Economics of Race and Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics of Race and Gender - Essay Example In addition, analysis of different movies indicated that it is something that is not unstoppable, and organized efforts will be very effective in eliminating it from the society. Specifically, it is an observation that although discrimination and racism are not visible evidently in the society, however, a microscopic eye can be very helpful in identifying such elements in the society, and it was understandable from different movies in the class. For instance, the film Rosie the Riveter evidently indicated the effects of discrimination on women during and after World War II in the United States, and the film showed such effects with the help of character ‘Rosie’ and her confrontation due to discrimination in California during wartime 1944. From this movie and other movies like Crash, Freedom Writer, one can clearly observe presence of discrimination and racism in the United States, and thus, the class helped enormously in better understanding of the topic. Despite the fact that in an ideal society, which many societies claim to be, access to political and economic opportunities must be based on meritocratic factors, however, the same is true. The entire human history reveals that social positions and social classes have greatly affected the ability of people to score on political and economic grounds. There are different ways of looking at the same. Firstly, it can be looked from the perspective of both genders. Despite women are in majority on this planet, yet there are a very few women leaders known to the world. In fact, the countries that claim to be most democratic ones had women suffrage for the longest periods. Secondly, it can be viewed from the point of view of social classes. It is common for children belonging to wealthy parents to get a good education and earn more in their coming life. Moreover, even the lower social class from which most number of people belongs has produced very few political leaders. Moreover, in many parts

Science and technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Science and technology - Essay Example However, even through the years of all the research, the AI project remains a failure (Kassan 1). Despite of this, Hawkins is certain that humans are capable of producing artificial intelligence (qtd. in Kassan 1). Honda, a Japanese mobile company, proved that Hawkins’s statement is rather accurate by creating ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility). The robot is said to be the most human-like creation Honda has ever made. By 2005, ASIMO is â€Å"better, stronger, and faster.† ASIMO â€Å"can do things like turn on light switches, open doors, carry objects, and push carts† (Orbinger and Strickland). Robots pretty much do the things that humans cannot do or simply do not want to do. This is a good deal for people who are too busy to do the chores at home or for someone who does not want additional burden when he comes from work. Yet, the question still remains: â€Å"Do we really need robots to do all these things?† In a brighter perspective, robots ca n do things more efficiently, â€Å"and without the continuous cost and social upheaval† (â€Å"Ethical Issues†). Is this not an insult to the capacity of humans to these jobs? It seems like the term â€Å"more efficiently† degrades the value of human work. Robotics, though a proof of humans’ intelligence, should not be taken as â€Å"slave machines† and made them do all the humans are capable of doing because first, it will affect human resources and job displacements, it would alter the natural, and it would forcibly pass through human limitation and eventually leading to the realization of the concept of â€Å"Singularity.† Necessity is the mother of invention; the seed of all production, or is it? The concept of necessity seems to have changed through the course of dynamic technological revolution. In the different kinds of industry, cutting the production costs without risking quality

