Technology Through the Decades :: essays papers

Technology Through the Decades Technology has come a long way since the first institutionalized classroom. The bounds in advancement have been their greatest in the past 100 years alone. But the classroom we know today in American culture has made many adjustments and achievement over many centuries of work, but this paper will only address the past 2 centuries. The modern classroom, with computers, internet, graphing calculators, and video apparatus’, would not exist if not for the many people who worked to invent the machines we have. The 1800’s produced many advancements to the classroom that, though very rudimentary to today’s standards, became the foundation for learning on a large scale. Some of which are still in use today. In 1841 the chalkboard was introduced into the classroom. This was very beneficial to learning integrating audio and visual techniques to learning. Teachers could now draw for students concepts such as atoms and molecules, that were complicated to express. Students found this invention beneficial because now the student knew what teachers were saying, what key points they needed to know were, and nothing was lost in the communication. The inclusion of the radio in the 1920’s (Studio Miramar), was also a beneficial invention. When the radio was invited to be a part of classroom learning, teachers were able to more effectively keep the students on top of current event, involve others’ opinions or knowledge of different topics, and be able to include culture into history classes. This last reason would become the base for broadening of curriculum multiculturally. Another major change to the curriculum came in the 1940’s when movies became a part of the classroom scene (Studio Miramar). This had an impact both politically and with general education. Politically, propaganda or reprogramming with videos would be a purpose that movies would play. With such films as those that expressed how the â€Å"proper American† should act could be view, such as during World War II with â€Å"Duck and Cover† or â€Å"Evil Communists† or even â€Å"Uncle Sam Wants You† videos became a meaningful nationalism method of reaching children. But movies also play the part of an educational tool. Films about chemicals, of both the dangers and benefits of them, or safety films like â€Å"Stop, Drop, and Roll† became prevalent. Like the radio, television, introduced in the 1950’s to the educational scenes (Studio Miramar), has become an even easier method of keeping students on top of current event.

Edgar Allen Poe: A great American Icon :: essays research papers

Edgar Allan Poe’s unique, fearless and morbid writing style has influenced literature throughout the world. He was once titled the "master of the macabre" (Buranelli, 57). One of the aspects in his life with which he struggled was social isolation. He used this as a topic in a number of poems and short stories. Poe's life was also filled with periods of fear and irrationality. He had a very sensitive side when it came to the female gender, any woman he was ever close to died at an early age. Another of his major battles, actually the only one he really lost, was his struggle with alcoholism. Of all these topics, Poe's favorites were the death of a beautiful woman, a feeling, which he knew all too well, and the general topic of death. Edgar Allan Poe endured a very difficult life and this is evident in his literary style. Suffering through several periods of fear and irrationality during his life, Poe included those experiences in many of his more famous works. One of these periods involved experiences in joining the army in order to get away from his foster father after the death of his foster mother (Buranelli, 13). These periods of fear and irrationality were the cause of his misfortune and poor social status. His peers for these episodes looked him down upon. Poe expressed this theme throughout almost all of his short stories and poems. "Many of his stories exhibited abnormal states of mind and are constructed in terms of a single mad obsession†(Buranelli, 28). His insane ways made his work stand out from the normal short story, or poem. He was able to twist his stories and poems around in a way that almost seemed real, and was definitely intriguing. An example of this could be found in the â€Å"Black Cat†(Harrison, 257). The character took the eyes out of the first cat and then killed it. After that he proceeded to "accidentally" kill his wife with an ax, and bury her in a wall. Another example of Poe's insanity demonstrated within his works was located in â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† (Harrison, 555), where Edgar stalked a man and eventually killed him. He then dismembered the body, took out his heart, and buried the man under the house. He later confessed to the police because he believed he could hear the heartbeat of the man.

