General Beauregard and his early life leading up to the Civil War Essay

General Beauregard and his early life leading up to the Civil War - Essay Example During the first four years, after moving to New York, he learnt English as a second language, starting at the age of 12 years. After leaving school, he joined the US military academy at West Point, where he learnt a lot to do with the military and war (Eicher and Eicher 37-42). One of his instructors at the military academy was Robert Anderson, who was later appointed as the commander for Fort Sumter, and left the position for Beauregard after the start of the Civil War. While at the military academy, Beauregard dropped his first name, and started using Beauregard as his first name, and Tounant as his middle name. After his term at the military academy, he graduated at second position from the 1838 class, earning distinction as a military engineer and an artilleryman. Beauregard’s early years in Army career covered his service as an engineer under the command of General Scott, where he was appointed as the brevet captain, for the battles of Churubusco and Contreras; he was al so appointed as a major during the Chapultepec. He was among the first soldiers to move into Mexico City, but returned in 1848 (Eicher and Eicher 37-42). After his return, he spent 12 years he engaged in the Mississippi and Lake Defenses, while working on the construction of new and in the repair of forts along the Florida Coast and Alabama. Beauregard’s impact during the Civil War Beauregard’s presence and participation in the civil war was massive. His engagement started after he moved from New York to New Orleans, where he started offering advice on military operations to the local authorities of the area. The advice he offered included that on the need to strengthen different forts, which would secure the area from Mississippi attacks (Eicher and Eicher 37-42). After the appointment of Braxton Bragg as the commander, he was offered the post of a colonel, but preferred working as a private for the Orleans Guards. Later, he was appointed to head Charleston’s d efenses, and due to his qualifications as a military engineer and a leader, he was appointed as the first general officer in charge of the Confederate states. He also worked as a brigadier general with the transitional army of the Confederate states in 1861, and was later ousted to the post of a full general. While working at the different roles at the different areas, Beauregard facilitated the operations of the confederate states and also commanded major military activities. After his arrival at Charleston in 1861, he caused one of the most memorable victories, after his men made the first hits that marked the culmination of the civil war, forcing Anderson to surrender Fort Sumter on April 14. Following the successful attack, he received a heroic treatment, and for that matter, was placed in charge of Alexandria's line, to guard against the federal offensive that was expected from Brig’s forces. During the first Bull Run battle, he was working together with McDowell, and af ter the success of the multi-force excursions, he was acclaimed for his input and was recommended for promotion to the post of a full general. After the success of the attacks, he played a key role, together with William Miles in the creation of the Confederate Battle flag, which made the flag the confederation’s most popular symbol (Eicher and Eicher 37-42). Beauregard played a critical role in the planning of the surprise attack staged against Grant’s Army, nearly ending in victory. However, his planning

My Best Vacation Essay Example for Free

My Best Vacation Essay Dear all, Today, I would like to tell you about my best vacation. A few summers ago, my sister, her  colleagues and me took a vacation to Nha Trang for  5 days. As you know, vacation was special days! We visitted many well-known places such as: Vinpeal Land, Hon Tam Island, Diamond Bay, Thap Ba Pagoda, and so on. On the way riding in the cable car  to go to Vinpeal Land,  we saw  several jelly fish in the very blue water. It  is the first time I have ever seen an  extremely  beautiful view like that,  so I  felt very  interested and relaxed. We stayed there all day to play games,  visit the aquarium, take photographs, We spent another day  diving into the sea to view the colorful coral. At the moment I  felt  anxious  because I couldnt swim, but when I saw the coral, its beauty made me fogot all thing. In the next day, I  took a boat for some where that I dont know to eat seafood such as: fish, cuttle fish,  shrimp, The food  was so fresh and delicious. At night, we rent bicycle to ride along the seacoast. It was so romantic journey. After we utterly exhausted, we droped in shift  shop where we ate lobster, grilled meat roll and drank sugar-cane juice The last day before came back home, we went to the market to buy  speacialities and souvenirs for our family and fiends. Although  I got sick after the vacation but I felt so happy from my heart. I love my vacation so much. Thank you for reading.

Its the Cake Essay -- Creative Creativity Essays

It's the Cake The title above comes from a comment made by author Jerry Hirschberg. "Creative activity [isn't] the icing on the cake. Human creativity is the cake." Getting a bite of this cake is what proves to be frustrating for some people. Simply put, there isn't one sure-fire method to achieve creative success. However, there are certainly underlying attitudes and patterns that one can perceive in creative people, (and in this most humble of papers), I will attempt to show to you through texts such as Hirschberg's The Creative Priority and my own forays with Madame Creatividad that experiencing creativity is simply a matter of opening yourself up to the world around you. It always seems to me that any measure of creativity starts through something that I have opted to call creative flux, both because I am nerdy and that it happens to fit the concept extremely well. In a nutshell, all creative flux means is that you has to be willing to be open to the surrounding environment, allowing ideas from all possible angles and points to flow into you. Hirschberg illustrates this rather well. A car designer by trade, he started his career at GM, "the supreme icon of power and success for America." He tells us that GM eventually reached a point of stagnation, from lack of competition and from shutting the doors tight on ideas coming from the outside world. GM car design reached a monotone complacency, and it is at this point, Hirschberg says, he began feeling a little bit useless, as his work environment had turned into, "a blinding illusion of security and imperviousness to failure." Hirschberg then makes a transition: he switches jobs to a place of unregulated creative flux. He attributes his later success t... ...hberg calls this process `stepping back from the canvas.' And a gloriously effective technique it turns out to be, "...ideas again started flowing, knotty problem areas unraveled, and the design began to lead the designers, a sure sign that a strong concept was emerging." Something similar to this happened to me in the process of writing this essay, as I acquired a major case of writer's block. Thankfully, I took Hirschberg's advice to heart: I `stood back from the canvas' and succeeded in opening the floodgates of creative flux anew. So is creative flux the path to taking a bite out of the all elusive cake of creativity? Although it is not the only way to approach creative problems, it is the phenomenal openness that creative flux provides that makes for such an exciting tool in one's quest for achieving creative goals. So go ahead, open up and take a bite.

