Racial Discrimination Against African Americans in the U.S. Labor Market

Racial Discrimination against African Americans in the U. S. Labor Market Josefina Anorga Carlos Albizu University Abstract The following work deals with racial discrimination against African Americans in the workplace. Terms as racial discrimination, racism, race and African Americans are going to be defined to a greater understanding of these. It presents different types of discrimination at work, statistics of the African American population who works in the U. S. , the way how it is changing over the years and the laws and entities that protect discrimination at the workforce. Racial Discrimination against African Americans in the Labor Market There are many ethnic and racial groups in the United States, such as Euro Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians, Latin Americans, and others. Some of these groups have faced severe discrimination in social, political, educational, and economic opportunities. In our days, there are still large differences among these groups in areas like employment opportunities, income, education, criminal justice, voting and elections, health, and other fields. Because of this, many ways of unequal opportunities and discriminatory treatment persists in the United States in many ways, especially with African Americans. The term African Americans, also called Afro-Americans or Blacks, refers to residents or citizens of the United States who have African origins. It also describes a very diverse group of people in the American society. They may come from different ethnic backgrounds such as African, Caribbean, Central American or South American. According to Robert Hill in â€Å"The Strength of Black Families† African Americans have family characteristics such as strong kinship bonds, strong work orientation, adaptable family roles, high achievement orientation, and strong religious orientation (Harry, 1992; Hairston, 1983). Afro-Americans make up collective family structure and subjects like family and spirituality are very important for them. Although the number of African American Muslims has increased, their choice of religions tends to be Christianity (Harry, 1992). Even though the workplace is more diverse than ever and there is more consciousness of racial discrimination, African Americans, a racial-ethnic minority group in the United States, still have to face many discrimination problems. Many people in the U. S. have prejudices about African Americans describing them as inferior. â€Å"Research in social psychology suggests that categorizing individuals on the basis of salient, observable characteristics such as race, gender, age, and even patterns of dress and speech is inevitable, occurs automatically, and activates biases associated with these characteristics (Measuring Racial Discrimination, 2004). There are also many stereotypes that qualify them as poor, unemployed, unintelligent, uneducated, smelly, dirty, lazy, and also violent offenders. Discrimination means unequal treatment. To treat an individual or group of people differently based on their racial origins is called Racial Discrimination. It is also important to understand two terms that will be mentioned throughout the project, and those are: race and racism. The term race was used to distinguish populations in different areas on the basis of differing physical characteristics that had developed over time, such as skin color, facial features, and other characteristics† (Blank, Dabady, Citro, 2004), and â€Å"according to the US Civil Rights Commission 2010, racism is an action or attitude, conscious or unconscious, that subordinates and individual or group based on skin color or race. It can be enacted individually or institutionally†. The United States has been dominated in many aspects including the work place since the colonial era by the predominant group, Euro-Americans or Whites. White men are twice as likely to get management jobs as qualified black men, and three times as likely as black women (Smith & Elliott, 2004). It is expected that by the year 2050 Whites are not going to be the predominant group in this nation anymore. This is because the demographics are changing very fast and many of the minority groups are increasing enormously. By the year 2000, African Americans comprised the United States largest racial minority group comprehending 12. 3 percent of the total population Nowadays Latin Americans are the largest minority group in the U. S. ollowed by Afro-Americans that are expected to be 15% by the year 2050. Seventeen million were the number of Blacks that worked in the United States by the year 2000 and it is expected that by the year 2050 there will be 27 millions of this group in the workforce. This significant amount represents an important part of the population for this country (U. S. Census, 2001). As mentioned before, diversity in the U. S. workplace is growing fast and it is bringing more opportunities to the minority groups. But just as it brings positive things, also brings challenges, such as racial or ethnic discrimination, especially against African Americans. Although there are many types of racial discrimination, two of the most important and most common in the workplace are Direct Racial Discrimination and Indirect Racial Discrimination. The Direct Racial Discrimination is intentional and easier to recognize because the employee does not try to hide being discriminatory with another employee, but this can be very difficult to prove. In most of the cases, the person who is discriminating believes that the discriminated employee or co-worker is not going to blame or take any action against them. Some examples for this type of discrimination could be when an employee jokes that blacks cannot sit with whites while having lunch or when simply an employee makes uncomfortable comments and jokes about the skin color of another worker knowing that he is listening just to make him feel humiliated in front of other people (Mighealth, 2007). The second type of discrimination is Indirect Racial Discrimination. It is when a supervisor or employee is committing an act of racial discrimination but tries to hide it so that it does not seem they are discriminating against the other employee. It is to place a group of African Americans in disadvantage with other groups and it is also very difficult to prove because those actions can be justified very easily. Examples of this type of racial discrimination could be when a black employee is not recognized for their job or being denied for deserved promotions while Euro Americans are not. Other cases of this type of discrimination could be when a supervisor gives similar tasks that require the same amount of work to all their subordinates but more difficult tasks to African Americans or also, not evaluating their jobs as they do with the others (Mighealth, 2007). It is important to emphasize that many American companies are reported annually because of racial discrimination against African American employees. An example of this are the cases of two American companies Nike, a sportswear company, and Walgreens, the largest drugstore chain in the U. S. In the year 2007, 4 former employees of the Nike Company, who used to work in the Niketown store in Chicago, filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the company. They accused one of the managers from the store for eferring to black employees and customers using inappropriate and discriminatory language, making false accusations against them, segregating them to low-paying jobs and sending security guards to closely monitor both employees and black customers (ABC News, July 31, 2007). According to the CBS 2, 2007, a lawsuit against Walgreens was filed based on the widespread racial bias toward thousands of black employees. The company was accused of making decisions about employee promotions and assignments based on race. There are two important entities that defend racial discrimination in the workplace in the United States. These are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The Civil Rights Act says that is illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or a current employee because of the person’s skin color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because they have complained of discrimination, filed charges of discrimination or has participated in an investigation of employment discrimination. This law applies to all work situations including personnel selection, hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, salaries and benefits. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against discrimination in the workplace. In the year 2007 according to the statistics issued by this Commission, 30,510 racial discrimination charges were recorded, compared with 82, 792 total charges in the workplace. In 2006 75, 768 charges were reported and 27, 238 or 35% were related to racial discrimination. In 2007, charges of racial discrimination increased 12% from the previous year, reaching their highest level in 13 years. By the year 2009, 33, 579 were the charges reported. There is an increase in discrimination against African Americans in the labor area as the statistics show, and this is expected to continue growing over the years. Racial discrimination is a social problem that is learned and can be solved with education and the help of government authorities and the various companies that comprise the workforce in the United States. Diversity in business is very beneficial, either to avoid charges of discrimination, increase productivity or the company's corporate image. Every individual, regardless of their skin color or origin, have the right as a human being, to be treated in a fair way. References Hairston, E. , & Smith, L. (1983). Black and deaf in America. Silver Springs, MD, TJ Publishers, Inc . Harry, B. (1992). Cultural diversity, families, and special education       system: Communication and empowerment. New York, NY, Teachers       College. US Civil Rights Commission (2010, January). . Retrieved January       30, 2010 from , U. S. Government Web site: http://www. usccr. gov/ Blank, R. M. , Dabady, M. , Citro. C. F. (2004). Measuring racial       discrimination. National Research Council. Retrieved from http:       //www. nap. edu/openbook. php? record_id=10887=26 Smith, R. A. , Elliott, J. (2004). Race, Gender, and Workplace Power,. , 69, . doi:10. 1177/000312240406900303 Grieco, E. M. , & Cassidy, R. C. (2001). Overview race and Hispanic       origin 2000. Retrieved January 31, 2010 from , U. S. Census       Bureau Web site: http://www. census. gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-1. pdf Mighealthnet (). Explanations of race discrimination. , , 1. Retrieved from ht       tp://mighealth. net/uk/index. hp/Explanations_of_Race_Discrimination Clark, A. S. (2007, March 7). Feds sue Walgreen Co. for bias class-action       lawsuit alleges drugstore chain discriminates against black       workers. CBS 2, , 1. Retrieved from http://www. cbsnews. com/stor       ies/2007/03/07/business/main2546179. shtml U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (). Charge statistics       fy 1997 t hrough fy 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2010 from , U. S. Government Web site: http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges. cfm Appendix [pic] EEOC, 2009 Appendix [pic] Census, 2000 Appendix [pic] Census, 2008 [pic][pic]