Mexican American Culture Essay

Abstract This paper is a review on Mexican American culture in the United States. I will discuss the history of this culture and how they became part of the U. S. I will also talk about the different wars and treaty that was signed to give them rights. I will also include the latest in demographics and population from the Census Bureau (2010). I will cover the Mexican Americans prejudices and discrimination and provide slurs that are commonly used in this group. I will go over some resilience factors that helped my ethnic group in dealing with prejudice and discrimination. Abstract This paper is a review on Mexican American culture in the United States. I will discuss the history of this culture and how they became part of the U. S. I will also talk about the different wars and treaty that was signed to give them rights. I will also include the latest in demographics and population from the Census Bureau (2010). I will cover the Mexican Americans prejudices and discrimination and provide slurs that are commonly used in this group. I will go over some resilience factors that helped my ethnic group in dealing with prejudice and discrimination. Another topic of discussion will be what I feel social workers need to know when working with my ethnic group. I will touch on Biases within the culture against other cultures and define one personal bias of my own. I will close my literature review with reflecting on what I have learned. Brief Mexican History The first Mexicans that became part of the United States did not have to cross any borders. Instead the borders crossed them. Spanish speaking people have lived in Northern provinces since the Spaniards colonized Mexico in the sixteenth century. They have always played an important role in the Continents culture and history. Mexico won its Independence from Spain in 1820. The War of Independence with Spain in 1820’s left Mexico with difficulty settling in its Northern provinces. A policy initiated by Spain that allowed Americans to settle in their regions, in effort to populate was continued by the Mexican government (King, 2000). However it backfired when Texas declared Independence from Mexico. Mexico felt betrayed by the Americans because they took advantage of their kindness and took over the state in 1845 (Skidmore, 228). The Mexican American War, 1846-1848, was driven by the idea of â€Å"Manifest Destiny;† which was the belief that Americans had the right to expand country borders from sea to sea. This principle has been a major political and religious rationalization in the United States, demanding assimilation, containment, or annihilation of everyone else in between and First Nations peoples and Mexican (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, p. 135). This angered Mexicans and Native Americans and caused disputes. President Polk was eager and did not stop until he confiscated large areas of land and sought war. Polk felt a war with Mexico would only prove profitable for the United States, so he enticed the Mexicans to attack. Once Mexico attacked, Polk claimed he had to defend the United States, for Mexico had invaded American territory. Polk’s unexpected election, slavery conflicts, and the Mexican war were all issues in American politics during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Of all the possible explanations for these problems, territorial expansion is the number one reason. The idea of Manifest Destiny split American politics more than any other factor up to the eighteen fifties. In 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo the Mexican American War came to an end. The signing of the treaty ended the territorial disputes that caused conflict between the countries. Mexicans were pronounced to be U. S Citizens and the treaty promised citizenship along with civil and property rights. The United States paid Mexico $15,000,000 in consideration of the extension acquired by the boundaries of the United States and agreed to pay American citizens debts owed to them by the Mexican Government. 1910 big groups of Mexicans crossed into the Southwestern United States. They were encouraged by the economic, social, and political movements of the Mexican Revolutionary years and the rise in industrial and agricultural employment in the United States. Arriving through both direct and indirect routes, Mexicans worked as unskilled and semiskilled laborers in agriculture[->0] and heavy industry (Figueroa, 1996). When the U. S joined World War II fear of shortage in agricultural field grew and we turned to Mexico for help through the Bracero Program, which allowed migrant Mexicans to temporarily work in U. S farms (Figueroa, 1996). The Bracero program brought over 5 million farm workers to work the fields of the United States. Underprivileged Mexicans fled their rural communities and traveled north to work as braceros. It was mainly by the Mexican hand that America became the most upmarket agricultural center in the world. Their arrival altered the social and economic environments of many border towns. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, became a hotbed of recruitment and a main gathering point for the agricultural labor force (Bickerton, 2001). Current Population Demographics According to the United States Census Bureau (2010), the Mexican population is referred to as Hispanic or Latino, and refers to Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish cultures. 308. 7 million People lived in the United States in 2010, 16% were of Hispanic or Latino Origin. Increase in Hispanics from 35. 3 million in 2000 making 13% of the total population. Between 2000 and 2010 the Hispanic population increased by 15. 2 million, accounting for half of the 27. 3 million increase in the United States. 43% of the growth came from Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010 which was four times the growth in the total population at 10%. The growth in Hispanics varied by groups, Mexican Origin population increased by 54% and had the largest change growing from 20. 6 million in 2000 to 31. 8 million in 2010. They accounted for about three quarters of the 15. 2 million increase in Hispanic population. In 2010, 37. 6 million of Hispanics lived in the eight states; California (28%), Texas (18. 7%), Florida (8. 4%), New York (3. 1%), Illinois (4%), Arizona (3. 8%), New Jersey (3. 1%) and Colorado (2. 1%), and in all other states 25. 