Rethinking the American Dream in Coney Island of the Mind, Why Wallace?, and Goodbye, Columbus :: Coney Wallace Columbus

Rethinking the American Dream in Coney Island of the Mind, Why Wallace?, and Goodbye, Columbus      Ã‚  Ã‚   Webster defines a dream as "something notable for its beauty, excellence, or enjoyable quality." This seems, logically, something that everyone desires to obtain. However not everyone is the same therefore each dream is not the same. According to certain works of literature regarding the 1950's-60's though, it appears as if many people are quite disillusioned and believe their dream is the one and only dream suitable for everyone. This American Dream consists of a nice job, nice spouse, nice house, nice kids, nice car and all the money, money, money you can get your hands on. Anyone who desires differently is unacceptable.    But what happens when people finally start to realize, heaven forbid, that this one dream isn't a dream at all and is not the ultimate source of happiness? A rebellion against this materialistic society takes place. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, in his poem "A Coney Island of the Mind," illustrates this dissatisfaction with American society:    "...on a concrete continent spaced with bland billboards illustrating imbecile illusions of happiness The scene shows fewer tumbrils but more maimed citizens in painted cars and they have strange license plates and engines that devour America" (Ferlinghetti,131).    America is supposed to be the great capitalistic society, but Ferlinghetti sees otherwise. Billboards feature material assets in a style showing its necessity for human happiness. By calling this happiness the billboards represent an illusion, Ferlinghetti is speaking out against materialism. This materialism has apparently also horribly disfigured America and it's citizens. The citizens believe that the more material possessions one has the happier they will be. Ferlinghetti says these material possessions such as cars and fancy license plates devour them instead and are possibly dictating their life.    Addressing this issue of a materialistic society is a common theme among many of the writer's during the 1950's and 1960's. In their writings Phillip Roth and Michael Novak both depict a family of this society. The parents of these writings have an "ideal" lifestyle and a standard for their children, which gives the children every reason to want to rebel. They want to break away from the thoughts and standards of their parents and society. In Roth's novel, Goodbye, Columbus, the character Mrs. Patimkin is much like the Andy Restek of Novak's "Why

Cruise Shipping

This industry can be traced back to around the 1400s when the first transatlantic voyage took place (Destination Yacht Charters). The speed of these cruise ships was very low during these years, but this was changed when the steam engine was invented in 1712 by a scientist named Thomas Newcomen (Briggs, 2009). The evolution of the steam engine led to the formation of the first shipping firm, the Black Ball Line, in 1818, which offered scheduled services to its passengers (Lytyson, 2009).With the steam engine, the cruise shipping continued to flourish in the 1800s and the early 1900s as the number of passengers traveling for business or leisure grew. However, with the arrival of passenger airplane from the Boeing Company in 1960s, the industry started to decline and this was attributed to the speed of these airplanes (Cruise lines, 2009). With the airplanes people could travel to more destinations within a short time in comparison to the cruise ships. This made the shipping companies to change their goals and to focus on tourism instead of passenger services.Furthermore, with the stiff competition from the airplanes, the industry still managed to flourish since they concentrated on improving the voyage itself. These companies concentrated on making their ships more comfortable and even provided extensive entertainment inside the cruise ships for the passengers. In addition, with †The Love Boat† television show in 1977 to 1986, the image of cruise shipping was improved and made better (Boyd, 2008 ). Recently, with the luxurious and superior entertainment provided on-board, the voyage has become the center of attraction and not the geographic destinations (Cruise working, 2009).This has made the cruise shipping industry to become one of the fastest growing industries in the transportation sector. Factors contributing to Cruise industry growth The economy in many countries is stable and growing and this has led to increased wealth amongst the people in those countries. With increased wealth many people can afford to travel for leisure. To a large extent, this is contributing to the continued growth in number of passengers experienced by the industry. For instance, between 1980 and 2003, the North American market grew at a rate of about 8. 4% per annum (Dowling, 2006).Globalisation is stimulating the market of container transport. The increase in the market of container transport is contributing to cruise shipping growth. In the Trans Pacific the number of containers transported in 2004, increased by about 15. 3% to more than 622,000 standard containers (Hapag-Lioyd, 2005). With the increase in the market, more ships are being built with even large capacity in order to tap the profits incurred in this transport industry. The peaceful environment experienced in most parts of the world is contributing to cruise shipping industry growth.For instance, in Iraq when peace was restored, tonnage at Aqaba port increased by about 28% to abou t 6. 