C. Wright Mills and His Understanding of the Cold War/Wwiii

Yunlong Li November 11, 2012 C. Wright Mills and His Understanding of the Cold War/WWIII Authors and historians have attempted to understand what caused and perpetuated the Cold War for decades. Although it is not a simple answer with simple component reasons, this brief essay will seek to explain to the reader a few of the main reasons why the Cold War transpired as it did and what mechanisms kept it going. As a means of understanding the Cold War, the author of the essay has reviewed the writings of C.Wright Mill with relation to this topic as well as various other authors who have been cited and referenced in the below analysis. Before delving into the subject matter and trying to understand what caused and perpetuated the Cold War, it is worth first pointing out some of the factually incorrect information that surrounds many common approaches to the Cold War. The first, and perhaps most prominent of these faulty points of view, is that the Cold War was thrust upon the United Stat es by a dangerous and overly aggressive Soviet Union after the conclusion of World War II.This view is faulty due to the fact that both superpowers that emerged after the Second World War were inherently distrustful of the other. Furthermore, it can be seen that the power structure that emerged put both actors on a collision course with respect to the fact that the economic systems championed by both the United States and the Soviet Union were inherently against one another.As such, it can be understood as a self-fulfilling prophecy that both sides would come into conflict with each other (Goertzel 243). In this way, it can be understood that it was not either necessarily the fact that the United States or the Soviet Union was actively aggressive that ensured that the two powers would come at odds with one another; rather it was their inherent differences in political systems, ideology, economics, and the fact that they were both superpowers intent on dominating the world system.Per haps the most interesting idea that Mills put forward was the idea of what ultimately kept the peace between the United States and the Soviet Union during periods of extreme pressure and stress that occurred during the Cold War. Mills claimed that a hierarchy of power elite were the true actors behind the scenes that worked to ensure a full confrontation between the two superpowers would never translate into an actuality (Marino 29). These power elite†, as Mills called them, were the executive branch (president of the United States), top Pentagon military leaders, and the corporate rich. Although this view definitely bears some truth, the fact of the matter is that such an oversimplification does not factor in to account the key players in the Soviet Union that also sought to keep the conflict from coming to a head to head confrontation. Mills goes on to state that one of the largest reasons that would precipitate World War III would be the fact that both sides were in such a dire state of preparedness for such a conflict.This particular view is interesting due to the fact that many authors have listed this preparation as one of the reasons that the two sides did not actually come to blows (Warner 174). Although hindsight is of course perfect, Mills seemed to believe that the process of preparing for such a conflict would mean that the two sides would be left with a type of self-fulfilling prophecy as well as a broad range of advanced weaponry which would guarantee that the two would come to blows in the form of a Third World War.More specifically, Mills saw the advent of new weapons systems and the way in which the military industrial complex continued to push for an escalation in the conflict as proof positive that the momentum for all out war was definitely evident. Many authors claim that Mills particular view of the way in which the Soviet Union and the United States would come into conflict as a result of the tensions created by the factors that ha ve been listed was not the result of the fact that he truly believed this to be true but due to the fact that he was attempting to agitate political change within the United States.Mills, although a prolific writer and well known intellectual, was also a member of the movement known as the â€Å"New Left†. This particular movement subscribed to the view that the military and key elements of the power elite had entirely too much power over the way in which policy decisions were being made and the common man/electorate was less and less important in determining the future of the nation.Accordingly, authors have attempted to show that rather than showing his true position on the Cold War and what might occur as a result of the political actions that were taking place at the time, Mills instead sought to create a movement for change within the current political structure by engaging academics and intellectuals in realizing that the current course could only lead to conflict and d estruction of all systems equally.Yet another alternate view states that the true allure and appeal of the Cold War was a solidifying effect for American and Soviet leaders. As they were able to present to their people and electorates that an existential threat existed outside of their own system, they were able to elicit levels of patriotism, belief, and economic efficiency/utility that would not have otherwise been able to be realized (Saull 1124).As a result of the fact that the leadership of both systems recognized and valued the importance that such a bi-polar view of the world effected on their populations, both sides were no doubt at least partially interested in keeping up the appearance of sudden confrontation as a means to manage their people and direct the overall efficiency of their economies. All of the guess work and alternate theories deserve their place; however, just because the theories of MAD and the deterrence that other strategic decisions that were made by both sides encouraged more level heads to prevail during this chilled conflict.Merely due to the fact that a theory is old and has been tested and measured thousands of times does not require that a new theory should be put in its place (Roberts 1476). Accordingly, although many of Mills points bear analysis, it would be premature and reckless to put these theories in place of the time-tested and proven theories that have for so long helped to define the logic of why the United States and Soviet Union were able to keep the peace between themselves during the turbulent years surrounding the Cold War.What is important to understand from the preceding analysis is not whether C Wright Mills or any other theorists were correct; rather, understanding the different ways that these theorists and philosophers/political intellectuals saw the interplay between these superpowers and the subsequent conflict or lack of conflict it predicted helps the researcher to both understand and appreciate the d iffering levels of thought that helped to nuance and develop our current understanding of the conflict surrounding the Cold War.In this way, trying to prove or disprove C Wright Mill’s views with relation to whether or not he was ultimately correct in the way he categorized and defined unique developments between these two superpowers becomes of secondary importance to attempting to understanding the causal historical factors that helped to develop the world view he works to give to the reader. Works Cited Goertzel, Ted G. â€Å"The Causes Of World War III: Thirty Years Later. † Sociological Forum 4. 2 (1989): 241. Academic Search Complete.Web. 7 Nov. 2012. Marino, Noel. The arms trade. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Roberts, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Cold War As History. † International Affairs 87. 6 (2011): 1475-1484. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. Saull, Richard. â€Å"Social Conflict And The Global Cold War. † International Affairs 87. 5 (201 1): 1123-1140. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. Warner, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Cold War In Retrospect. † International Affairs 87. 1 (2011): 173-184. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

