Racism and classism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Racism and classism - Essay Example According to Memmi, the world of the colonizers enjoys the enormous privilege, from economic to social issues, while the colonized suffer all the colonialism injustices, from racism to sexism. The book quotes Cecil Rhodes on his comment concerning land and niggers (the blacks) to highlight the colonial issue of racism. Arguably, all stereotypical colonialism undermines the colonized race with dark and brutal methods of governance. The philosophical definition of racism, with emphasis on the suffix –ism, is the belief that the primary determinant of capabilities of humans is based on their race. With this perception, therefore, the colonists viewed the colonized as a weaker race who would work under them. The author thus expresses the opinion that the colonized do not exist individually, but rather as a mass in the eyes of the colonialists. This creates the concept of classism, where the colonizers set a different social class for themselves, and a much lower one for the coloni zed. In essence, classism entails the systematic oppression of minority, or weaker groups to strengthen dominant groups. ... of power for the enforced the colonizers’ language, thus, the native tongues were neither written nor read, rusting in the course of the colonialism (Sartre 20). The result was an uprising against the colonial rule that contributed to the re-instatement of the culture, religion, and tradition of the native society. According to him, revolt is the only solution to end the brutality of dictatorship and resolve the contradiction of the oppressed and the oppressor. The chapters in the book that contain arguments on the colonized are free of debate to a certain degree, but the earlier sections concern the literature on the colonizer is scathing. Despite writing the book from personal experience in North Africa, Memmi believes that there is no middle ground fro Europeans. According to him, all the Europeans in all the colonies are de fact colonizers and either all of them will return to Europe (at the time) or will ultimately become colonizers themselves (Sartre 22). It is true that the Europeans were enjoying privileges not similar to the colonized; it does not conclusively mean that all of them were upholding or supporting the colonial system. In contrast, there were certain minority colonial outposts that supported the colonized liberation efforts, thus, opposing the rule of the mother country. In one of his quotes, Memmi says, â€Å"the entire weight of the Europeans perpetuates the colonial oppression, whether intentional or otherwise†. This argument is ancient, similar to stating that all the people in the Western nations support and benefit from oppression of poorer, which is simply incorrect. Later in the book, the author contradicts his earlier stand by stating that Europeans who originate elsewhere other than the colonizing country are neither colonizers or

Private Funds Essay Example for Free

Private Funds Essay The human service agency in reference is the Family Service Working Connections. Basically, the agency in involved in giving resolutions for some social concerns through assisting families and individuals to stabilize their lives and become a part of structuring an ideal community. The organization does not merely resolve actual problems but on an active procedure of strengthening the capability of each individuals to become worthy citizens of the society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The basic programs that FSW implements are geared towards the promotion of family values which they believe is the core foundation of social work. Some of the major programs of the agency are family financial budget counseling, rescuing women from abusive family members and assisting the elderly to get a home refuge where they can become contributing individuals. The special functions of the agency directly correspond to the total welfare of community members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since FSW is privately funded, it would be important to identify where its budget allowances come from. A huge amount of its fund allocation comes from government grants comprising at least 46% of its 2004-2005 revenue (Family Service Working). This is followed by Program Fees while private fund raising and investments also contribute to the yearly budget of the agency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order for the organization to continue to fund its social programs, what the administrators can do is to stabilize its relationship with government agencies. This can strengthen an approach of receiving further allocation funds in long term services. Moreover, other privately run social departments will be able to identify FSW’s objective in promoting social help. The agency can also consider higher investment allocation in order to secure at least a continuous residual income for the parties they serve. References Family Service Working. N.D. About FSW. FSW Connections. Retrieved January 28, 2008 from http://www.fswinc.org/FSW2005Financials.pdf.