5 million tons, in the first four months of 2003 (Stensgaard, 2007). The war in Iraq led to many ports being closed and people could not visit the country. However, when the war ended, materials for reconstructing the country entered the country through port Aqaba and this has led to its growth. With peace in many nations cruise ships can move freely in the waters as the number of safe ports increase leading to more destinations where people can visit.The tourism sector is growing at a fast pace and this can be attributed to many countries especially African countries investing more money in marketing their country's heritage. In many African countries the tourism industry is one of the major sources of income. In a country like Kenya, in 2006, revenue from tourism reached $800 million, thereby making it the largest foreign currency earner followed by horticulture and tea (Wallis, 2007). The fast growth in the tourism industry is facilitating the growth in the cruise industry a s both industries depend on each other mutually.The advancement in technology has enabled cruise ships to communicate with the loading and the off-loading ports and even with other ships. With modern communication, the ships can easily request for assistance when facing problems in the waters such as engine failure, explosions, among others, from other ships or nearby harbours. Furthermore, with the technological advancements, faster ships are being built thereby reducing the time spent in waters. The passengers can therefore reach their destinations in shorter time periods.In 2007, the world fuel price was more than $100 per barrel (Mati, 2008) but in 2009, prices have reduced to about $59 per barrel (Associated Press, 2009). The reduction in the fuel prices is a boost to the cruise shipping industry as it helps in reducing the package prices thereby enticing more passengers to cruising. Some people might find cruising expensive but with the reduction in package prices cruising wil l be made more affordable to them. To some extent, this is contributing to the increase in the number of cruise passengers. Strengths Cruise itinerariesThey provide the cruise passengers with a wide variety of services to choose from. There is a wide variety of cruise ships which offer different services. For instance, there is the Disney Cruise which offers exquisite activities for children and adult flair, the Royal Caribbean which offers magnificent sporting activities, the Costa cruises, which has put more emphasis in providing dining and entertainment in accordance with the Italian heritage, and many others (Lovetoknowcruises, 2007) Capacity The magnitude in size allows the cruise ships to carry a very large number of passengers at a go.The largest cruise ship can carry more than 6000 passengers (Wise, 2007 ), while the largest plane can carry more than 850 passengers at a go (Lewin, 2009). In terms of space, the cruise ships are more comfortable than the airplane and vehicles. Because of the large space in cruise ships, movement is not restricted and people can move around freely while in airplanes, vehicles and trains there is limited space and movement is restricted. Privacy and value In cruise ships privacy is ensured and respected. Because of its large capacity, it is designed like a hotel with rooms for the passengers.In cruise ships, the voyage is package priced and this usually includes food, room, and entertainment, among others. In most cases the passengers would spend more money on a vacation of same quality on land than on voyage (Hillman, 2009). This therefore shows that cruising is cost efficient than land vacation. More relaxation Land tourism is tiring than cruise shipping. In land tourism, the vehicle may encounter problems like engine problems, tire puncture, and many more, but in cruise shipping the problems are almost negligible.Furthermore, the hotel personnel pamper their visitors at a lower level in comparison with the cruise shippi ng personnel (Hillman, 2009). In cruise ships the passengers are treated with much respect and their requests are usually met in time. In addition, food is provided and the passengers do not have to carry their own food, while in land vacation you either carry your own food or look for restaurants that provide quality food and these restaurants are usually hard to come by.The problem of packing and unpacking your belongings is not experienced in cruise shipping (Hillman, 2009). The passengers will only unpack once throughout their cruising as they move from one place to another and will only pack once when they are back to their homes. Weaknesses Diseases infections The passengers in cruise ship are exposed to a high risk of disease infections such norovirus, maladies, among others. In 2004, about 300 passengers of the Carnival cruise line ship were infected with stomach malady while they were on-board (Water quality and health council, 2009).Consequently, in 2007, about 7 crew memb ers of the Majestic America Line cruise ship and 26 passengers were infected with norovirus while on-board (Baldwin, 2007). The norovirus has no cure but is controlled by antibiotics. The closed environment in the cruise ship provides suitable conditions for disease infections to spread swiftly since there is much human contact and food contact. Some of the reasons leading to disease infections include neglecting to disinfect restrooms and kitchens, washing hands among others (Paddock, 2009).The rate of disease infections in the cruise ships is reported to be on the rise and this could affect this industry adversely. Maintaining sanitation in cruise ships is becoming a problem for many shipping companies since it requires more funds and some companies are reluctant. Environmental pollution The cruise ships produce significant amounts of wastes which are mainly disposed with minimum regulation since they are not subjected to the same environmental policies as the industries on land ( Commoy et al, 2005).Researches done have shown that cruise ships produce carbon dioxide three times more than airplanes (Environmental Leader, 2008 ). Furthermore, in cases of accidents as was observed at the coastline of the Antarctic island, the Norwegian ship spilled fuel as it ran aground (Reuters, 2007). Spilling fuel in the waters is harmful to aquatic life as it deprives them oxygen (Smith, 2009). In addition, in many cruise ships there is no energy conservation mechanism, a lot of energy is used in moving, in the restaurants, for laundry and in the movie theaters.There is significant wastage of energy in the cruise ships. Terrorism Historically, terrorist mainly target the transport industry since the security in the maritime borders is lower in comparison to land borders (Loy, 2001) . For instance, in 1985, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Italian cruise ship killing at least one American (Ensor, 2003). The perception by people of a terrorist threat can restrict the crui se industry growth. Some people may not prefer cruise shipping because of increased terrorist activities thereby reducing its market as people fear for their