4%. The highest Proportion in any state was 46% of the total state population in New Mexico. Mexican Americans experience with Prejudice and discrimination Mexican Americans have been victims of discrimination throughout the history of the United States. A few degrading words that people use when referring to Mexicans are; Wetback, Spic, and Beaner, whether American or not. They also have many stereotypes against them such as lazy, machismos, drunks and many more. One of the main reasons they are discriminated against is because of their illegal immigration into the United States. Mexicans were left no choice but to cross illegally to seek a better life, because of the cost and many obstacles it made it difficult to become a citizen. Often they were forced to work physically demanding jobs for less pay due to non-citizens or lack of options, or because they wanted badly to be part of the U. S and saw themselves to be best off here even if wages were cheaper than back at home. Companies did not make the situation better they took advantage of their need for jobs and employed them with poor working conditions and minimum wage because they knew they had no other choice. Resilience of the Mexican American Race Despite a growing presence throughout, Mexicans continued to face discrimination and renewed threats of deportation as national programs like â€Å"Operation Wetback† searched to detain braceros who had overstayed their visas. While working to ensure economic stability, leaders of Mexican communities supported the education of workers and the development of civic and community institutions like the Mexican Civic Committee. 250 Mexican workers were imported to work for Inland Steel and marched in unity with strikers and demanded transportation back to Texas. In the 1950’s Mexicans went to establish branches of civil rights organizations. Some of these organizations were GI forum which fought for rights of the Mexican World War II veterans. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) sought to increase the numbers of Mexican with U. S. Citizenship and to secure rights of Mexican Americans (Arredondo & Valliant, 2005). Throughout the 1970’s and early 1980’s Mexicans worked in groups like the Spanish coalition for jobs and Latino Institute to improve housing and education while also fighting employment and social discrimination faced. Political community activists fought for Benito Juarez High school and founded many organizations. What Social Workers need to know working with Mexican Americans Mexicans accounted for about three quarters of the 15. 2 million increase in Hispanic population, the fastest growing in the U. S. As these numbers increase there is a greater need for social work education to provide culturally sensitive training to social work students. Social Workers need to understand and know the different origins of Mexican cultures to not get them mixed up. Social workers need to set aside all biases when working with Mexican Americans or any other cultures for that matter. Mexicans do not want to be judged on their color or looks. As a social worker we need to understand the discrimination they are faced with and know what their beliefs are. Have knowledge on immigration and migration discusses how to assess for levels of acculturation; examine cultural values; and explore prejudice work issues if any. Biases against other groups A cultural bias I can think of is marrying or dating someone of a different race as you. Mexican Americans are very proud of where they came from and often want to keep wedlock in the same race. They feel by dating out of your race you are ashamed of who you are and consider it a disgrace. Mexican Americans want to keep the Mexican culture alive and growing, by missing with other the races we are losing some of our culture traditions. Due to the missing of races we are seeing more English speaking people than Spanish. It is very sad that today the majority of people raised in a Mexican, Hispanic or any other type of Mexican origin are not able to speak Spanish. Bilingual speakers are a must now days and if you cannot speak Spanish your chances of finding a good job are slim. My personal bias A personal bias of my own is people who speak Spanish and do not teach their children because they feel that this is the United States and everyone should speak Spanish. This really upsets me because I am one of the ones whose parents felt that learning Spanish was not important. I feel they did this because they did not want other children to view me as an immigrant. My parents wanted to make sure everyone knew I was born in America and did not want me to be judged by my skin or language. My parents saw how people who spoke Spanish got treated and instilled it into my head that I did not need to know Spanish because everyone living here is Americans and should speak English. They are now realizing the down fall in me not being able to speak Spanish and understand they made a big mistake. To change this we need parents to understand that our culture is very important and by not teaching us the traditions and languages you are hurting us and our economy. We already have problems not finding jobs, and now to make matters worse the one job that will accept us wont because we cannot speak Spanish. What I learned I have learned so much about the Mexican American culture the pain they endured the racial discrimination they experienced. Mexicans at first did not have the choice on whether they wanted to become of the United States, we crossed and took over their land whether they liked it or not. They were treated unfair and had to fight for their land, losing the battle and their men was not by choice. I learned that they fought several wars to seek justice; I learned they won Independence from Spain in 1820 and this is celebrated on September 16 which is my birthday. I also learned through everything they have been through they were strong workers and took jobs that others did not want because it was hard labor. Discrimination against us will never end but we will fight to see that everyone is treated equal. . Bibliography Arredondo, G. F. , & Valliant, D. (2005). Encyclopedia of Chigago: Mexican. Chicago. Retrieved http://www. encyclopedia. chicagohistory. org/pages/824. html Bickerton, M. (2001). Prospects for a Bilateral Immigration Agreement with Mexico: Lessons from the Bracero Program. Texas Law Review, 79(4), 895. Figueroa, H. (1996). Mexican workers in the United States: A profile. NACLA Report On The Americas, 30(3), 38. King, Rosemary, (2000-01-01). Border Crossings in the Mexican American War. The Bilingual Review, 25(1), 63-85. Robbins, S. P. , Chatterjee, P. , & Canda, E. R. (2012). Contemporary Human Behavior Theory 3rd edition. NJ: Allyn & Bacon. Skidmore, Thomas E. , and Peter H. Smith. Modern Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. United States Census Bureau. (2010). Hispanic Population for the United States: 2010 Retrieved September 20,2012 [->0] – http://www. encyclopedia. chicagohistory. org/pages/30. html.