Determinants of peoples attitudes towards immigration

Determinants of peoples attitudes towards immigration This paper analyzes the determinants of individual attitudes towards immigration within a group of students that study in UK. We consider three different types of components that influence each individual approach towards immigration. In the first scenario, we assumed that peoples attitudes toward immigration will be influenced by which political party they support. In the second scenario, we assumed that individuals who live in a city will have more positive attitudes towards immigrants than an individual who lives in a town, or a village. The third assumption was that individual which have been outside UK several times are more likely to form positive attitudes towards immigration, than people who have never been outside UK. What we found was that there was not a significant difference in attitudes toward immigration in all three components. Introduction The definition of attitudes is: Attitudes is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly Chaiken, 1993, p1). The term is part of our commonsense language, and everyone understands and uses it to express attitude towards religion, racism, work, politics and many other things. Every day, each of us is exposed to countless stimuli which change and reinforce our attitudes. It is not coincidental, that Allport (1935) thought of attitudes as the most indispensable part of social psychology. A few psychologists even considered the whole psychology as scientific study of attitudes (Thomas Znaniecki, 1918). Attitudes toward immigration vary within every society and there are many factors that play a significant role to that. In a paper examining the growing restrictiveness of late 19th century immigration policy, Timmer and Williamson (1998) argued that economic factors were sufficient to explain the anti-immigration backlash that occurred in the major host countries of the New World at that time. They constructed an index of immigration barriers in the US, Canada, Argentina, Australia and Brazil from 1850 to 1930, based on a careful reading of each countrys immigration legislation. What they found was that the most consistently significant variable explaining the rise in immigration barriers was economic inequality. Rising equality encouraged more open immigration policies, while rising inequality encouraged more restrictive immigration policies. According to Mayda (2004), correlation between pro-immigration attitudes and individual skill, should be related to the skill of natives relative to immigrants in the destination country. Skilled individuals should favour immigration in countries where natives are more skilled than immigrants and oppose it otherwise. The results of her research support her hypothesis. Skilled individuals support immigration whether immigrants are skilled or not and oppose it if they are not skilled. In similar fashion Scheve and Slaughter (2001) conducted a survey to analyze the determinants of individual preferences over immigration in USA. What they found was that less-skilled workers were significantly more likely to prefer limiting immigrant inflows into the United States. Also, they found no evidence that the relationship between skills and immigration opinions is stronger in high-immigration communities. Hainmueller and Hiscox (2007) studied individual attitudes towards immigrants across Europe. What they found was that more educated people are significantly less racist and place greater value on cultural diversity than do their counterparts. They are also more likely to believe that immigration generates benefits for the host economy as a whole. On the contrary, the connection between the education or skill levels of individuals and views about immigration appears to have very little to do with fears about labour-market competition. They also found that a large component of the link between education and attitudes toward immigrants is driven by differences among individuals in cultural values and beliefs. Recent surveys conducted in UK show that two thirds of the people think that UK has immigration problem. The Guardian reports that the British are the only people in Western Europe who want immigration controls at the national rather than the European level, whilst they have little confidence in the UK authorities handling the issue. The poll suggests the British are more anti-immigrant and xenophobic than the rest of Western Europe, blaming immigrants for unemployment, and split over whether to grant them equal social benefits. Given the impact of the recession on employment in the west over the last year, in one of the polls was found that 54% of the people in UK agreed with the statement that the crisis meant that immigrants were taking jobs from the native-born. Also the British thought that immigrants depressed wage rates. Another interesting founding is that Britons wanted to deny legal immigrants equal social benefits, they favoured reinforcing border controls to combat illegal immigration, and they did not support legalising the status of illegal immigrants. This study focuses on students studying in UK. The study that was constructed focused in three primary areas. Firstly, it took into consideration the place that its individual lives or live. The hypothesis was that people that lived in cities would more likely have positive attitudes toward immigration, than people who live in villages and towns. Secondly, it was thought that the political views of the individual will have an impact in his/her attitude toward immigration. In this question, it was hypothesized that people that support the liberal democrat party will have more positive attitudes than people that support the labour or conservative party. Lastly, travelling outside UK was thought that it will have an impact on the individuals attitude toward immigration. In this question it was assumed that individuals that had travelled outside UK several times would have more positive attitudes toward immigration than those that did not. Method Materials The questionnaire consisted of four questions. The first question was what is the general attitude towards immigration? The answer was either positive or negative, and the participants had to tick one the boxes. The next question was which political party best encompasses your views? In this question there were three available answers and the participants had to tick one of the boxes. In this question we assumed that Liberal Democrats will have more positive attitudes toward immigration than the Labour and Conservative parties. Third question was how would you describe the place where you live? Again we have three available answers and participants have to tick on. In this question people that lived in a city would be more likely to have positive thoughts of immigration than people that live in towns and villages. Third question was how many countries have you visited outside UK? In this question we assumed that people who have travelled more abroad would have more positive attitudes towards immigration. Participants and Procedure Twenty undergraduate students at Swansea University took part in the questionnaire (14 female and 6 male) aged between 18 and 28. The participants were given a questionnaire to complete. It was emphasized to them that their results will be treated in the strictest confidence, and that they will not be divulged to anyone in a manner that would allow their identification. Also the participants were told that there is no right or wrong answer to any of the questions and they should give their immediate response to the individual items, rather than having a careful thought out and deliberate response. Results Using Rx C Chi Square Test of association we found that for the political views the critical value was .29. For the countries visited we also found that critical value was .29. Lastly, for the place that its individual lives, critical value was 3.07. Comparing it to the critical value of chi square=5.99 we can conclude that there is not significant difference in all the questions. Therefore, participants attitudes towards immigration were not significant, whether where they grew up, what political party they support and how many times they have travelled abroad. Discussion The results in this study were not significant to support our hypothesis. In all the questions the critical value was lower than the chi-squares critical value, but we have to take into consideration that there were three or more cells that had an expected frequency of less then three which could explain why none of the results were significant. Even though our hypothesis could not be supported while doing the chi-square test of association some of the results could be very useful. In the first question which was about the political party which each individual supports, from the 20 students that participated in the survey ten of them supported liberal democrats, and eight of them had positive attitudes towards immigration. Considering liberal democrats political views this result supports our hypothesis. In the second question where the participants had to describe the place they lived, we found that most of them lived in towns and village and only one in a city. Our hypothesis here was that people that lived in cities would probably have more positive attitudes about immigration since they would have to associate with more immigrants, and they would be more open minded, than they would if they lived in a village or a town. Since only one person lives in a city our hypothesis could not be argued. Nineteen of the participants live in villages and towns and most of them have positive attitudes toward immigration which does not support our assumption. Lastly, in the question of how many countries have they visited outside UK, we hypothesised that the individuals that had been outside UK several times would have more positive attitudes towards immigration than those that had never left the county. Seventeen of the participants had travelled more four times outside UK and twelve of them had positive attitudes toward immigration which supports our hypothesis. In future studies, to provide better results we should have each individual complete the questionnaire alone and not among other people. Some individuals might have given wrong replies because they would not want other people to think that they are racists. Another thing we should consider is where each individual lives. We could argue our hypothesis better if we had equal amount of people living in cities, towns and villages. The same could be said for people that have travelled abroad many times, a few times, or have not travelled at all. Lastly we should have equal amount of women and men to compare if gender plays a role in attitudes toward immigration.

