell and organizational biology. I found this unit to be very interesting therefore confirming my deep love for biology. More specifically, I was very much fascinated to learn about different biological mechanisms and the interrelationships between different cells in organisms. The other memorable experience in the biology class is getting the chance to carryout research with upperclassmen for their capstone research. This provided me with a chance to earn the much needed experience in research. During our joint research sessions, we would dissect minks and carryout a number of tests on their tissue to establish whether there were hints of mercury and other substances. This is such a memorable experience for me because it was the first time that I dissected an organisms and carryout tests on its tissues. References Alberts, B. Johnson, A. Lewis, J. RaffM. Roberts, K.& Walter, P.Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th ed.). Garland, 2002. Print. Source document

Down Syndrome essays

Down Syndrome essays Sometimes when meiosis ( the division of reproductive cells ) occurs, chromosomes may be lost, left behind, or too many may be passed on, resulting in the birth of a child with a genetic or congenital defect or disease. One of the most common of these genetic disorders is Down syndrome. This disorder takes its name from Dr. Langdon Down, who was the first to describe it formally, in 1866. Down syndrome is a condition marked by abnormal physical and mental development that is caused by a genetic defect. This genetic defect is caused by an extra chromosome. People born with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes compared to the normal amount of 46, 23 chromosomes inherited from each parent. This extra chromosome originates more often in the mother's egg than the father's sperm. Chromosomes are individual, large DNA molecules in a cell nucleus. They contain the genes along with structures that hold the DNA and aid it in expressing heredity by orchestrating cellular operations. Down syndrome is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities, occurring in about 1 out of 800 births. However, the frequency of the disorder varies greatly according to the age of the mother. For women in their twenties the rate is 1 in 2,000 but it rises steeply to 1 in 100 by the time a woman reaches 40. Down syndrome is usually recognized soon after birth because of characteristic facial features such as a flattened nose, upward slanting of the eyes, a large tongue that often protrudes from a small mouth, a small, rounded head, and a short stature. Other symptoms that might only be noticed by doctors include congenital malformations of the heart of gastrointestinal system, flabby muscle tone and poor coordination due to poor control over the motor nerves, poorly functioning endocrine glands, narrow ear canals, low resistance to infection, weak vision, and misshapen teeth with thin enamel. All children with Down syndr ...

Philipino Scientist Arturo Alcaraz and Geothermal Energy

Philipino Scientist Arturo Alcaraz and Geothermal Energy Arturo Alcaraz (1916-2001) was a Philippino volcanologist who specialized in geothermal energy development.  Born in Manila, Alcaraz is  best-known  as the Philippines Father of Geothermal Energy Development due to his contributions to studies about Philippine volcanology and the energy derived from volcanic sources.  His main contribution was the study and establishment of geothermal power plants in the Philippines. In the 1980s, the Philippines attained the second-highest geothermal generating capacity in the world, in great part due to Alcarazs contributions. Education The young Alcaraz graduated at the top of his class from Baguio City High School in 1933. But there was no school of mining in the Philippines, so he entered the College of Engineering, University of the Philippines in Manila. A year laterwhen Mapua Institute of Technology, also in Manila, offered a degree in mining engineeringAlcaraz transferred there and received his Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Mapua in 1937. After graduation, he received an offer from the Philippines  Bureau of Mines  as an aide in the geology division,  which he accepted. A year after he began his job at the Bureau of Mines, he won a government scholarship to continue his education and training. He went to Madison Wisconsin, where he attended the University of Wisconsin and earned a Master of Science in Geology in 1941.   Alcaraz and Geothermal Energy The Kahimyang Project notes that Alcaraz  pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam among areas proximate to volcanoes. The Project noted, With a vast and extensive knowledge on volcanoes in the Philippines, Alcaraz explored the possibility of harnessing geothermal steam to produce energy. He succeeded in 1967 when the countrys first geothermal plant produced much-needed electricity, ushering the era of geothermal-based energy to power up homes and industries. The Commission on Volcanology was officially created by the National Research Council in 1951, and Alcaraz was appointed Chief Volcanologist, a senior technical position he held until 1974. It was in this position that he and his colleagues were able to prove that energy could be generated by geothermal energy.  The Kahimyang Project reported, A steam from a one-inch hole drilled 400 feet to the ground powered a turbo-generator which lighted up a light bulb. It was a milestone in the Philippines quest for energy self-sufficiency. Thus, Alcaraz carved his name in the global field of Geothermal Energy and Mining. Awards Alcaraz  was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955 for two semesters of study at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a Certificate in Volcanology.   In  1979, Alcaraz won the Philippines Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for International Understanding for supplanting national jealousies that led to a confrontation, with increasingly effective cooperation and goodwill among the neighboring peoples of Southeast Asia.  He also received the 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service for his scientific insight and selfless perseverance in guiding Filipinos to understand and use one of their greatest natural resources. Other awards include  Mapua Institute of Technologys Outstanding Alumnus in the Field of Science and Technology in Government Service in 1962; the Presidential Award of Merit for his work in volcanology and his initial work in geothermy 1968; and the Award for Science from the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science (PHILAAS) in 1971. He received both the Gregorio Y. Zara Memorial Award in Basic Science from PHILAAS and the Geologist of the Year Award from the Professional Regulatory Commission in 1980.

Letter to the dean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter to the dean - Essay Example The class as illustrated above has had the problem of non-participatory tendencies for quite some time now and it is good that the issue has been highlighted by Ms. Karan. To this extent the students have showed no positive change of this behavior and with this we have seen as teachers that appropriate measures need to be taken to avert this sooner rather than later. These situations of having a lazy class usually results in the teachers too to have low morale in teaching the respective students. This goes a long way in dictating their performance and competence in the areas taught. It is a common scenario to have this but when it persists then the issue needs to be forwarded to the relevant authorities for appropriate corrective measures to be taken. I hereby write this confirmation letter to assert that what Ms. Karan has said about the class is the sheer truth and it is a mutually shared sentiment by all the teachers teaching these students. The laziness has in many ways affected the mode of teaching and learning in that class. As is usually the case with the profession, a teacher is supposed to seek audience from the students and that the same students need to reciprocate by participating in the class activities like asking and answering questions, developing ideas stated by others and the teacher, bringing in new ideas and the general attention required. This I am afraid is lacking quite a great deal in this particular class and teaching has therefore been made rather difficult by this situation. After meeting these students with Mr. Kamal we have come to a conclusion that there needs to be a solution to this problem within the shortest time possible. These students should first say what their issues are with the learning system and thereafter necessary measures taken. This not withstanding, it is important for us, the teachers, to sit down and think of what the root cause of this is