lives.Terrorist activities may instill fear in some people thereby restricting them from traveling as they prefer staying in one place or going for land vacation which is much safer. Speed and price When compared to airplanes the cruise ship are expensive and consume a lot of fuel. In terms of fuel efficiency, studies carried out have shown that cruise ships are the worst in fuel efficiency when compared to airplane (Davison, 2009). Furthermore, in terms of speed cruise ships are very slow.For instance, the world’s fastest ship, Olympic voyager took seven days to visit three continents while an airplane can take only several hours at most (Hammond, 2000). The aviation sector is providing stiff competition as they try to improve the speed, the comfort and even the services provided to its customers. In addition, the aviat ion sector building big planes with larger capacity to cater for the increasing number of passengers. Limited port facilities The modern technology is enabling ports to become more efficient and effective in the services they provide to the shipping industry.However, the rate at which new technology is being adopted by ports is very slow and this can be attributed to high cost as upgrading requires much capital. Majority of the ports have not upgraded into using the modern technology and this has become a hindrance since few cruise ships can dock at that port in a day. It takes a lot of time to clear a cruise ship to dock. In addition, there are ports which have upgraded their facilities into using modern technology, but have limited loading capacity and therefore cannot accommodate large ships.This is negatively affecting the cruise shipping industry as it continues to build larger ships. Availability of the cruise itineraries Cruise itineraries are not available throughout the yea r they are restricted by seasons, some itineraries are available during the summer while others during the winter. This therefore restricts passengers from traveling to some destinations during a particular season. For instance, the Alaska cruise operates during summer only while during winter it is off-season, this restricts people who want to travel amongst the Alaskan glaciers (lovetoknowcruises, 2007).Furthermore, there are some itineraries which are not available in many ports such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean voyages which are usually available throughout the year but are limited by the number of cruise ships that provide them (MacCalla, 1994). Limited exploration time and destinations In cruise shipping there is limited time spent on land, a lot of time is spent on-board. This gives the cruise passengers little time to absorb the cultures of local communities when visiting a place. In addition, the voyage is restricted to the coastal areas, only the airplanes, trains am ong others can go inland.This therefore makes people who want to visit inland places to prefer using airplanes over cruise ships. Future of cruise shipping industry The number of passengers has been increasing annually and this is a big boost to this shipping industry. However, with economic downturn in the world, the cruise shipping industry will be affected adversely. In 2009, the number of passengers in cruise ships is expected to grow by about 3% which is a significant reduction from the growth observed from 2006 to 2007 of about 11% (Berman, 2008).With this significant reduction in passenger growth, the cruise shipping industry is still better placed than most sectors. The passenger number especially that of British cruise passengers is anticipated to grow by 2010 as new cruise ships providing better services will be in the market. From the trend observed in1995 to 2005, whereby the number of European passengers tripled from about 1 million to about 3. 3 million, this growth ra te is anticipated to reach 4 million annually by 2010 and to about 5 million by 2015 ( Seatrade Cruise connection, 2007).The new ships are expected to provide better itineraries thereby attracting more passengers to cruising. Even though, the cruise shipping industry is facing some serious challenges, the future looks bright. Furthermore, with the advancement in technology, the efficiency and effectiveness in ship building will be greatly improved and ships will be build much faster thereby meeting the increasing passenger demands. From the current trends observed, in 10 to 15 years the cruise shipping industry will expand greatly and become one of the largest industries contributing to the world economy. Word Count: 2347.Reference List Associated Press, (2009). Prices at the pump also rise — national average is $2. 311 for a gallon of gas Retrieved May 19 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/12400801/ Baldwin M. (2007). Is â€Å"New† Norovirus to Blame for Cruise Ship Outbreaks? Retrieved May 19 from http://www. cruisecritic. com/news/news. cfm? ID=2028 Berman C. (2008). Cruise growth will slow in 2009, says Passenger shipping association. Retrieved May 19 from http://www. travelweekly. co. uk/Articles/2008/10/07/29073/cruise-growth-will-slow-in-2009-says-passenger-shipping. html Boyd L. (2008). Brief History of the Passenger Ship Industry.Retrieved May 19 from http://library. duke. edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/ship-history. html Briggs J. (2009). How Cruise Ships Work. Retrieved May 19 from http://adventure. howstuffworks. com/cruise-ship1. htm Commoy J. , C. Polytika, R. Nadel and J. Bulkley 2005. The environmental impact of cruise ships. Retrieved May 18 from Cruise lines, (2009). A brief history of the cruise line industry. Retrieved May 19 from Cruise working, (2009). The History Of The Cruise Line Industry. Retrieved May 18 from Davison D. (2009). Comparing the fuel efficiency of planes, trains, automobiles – and cheeseburgers? Retrieved May 19 from Destination Yacht Charters. Cruise ship history. Retrieved May 19 from Dowling R. K. (2006). Cruise ship tourism. Edition: illustrated. CABI: N. Y. p. 363 Ensor D. (2003). U. S.captures mastermind of Achille Lauro hijacking. Retrieved May 19 from Environmental Leader, (2008). cruise ships worse for the environment than planes. Retrieved May 19 from Hammond J. (2000). Cruise Ship Gig Anyone? The World's Fastest Cruise Ship, not necessarily the Smoothest! Retrieved May 19 from Hapag-Lioyd, (2005). Another record performance. Retrieved May 19 