New York City History Essay

New York City has always been rife with speculations and legends about its origin. Neglected in the canon of American History that focuses on the 13 founding states, its remarkable beginnings as a Dutch colony founded in the wilderness are belied by a bustling metropolis at the center of the upwardly mobile world. Yet this relegated obscurity of the humble origins of the Big Apple hold the key to understanding the rapid growth and burgeoning world power that is to become the United States of America. New York is the port and entryway to the large American continent. International wars have been fought over its control in the early 1600’s, as its location was deemed strategic to greater dominance over the rest of the land. On the other hand, this relegated obscurity of New York in the historical canon is paralleled by the very same obscurity that plagues pre-Puritan â€Å"American† literature. For a long time, American national literature was deemed to have begun sometime after the Colonial period, and the writings, myths, and legends of the Native Americans, as well as the travel accounts and logs of the explorers were not considered â€Å"serious† academic literature. This notion, which falsely states that civilized life began when the Puritans settled on America’s shores, has now been overturned. With the introduction by the new critics of a master list of what is considered the â€Å"representative American† literature, what has once been woefully excluded has now been warmly embraced. These texts encompass a wide range of genres, from the creation myths of the Indians to their mystical chants, from the near-mythological account of Eric the Red’s discovery to the letters of Columbus to the King and Queen of Spain after the discovery of the Americas. This call to redefine what was once thought of as rigid and permanent meaning of Literature trickles down to the concept of American national literature, an area most affected by this welcoming of new genres to the canon. By adapting a flexible stance on what constitutes real Literature, a well-rounded view of America is achieved. Indeed, it is in these earliest extant written works that the groundwork is laid to understand the irony and enigma that is the United States of America. And though the whole of the country gains from this shift of paradigm, it is perhaps the state of New York, and more specifically the island of Manhattan, that stands to benefit the most. For it is New York, whose Dutch origins have been reduced to trifle icons, that lost most of its history and literature when the English took over the colony. Indeed, by turning an eye to New York as a construction of literature, its significance as gateway both to the physical and abstract America comes to fore. One of the more interesting extant documents regarding New Netherland, the New York of the 1600’s, is the letter of the Reverend Jonas Michaelius to Mr. Adrian Smoutius. Michaelius’ account of Manhattan holds a special place in both the history and literature of New York as it is the first account of the fledgling community through educated eyes (â€Å"Introduction† 120). Furthermore, this text presents not only the established New Netherland. More importantly, it presents a mirror of the already existing Dutch psyche. And even if its writer may claim it to be written from an impartial and an objective point of view, various threads of subjectivism and relativism are seen interspersed throughout the text. The most predominant thematic structure, most probably formulated by Michaelius unintentionally in the course of writing the letter, is the symbiotic relation that links together the mythological and abstract â€Å"New York† of his imagination and the real, material New York that he has come to possess. For Michaelius, it is the mythological â€Å"New York,† conceived not through legends or actual myths, but through a sense of mission and special ordination by God, that gave meaning, structure, and impetus to the creation of the material, historical New York. As Michaelius points out in his letter, his coming to New Netherland was an act ordained by God: â€Å"Our coming here was agreeable to all, and I hope by the grace of the Lord, that my service will not be unfruitful (Michaelius 123).† â€Å"All† here does not merely connote the people he came with to New Netherland; rather, it is an encompassing term that includes God. For, as he continues in the same paragraph, God has always â€Å"graciously blessed [his] labors (123).† What he is subconsciously saying with these statements is the fact that his was a Holy Enterprise, a calling of God for him to spread Christianity to the vast continent peopled by heathens. It is an ordination by God, a mission to Christianize the â€Å"others.† And, as will be seen throughout the letter, it is through this special sense of vocation that Michealius is able, against seemingly insurmountable odds, to create New York. Upon arriving at the island, Michaelius â€Å"established the form of a church (124).† His choice of words reflects the way he viewed his new surroundings. Being but in the wilderness, he was only able to shape a rudimentary church. Once again, this reflects Michaelius’ sense of vocation to tame the wild in order to glorify God. Help did not seem to be forthcoming, as the person with enough experience to guide him, Brother Bastiaen Crol, was himself busy with his own fort. This statement is a glimpse into the future life of Michaelius, which will find him responsible not only for the church but also for the trade of the community. Church people, then, were not only meant to serve God through the people, but they were also meant to serve the people themselves. Indeed, this realization of Michaelius is echoed a few lines later, where he tells Smoutius about his desire to â€Å"separate carefully the ecclesiastical from the civil matters (125).† Double tasking for the minister, the leader of the flock entrusted to him, is essential for the stability and longevity of the community. Being God’s own handmaid to them in this time of great upheaval in their lives, he serves as their link to the old world they left behind. For it is the minister who carries both God’s work and their country’s work, the figurehead for both authorities. He becomes the familiar face, the one that gives them a sense of belonging and continuity, two things vital for ensuring peace in the community. Adaptation, too, is an important ingredient to assure success in their endeavor. To fight the situation was to die and fail with the churches they just have established. Paramount in this was the way Michaelius administered the Lord’ Supper to the people. Fifty communicants attended the first celebration, some making â€Å"their first confessions before [them],† others already baptized into the faith as evidenced by their certificates (124). Still, there were others who had lost their certificate that attests to their membership in church back in Netherlands. Michaelius had no choice but to accept them upon â€Å"the satisfactory testimony of others to whom they were known, and also upon their daily good deportment, since one cannot observe strictly all the usual formalities in making a beginning under such circumstances (124).† Throughout the letter, Michaelius harps on the value of adaptation as seen through his meticulous preoccupation with practical affairs. He calls on the Honorable Directors to â€Å"furnish [the] place with plainer and more precise instructions to the rulers (126).† He keeps a detailed account of the country, and how it would best be made suitable for the support of life (130). And though he was at first reluctant to delve into these matters, being the leader, he knew that he had to step away from the mold of the clergyman to become the clerk. By staying true to his calling as leader of the flock, he molds the colony filled with people who are â€Å"rough and unrestrained† into a community, the same people who did not even think â€Å"that a church would be formed and established [there] (124).† This statement is very telling, again, of the actual and physical surrounding of Manhattan at that time. Perhaps it was an utterly desolate place, an area of monstrosity amidst abundance, populated by people who could not differ more in appearance from the white Englishmen. Its distance from any other known civilization at that time most probably reinforced such a feeling of isolation. Yet, whatever the reason may be, a church must be established, and established it was. Also, this account, aside from being a testament to the adaptation strategies of Michealius and his people, also establishes and foreshadows the modern day New York as a melting pot for people of various races. Walloons, a small ethnic minority from Belgium, Dutch, and French converge to celebrate Mass. These people, aside from having varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, were also physically dispersed throughout New Netherland. As a result, Mass could only be celebrated once every four months, since some of them live far away and could not well come in time of heavy rain and storm, so that they themselves cannot think it advisable to appoint any special service in French for so small a number, and that upon an uncertainty (125). Differing races, differing traditions, differing backgrounds, all come together in God. What Michaelius is pointing out here is that unity is achieved through the Church; hence, it is but natural that the first order of business in setting up a community is through the formation of a Church. The Church is now a unifying force, which gathers under its wings people from differing walks of life. Even though the Dutch ventured into the (relatively) unknown with the Messianic goal of converting heathens into God-fearing, Bible-quoting Christians, the ideologies of the Holy Enterprise are a loaded dice, however, against the natives of the place. It is suggestive of power relations and power struggles, one that automatically places the evangelist in a higher echelon than the one to be evangelized. A case in point is the idea of supplanting the young Indians from their homes and into the Dutch colony, in order that â€Å"they may be instructed to speak, read, and write in [the Dutch] language, but also especially in the fundamentals of our Christian religion (129).† It was not that these Indians could not speak in the literal sense, but rather, that they cannot talk Dutch. For them, this is tantamount to not knowing how to communicate in words at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In these account, the Reverend that believes he is God’s prophet shows a side of himself that to readers today imply not the upright Christian he purports himself to be. His condescension to the natives is indicative of the stance the rest of the colonizers took regarding the New World – how the New World is a remote and surreal place removed from civil society, whose â€Å"discovery† and introduction into the â€Å"correct† way of life is a source of gratitude to the Europeans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a literary piece, Michaelius’ letter presents the â€Å"New York† mythologized by its writer. It is the â€Å"New York† ordained by God as the Promised Land, the land for His weary men. As a historical piece, it gives an insight into the early days of New York, the New York of uncertainty and of disparate people. It is the story of the trials and tribulations faced by the settlers who were uprooted from their motherland, only to settle in an unfamiliar place. Through the conflation of these two seemingly different constructs in one channel, the power of the imagination to shape and construct a viable community is perceived. For without the blessing and mandate of the supernatural, which is the catalyst of the exploration and settlement of New Netherland, New York the material would not have come and grown into its charmed existence.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Our coming here was agreeable to all, and I hope, by the grace of the Lord, that my service will not be unfruitful. The people, for the most part, are rather rough and unrestrained, but I find in almost all of them both love and respect towards me; two things with which hitherto the Lord has everywhere (123) graciously blessed my labors, and which in our calling, as your Reverence well knows and finds, are especially desirable, in order to make our ministry fruitful. From the beginning we established the form of a church and as Brother Bastiaen Crol very seldom comes down from Fort Orange, because the directorship of that fort and the trade there is committed to him, it has been thought best to choose two elders for my assistance and for the proper consideration of all such ecclesiastical matters as might occur, intending the coming year, if the Lord permit, to let one of them retire, and to choose another in his place from a double number first lawfully proposed to the congregation†¦ At the first administration of the Lord’s Supper which was observed, not without great comfort to many, we had fully fifty communicants – Walloons and Dutch; of whom, a portion made their first confession of faith before us, and others exhibited their church certificates. Others had forgotten to bring their certificates with them, not thinking that a church would be formed and established here; and some who brought (124) them, had lost them unfortunately in a general conflagration but they were admitted upon the satisfactory testimony of others to whom they were known, and also upon their daily good deportment, since one cannot observe strictly all the usual formalities in making a beginning under such circumstances. We administer the Holy Supper of the Lord once in four months, provisionally, until a larger number of people shall otherwise require. The Walloons and French have no service on Sundays, otherwise than in the Dutch language, for those who understand no Dutch are very few. A portion of the Wallons are going back to the Fatherland, either because their years here are expired, or else because some are not very serviceable to the Company. Some of them live far away and could not well come in time of heavy rain and storm, so that they themselves cannot think it advisable to appoint any special service in French for so small a number, and that upon an uncertainty. Nevertheless, the Lord’s Supper is administered to them in the French language, and according to the French mode, with a sermon preceding, which I have before me in writing, so long as I can not trust myself extemporaneously. If in this and in other matters your Reverence and the Reverend Brethren of the Consistory, who have special superintendence over us here, deem it necessary to administer to us any correction, instruction or good advice, it will be agreeable to us and we shall thank you Reverence therefor; since we must all have no other object than the glory of God in the building up of his kingdom and the salvation of many souls. I keep myself as far as practicable within the pale of my calling, wherein I find myself sufficiently occupied. And although our small consistory embraces at the most – when Brother Crol is down here – not more than four persons, all of whom, myself alone excepted, have also public business to attend to, I still hope to separate carefully the ecclesiastical from the civil matters which occur, so that each one will be occupied with his own subject (125).†          Sources    â€Å"Introduction.† pp. 119-21. Michaelius, Jonas. â€Å"Letter of Reverend Jonas Michaelius.† pp. 122-33.