Achievements of Ancient Egypt

Achievements of Ancient Egypt Achievement of Ancient Egypt: The achievements of ancient Egypt can be traced back to the period between 3000 BC to 31 BC. From advances in mathematics, literature to symbolized achievements in medicine art and science, Egypt has made tremendous advances in shaping the world civilization (Winckelmann and Alex, 54). It was a leading Middle Eastern power in the period of 612 onwards. The emperor of Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great desired to be crowned pharaoh that indicated that civilization made strides even for longer periods (Smith and Roger, 33). Alexander the Greats general named Ptolemy became an independent ruler in 305BC after being crowned pharaoh, and his line of rule lasted to the famous queen, Cleopatra. She passed on in 31B.C.After this period of time, the Roman Empire were able to capture the Nile Valley, and it was ruled by foreigners for over a period of a thousand years (Smith and Roger, 16). These meant that the Egyptian culture had to change to states of unrecognizable features. Within this paper, there would be a detailed analysis of these achievements ranging from agriculture, art to science to technology. Agriculture Life in Egypt was centered on the river Nile. Farmers developed long irrigation methods which controlled the flow of water so as to ensure that crop yields were maintained throughout seasons whether dry or rainy. They divided the year into 12 months,30 days each month and five days of celebration (Smith and Roger, 21). They also made the solar calendar. The rich fertile valleys made it possible for projects such as Pyramids through the surpluses of crops. These surpluses were used to fund the refined lifestyle for the elite to help in diplomatic and trade relations and to enable wars of conquest were paid for (Winckelmann and Alex, 57). Writing and literature: The earliest hieroglyphic writing dated back to 3000 BC. Hieroglyphs represented a word, sound or a silent determinative and the symbol could serve different purposes in reference to a specific context (Wilkinson, 42). Though the majorities were written from right to left, the Egyptian ideograms were made up of hundreds of symbols that could be recited in rows or columns or either direction (Smith and Roger, 27). These ideograms were exclusively used in tombs and on stone monuments in Egypt. Another form of writing that existed and which was highly accepted by the scribes was the one called hieratic. It uses a cursive script or in other words a joined up writing. It was easy and quicker to use, in comparison to hieroglyphic (Shaw, 32). Towards the end of Ancient Egyptian civilization that is around 500 BC a new form of writing emerged called the Demotic. It was phonetic, semi-alphabetic script. Literature Most of the Egyptian hieroglyphic texts are theological or commemorative. Their literature is notably evident in public monuments, and walls of temples. Love poetry, proverbs, curses, myths and legends are all found in hieratic and later modified into demotic scripts (Shaw, 22). Stories have been discovered dating back to the middle Kingdom. One of the famous stories, is the story of sinuhe. Another tale is that of Wenamum; that offers an insight into Egypts declining phase (Wilkinson, 37). These stories were said to have style and impact which was based on stories from Reminiscent Arabian nights. The Egyptian stories proved that a lively literary tradition even in the sense of humour existed in Ancient Egypt. They may also be used to illustrate the theme of secular versus esoteric literature (Smith and Roger, 41). Religion was an important element of Egyptian literature. Hymns and prayers were written for purposes of praising gods. The Egyptians regarded the Pharaoh as a god, and their supreme god was called the Ra. He was the god of the light, and guardian of Egyptian lives. Art Egyptian art was a true reflection of their way of life. This was greatly proved in temple drawings, and tombs of prominent people. The intention of these drawings was to provide information which the deceased could use while transiting to another level of life (Shaw, 31). It provided instructions to these people, on how they ought to conduct themselves in the other life. Talk of mysteries. Furthermore, pictures of servants, slaves, and food were used to denote that the deceased would need them, just as they are needed in the physical life (Smith and Roger, 45). In addition, artists used paints (blue, red, orange and white) made from naturally occurring minerals. By the time of Ramses, the second, artists gained the capability of shading colors for purposes of achieving a layered effect. Sculptors were also important in ancient Egypt (Wilkinson, 41). Furthermore, Egyptians made statutes of animals, gods, kings, queens etc, for purposes of praise and worship. Pottery glazed with miner als was always used to make amulets, pendants, beads, jewelry. Architecture Architectural achievements in ancient Egypt were built of stone. This stones came from quarries that were notable of supplying granite, limestone, sandstone which were used in building the temples and tombs. This architect did plan how to build, and they did it without mortar so that the stones could fit precisely on one another (Smith and Roger, 47). On the other hand, pillars were used to offer short stone support. Ramps were used to give workers an enabling support to carry stones to the top of structures and allow artists decorate the tops of walls and pillars (Wilkinson, 37). It is said that as pharaoh was named tomb construction began, and the construction proceeded throughout their lifetime thereby stopping at their time of demise. Pyramids Pyramids were tombs which were used to bury the pharaohs. Egyptians believed that the souls of departed kings enabled kingdoms to remain in prosperity and peace and full of blessings (Wilkinson, 33). They mummified the Kings bodies to ensure that during such difficult times like during suppressions the gods could intervene on their behalf so that they defeat the enemy for peace to prevail (Magd, 39). Mathematics Egypt had some mathematical achievements which made it possible for their education to increase tremendously. By the year 2700 BC, the Egyptians had developed the base of 10 enumerations (Shaw, 27). By the year 1300 BC, Egyptians managed to develop two algebraic equations. The innovation in mathematics gave them a cutting edge from the rest of the world. In the year 1650 BC, geometry, cotangent analogue and algebraic equations, arithmetic series and geometrics series were developed (Magd, 27). Medicine and science Edwin Smith Papyrus, a medical tradition that traces as far as 3000BC was initiated in 1600 BC. Later ancient Egypt saw Ebers Medical Papyrus, traditional empiricism; and the Worlds earliest tumors being documented in 1500 BC (Wilkinson, 33). Also, ancient Egyptian doctors gained the skills and capability of stitching wounds, repairing broken bones, and amputating infected limbs. They managed to bandage body cuts by the use of raw meat, and linen, which were soaked in honey (Magd, 31). In science, the world looks at Egyptian astrology as the origin of all astronomical knowledge. Ancient civilization of Egypt devoted much time and energy to study the heavens (Winckelmann and Alex, 59). The information was put to practical use in agriculture, geodesy and the system of weights and measures and also to study correspondences between events in the heavens and event on earth. Conclusion: Although open problems have emerged over the sophistication of Egyptian technology and its adoption of various advances, it cannot go without mentioning that Egypt shaped the Worlds civilization. This is from the Napoleonic conquests, to the modern Egyptology. The world looks at Egypt as the mother of all civilization. Currently, the country is enjoying better tourism business because of this ancient works. From artistic drawings to mummifications in pyramids to literature and medicine, Egypt has attained recognition from the world all over. Works Cited: Smith, Miranda, and Roger Stuart. Ancient Egypt. London: Kingfisher, 2010. Print. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House, 2010.  Print.   Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, and Alex Potts. History of the Art of Antiquity. Los Angeles,  Calif.: Getty Research Institute, 2006. Print. Magd, Zeinab. Imagined Empires a History of Revolt in Egypt. Berkeley: U of California, 2013.  Print.