from Hillman H. (2009). Cruise pros and cons. Retrieved May 19 from Lewin H. (2009). The world's largest airplane: the airbus A380. Retrieved May 19 from Lovetoknowcruises, (2007). Planning a cruise itinerary. Retrieved May 19 from Loy J. M.. (2001).Seaports, cruise ships vulnerability to terrorism. Retrieved May 19 from Lytyson L. (2009). The History of Cruise Ships. Retrieved May 19 from Mati A. (2008). Managing surging oil prices in the developing world. Retrieved May 19 from McCalla R. J. (1994). Water transportation in Canada. Edition: illustrated. Formac Publishing Company: Halifax. p183 Paddock C. (2009). Norovirus Infects 200 Passengers On Norwegian Cruise Ship.Retrieved May 18 from Reuters, (2007). Antarctic cruise ship spills fuel. Retrieved May 19 from Seatrade Cruise connection, (2007). cruise industry outlook remains positive. Retrieved May 18 from Smith S. E. (2009). How do oil spill affect marine life. Retrieved May 18 from Stensgaard A. (2007). Shipping industry growth to continue for a decade says Oman authorityRetrieved May 19 from Wallis D. (2007). FEATURE-Kenya tourism rides crest of booming demand. Retrieved May 19 from Water quality and health council, (2009). Sea Sick — Infection Outbreaks Challenge the Cruise Ship Experience. Retrieved May 19 from Wise J. (2007). World largest cruise ship pulls 360s with joystick. Retrieved May 19 from

Racial Culture: A Critique, by Richard T. Ford Essay

Over the last thirty years, critical race and gender theorists have questioned whether and if law can protect difference in a meaningful way, especially in the workplace. Richard T. Ford, a law professor at Stanford University, provides an interesting critique of the resulting â€Å"multicultural assumptions of difference† in his book RACIAL CULTURE. While he recognizes most refutations of these approaches come from conservatives with a political agenda of legal colorblindness, Ford explicitly asserts he shares the political and social goals of the progressive left. More specifically, he refutes colorblindness as a means of equality. Ford argues that racial identity politics have the liability of undermining their stated objective of eliminating racism in the workplace. The author is clear; his opposition to discrimination based on status does not mean that one is not ambivalent about the development of a new legal category of discrimination based on culture. His overarching concern is that â€Å"race,† which is socially and economically constructed, is given additional legitimacy by the assumption that every race manifests cultural similarities and that these cultural artifacts should be protected in the same manner as racism. [A]nti-discrimination law should be refined so as to recognize only those differences attributable to the production of formal status hierarchy, for the purpose of eliminating or reducing the ill-effects of such hierarchies. Difference discourse, by metastasizing status into a thick social identity, distracts from and confuses the vital task of correcting status hierarchy. Legal decision [*217] makers need to be aware of status differences and castelike social practices in order to correct the injustices that they do. But we should resist the temptation to write a speculative sociology of group difference into law or to enlist the state into a psychotherapeutic quest to validated â€Å"repressed† identities. Finally, Ford is concerned that in privileging racial culture we foster an environment of conflict and competition, without a thoughtful analysis of which cultures are most worthy of protecting. His assumption is that racial integration should be a dominant goal of society, with members of racial groups selecting for themselves which aspects of their culture are most worthy of preserving. Many readers may agree with aspects of his legal argument, without completely accepting his rejection of identity politics as â€Å"provincialism. † Ford offers instead a vision of â€Å"cosmopolitanism† in which â€Å"minority cultural practices will survive without legal protection, albeit often in an altered, fragmented and recombined form, and that such survival in an admittedly Hobbesian social competition is preferable to the distorted and blinkered version of group difference we should expect cultural rights to produce† . While Ford’s analysis is wide-ranging, well-written, and fascinating, there are several limitations to his argument. His own assumptions regarding employment discrimination law are disturbing. His reliance on current employment discrimination law as the best means for redressing racism ignores several factors that the â€Å"difference† discourse has revealed. One factor is the gap for women of color within the protections of Title VII. To demonstrate racial discrimination, women of color must show that others of their race were treated similarly, but if those similarly-situated are men, the discrimination may not be evident. To demonstrate gender discrimination, women of color must show that others of their gender were treated similarly, but if white women are those who are similarly-situated, such discrimination may not be apparent. Contemporary Title VII jurisprudence frequently does not allow for interactions between race and gender that are unique to women of color. The formal equality required by Title VII is limited in how well it can protect against explicit racism, let alone against the â€Å"proxies of race† illustrated by cultural practice. Another area that requires further development is Ford’s extension of cultural analysis to less comparable areas of employment discrimination law—in particular, sexual preference and gender. His premise that sexual preference should be protected as status, rather than as behavior or culture, ignores the lesser protection granted sexual preference under the law compared to racial discrimination. Ford does not address the unanswered question within the law of whether sexual preference is behavior or immutable characteristic. The current judicial acceptance of lower levels of scrutiny to protect sexual preference in the workplace means that a simple reliance on current employment discrimination law will not render the results he professes are necessary. Finally, his equivalence of gender discrimination to race is disappointing, especially in the area of pregnancy. While the right to difference literature [*218] builds on a century of analysis by feminist scholars, there are clear differences between the two. However, Ford perceives pregnancy as a form of gender culture, as braids or language can be for race. But this analogy does not work. Discrimination against pregnancy is not justified by employers solely on the basis of predicted workplace impacts of the actual pregnancy, but also because women have the potential to become pregnant. Since pregnancy is a biological reality, how can it be simply another cultural manifestation or behavior choice? A second difference is that, unlike forms of racial or ethnic culture, Congress revised Title VII to incorporate pregnancy into the definition of gender discrimination. 