Critically discuss arguments for and against financial liberalisation Essay

Critically discuss arguments for and against financial liberalisation - Essay Example At this time, Korea also underwent significant demographic changes, where the majority of its population started residing in urban areas. While demonstrating the Korean changes Chang (1999, 31) used the term ‘compressed modernity,’ thus, aptly summarising these rapid changes. The high growth phase that lasted for almost four decades finally came crashing down in 1997, owing to the rippling effects of the Asian financial crisis that took place at around the same time in 1997- 98. After this episode, the Korean government brought in many financial changes, and while continuing with intensified financial market liberalization it followed the various recommendations given by the IMF with aims to improve the situation. Since the applications of these reforms, IMF had touted Korea’s macroeconomic recovery as being highly successful in nature. This is evident in a letter by the IMF’s Managing Director’s letter praising Korea's successful reforms which claim s, "the close cooperation between Korea and the IMF over the last few years has been exemplary and in many respects serves as a model for other countries" (News Brief No. 01/82, 2001). A majority of the researches on Korea’s recovery after the Asian crises, had attributed it to the polices of financial liberalisation and open markets. ... l interests at work, that are emulating and interacting constantly with each other, and was a result of reforms brought in by the Korean government that kept on changing, while also following the financial norms created by the former dictatorial regime. In this article, in view of the South Korean economy, studies will focus on the basic query as to whether financial liberalisation is actually the primary reason behind any country’s economy growth. Discussion What is financial liberalisation: Financial liberalization pertains to the adoptions of different measures in order to remove or lessen the stringent state regulatory mechanisms, which tend to control the functioning of the various financial institutions, and monitor the instrumental and agent activities within the various segments of the country’s economic market. These measures can be of two types, as regards a country’s internal or external regulations (Ghosh and Chandrasekhar, 2003). While working toward s internal financial liberalization, certain typical measures are followed, that may vary in certain degrees from country to country, as per the requirements, which are listed below (Ghosh, 2005, 2-4): A major step towards internal financial liberalisation includes elimination or alleviation in the controls on the return rates and interest rates, as are charged by the various operating financial agents, primarily the banks. However, the main central bank still continues to monitor and regulate the rate structures by its own functions in the liberal market economy and also through the process of adjusting the discount rates, offered by the other financial institutions. in an economy that operates under financial liberalisation the ‘interest rate ceilings’ are very often removed, thus allowing stiff

The Involvement in the Manufacturing Industry and High Rates of Research Paper - 4

The Involvement in the Manufacturing Industry and High Rates of Joblessness - Research Paper Example Trade between two economies is very sensitive to the slightest changes in understanding. It is factual that the cost of tyre production in China is lower than that in America. This enables the sales of Chinese tires at affordable prices while still making profits. Furthermore, some American firms have established their tyre manufacturing industries in China to benefit from the least cost of production (Mankiw et al. 165). This implies that the imposition of the trade tariffs cannot be effective without an equal disruption of the American investors in China. On the other hand, the imposition of specific tariffs for partner countries arouses diplomatic questions on the legitimacy of the protective approach to trading. During the accession of China to the World Trade Organization, it ratified the agreement that gave a loophole for such unprecedented tariffs. This ratification gave room for The protectionist measures undertaken by the American government translates into mere political posturing without any substantial positive effects on trade (Sutter 214). This scenario may escalate into a trade war and inflict a serious economic slump on both the American and Chinese economies. The spill of the trade row may necessitate equal invocation of key agreements such as the anti-dumping policy for the American goods by the Chinese government. Setting the tariffs on Chinese rubber tires at 35% may have appeared plausible for the American government since the world trade organization had preferred a 55% tariff. However, as it turns out, this form of protectionism in the end only incurs expenses to the American economy overly.

Environmental regulation and economic productivity Essay

Environmental regulation and economic productivity - Essay Example Although these arguments have risen among several organizations, the fact remains that yet to be defined. Most of their research shows that environmental regulation are bas most of the impacts on economic growth. Additionally, they show that tight regulations such as emission of gases could be expensive to tackle and reduce their effects to the living organisms. Most of the industries use the fuel to that is harmful to the ozone layer. Impacts of state environmental policies on average annual growth 1990-1992 Economic indicators Coefficient probability No Relationship Odds of a negative Relationship Gross rate Non-farm employment Manufacturing employment Business failure rate -.36 0.32 -0.13 0.58 -0.14 0.66 -13.59 0.22 3.2:1 1:2:1 1:2:1 1:142 The research shows that among the surviving companies in the world, the rate of pollution will depend on the production processes that are involved. The studies shows have shown that the economists know that regulations are seldom good for the e conomy unless the mutual benefits are spend on outweighing the cost of production. Hence, most of them end up spending a lot of time evaluating the cost and the significances of proposed regulations and productivity. It has also been suggested that economists that regulations could be a good business opportunity for some other innovators even though high costs are imposed on them. For instance, producer/manufacturers that are the origins of discovering good ways of doing away with the environmental pollution play a big role to maintain the prices low through profit analysis. Additionally, the economists may tend to exploited profit from the sellers because of technology. But, some business ideas can makes others to...This essay describes the basic regulations that have been set by the international body to regulate environmental pollution. The paper also analyze both positive and negative effects of environmental regulations on the production. Environmental regulations have been widely discussed in the U.S. according to the economic cost. This activism began some years back with an aim of reducing and restricting pollution and emission for a duration of time regarding that through four decades clean water and air were inadequate. Regulations imposed on the environment are said to reduce productivity. Regulation has continued to rise progressively across the world since 1970s as environmental value has implicit growing significance on both the political and civic agenda. In the United States, total Pollution abatement management overheads are about 1.5-2.5% of GDP per year. Environmental regulation and economic productivity has been analyzed as a basic tool through which the plants are generally force to reduce the emission. Although this has happened to be so much speculating, environmental regulations must be eligible of to handle many cases such as reduced production in agricultural sector. The essay has clarified the similarities between environment and production activities whereby in most cases the plants are being accused as the biggest and the core causes of environmental pollution through emission of gases. The gases are considered to cause hazardous effects to the ozone layer.

Dissemination of Party Values in Relation to the Film Industry in Essay

Dissemination of Party Values in Relation to the Film Industry in China - Essay Example This paper illustrates that before 1949, which is the year that the People’s Republic of China was formed, the Chinese ruling class was interested in portraying traditional values, and the Chinese films during this era reflected this.   In particular, there was a threat to traditional Chinese values by the West, and a return to traditional Chinese values is what was vaunted by the films during the pre-Communist period, particularly the 1930s.   This all changed, as the Communist Party took over and took total control over the media in China, including films.   In place of the traditionalist view was a view of a revolutionary. Traditionalist portrayals of patriarchal families and submissive women have pushed aside in favor of films which portrayed a liberated woman and a family which was not traditional. Collectiveness replaced individualism in these films, and the heroes of these films were socialists and revolutionaries. In this way, the Chinese films have evolved along with the Chinese society, and these films were a way of disseminating the values of the power elites who were in charge during given times in Chinese history. Chinese film portrays the values of the dominant political party in that these films are focused upon the socialism of the Chinese government and the Chinese people and Western thought and ideals are de-emphasized or denigrated. Pickowicz refers to these values as â€Å"the theme of spiritual pollution,† and states that the Chinese films often portray the conflict between traditional Chinese values and â€Å"evil† Western values in a broad way, using symbolism to portray the conflict between these two ideals. Pickowicz studied several Chinese films of the 1930s. The first film that he covers is titled Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood. In this film, a young, innocent Chinese country maiden meets a handsome city man who falls in love with her and wants to marry her. However, the mother of the man does not feel t hat the maiden is good enough. Nonetheless, the couple moves in together and the girl becomes urbanized, wearing makeup and dressing in city-style dress. The woman is pregnant, but the man’s mother puts him under house arrest and sends the woman away. The woman somehow dies, and, at the funeral, the families are united.