The Art and Science of Creating a Monster

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists in the world, believes that there is one question human beings must answer in order to truly understand the implications of existence itself: Is the Universe friendly?   In the vast body of thought both ancient and modern, the answers to this question are numerous and mostly contradictory.   In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the narrators uniformly answer this question in the negative.   In spite of their disparate stations in life, each storyteller feels separated from his fellows in some way, physically, intellectually, and geographically.   Society does not ease the condition of such lost souls because it is so quick to ostracize and dismiss anyone that departs from its grand ideals of what is acceptable (Williams, 1).Most artists, scientists, philosophers, and explorers are not celebrated until several centuries after death, if then.   Human beings are extremely social creatures.   In order to function well, people need to feel as though they are a part of something bigger than themselves, that they share a similar path to those around them.   Though he was denied the decency of others, the creature had only one wish; to have a companion made for him.   If he never encountered another living being except for her, he would have been contented in the spirit that there was someone in existence that could relate to him.   Victor Frankenstein, brilliant scientist extraordinaire literally sold his soul for godhood.At the end of his story, he shares the same fate of his creature: friendless and alone with only strangers to ease his passage into death.   In a sense, one could conceivably argue that Victor suffered just as much as the creature because he had his whole world taken from him—his little brother, best friend and his wife.   In the end, he becomes as wretched as the creature without soul or companionship and perished among strangers.   For one who has known genuine happine ss, life’s tragic moments become even more painful.Robert Walton, the sailor that tells the story of Frankinstein and his creature is equally marginalized.   He is without friends because his aspirations were lofty and his education limited.  Ã‚   When one leaves the path of the establishment to explore new and sometimes frightening realms, or departs from the norms expected for one’s gender, race, or intellectual achievements:   society exacts punishment by banishing him to the fringes.The creature is the most obviously reviled being in the story.   On a dark and stormy November night, he awakes to Victor’s horrified screeches.   His physical appearance produces instant disgust in everyone he meets, including his â€Å"father† and creator.   During the Romantic Era and in Gothic literature, physiognomy was a way to determine a person’s character and inclinations (McLaren, 40).   Elizabeth was thought to be an angel because of her bea utiful golden hair and fair countenance, while people assumed the creature was morally degenerate because of his ugly appearance.The creature had the sallow skin of a dead thing, he was extremely tall, strong, and bright, yet he was very malformed.   In the eighteenth century, ugliness and deviance were heavily correlated.   In many of the stories of the time, the hero and heroine were extremely good looking, virtuous, and talented in some special way.   In contrast, the villain was ugly, amoral, violent, and without conscience.   Even if there were a great degree of credence to this, it would seem that the violence toward others is simply a villain’s expression of loathing both self and society.â€Å"This violent response to his own oppression shares the same elements of many of the post-WWII protest novels.   Protest novels often delineate a relationship between the mainstream dominant society and the â€Å"Other,† a character designated for his/her margin alization and oppression within that society†(Scott).   Before departing to the wastelands of the North to end his miserable existence, the monster gives an accounting to himself to Walton, even though he believes that it would not move the sailor to sympathize with his plight.Little does the creature know that his confessor had lived without a friend or companion.   Had things turned out differently, maybe Walton and the creature might have become friends because both were alone in the world.   The creature’s story is very reminiscent of the tragic poor, malformed vagabonds living on the fringes of society, exposed to only the worst traits and abuses of   other human beings.   As a living creature, the monster wanted to be shown decency, compassion, gentleness and even love and he was denied at every turn.   He hated himself and the world and turned his grief and rage into a force of darkness that would avenge itself on everything and everyone his creator h olds dear.â€Å"I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I thought to be only the criminal, when all humankind sinned against me?†(Shelley, 210).  Ã‚   While some literary critics believe that the monster represents the depravity that lies dormant in all human beings until pushed to the breaking point (Scott), others have determined that he is instead, a voice of social justice.   When external conditions become so unbearable that it takes every ounce of effort to simply survive, this experience justifies any act of rebellion against the social order (Knoepflmacher & Lewis, 165).  