Life is Not a Video Game Essay examples -- Gaming

Video games are probably the most asked for present when a child sits on Santa Claus’ lap at Christmas time. They are, in all probability, what kids ask for when they make a wish while blowing out the candles on their birthday cake. The latest installment in the Call of Duty video game franchise, Modern Warfare 3, reached record sales of $775,000,000 in five days (Tito). At sixty dollars each, that means that this game is present in approximately 12,750,000 homes worldwide. Although the gaming industry is a lucrative one, it can also have adverse effects on children and adolescents. Scientific studies, done by researchers and psychologists around the world, show that violent video games can be detrimental in both children and adolescents, modifying brain function, causing overly aggressive behavior, feelings of hostility, paranoia, violence, and childhood obesity. Youth education also suffers because of video game addiction and lack of sleep. Some solutions need to be thought out and enacted for the physical and mental health of children and adolescents worldwide. Patrice Wendling, author of â€Å"Violent Videos Alter Brain Functioning, Study Shows†, states, â€Å"Adolescents who play violent video games demonstrate distinct alterations in brain activation on functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); investigators have shown for the first time† (Wendling 1). In these studies, it was proven that video games which are violent in nature activate a different part of the brain than other types. This part of the brain, the amygdale, controls emotional arousal. The teenagers had less activity in the frontal lobe, which controls inhibition, self control, and concentration. Therefore, these types of video games can cause behaviors in children an... ...dentary Behaviors Associated with Less Physical Activity; a Cross National Investigation.† The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 7 (2010): 46. Academic One File. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. Kim, Yoon Myung, and SoJung Lee. â€Å"Physical Activity and Abdominal Obesity in Youth.† Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 34.4 (2009): 571+. Academic One File. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. Lorentzen, Amy. â€Å"Video Violence—Psychologist Advises Parents to be Aware of What Their Kids Are Playing.† Commercial Appeal [Memphis] 24 Aug. 2006. NewsBank. Web. 14 Nov. 2011 Tito, Greg. â€Å"Modern Warfare 3 Breaks Every Sales Record Known to Man.† The Escapist. The Escapist. 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. Wendling, Patrice. â€Å"Violent Videos Alter Brain Functioning, Study Shows.† Internal Medicine News 40.3 (2007): 20. Academic One File. Web. 14 Nov. 2011