Science of Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Science of Sustainability - Essay Example Societies in the past have completely deprived themselves of natural resources they needed to survive, such as deforesting islands (Diamond 93), and with the human population topping 7 billion people, we need to ensure that we sustain the natural resources we need to survive. Question 2: The difference between short-term sustainable development, for instance, attempting to develop sustainably for 100 years, and long term sustainable development which can work forever, is the understanding of the fact that some resources are truly finite, and will not realistically be replenished (short of looking at the earth on geological time scales). The best examples of this are probably oil and coal. If one talks about the century from 1900 to 2000, oil was used in a sustainable way – it did not run out during that period. However, that does not mean that the use was truly sustainable: it could not be kept up for another 100 years. Coal is in a similar situation at the moment, with many p eople predicting it could last anywhere from another hundred to four hundred years (Energy Watch Group). This lulls us into a sense of security regarding these resources. The problem, however, is that this is not truly sustainable. The only things that are truly sustainable are those that are consumed at the same rate as the earth produces them or slightly slower – and things like coal and oil will never fit this description. True, long-term sustainability must come from renewability, while short-term sustainability can come from almost any resource, depending on the time frame. Question 3: Many things can be done at a variety of levels in order to promote sustainability. In some ways, all of this comes down to personal choices – if everyone on earth lived in a sustainable way, the human population would be sustainable. On the individual level, the easiest things to do are conserve, reuse and recycle. However, it is important at every level to interact with the levels above you, so for an individual it is also important to combine with your community to promote sustainable lifestyles, engage with politicians and so on. I believe that communities have a role in creating sustainability especially through food production and coming together to support local agriculture. In the upper echelons, the state, federal, and international levels, much of sustainability comes down to money and willingness to use it in the right ways: giving tax breaks to companies that function sustainably or develop techniques to others who do so while taxing and regulating industries that fail to. Governments also need to fund research and development into sustainable technologies and fuels. Question 4: Human innovation has done a great deal to increase human standard of living in a variety of ways. Large-scale food production and transportation networks have let to more nutritional availability (though some people refuse to use this, while others abuse it and overeat). Med icine and information technology have especially led to improved standards of living – only a couple of hundred of years ago people died

Follow prompt 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Follow prompt 3 - Essay Example In the liberation era, there was marked participation of women in the collective labor, contributing to the surplus production that helped the socialist state industrialize. Nonetheless, this period was also characterized by constrained continuation of patriarchal structure that stipulated the type and value of women labor (Hairong 580). At the juncture, women liberation was realized through the participation of women in labor as opposed to the arduous housework they undertook during the earlier days, but gendered division of labor remained intact. Nonetheless, Women’s voices were vociferous in the debates on new modernization policies, as women liberation was related to the defense of the nation (Rofel 43). The women in the later cohort were however more concerned about their personal welfare. Women in the middle cohort are those who matured during the Cultural Revolution era. This group characteristically resisted authority and managerial authority in the industrial workplace. For instance, the cohort resisted younger supervisor Xiao Ma, whereby ignoring her authority was a significant political project (Rofel 222). By refusing the authority of a woman, the cohort essentially expressed its opposition to authoritarianism throughout the society. Workers rights were valued over the labor itself. Middle aged working women defied authority through activism and had extreme attitudes during labor protests. They were opposed to their management’s focus on efficiency by refusing to produce. Their refusal to remain in positions at the shop floor indicates defiance of state power; they exposed the symbolic violence in a natural economic order that is the mainstay of power in the post-socialist modernity (Rofel 19). Therefore, this cohort was against any form of authoritarian ism in factory and in the country in general. There is a similarity in the way the women

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Microeconomics - Essay Example I would consider both fixed and variable costs in deciding to go to travel to New York from Los Angeles by either a plane or a car. Fixed costs that I will consider for the trip via plane include cost of an air ticket, luggage fees, and services provided on the journey, which are fixed costs as they have been determined by the airline and do not vary. Transportation costs to and from the airport, traffic and other costs arising after alighting from the plane are among the variable costs for consideration when traveling via plane. Fuel, food at stops, amount of traffic on the road, are the variable costs to be considered for travelling by car while car maintenance, toll fees, any repairs made on the way, parking fees paid in the course of the journey, washing and storage payments, and wear and tear to the car are fixed costs when travelling by car. As is evident, both fixed and variable costs are considered in making the decision on which transport from to use to New York from Los Ang eles. Ruegg, Rosalie T. The Police Patrol Car: Economic Efficiency in Acquisition, Operation, and Disposition : Prepared for National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, U.s. Department of Justice. Washington: The Bureau, 1978.

Rabies Virus Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rabies Virus - Research Paper Example The RNP complex along with the the viral RNA is comprised â€Å"of the proteins L (transcriptase), N (nucleoprotein), and NS (transcriptase-associated)† (Rupprecht). â€Å"These aggregate in the cytoplasm of virus-infected neurons and compose Negri bodies, the characteristic histopathologic finding of rabies virus infection. The M (matrix) and G (glycoprotein) proteins are associated with the lipid envelope. The G protein forms the protrusions that cover the outer surface of the virion envelope and is the only rabies virus protein known to induce virus-neutralizing antibody† (Rupprecht). Rabies virus can be either the fixed type or street (wild type) (Rupprecht). Incubation period In dogs, the incubation period is usually 3-6 weeks but it may range from 10 days to a year. In man, the incubation period is usually from 1-3 months though it may be as short as 10 days or as long as 3 years. Incubation period is usually short in persons bitten on the face or head and long in those bitten on the legs. Incubation period is shorter in children. (Ananthnarayanan) Reservoirs of infection and host range The rabies virus infects a wide range of hosts, including dogs and cats, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, foxes, bats, and human beings. Any warm-blooded animal can be infected with rabies; however, some animals like wolves, foxes, and coyotes are more susceptible (Ananthnarayanan) Transmission About 99.8% of reported cases of rabies are due to bites of animals. The â€Å"other forms of transmission that have been reported includes contamination of mucous membranes, faulty vaccines, corneal transplants, and aerosol transmission† (Rupprecht) Signs and symptoms Rabies virus affects primarily the central nervous system, and causes an acute infection. In humans, there are five clinical stages: â€Å"the incubation period, prodrome, acute neurologic period, coma, and death† (Rupprecht) The prodromal period usually lasts from 2 to 10 days and clinical sympt oms are first noticed during this stage. The symptoms may include fever, general malaise, fatigue, cough, sore throat, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, dysphagia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, irritability, vertigo, headache, anxiety, nervousness and apprehension (Rupprecht). Some significant features like â€Å"insomnia, nightmares, depression, increased agitation, photophobia, priapism, and increased libido, may also occur† (Rupprecht). In that case, it suggests the presence of psychiatric disturbances encephalitis, or other brain abnormalities (Rupprecht). A pathognomonic feature in the acute neurologic period is difficulty in drinking together with intense thirst. Attempts to drink brings painful spasms of pharynx and larynx, producing choking that patients later develop a dread for even the sight or sound of water (hydrophobia) (Scheld & Whitley) In the acute neurologic period, the disease is categorized as dumb rabies if paralysis is the main clinical feature and as fur ious rabies if the symptom of hydrophobia is the main clinical feature. Both types of rabies may show signs like â€Å"focal and generalized convulsions, muscle fasciculations, hyperventilation, paresthesia, hypersalivation and nuchal rigidity† (Rupprecht) After the acute neurologic period ends, the patient may develop a rapid, irregular type of breathing. Very soon, paralysis and coma develops. Unless ventilator support is instituted, the patient may