Ã‚   To the creature, Victor Frankenstein represented the malignancy and callous disregard for life he encountered in his life experience.   When his last chance for a companion was destroyed in his creator’s ultimate breach of trust, he made it his life’s mission to destroy everything his creator loved without assuming personal responsibility for his death.Victor Frankenstein, not content with pursuing a normal career in medicine, aspires to godhood.   Because of his hubris, he loses everything he holds dear in his life and dies alone in an arctic desert.   Unlike his unfortunate creation, he represents the very establishment from which his ambitions set him apart.   His childhood was normal in an idealized sort of way.   His parents lavished tons of attention on him and he never had a moment of feeling unloved, neglected, or spurned by other people.   Growing up in Geneva, his life was extremely sheltered, and the people in his life were good and beautiful.   His aversion to ugliness is one of his most pronounced character traits.When he enrolls in University, he immediately judges the character of his professors based on their physical appearances, â€Å"I found even in M. Krempe a great deal of sound and sense and real information, combined, it is true, with a repulsive physiognomy and man ners.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In M. Waldman I found a true friend.   His gentleness was never tinged by dogmatism and his instructions were given with an air of frankness and good nature that banished every idea pedantry†(Shelley, 49).This passage makes Frankenstein appear shocked that M. Krempe would have anything of value to offer him because of his unattractive appearance.   Another despicable character trait is Victor’s inability to take responsibility for his actions.   Once the creature wakes up, he rushes from the room (Shelley, 57).   Later, he allows an innocent woman—the family maid he grew up with no less—to be executed for a crime she never committed to hide the existence of his creature (Shelley, 84).Robert Walton, not content to explore the vast inhabited regions of earth, braves the cold and ice to look for a northern route to the Pacific Ocean.   He wants to â€Å"boldly go where no man had gone before† to paraphrase Star Trek.   How ever, all he found was an endless wasteland that did not deliver the passage he had sought.   Though he merely serves as the recipient of Frankenstein’s story, he has no one in the world except his sister.   In this sense, he identifies with the creature’s feelings of loneliness.   In his second letter he tells his sister, â€Å"But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil.I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection†(Shelley, 18).   While he is normal physically, his educational background sets him apart from others.   He is self-taught, and his curriculum included books of voyages and fantastic adventures, and the poets he had become familiar with were British.   Later, he laments that he is  "more illiterate than many schoolboys of fifteen†(Shelley, 19).  Ã‚  Ã‚   Still, he could not help feeling a little pity for the creature’s ordeal since part of it resembled his own, â€Å"Once my fancy was soothed with dreams of virtue, of fame, and of enjoyment.Once I falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities which I was capable of unfolding.   I was nourished with high thoughts of honor and devotion.   But now crime has degraded me beneath the meanest animal†(Shelley, 209).   In that last desperate section following Frankenstein’s death, we realize that had Frankenstein not treated his creature so ill, he could have become a reliable companion, loyal friend, and confidant†¦the very thing Walton had become to Frankenstein when he was cold, alone, and starving.   Even as two wealthy white European men, Walton and Frankenstein failed to flourish in a society that was uniquely designed for them.While the two men and the monster keenly felt their separation from others, the women are practically non-characters.   Even though a woman that inhabited the extremely liberal artistic scene of the Enlightenment Era wrote the story, all the female characters assumed no importance of their own in a truly strong and heroic sense outside of their impact on Victor’s life.   They were objects, not subjects.   Even the monster was able to express himself as a subject, while the women served as props. Still, there was much about them that would potentially interest a reader if the characters were explored in greater depth.   Frankenstein’s mother was a philanthropist who visited poor families and attempted to ease their lot in life.Elizabeth was very passionate in the defense of Justine when she was falsely accused of murder (Shelley, 81).   As an orphan raised by peasants and adopted into a wealthy family, her character’s death would have been much more dramatic and poignant had she been flushed out more.   While Shelley achieved much as a writer, she did not want to encourage women to become more assertive, and none of the female characters (other than Walton’s sister) survived until the end of the book.One account states that Shelley believes women must behave differently from men (Schoene-Harwood, 42).  Ã‚   During the Romantic Era, men were the heroes, the creators, the actors in public life and the centerpiece of home life.   