A Response on Social Inequality

? A Response on Social Inequality We live in a culturally diverse world. Age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic heritage and race are some of the diverse areas in society that are deemed significant. In spite of all these differences we tend to center ourselves around people who are similar to us; those who share the same biological and physical characteristics, same status and similar lifestyles. Because of this it is our human nature to be ethnocentric towards those who are different from us. This gives rise to discrimination which ultimately leads to social inequality. There are many areas in which people discriminate others. One of the most prominent ones is race; since it is easy to identify. Race is related to the distinct biological characteristics of  a person; skin color, hair color, eye shape, height ect. We can easily differentiate an African American from a white American. Another similar area to race is the ethnicity of a person. Ethnicity is the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. For example some commonly recognized American ethnic groups include American Indians, Latinos, Chinese, African Americans, European Americans, etc. Discrimination and social inequality on the base of race and ethnicity go hand in hand and is seen all over the world. In the article â€Å"office work and the crack alternative† Philippe Bourgois shows how a group Puerto Rican immigrants in New Harlem face discrimination because of their race. They are deprived of jobs at work places and are stereotyped as lazy and good for nothing. Sex and gender is also another area where social inequality occurs. Gender is the state of being male or female etc. and sex is the category into which humans are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. We see social inequality on sex and gender in almost all work places where the male usually gets better jobs and a better pay than females and we also see this social inequality in families where the male is the head of the family and holds an authoritative figure. This is mostly due to gender stereotypes. Some common gender stereotypes are that men are stronger, tougher, braver, and more intelligent thus he is given the authoritative role. Women on the other hand are stereotyped as more emotional, sensitive and soft spoken, and nurturing thus she is in charge of taking care of the household duties such as cooking, cleaning, raising the children. In Asian countries it is common to see the male as the â€Å"higher† gender while the woman is seen as lower than them. Caste and class is another area where you see social inequality based on discrimination. Caste is an economic categorization describing the status you are born into. Caste is an ascribed status; you have to stay in your caste from birth on, and it helps determine your job, place and value in society etc. Class is based on economic status; usually upon the income made. While people tend to stay in the class they are brought up in, it is possible to move up or down the class scale therefore it is an achieved status unlike in caste. These categorizations may reflect the attitudes of the people because it shows the importance people place on power and wealth in a society. In India the high castes are the Brahmins’. They inherit exclusive privileges from birth and are socially distinct while lower castes are deprived of their basic rights and are usually discriminated by the higher castes. In our present society we can see that people give more respect to those who are at a higher class than themselves; especially based on how much they earn. Social Inequality is seen in other areas of society too but it is more prevalent within the areas of race and ethnicity, sex and gender, and class and caste. Social inequality can only end if we become less ethnocentric towards those who are different from us and if we accept the social diversity in our world.

The Teddy Bear essays

The Teddy Bear essays There are many variations of the story explaining the origin of the teddy bear. Some believe it was completely a German creation. Others believe it was American. Some say it was a combination of the two. Still, others think it started in England. The first story is that of Margarete Steiff, a woman born in Giengen, Germany in 1847. When she was only two, she contracted polio and spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair (Margarete). That didn't stop her from being productive. She loved children and they visited her often (The). One day, she noticed a pattern in a magazine for a toy elephant. She started making a few elephants and gave them as gifts to friends and neighbors. Childrem loved it! Then, she started making other animals like a poodle, a bear, and a donkey (Margarete). Her nephew, Richard had been fascinated with bears. He had been watching a family of brown bears at Nills Animal show and sketching their antics for his aunt (Origin). He also helped her with designing her stuffed bears. In 1903, he brought some of her bears to the famous Leipzig fair (Margarete). This is where the story would end for one who believed the bear's origins were only in Germany. But, on the last day of the fair, a man named Hermann Berg, a buyer from a New York firm called Geo Borgfeldt went to the Steiff stand. He'd been complaining that there was nothing new at the fair. Then, he saw the bear and knew there'd be a market for it in the U.S. He placed an order for 3,000 bears (Margarete). That very year, Theodore Roosevelt, (known as "Teddy" to close friends), had gone to the backwoods of Mississippi hunting for bears. Several days passed and he and the rest of the expedition hadn't caught a bear. The guide then found a little bear cub in the brush and presented it to the President. He refused to kill it and ...