Philosophy as Metaphysics Essay Example for Free

Philosophy as Metaphysics Essay ABSTRACT: Philosophy works with special types of objects: the totalities. The basic characteristics of this type of object are their metaphysical, transcendental, and total character. The character of these objects determines the specificity of language and the methods of philosophy. The language of philosophy represents symbolic language; speculation is the basic method of philosophy. On the one hand, objects of this type emphasis homo sapien as essences capable of constructing such objects, which in turn assumes the ability of human consciousness to make synthetic acts. On the basis of philosophy as metaphysics, an original approach is offered which divides the history of philosophy into periods as well as providing analysis of different philosophical systems. Feature of philosophical activity, as against a science, is the work with special, not physical objects — the totalities, which are constituted by the philosopher. One of such objects is the world, and, in this sense, we often say, that philosophy is a wel-tanschauung (world-outlook) . Certainly, the world as some set of things can be studied by physics (sciences in a broad sense), but in this case a researcher can miss the point that the world is a totality, not just a simple set of things. As distinct from scientific study the philosophy takes its objects as the totalities, which the subject of knowledge cannot study as ordinary objects, because the including the learning subject character of these the totalities excludes any standard scientific approach to knowledge in principle. Others examples of the above mentioned objects (the totalities) are Ego and God. Objects of this type (with some reservations) are a lot of human being phenomena, such as love, virtue, conscience, courage, bravery, understanding and so on. All these objects are those, that the precise fixing of objective criteria of their existence is impossible, it is impossible to create the high-grade theory of these phenomena (for example, theory of love or bravery), as they assume not only objective Contemplator (as it occurs in case of objects of scientific knowledge), but also postulate the Actor inside them, that causes essentially twinkling way of them being. (2) Exactly the character of these objects determined essential features of the philosophizing as metaphysical activity. The underlining of metaphysical character of philosophy objects dictates the special procedures of work with them, distinct from of methods of scientific knowledge. Metaphysical objects — constructs cannot be given in frameworks of physical experience; the study — constructing of these objects occurs by a way of thinking means, procedures of speculation. That is why the one of the most typical mistakes in the researching of these objects is procedures of naturalization metaphysical objects, i. e. consideration of natural (physical) analogs of these objects. For example, instead of work with the world (the world as totality) we consider the world as some sets of physical, chemical, biological etc. objects, and instead of the analysis of phenomenon of consciousness proper as metaphysical object the natural analog of consciousness — brain or mentality of the particular human being, we examine. Specifying the status of these objects, it is possible to tell, that the subject of the philosophy activity are metaphysical-transcendental objects, i. e. objects having the boundary status of their existence. The boundary character of these objects allows to specify Kantian distinction sensible phenomena and transcendent things in itself. Moreover, metaphysical-transcendental objects are located on border of other known distinctions of classical philosophy. (3) They are, for example, not subjective and not objective, not conscious and not material. It is interesting in this respect appearance of the first proper philosophical category of being, which, in fact, was entered Parmenid`s as boundary metaphysical-transcendental object being-thinking (in this case, alongside with Parmenid`s postulating his first thesis, entering a category of being, presence of the second his thesis, establishing the coincidence of an entered category of being with another category — the category of thinking). In some sense, metaphysical-transcendental objects are Husserl`s phenomenal, from which as a result of procedures of objectivizing and (or) subjectivizing the subjects and objects can be received, i. e. is entered subjective-objective distinction of New time. On the other hand, the boundary character of these objects allows still to work with them ( I specially avoid the term to learn, as far as these procedures are applied only for work with usual objects). Above this mode of working with them was named as speculation, which, as a result, the construction of these objects to occur by a way of thinking means. The creation such thinking construct is caused by that the person aspires to understand mode of functioning of the totalities, which surround him. And just this phenomenon of surprise before presence of such totalities is a beginning and basic nerve of philosophy. In this sense, philosophizing is possible only as an act of work of the beings, capable to postulate these totalities, due to synthetic acts (Kant), as being, perceiving the environmental world not in itself, but by means of symbolical function (Cassirer), through a prism of the transformed forms (Marx, Mamardaschvili). Another important characteristic of metaphysical objects is their total-making nature. It means, that the purpose of designing such objects is the attempt of understanding of some phenomenon of totality (for example, the world as whole, totality) in light of a question how (why) this phenomenon is possible?. The answer to this question assumes revealing mechanism of existence of this phenomenon. That is why it is important for the philosopher not to know some common aspect, that is allowed at a level of the primary, superficial description of it and other similar objects, but to know general (total) principle of functioning of objects of this type. For example, if a row of the plane polygons is given to us, a triangle(4) will act as general principle of this variety, because all others plane polygons can be given with the help of a triangle. Thus, philosophical constructs act as transcendental condition of seeing of other physical objects. That the phenomenon of seeing of a house was possible as some totality, it is necessary to postulate a row of transcendental conditions of this phenomenon, among them we can allocate necessity being of the house (Parmenid), recognition (and taking shape) this being by means of idea of home (Plato), fixing the house as an object of perception by some subject (Decartes) within spatial-temporary a priory forms of sensuality (Kant). On the other hand, a row of such philosophical constructs define a horizon, a way of seeing of subjects (Wittgenstein), associated with a certain epoch. For example, the mentioned above transcendental conditions of a phenomenon of seeing of a house define a way of seeing of subjects within the framework of classical philosophy. In this sense these constructs act as total-necessary cultural machines, that set the cultural way of living activity of the person and made imperceptible but essential background of his existence. For example, when a modern man looks at star sky, he sees not simply separate stars, but constellations — and it is impossible to explain to a person from other culture (and the more so, being, which is not having ability to the synthetic acts). Moreover, developing this example with constructing of constellations, it is possible to tell, that exactly it has made possible occurrence of such activity as an astrology. The above mentioned metaphysical character of philosophy objects causes the specification of the language and methods philosophizing. The language of philosophy has not signal, but symbolical character. Lets stop on it hardly more in detail. Already science differs from the common sense description, because it uses some abstraction, ideal elements, which, in a common case, it is impossible to compare any certain objects of the physical validity. For example, as D. Gilbert says, in mathematics, those are language fictions, and one of the main problems of a substantiation of mathematics is either an exception these fictions, or imposing some certain restrictions — all that prevent the appearance of negative consequences, while using language fictions. Any language works with signs, besides that, any theory deals with mentioned language fictions (=  «symbols »), i. e. such kinds of signs, with which nothing corresponds in sensible reality. For example, in physics has concepts a material point, an absolutely black body, etc. They are often called as abstract — ideal objects, which turn out by a way of abstraction (idealization) from any properties of real physical objects. But in physics there are and more fictitious objects: cwarcks, for example, which not only is evident not imagine, but also until last time have acted only as theoretical constructs essentially of unobservable nature. In this case we can postulate a metaphysical mode of existence for these objects. It is important to emphasize, that these metaphysical objects do not exist in the same sense, as it is for the particular objects of a physical reality, such as table, chair,etc. The majority of the philosophy terms, its categorical apparatus have such symbolical character. It is impossible to give any referents of philosophical categories inside a physical reality. We can take as an example of such philosophical categories as being, consciousness etc. , for which we can somehow find certain physical analogues (for example, for a philosophical category  «being  » such analogue is the category  «substance » or matter). But there are more humanitarian objects connected with some features of a human being way, for which in general there are no analogues in a nature. These are, for example, concepts virtue, conscience, love, debt, bravery This specification of the philosophy language, which symbols indicate an existence of a special metaphysical dimension of a reality could be expressed by Kantian exclamation Excuse me, but it is not, what I speak about (mean)! in reply to German poet Schiller`s misunderstanding his categorical imperative. The metaphysical character of the categorical philosophical apparatus predetermines also specification of philosophical reasoning. The postulated non-sense character of perception of objects of the filosophizing assumes the special procedures of work, which were above characterized as a procedure of speculation. The main difficulty thus — is absence of a support on sensible analogy, which often helps us in daily life. The structure a reasoning about pure being (or conscience) is principle different from the reasoning about a tree, or a sex, or other objects of the physical world. Danger, which here waits us — influence of our vital experience, influence sensible hooks, which can destroy the ability for the reflex and philosophical analysis. To explain the idea about involuntary influence ours sensible apparatus, M. Mamardaschvili in the lectures about M. Proust, used as an example biblical commandment when they beat you on the one cheek — put another one as a vivid example of inhibition (Husserl`s  «phenomenological reduction ») of a standard human reaction (reflex), imposed to us by sense-figurative thinking (if somebody hearts you — reply with the same). Moreover, it is possible, that some other logic operates in area of speculative objects, distinct from usual, earthly logic. In particular, according to opinion of the Russian philosopher and the logic N. A. Vasiljev, validity of the logic law of excluded third, has purely earthly an origin and it is connected with primacy, after Aristotle, of individual existing things. (5) If we, following Plato, consider classes of subjects as primary (for instance, subject a class of tables), the law of excluded third will be incorrect, as the table as one of set of subjects of a class of tables can be simultaneously both white and non-white (in instance, green). Of course, here it is necessary to realize, that the opposite properties are attributed to the different individuals of primary subject — different things of the same class). The transfer of the point of view from single objects to classes of objects has allowed N.Vasiljev to formulate imagined logic with the law of excluded fourth. This logic in anything does not concede on its parameters to our habitual logic with the law of excluded third, but expands opportunities of our thinking. Within the framework of this logic the paradoxical coincidence between maximum and minimum, revealed Nikolaj from Kuza, does not cause surprise. The only acceptable procedure for understanding of philosophical categories within of some philosophical framework is the correlation of the different speculative (metaphysics) objects with the help of a method language game.