Juvenile Crime and Socio Economic Factors Essay -- Crime

Crime at any age and in any form is a social problem and should be stopped or curbed at any cost. Crime at a juvenile age is on one hand a crime against property and life, and on the other a crime against humanity. It is a much graver social danger that holds the seed of an evident social disaster implanted into it. Criminologists hold different views regarding the root of juvenile crime and that often leads into quite the argument. Irrespective of those theoretical head on collisions, the presence of socio economic factors behind each juvenile crime committed is almost accepted by all. No one is a born criminal and it is evident that the surrounding socio economic environment acts as an important element and a catalyst in turning a young boy or girl into a criminal who might be breaking into some one’s house or threatening someone at gun point. In the following paragraphs, a detailed analysis has been made to explore the different avenues through which these socio economic fa ctors contribute to creating the delinquents of today’s youth. Before moving into the details, it is worth mentioning that the following analysis would be based on a set of socio economic indicators that is made up of; family, socio-economic class and factors that also includes community factors, educational background, urbanization, media, and influence of peers. Family: Being a juvenile is the most influential period of human life, and family plays the most critical role in this stage. A family with a healthy atmosphere cultivate the socially acceptable norms within the children that help them to grow into responsible, respectable and moral beings in the end. In sharp contrast, a family that is subject to an unhealthy environment and does not provide en... ...he absorption of those juveniles into our society like any other normal child of our own. Remember the old adage, â€Å"It takes a village to raise a child†. Works Cited Juvenile Delinquency: theories of causation, Sage Pub, 2005: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/4880_Martin_Chapter_3_Juvenile_Delinquency.pdf Chapter 7. Juvenile Delinquency, World Youth Report, United Nations, 2003. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch07.pdf Shader, Michael. Risk Factors for Delinquency: An Overview, US Department of Justice, Office of justice programs. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/frd030127.pdf Social structure theories, n.d. : http://cstl-hhs.semo.edu/cveneziano/STRUC.ppt Zarka, Heather, Sociological theories of crime, Associated content, 2007. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/227143/sociological_theories_of_crime.html