4 Part 2- How racial Identity affects an individual in society Individual youth who experience discrimination carry higher stress burden People’s beliefs that they are being treated badly because racial or gender bias increases their stress levels, and may lead to increased emotional and behavioral problems, according to a study of black and white youth. Understanding how race and gender affect youths’ well-being â€Å"is necessary not only for promoting optimal individual development, but also for meeting the nation’s social and economic needs,† says lead study author David L. DuBois, Ph. D., of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. DuBois conducted the research while at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Previous studies have focused on older study participants, but little is known about how younger age groups are affected by discrimination or prejudice, according to the study, which is published in the September/October issue of Child Development. DuBois and his colleagues administered a series of questionnaires to 350 students in grades 5-8. This group of students included comparable numbers of blacks and whites, females and males. One survey, which included questions like â€Å"Were you called names or insulted at school about your race/ethnicity† and â€Å"Were you treated unfairly at school because you are a girl/boy,† was designed to measure discriminatory experiences and how study participants were affected by them, while others measured major life stressors, racial and gender identity, self-esteem and behavior. The researchers found significant differences among the student groups. Black study participants, both males and females, reported more experiences with discrimination and prejudice. The study setting, a Midwestern school district in which blacks were a minority in both student body and staff, may have contributed to these higher perceived levels, according to the study. â€Å"In this context many black youth may not have felt adequately supported in their efforts to deal with situations involving perceived victimization or unfair treatment on the basis of race,† DuBois says. The black students who reported higher levels of discrimination were more likely to have emotional problems, the researchers found. Such problems may stem from internalized anger, according to findings from other studies. The researchers also found that the black participants in their early teens reported feeling a stronger sense of racial identity than same-age whites. The new study and previous studies have found that at this age, blacks tend to have higher self-esteem than whites. DuBois and his colleagues found that a strong racial identity is important in helping to enhance the self-esteem of black youth. 5 How Racial Identity Affects School Performance of an Individual We investigated the sources of differences in school performance between students of different races by focusing on identity issues. We find that having a higher percentage of same-race friends has a positive effect of white teenagers’ test score while having a negative effect on blacks’ test scores. However, the higher the education level of a black teenager’s parent, the lower this negative effect, while for whites, it is the reverse. It is thus the combination of the choice of friends (which is a measure of own identity) and the parent’s education that are responsible for the difference in education attainment between students of different races but also between students of the same race. One interesting aspects of this paper is to provide a theoretical model that grounds the instrumental variable approach used in the empirical analysis to deal with endogeneity issues. 6 Our Racial Identity affects who we see in society The authors asked biracial participants (one Black and one White parent) to think about their Black parent’s ethnicity. After, they could spot the presence or lack of a Black face in a crowd of White faces with the same speed and accuracy as a monoracial Black person. The same held true when asked to think of their White parent. Although all detected Black faces faster than white faces, biracial students were affected by thinking about one half of their racial identity and then behaved as if they were monoracial. Black, white, and biracial participants performed the visual search task by looking at Black and White faces on a computer screen. To prep the biracial individuals, the participants were asked to write about their mother or father’s ethnicity. Black-primed and White-primed biracial individuals differed significantly in the searches, displaying the effects of the manipulation. â€Å"These findings demonstrate that visual perception is malleable to top-down influences, such as orientation provided by one’s racial group membership,† the authors conclude. References: 1. AAPA Statement on Biological Aspects of Race America Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) 2. http://genomebiology. com/2002/3/7/comment/2007 3. Alicia Fedelina Chavez, Florence Guido-DiBrito Racial and Ethnic Identity and Development NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION, no.84, Winter 1999  © Jossey-Bass Publishers 39 4. Richard T. Ford. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. Vol. 15 No. 3 (March 2005), pp. 215-218 5. Pamela Ippoliti, www. hbns. org 6. Eleonora Patacchini (eleonora. patacchini@uniroma1. it) (University of Rome â€Å"La Sapienza†)Yves Zenou (yvesz@iui. se) (IUI, GAINS, CEPR and IZA Bonn) 7. Joan Y. Chiao, Hannah E. Heck, and Ken Nakayama are at Harvard University. Nalini Ambady is at Tufts University. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. , May 10, 2006.