Women were the passive observers, and sometimes creators of brilliant artistic works.   Otherwise, the rest of the world belonged to men.Times have certainly changed, but not as much as people think.   Global travel exposes people to different cultures, ideals, and mores.   In the field of social psychology, the most successful societies assimilate outsiders rather than marginalize them.   To maximize the likelihood of maintaining a peaceful civilization, the newcomers must adapt the mores, values, and language of the dominant culture and the institutions must be able to accommodate the tansition.   When a population is exiled to the fringes, it would possibly create a volatile situation of accelerating tensions between the marginalized group and the dominant group to the point where the people on the fringe begin to attack the establishment in ways both subtle and explosive (Simon, 141-146).In American history, immigrants were looked down upon and many laws were passed to keep them out.   Eventually, groups of immigrants had begun forming their own communities, keeping the spirit of their home culture alive in a country that neither wanted nor welcomed them.   With the growth of these communities, people no longer have the need nor desire to learn the dominant language.   On a whole, people in the West are gradually becoming more tolerant toward alternative lifestyles, minority groups, and religious preferences, but the bias and prejudice against people not gifted with physical beauty is the final socially acceptable prejudice to hold. Women in the Western World had finally been granted the right to vote; even so, a woman’s value is still vested in her looks and ability to become a wife and mother.Until a woman’s choice to attain worldly power is respected, they will never achieve the same level of equality that men assume.   Shelley’s women were faithful in their duties of domestics, artists, and lovers, but like many women of the time; were not allowed to express the hidden passion they were forced to repress.   Even in our own society, marginalizing others is still par for the course.   In the US, a strict racial hierarchy is still perpetuated even though the apartheid was legally dissolved in the 1960’s.   There is a great disparity between the races when looking at factors such as life expectancy, disease profiles, and income.Progress toward a better world is often slow and a lways painful.   In order to maintain social stability, people did not evolve the ability to accept sweeping changes on all levels.   Appearance in the twenty-first century will become an even greater obsession than it was in the past.   With superior technology to alter, enlarge, or diminish undesirable characteristics, beauty will quickly become associated with social class and personal value.   When Elizabeth was adopted, Frankenstein’s mother believed that she was a higher order of being by virtue of her physical appearance, â€Å"a being heaven-sent, and bearing a celestial stamp in all her features† (Shelley, 34).Victor Frankenstein’s monster was a different order of being himself, he was purely logical, empathetic, and selfless, but he was hideously ugly.   Eventually, through repeated rejection, brutal treatment, and several attempts on his life, he was trained to mold his character to match his looks.   To those living on the fringes, the un iverse is an extremely unfriendly place indeed.Works CitedCaldwell, Janis McLaren. Literature and Medicine in Nineteenth-Century Britain: From Mary Shelley to George Elliot. Cambridge University Press, 2004Knoepflmacher, Ulrich Camillus & George Lewis. The Endurance of Frankenstein.   University of California Press: 1979Schoene-Harwood, Berthold. Frankenstein: Essays, Articles, Reviews. Columbia University Press: 2000Scott, Cynthia C. â€Å"The Other: Race, Rage, Violence and the Protest Novel in M. Shelley's Frankenstein†. The People’s Media Company. 3 Mar. 2007 ;http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/28245/the_other_race_rage_violence_and_the.html;Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Signet Classic, 1965Simon, Bernd. Identity in Modern Society: A Social Psychological Perspective.   Boston: Blackwell Publishing, 2004Williams, Kipling D. The Social Outcast: Ostracism, Social Exclusion, Rejection, ; Bullying. New York: Psychology Press, 2005

Gender Archaeology Essay

Gender archaeology is a field of study that encompasses different approaches in the study of gender. It developed in the 1980s at the time feminist movement emerged in many societies including America and Britain questioning the male bias of the mainstream archaeology. Gender plays a significant role in constructing society and its values, categorizing which are female or male roles, and creating meanings and identity. However, studying the concept of gender is difficult as its meaning is influenced by many factors and relationships in the society. Arguments are raised that gender, unlike the biological sex, does not exist and complicated to test through archaeology. One of the traditional approaches in studying gender is through material culture where tangible evidences are correlated with the presence of men and women such as artefacts and tools excavated, suggesting a representation of the two genders and their activities (Shaw and Jameson 2000: 251). The productive use of material culture