Lost in the Digital World

Lost in the Digital World Technology is everywhere in today’s society. It is how we communicate with others, sense of communication and even how we turn in our essays for an English class. It is beneficial to the world in so many ways but at the same time it also has many negative effects. In the article â€Å"Can You Hear Me Now? † by Sherry Turkle, she explores how technology is affecting our daily lives, especially communication. Before the article even begins there is a quote â€Å"Thanks to technology, people have never been more connected—or more alienated† (270).The author explains that through technology our bond with communication is getting weaker and more people rely on technology to control their lives, rather than having control of their own lives. First gives the example of her being at a conference and not a single person can get off technology to even pay attention to what they even came to the conference for. In my personal opinion it show s that we have lost respect for people and have gained more respect for technology and what is going on with the digital world more than the real world. Every once in a while audience members give the speaker some attention, lowering their laptop screens in a kind of digital curtsy† (270). How can we expect someone to listen to us if we cannot even pay attention to them in person? Technology is often the easy way out and it shows through business meetings, families, and how kids are being raised in society in this time. A business meeting is a very personal thing. It is not just what you talk about but it is also how the person looks, communicates in person, and just that vibe you get when you know how to handle people. Consultants used to talk to one another as they wanted to give presentations; now they spend that time doing email† (271). Technology is so impersonal that it makes people unconnected personally. I agree with the author as she criticizes the technology wo rld. â€Å"We are connected, tethered, so important that our physical presence is no longer required† (272). The fact that we do not communicate with people on a deeper level can cause makes trusting people too easy.Texting and emailing a coworker is so convenient for the life of a business person, but are you really going to get the same response or conversation when you could just do it in person? Not only are our careers getting taken over by technology, but our entire lives. The first thing I do whenever I wake up every morning is to check my cell phone to see who had texted me last night while I was sleeping. It never was brought to my attention on how horrible this habit is until I read this article by Turkle. â€Å"I look at my watch to see the time. I look at my BlackBerry to get a sense of my life† (273).A sense of life should not be a hand-held-size of internet and the people that consume your life. A sense of life is how you live it and the decisions and cho ices that you make. The personal connections that you have with the people you love and respect and most of all trust. I am also guilty of texting my mom when we are in the same house. Even though these ways of communication are so easy and most of the time effective; we lose a personal connection and reflect on just pure laziness. A cellphone gives someone a source of protection because they know someone is just a click away. Kids get cell phones from their parents. In return they are expected to answer their parents’ calls. On the one hand this arrangement gives teenagers new freedoms. On the other they do not have the experience of being alone and having to count on themselves; there is always a parent on speed dial. † (275). There are so many reasons why kids would need cell phones but if the world got by without them before, can they do it again? Technology with adolescents is such a touchy subject just because of how easy it is to abuse that power of connecting wi th the entire world.With being so impersonal in the world we have less fear of what we are showing to the public. Even though we are not communicating with people, they can simply get on a website to see what you have been doing for the past twenty-four hours of your life because of how little privacy is online. â€Å"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear† (277) this quote is so impersonal because you are â€Å"hiding† something or simply do not want other people to know your personal life should not mean that you have anything to fear.In the past ten years technology has advances tremendously at a rapid rate and it will be crazy to see where it takes us in the next ten years. I am one to hope that it can become more personal and things more like Skype come into play. Reliance on technology has come too far out of hand and society would be a much better place if more people focused on how to run their lives versus who texted us. We need to focus on buil ding stronger connections with the people around us instead of the connection with the devices in our hands. ?