Contrasting Differences in Family Life in USA and Mexico Essay

The family is the basic unit of any particular society or community. It is therefore imperative that for the society to exist the family has to be there to produce members into the community. The community or national character any particular country is basically determined by the nature of the family values. An individual is shaped in the early ages by the family. In the contemporary society there are increased diversity changes in the family a characteristic of the many changes in culture, political, economic, social, and psychological and even the environment. The content definition of has not been agreed upon because of the great changes that are so accommodating. In the previous many years the family was considered as the people who are related by blood. This definition based on the kinship ties has been revoked due to the influence of many forms of families which has stripped off the family its actual definition. For instance there can husband and wife who do not have any kinship ties and they go ahead to adopt children. Another case that has changed such a definition of the family based on kinship ties is the increasing number of intermarriage within the context of race or ethnicity. This brings out a mixture of offspring and therefore it is difficult to trace the family bonds based on kinship ties. The issue of who is next to kin is no longer important in the current families. The most common aspect in the current families is the bonding based on mutual understanding. The many changes of husband and wife have been changed by the introduction of lesbianism and gay. These try to go against the grain of opposite gender type of marriage. The concept of marriage has changed from opposite gender type of marriage to a mixture of gay, lesbianism and opposite gender marriages. These are some of the dynamisms that are facing the contemporary families. This paper shall give an indebt analysis of the family, the changes in roles and functions of the families and the general effects of such changes to the contemporary families. A close reference and examples shall be drawn from the US and Mexico, the countries that border each other geographically. The contrasting differences I n family issues shall be pointed out clearly. Family life in the United States The family relationship in the United States has undergone several transformations due to the effect of globalization. Race and ethnicity are the most significant factors in shaping the variety of values, attitudes and behaviour amongst the families in the United States. There are a number of changes in families in the United States. These changes range from political, social, economic, and psychological to spiritual. The social dislocations have given rise to new ideas and values especially there is increased individualism among the members of the community. In the US there increased diversity in the organizational structures. There are many cases of divorce and separation in the United Stated which has grabbed the family the unity and love that is supposed to be enjoyed. Most the single families that are common in the US are as a result of divorce and remarriage due to greater democratization. (Hines & Morrison, 2005) Cultural diversity in the US is accounting for the many different types of families that have emerged in the recent past. The United States constitutes almost all races and ethnic groups in the world. For this reason there are diverse cultural values as a resulting of this contact. The factor that there are free intermarriages between these diverse races and ethnic groups has made the US to have diverse cultural values which transcend the native culture. The immigrants who move to the United State try to maintain their native language despite the fact that they are forced to learn the official language of the United States, which is English. The immigrants from Spanish speaking countries (Hispanic) when they move to the United States they try to maintain their languages. The culture of the people is usually transmitted through language and due to the numerous languages in the United States there exists different cultures. This means that there are very many family clusters formed through the sharing of the languages. For instance most of the Hispanic immigrants have formed family clusters in the sides of Florida. The black American speaks a variety of English as they identify themselves as belonging or originating from one family. These disparities have affected the notion of the family because these people are allowed to mix freely with people from different cultures. The concept of the family in the United States is changing even the more during the advent of the green card where people from different pasts acquire citizenship. Many people from different races and ethnic groups have found their way to the US and as such most of them are allowed to move with their families. The nuclear family still remains an ideal source of the society in the United States. The United States families are characterized by the great social stratification. In the United the families are organized according to different classes. Among these classes there are great disparities in terms of economic value. The choice of families has not taken shift from mutual understanding to materials and resources. This has affected relationships from a sociological point of view. This issue of the class is a dominant phenomenon among the families in the United States as those who are rich wants to maintain the status quo. This is done through the inheritance that is passed within the nuclear families. The nuclear families in the United States are created and broken up and then reconstituted. This has led to the decline of family values which consequently affects the family patterns. This diversity in family pattern has been identified as the cause of problems such as violence, crime and drug use in the united state. The parents are usually very busy with their duties (United States, Congress, 1992). The increasing cases of divorce and separation in the United States have a negative effect on maintaining the ideal norms of the nuclear family value. The families that are exposed to values outside the parental domain are likely to deviate from norms. The human rights in the United States are considered fundamental. There is protection of the universal human right which is a recipe to the process of democratization. This the reason why the US government invest huge amount of money in education health and other basic sectors so as to enhance the promotion of the human rights among the citizens. The Family Life in Mexico Most people have preferred to live in Mexico for a variety of reasons such as social, political, economic and even good climatic reasons. Living in Mexico requires one to learn the Spanish language so as to increase effective communication. This is because the families are socialized in the Spanish language. The Mexican people are extremely warm and friendly as they are organized in smaller communities that come from the mutually intelligible families. This means that the socialization process is high since there tow much contact between the families. The family bonds are tightly held together and for this reason there is cultural uniformity. The society per se is integrated under common cultural values through the common language shared. Piped water is relatively inexpensive, but not always potable (drinkable). Decades of under-investment, combined with an attitude of impertinence towards paying water bills, has left Mexico’s mains water system