is one of the most significant contributions of archaeologists unlike other disciplines which ignore the potentials of material and its symbolic representations and meaning construction of gender (Bintliff 2004:85). Scholars should recognize the relevance of material culture as it is able to correlate the objects and its physical realities and consequences to gender, allowing varied ways of exploring an object or material. It provides resources for reference and medium for practice of gender. It aids the study of gender archaeology in all geographical regions, categories of material culture, and periods (Gilchrist 1999: 15). One of the research methods used in studying material culture is a case study, which is also commonly used in feminist archaeology, where archaeologist become ethnographers. They visit the site or region of analysis aiming to reconstruct the past societies with as much details as possible about the past people’s lifestyle, customs, traditions, beliefs, and other events (Nelson 2006: 45). In this way, history of people and its meanings are identified through material evidences which represent relationship to gender. Numerous studies have revealed astounding facts and evidence leading to an understanding on how the meanings of gender and its facets are identified. Many pre-historical studies have been conducted around the world in knowing how men and women are represented, particularly in artefacts, and how these representations construct or deconstruct the roles of each gender. In a study, Ungendering Archaeology: Concepts of Sex and Gender in Figurine Studies in Prehistory, Naomi Hamilton analysed and interpreted the prehistoric anthromorphic figurines from Eastern Europe and the Near East (Donald and Hurcombe 2000: 18). Hamilton devised as methodology to identify sex on the figures and analyse the stereotypes attached to it regarding Western gender roles. There were numerous figurines unearthed from Europe but the interpretations are different and sometimes contradicting. Some scholars argue that these figures, particularly those with women, represents ‘goddess worship’ but others did not agree. According to Hamilton, there is a need for a theory on gender and gender relations that would at least provide better explanations than the traditional studies. For any unfamiliar figure, it would be easier to assume that a certain object represents a male or a female goddess or creature but others might interpret it differently. In Seklo group from Greece, for example, an excavator thought of the distorted figure with womanly shape as representation of female centaur while other objects resembling male figure are assumed as enthroned men. Later, the female-like figure was interpreted in different views: seated figure, goddess, or female on a birth stool. These varied translations happen most of the times because, as Hamilton argued, archaeologists readily accept that aspects of human life have universal characteristics such that what is commonly associated with women in another region or era is assumed to be similar in another region of different period (Donald and Hurcombe 2000: 28). Hamilton argued that the ambiguity the two mutually exclusive genders (male and female) and its resemblance to historical Western societies have not been questioned. Traditional assumptions on these figurines readily announced as representation of sex and gender roles and not other things. Besides, interpretations are based conservative view on gender. Archaeologists assumed that there is a standard gender division in culture but anthropologists say otherwise. In many historical figurines, most represent female as it was how assumed by archaeologists. It must be that male is not so superior in the old times than now. Obviously, there are difficulties and contrasting views on identifying which gender figurines stand for. Hence it is important to consider not to identify each figure as sex symbol only but also gather other information on culture to avoid pre-conceive notions that men or women are represented in such matter for a period of time and also to avoid stereotypes on the roles of women. Research on gender might suffer if there is a strong bias on either gender or gender differences. The assumption that every culture has standard or similar male-female divisions of characteristics might lead to building a gender based on stereotypes (Hamilton 2004). These might influence on how men and women are viewed today and how their roles are determined in every aspects of life such as family, politics, or academe. Hamilton’s study on figurines has a plausible argument that the traditional assumptions of archaeologists have made conclusions that are inaccurate and lacks credibility. This is an important consideration since these kind of assumptions lead to opposing views damaging or overrating either gender especially women who has been, for a long time, regarded as subordinate to men. List of References Blintiff, J. L. (2004) A Companion to Archaeology. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Gilchrist, R. (1999) Gender and Archaeology: Contesting the Past. Taylor & Francis. Hamiton, S. M. (2004) Gender in Archaeology. Rowman Altamira. Nelson, S. M. (2006) Handbook of Gender in Archaeology. Rowman Altamira Shaw, I. and Jameson, R. (2000) A Dictionary of Archaeology. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell

Compare abd contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare abd contrast - Essay Example ference in the way these people eat, drink, dress, hang out, meet with new and known people, and bury their known ones as well as their day-to-day activities which vary a great deal when one thinks of them in a broader context. Hence the comparison holds solid ground due to the fact that these people, both from the American nation and the Saudi Arabian territories known how distinct and different they are from each other and it is good to know one’s strengths and weaknesses beforehand. The similarities exist within their nationalism and the attitude with which both the societies echo their voices in favor of the patriotism myth. Religion is pretty intrinsic to a culture of a society and in broader sense to a country where its different people carry out their rituals and activities in accordance with the customs and traditions as dictated by their respective religions. Same is the case for the two countries under study here which are basically being compared. United States is a much more developed nation that Saudi Arabia while the latter is an oil-rich state and fundamentally more than 90% of its inhabitants are pre-dominantly Muslims. While the super power nation of the world is more or less comprised of nearly all ethnicities that are found elsewhere, where one can find blacks known as the Afro Americans, the Asians consisting of Indians and Pakistanis mainly and so on and so forth. On the whole, United States of America has a lot of diversity has far as its single basic culture identification is concerned and hence the people obviously practice different religions in accordance with their beliefs and con victions. This paper discusses the comparison between America and Saudi Arabia in terms of their cultural values and religious bases. If one looks at the American distribution of people who have religion apart from that of Christianity, one finds that around 2% of them are Jews, 0.5% are Muslims while similar is the ratio for Buddhists. This accounts for the

A Communication Media Approach towards Marketing Essay

A Communication Media Approach towards Marketing - Essay Example From this study it is clear that most often the already existing patients constitute an accessible potential for generating additional business. Email newsletters not only allow the healthcare organizations to stay frequently in touch with their customers, but also allow them to keep their customers continually apprised of the availability of new procedures, latest developments taking place in specific fields and specialties, important events, available equipments and varied helpful promotional activities. The already existing patients are often more likely to subscribe to the additional services offered by a healthcare organization, provided they take the care to inform them and communicate with them. Hence, email newsletters are a great means of sharing ideas with the customers.This paper declares that email newsletters are an effective means of communication between the customers and healthcare services providers. They not only prove to be cost effective and efficient in the long run, but allow the service providers to customize their marketing approach, while taking into consideration the health records of the existing customers, available with them. They also allow the service providers to provide links to their central website, which can be used by the customers to access additional information and reassurances if and when required by them.  In an E-commerce approach to healthcare marketing, it is essential to seek and retain customer confidence,... They can choose to subscribe to the newsletters published by the healthcare organizations by simply sharing their email address and ticking the box provided on the websites or the regular paperwork of these organizations (Blumberg, 2005). Anytime, the customers can unsubscribe these newsletters by visiting the oft provided link (Blumberg, 2005). So email newsletters allow the patients to access information, as and when they want. Effectiveness Email newsletters are an effective means of communication between the customers and healthcare services providers. They not only prove to be cost effective and efficient in the long run, but allow the service providers to customize their marketing approach, while taking into consideration the health records of the existing customers, available with them. They also allow the service providers to provide links to their central website, which can be used by the customers to access additional information and reassurances if and when required by the m (Blumberg, 2005). Confidentiality However, care needs to be taken to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the customers while using email newsletters to communicate with them. In an E-commerce approach to healthcare marketing, it is essential to seek and retain customer confidence (McFadyen, 2008). Any inability to safeguard customer confidentiality and privacy may lead to repercussions that may prove to be counterproductive to the business interests of an organization in the long run. It’s Different The suggested mode of conducting marketing communication differs in many ways to the other modes of communication. First and foremost it is quick and cost efficient. Besides, to a great extent it takes the customer consent and preferences into