“he Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window”

What would you do if you were given what you thought was the perfect life and it suddenly seemed to turn upside-down? Would you jump to your death or climb back up? â€Å"The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window† by Joy Harjo is a poem about a women who is lost in this big world we live in and trying to find herself while hanging from a thirteenth floor window. While this woman is hanging there she starts to have flashbacks about her life starting from her childhood up until now.The author goes into detail about why this woman is thinking about killing herself because of all the pressures of trying to be some she is not is catching up to her. This poem represents everyday people and how they first have to overcome themselves and their lives before they can truly move on. This poem is about a woman not trying to commit suicide but women who represent bigger picture.The woman represents anyone and everyone who has ever had problems piled up on them, the author uses eth os, pathos and logos to persuade how our social roles constrains who we are as people and because of this the women is hanging by a short thread trying to find herself and put all the piece to the puzzle of her life back together again. This woman hanging from the thirteenth floor is in Chicago, living in an Indian part of the city. â€Å"She sees Lake Michigan lapping at the shores of herself.It is a dizzy hole of water and the rich live in tall glass houses at the edge of it† (Harjo 311). The quote describes how the woman is so frustrated with her like that she takes something so beautiful like Lake Michigan and she turns it into everything she despises. This is a woman not just hanging from the thirteenth floor window, but also from a thread. She is a woman with many responsibilities, she is a mother to three kids, was a wife to the two husbands she has had and a daughter to her parents.This poem is about a woman who is always being stretched between two different people, she fills the responsibility that her family needs her to fill. As this woman is hanging from this thirteenth floor window she is thinking about her life and how her life is no longer just her life â€Å"She thinks of Carlos, of Margaret, of Jimmy. She thinks of her father and of her mother. She thinks of all the women she has been, of all the men. She thinks of the color of her skin, and of the Chicago streets, and of waterfalls and pines. (Harjo 311). This quote describes this woman with many different faces, with various personalities trying to find her-self. This poem is not telling a story of a woman hanging to her death, but a story about a women hanging by a thread thinking about her life, her past, her present and her future. Trying to figure out if she will be a failure to everyone and fall to her demise or will she be able to take all the pressures of the world and make herself stronger and clime back up that wall and be a success.In the poem â€Å"The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window† Joy Harjo is using rhetoric to try and pull the reader into the poem and get us to read in between the lines. Harjo does a great job of using all three ethos, pathos and logos to create a mood of hopelessness in the reader to attract the reader to the story thought the reader’s life experiences. The author Harjo uses Emotion based appeals to show the readers that they can connect to the characters’.She does this by showing the women and how her childhood wasn’t that good and how her life is falling apart as we read, she has no husband yet she has bin married twice and the only thing keeping her alive is her kids, â€Å"She sees other women hanging from many-floored windows counting their lives in the palms of their hands and in the palms of their children's hands. † (Harjo 311). In this quote the woman represents any and every woman that has ever felt like she cant go on because she feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulder.As the story progresses we start to see how the woman feels and we can start to put ourselves in her shoes. The author uses ethical based appeals to help the reader relate to superstations and being stressed. It is significant that the woman is hanging from that floor of this building in Chicago because many buildings do not designate a thirteenth floor due to the fact that the number thirteen is always associated with bad luck. She tries to convince us as readers that the women will â€Å"fall to her death† by adding superstitions that many people believe in.The author uses the woman to get the readers respect so she can convince the reader to respect her so that she would be someone worth listening to. The author also uses logos in her poem. Harjo uses logical based appeals by persuading the readers by the use of reasoning. The way she uses logos in the poem is by implying that if the women can overcome all the diversity in her community, and let her past s lip away and only live in the present and take the good from her life than the woman will live. If the woman can do that than she will fall off the wall and never be abele to clime back up.The author does a grate job of getting to the readers emotions in this poem because everyone will always have problems in their lives and will always have to deal with the pressure of life. The end of this poem is a paradox and leaves you with you own conclusion depending on how you see people. â€Å"She think she remembers listening to her own life break loose, as she falls from the 13th floor window on the east side of Chicago, or as she climbs back up to claim herself again. † (Harjo P. 312). This quote gives the hope that the woman chose to reset her life and to survive.It leaves the reader thinking about how they should change their life or how there will always be stresses in life but to never let that make you loose yourself This poem shows use how our social roles constrain who we a re as people. The poem teaches use how there is always something or someone to live for and how a story may not always have one specific ending but it is how you interpret the ending that makes the story what you want it to be. You learn that your actions don’t just affect you but they affect the world.In this case the woman hanging from the thirteenth floor chose her kids over herself because they were what she lived for. The hole story really takes place in the mind of ever person who has ever bin stressed and said to themselves is my life really worth it to save or not. So at the end in this poem â€Å"The woman hanging from the thirteenth floor window† by Joy Harjo the woman chose to forget everything and clime back up the wall. Life is all about choices and how those choices can shape a persons life.Works Cited Harjo, Joy. â€Å"The Woman Hanging From the 13th Floor Window†. Pearson Custom, NJ: Needham Heights, 2003. 310-312.