in poor condition. As a result, most people purchase bottled water, often in 20L containers. Bottled water is very expensive. Rents in Mexico can be higher than in equivalent-sized US towns or cities if the place is popular or fashionable, particularly places within easy reach of the US border. Mexico has a centralized economy: that is, most of the country’s economic activity revolves around. The Mexican pace of life is relatively slower than in the US Especially when the life in major cities is given consideration. The families in Mexico are closely tied as most of the families have time to attend to their families. There is a high degree of parental responsibility among the families. This transcends to greater heights of good values that the society enjoys. Mexico’s culture has a rich history in a consolidated family religion, people and tradition. The Mexican people are proud of their culture that they keep on passing from one generation to another. This is because there is little infusion of the foreign cultures. The family is the basic unit in Mexico and a cornerstone to the maintenance of the culture. The rate of socialization and interaction among these people is too high. It is a usual phenomenon to meet two or more families meeting for a common interest or for a special event. This part of the family function in Mexico, people in Mexico have free time to visit resort centers for the purpose of relaxation which is not a common phenomenon in the United States, where people are too busy. (Heymann, 2006) The Mexican People are too religious which is a big contrast with the United States where people feel that they are in control; of their own life. A large number of people are Christian and they are usually committed to going to church. When you walk in the Mexican homes it is easy for you to see the religious images. In America people stay a non-religious life thus an effect of religious intermingling that has made it difficult for the people to which religious practice to adopt. Thus they resign from subscribing to any of the religious practice. The social stratification is not prevalent in the Mexican family as it is in the United States; people are seeking for money the Mexican people strive for titles. The professionals in Mexico prefer to be addressed with the titles that they deserve. This is as a result of the traditional emphasis given to the tittles within the family domain. The economic living standards in Mexico are slightly lower than in the United State. There are many poor people in Mexico than in the United States. The impact of these high levels of poverty in Mexico has necessitated the immigration of most Mexican families to the United States in search of better jobs and pay of most illegal immigrants from Mexico have gotten their way into the United States through the Mexican borders. These immigrants have settled in cities such as Florida. Working in the United States gives them better pay. This aspect of brain drain is lowering the general development of the families in Mexico as most of the people move leaving behind other family members Basically the cost of living in Mexico is lower than that of the US particularly for agricultural produce. Other sectors such as transport and communication are also lower in Mexico than I n the United States. Other utilities as electricity are more expensive compared to the United State. Working families in the United States, observing how parents struggled to find a balance between caring for children and earning a decent income. When parents split and one of the parents went from Mexico to the United States and was no longer available to give the necessary care, families suffer. What significantly exacerbates the problem is when the borders are so tight that they prevent families from reuniting. This has been a common phenomenon when the immigrants are not given the opportunity by the America to even visit their families in back home in Mexico. (Poole M. et al, 1993) Globalization of the economy created increased pressure for workers to accept lower labor standards, accept lower wages, longer hours, fewer benefits, and less paid leave. Both Nations likewise feel pressure from economic globalization not to implement family-friendly policies, such as paid leave for illness or when a child is sick, or paid parental leave. And that leaves working families struggling to balance work and their care-giving duties. The globalization process has affected families in both Mexico and United States economy was transforming the relationship between work and care-giving in similar ways everywhere. Globalization has forcing both countries to at a very high pace as far as labor standards and social policies are concerned hence leaving working parents with less and less time to raise their children. Parents’ work has shifted markedly around the world and that goes for every region. The child rearing process has been left in the hands of maids who offer supportive care while the parents are away working till late hours of the day. Men in particular have been moving away from one place to another in search of better jobs especially in various industries. Globalization has made men and women to work day and night and this has made them move away from their homes to go work in various places. A good example is that of outsourcing where people work in shifts where some work during the day and others at night. Women, likewise, have moved into the paid labor force and away from the home. From the period between 1960 and 2000 the number of women in the labor force went from 26 to 38 percent in America. The percentage of women in the workplace has increased both in the United States and Mexico. This has adversely affected the family care services that were provided by the women while their men were working in various sectors. This is a result of civilization which been brought about by the factors such as education, religion, work, urbanization among others. These factors have changed the various roles that were supposed to be executed by the family so as to prepare an individual to be a responsible member of the society. (Cecil, 1992) What has happened is that the world has seen women get better job opportunities which has assisted then them raise income to cater for their families. The increased number of single parent families has made it possible for the women to struggle to get money for rearing their families. While this is was going on there is also massive urbanization occurring all across the world. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as people who move from very poor rural areas to urban areas often get better jobs, and become less dependent on, for instance, a good rain to feed their families. (Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff, 2006). References Hines D. A. , Morrison K. (2005) Family Violence in the United States: Defining, Understanding, and Combating. Sage Publisher. Heymann J. (2006) Forgotten Families: Ending the Growing Crisis Confronting Children and Working Parents in the Global Economy. Oxford University Press Poole M. et al (1993) Family: Changing Families, Changing Times. Allen & Unwin publisher. Robinson, Cecil. (1992). No short journeys: The interplay of cultures in the history and Literature of the borderlands. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Rowntree L. , Lewis M. , Price M. and Wyckoff W. (2006). Diversity amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development. United States, Congress. House America’s (1992) Families: Conditions, Trends, Hopes, and Fears: Family policy. United States, Congress, House publisher.