Socrates Beliefs And Philosophical Statements

Socrates Beliefs And Philosophical Statements According to the Athenians, Socrates was an ugly man. One who walked through the city and humiliated authoritative figures in public places with many people around. Many would say that he made the weaker argument stronger. Throughout Socrates life, he was always looking for truth. Socrates went about his life following his ways, questioning people about their own beliefs, until he was brought to trial by a group of men on the charges of corrupting the youth and impiety. When looking at Socrates life, one of the most important and significant quotes from Socrates is The unexamined life is not worth living. We are able to understand the meaning of this quote by first looking at Socrates philosophy. When analysing his philosophy, using Platos Apology, we are able to divide it into three main parts, Socratic irony, method and ethos. In the first section of my essay I will explain these three components of Socrates philosophy and show how these components are related to the statement The unexamined life is not worth living. In the second part of my essay, I will proceed to talk about my own philosophy and how I disagree with Rauhuts definition of philosophy. In the first section, I will begin by talking about Socratic irony. Much of Socrates beliefs and philosophical statements are very ironic. For example, when the Oracle of Delphi says that Socrates is the wisest man in Athens and Socrates does not understand why. Socrates goes about figuring out why the Oracle would say this by finding others in higher standing, the professionals and asking those people questions about themselves and their knowledge. Socrates would quiz them and try to determine whether he felt they were wise. He would also ask whether they thought of themselves as wise. Most would claim that yes they were indeed wise, but Socrates did not feel that any of them they were. Later, Socrates decides that he is indeed the wisest man in Athens because he knows that he is not wise. People that think they are wise are not because they indeed know nothing. Socrates knows that he knows nothing and comes to the conclusion that he is the wisest man in all Athens because he knows that he knows nothing. How can someone be the wisest man in Athens and still know nothing? Socrates beliefs and philosophical statements are comprised of contradictory statements that to many of the people of Athens, made no sense. I thought this man seemed to be wise both to many others and especially to himself, but he was not; and then I tried to show him that he thought he was wise, but was not. (Plato, 507) Socrates trial itself is ironic in a way as well. He was accused of being a corruptor of the youth and impiety. As far as impiety goes, Socrates claimed that he was carrying out the will of the gods. Impiety is the lack of respect or concern for Athenian gods and according to Socrates he was carrying out the gods will, implying that he is completely pious. When looking at the accusation, his accusers claim that he is corrupting the youth. Socrates refutes this argument by stating that he did not corrupt the youth of Athens because he had no intentions of doing so. In order t o corrupt someone, they must have the intentions and the knowledge, and he had neither. He is not teaching the youth of Athens anything, he is merely encouraging the knowledge which they already have to come out, which lead us into the Socratic Method. When analysing Socrates philosophy, another significant part of his philosophy is his method. He looked at himself not as a teacher, but as a midwife. He does not teach anyone anything they did not know already, but he, with the proper questions, is able to bring out the knowledge that they already have. In essence he is helping someone give birth to their knowledge, helping to recollect the knowledge that they already have. The Socratic Method revolves mostly around question and answer. Socrates would begin by asking what something is. For example, at the start of Socrates trial, he begins by asking for definitions of such terms as justice, piety, friendship and virtue. Beginning with the question Socrates would wait for an answer and would always be able to refute the definition because all of the definitions he receives result in contradictions. Socrates is able to, through this method of question and answer, show others about what justice is by showing them what it is not, never coming up with what it is in a positive sense. Thus Socrates is teaching someone about something without teaching them anything new about that thing. Socrates would also just question people in an ordinary conversation. Instead of just simply telling the person what he wanted to prove he would quiz them and try to get them to say the point of which he is trying to get across with his questions. An example of this is in his trial when Socrates is refuting his accusation of corrupting the youth. now then, say who makes them better, inform the court who he is. You see, Meletos, you are silent, and a sufficient proof of what I am just saying, that you have cared nothing about it? Come, say, my good man, who makes them better? (Plato, 511) This process is continued and Meletos proceeds to give his explanations, but Socrates does not buy into any of them. Socrates also believed that since he was condemned to death by the court, it must have been the will of the gods that his life was to e nd and because of this he had refused many offers from his friends to escape Athens and live somewhere where he was welcomed by the people. This shows us that within his method of philosophy lies an ethical part which binds him to always tell the truth and not to be sinful, which is also part of his ethos. The last major part of Socrates philosophy was his ethos. He was an extremely ethical in everything he did. Socrates spent most of his life examining the lives of others. He continued to do this even though these people did not want him to do so. Going back to the Socratic Method, Socrates would typically do this using question and answer. With this method in mind, he was able to make many people, who also were people of a high standing in the political life of Athens, look like fools in front of all of their peers. He continued to analyze these people in search of the truth. Truth was the most important thing to Socrates and he was always searching for it even though it led him to his eventual death. Socrates, also, never took any money for any of the work he did. He spent most of his life in poverty because he believed that what he was doing was not work. He never taught anybody anything. He was only helping them to remember what they had forgotten and that, to Socrates, was not wo rk. Through understanding these three main parts of Socrates philosophy, we are able to better understand the meaning of his statement The unexamined life is not worth living. According to his life and philosophy, if he had not gone around examining his own life and others, to him, it would not be worth living. Socratic irony helps us to understand his statement because he used this irony to help him to better understand life. Many of his ideas were ironic, but led him to a better understanding of truth. Socratic Method shows us how analytical Socrates truly is. He spends his life asking people questions and looking for answers that will help him to have a better understanding of truth. Finally Socratic ethos shows us how Socrates would continue to search for truth regardless of the consequences. Being a very philosophical man and having the desire to find truth he would not have had any value in life if he had not looked deeper than what we can see and feel. It was important to him to h ave a purpose in life, examine his own life and the life that many others lead and finally give others the opportunity to see the world through his eyes. At this point, I will begin by defining Rauhuts definition of philosophy and how I interpret it. I will then show how I dont completely agree with his definition and provide my own definition and what my philosophy is. I will also talk about why philosophy is important to me and a philosophical question that has troubled me in my life. We can define philosophical questions as questions that involve conceptual analysis and that require for their solutions more than observations and experimentation. Philosophical questions are open questions in the sense that we cannot easily predict what would constitute a satisfactory solution to then. No scientific procedure can produce a quick answer to philosophical questions. (Rauhut, 8 9) As stated in this quote, Rauhut proceeds to define philosophy as the study of open questions that will ultimately lead us to a better understanding of life and the world around us. He gives us examples of such questions and all of his questions fit into this definition. I, however, do not completely agree with his definition. Indeed most philosophical questions are open questions, but I think it goes a little further than just being open questions. Philosophy to me is studying questions that are related to life and death, what the true meaning of life is and what happens to us when we die. When looking at many philosophical questions we can see that all of these have something to do with life and death. Like many of Socratic or Platonic theories and philosophies, there is always something that relates to life and death. Platos theory of the Forms, Recollection and many of Socrates theories about what is a soul, the afterlife, and others are examples that relate philosophy to life and death. All of these, in one way or another relate to life and death. Although I had never really thought about it as being philosophical, I have always been interested in what happens to our conscientiousness when we die. Do we continue on in some parallel plain and be happy in an afterlife or do we simply cease to exist, go on into a dreamless sleep, without any anxieties. When I start thinking about this question it baffles my brain. I couldnt imagine having a dreamless sleep for an eternity, but I cant necessarily say that there will be a definite afterlife where our conscientiousness moves on to. Socrates presents both of these arguments in The Phaedo, but he is never actually able to come up with a clear for sure result that is guaranteed to happen. Then again, no one will ever know until they die, but depending on if we slip into a dreamless sleep, we could never really know what happens to us because we will no longer be able to retain any knowledge or even be able to think. There really is no way someone could answer this question because ther e is no one alive that knows what happens when you die. This is a question that I am sure that many people have or will wrestle with at some point in their lives and philosophy is important because it allows people to analyze these questions and really gets them thinking about their own personal beliefs and whether or not their beliefs can really hold true for them. Thus my own definition of philosophy is the study of open questions about life and death. Philosophical questions all have some relation to life and the world around us as well as death and the afterlife. We all wrestle with questions like these, but not everyone would realize that they are thinking philosophically. Philosophy is more important to us than most people realize. In some capacity or another everyone is a philosopher and everyone comes across questions that could change their beliefs completely.