Plant Bugs, Family Miridae

Plant Bugs, Family Miridae As their name suggests, most plant bugs feed on plants. Spend a few minutes examining any plant in your garden, and theres a good chance youll find a plant bug on it. The family Miridae is the largest family in the entire order Hemiptera. Description In a group as large as the family Miridae, there is a lot of variation. Plant bugs range in size from a tiny 1.5 mm to a respectable 15 mm long, for example. Most measure within the 4-10 mm range. They vary quite a bit in color, too, with some sporting dull camouflage and others wearing bright aposematic shades. Still, as members of the same family, plant bugs share some common morphological traits: four-segmented antennae, four-segmented labium, three-segmented tarsi (in most species), and a lack of ocelli. The wings are a key defining characteristic of the Miridae. Not all plant bugs have fully formed wings as adults, but those that do have two pairs of wings that lie flat across the back and overlap at rest. Plant bugs have a wedge-shaped section (called the cuneus) at the end of the thick, leathery part of the forewings. Classification Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder –HemipteraFamily - Miridae Diet The majority of plant bugs feed on plants. Some  species specialize on eating a particular kind of plant, while others feed generally on a variety of host plants. Plant bugs tend to prefer eating the nitrogen-rich parts of the host plant – the seeds, pollen, buds, or emerging new leaves – rather than the vascular tissue. Some plant bugs prey on other plant-eating insects, and a few are scavengers. Predaceous plant bugs may specialize on a certain insect (a particular scale insect, for example). Life Cycle Like all true bugs, plant bugs undergo simple metamorphosis with just three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Mirid eggs are often white or cream-colored, and generally long and thin in shape. In most species, the female plant bug inserts the egg into the stem or leaf of the host plant (usually singly but sometimes in small clusters). The plant bug nymph looks similar to the adult, although it lacks functional wings and reproductive structures. Special Adaptations and Defenses Some plant bugs exhibit myrmecomorphy, a resemblance to ants that may help them avoid predation. In these groups, the Mirid has a notably rounded head, well distinguished from the narrow pronotum, and the forewings are constricted at the base to mimic an ants narrow waist. Range and Distribution The family Miridae already numbers well over 10,000 species worldwide, but thousands more may still be undescribed or undiscovered. Nearly 2,000 known species inhabit North America alone. Sources: Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects,  7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Encyclopedia of Entomology,  2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.Biology of the Plant Bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae):  Pests, Predators, Opportunists, by Alfred G. Wheeler and Sir Richard E. Southwood.Family Miridae, Plant Bugs, Bugguide.net, accessed December 2, 2013.