Coronary Artery Disease: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Coronary Artery Disease: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments CAD also known as coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease is a disease caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, referred to as atherosclerosis which reduces the amount of oxygenated blood to the heart (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). CAD encompasses two pathologies, angina and myocardial infarction, commonly recognized as a heart attack (Parmet, Glass Glass, 2004). Angina is best described by pain or discomfort in the chest area, pain caused by angina can radiate throughout the body to various muscle areas (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Stoppage of oxygen-rich blood to particular heart muscles results in a heart attack, delayed restoration of blood flow can result in severe muscle damage to the heart and possibly death (Parmet, Glass Glass, 2004). With approximately sixteen million Americans suffering from CAD, a person dies every minute as a victim of the disease (American Heart Association [AHA], 2012). The following paper will comprehensively examine CAD. Anatomy and Physiology of the Heart The heart is an essential organ that is responsible for pumping blood all throughout the body and supplying it with oxygen and nutrients; it is the central hub for the cardiovascular system and acts as the transport system of the body, which performs via electrical conduction activity (Burke et al., 1999). Major anatomical structures of the heart consist of the aorta, the pulmonary artery and vein, coronary arteries and the valves (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). The aorta is the main artery that pumps the blood out of the heart and to the rest of the body; the pulmonary artery and vein transport deoxygenated and oxygenated blood respectively, and the coronary arteries make a crown on the heart muscle and supply the myocardium with oxygenated blood and nutrients (Crawford, 2011). The valves in the heart are responsible for preventing backflow of blood and allow the blood to circulate in a uniform fashion (Crawford, 2011). The electrical conduction system of the heart accounts for the beati ng of the heart allowing it to contract and act as the pump of the body (Burke et al., 1999). CAD: Pathophysiology Occlusion of the coronary arteries due to plaque buildup leads to a condition called atherosclerosis; atherosclerosis refers to the narrowing and hardening of the arteries leading to damage to the blood vessels and is a major contributor to many heart diseases and disorders (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Atherosclerotic plaques are formed from lipid and fat deposits such as cholesterol, these formations are indicative of diet as a risk factor in developing CAD (Chandra-Bose, 2012). Arteries are composed of three layers: adventita, intima, and media; the plaque typically develops between the intima and media layers (Crawford, 2011). The atherosclerotic plaques narrow the lumen of the arteries causing decreased amounts of blood to reach the heart and over time harden them causing decreased flexibility during vasoconstriction and vasodilatation (Chandra-Bose, 2012). Additionally, the atherosclerotic plaques can dislodge causing thrombosis and ischemic events, when the coronary arteries func tion is compromised, the heart does not receive adequate supply of oxygenated blood and nutrients causing decrease cardiac function (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). At times of stress, the body will try to counteract these changes to achieve homeostasis by exerting more energy than normal; however, prolonged exertion initiates a cascade of many disease processes and pathologies, such as cardiomyopathy, heart failure, arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and characteristically myocardial infarction (Ruth, 2011). CAD: Risk Factors CAD tends to be the most common cause of death and disability in the United States (AHA, 2012). Common risk factors of CAD are family history, physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and alcohol consumption; additionally, health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity are also prevailing risk factors (Ruth, 2011). A person that has a family history of heart disease is at greater risk of developing CAD; physical inactivity, poor diet, and obesity interrelated for developing CAD (AHA, 2012). Obesity has become an epidemic that affects one in four Americans and results in many life-threatening consequences, notably CAD (AHA, 2012). Heart disease has become the cause of death in industrialized nations compared to underdeveloped nations due to sedentary lifestyles and an increased consumption of fast food (Chan, 2011). One of the most preventable risk factors for any disease is smoking, and for cardiovascular disease it is the number one preventable cause (Rut h, 2011). Other contributing risk factors include age and gender, males are typically more likely to develop CAD at an earlier age than women, however, the risk equalizes in old age (Ruth, 2011). Research has indicated that CAD paired with diabetes, hypertension, and/or hypercholesterolemia can breed fatal consequences (Chan, 2011). CAD: Symptoms Most patients of CAD are asymptomatic, whereas other patients can present with a variety of symptoms such as shortness of breath, tightness around the chest, chest pain, clenched fist, or possibly death; patients that do however exhibit symptoms typically tend to have advanced stages of damage to their coronary arteries (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Angina is the classic heart pain most patients complain about that is caused by ischemia which is the lack of oxygen supply to a region of the heart (Chandra-Bose, 2012). Patients can experience angina at anytime, however characteristically its exhibited after a person has been involved in an extraneous activity, such as exercise; angina can be categorized as stable, unstable, or variant (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). CAD: Complications Myocardial infarction occurs when the heart is deprived of oxygenated blood because of rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque, resulting in a state of ischemia; the area of the heart that the damage occurs depends on the vessels that are occluded, exhibiting a variety of symptoms and/or complications (Torpy, Lynm Glass, 2008). Therefore, essentially if a patient experiences a myocardial infarction at a particular region of the heart that area will suffer an ischemic event and kills the heart tissue and makes it dysfunctional (Torpy et al., 2008). Overall, a myocardial infarction has a poor prognosis and tends to lead to morbidity and mortality (Burke et al., 1999). CAD: Diagnosis CAD is a condition that develops over time; therefore, there arent any palpable tests that can indicate if a person is suffering from CAD (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). When examining the onset of CAD, healthcare providers consider a patients history, physical exams and relative risk factors (Andraws, Berger Brown, 2005). Healthcare providers utilize electrocardiogram, stress testing, echocardiography, and laboratory testing when examining patients that are at risk of developing CAD (Andraws, Berger Brown, 2005). Electrocardiograms also known as an EKG or ECG detect the hearts electrical activity, rhythm, heart rate, axis, and any abnormal enlargements of the heart; an EKG is a quick and efficient way of indicating whether a patient has experienced or is experiencing a myocardial infarction (Andraws et al., 2005). Stress testing can be induced by exercise or medication for evaluating ischemia in a patient; an echocardiography utilizes sound waves to monitor the hearts activity, includi ng the size, shape, and blood flow; laboratory testing, such as blood tests are conducted on a regular basis to assess the levels of cholesterol, sugar, and proteins such as inflammatory markers (Andraws et al., 2005). Other tools, such as chest x-rays, angiography, positron emission tomography, and cardiac cauterization can be utilized for patients with greater risk factors and/or advanced stages of CAD (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). CAD: Treatment CAD is a complex disease since it encompasses other pathologies (AHA, 2012). However, treatment options for CAD tend to be simple at its early stages, such as lifestyle changes; patients are encouraged to partake in therapeutic lifestyle changes such as daily exercise, eating healthy well-balanced meals, and stress and weight management; comprehensive therapeutic lifestyle changes help regulate the risk of other diseases such diabetes, hypertension and obesity (Ruth, 2011). Therapeutic life changes help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol and maintaining a body mass index of less than 25, which is considered to be normal (Ruth, 2011). For advanced stages of CAD, medication such as anticoagulants, aspirin, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and nitroglycerin are prescribed to help reduce symptoms, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, prevent blood clots; aspirin is the leading medication to help relieve angina and prevent myocardial infarction (McPhee Papa dakis, 2011). Patients that have extensive damage to their arteries or have experienced a myocardial infarction may require medical procedures, such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting; angioplasty or percutaneous coronary intervention is a medical procedure done to open blocked or narrowed coronary arteries, this is commonly referred to having a stent put in place to prevent future blockage from occurring (Ruth, 2011). Coronary artery bypass grafting is an extensive surgical procedure done where doctors use blood vessels from other areas of the body that arent blocked to bypass narrowed and damaged coronary arteries, thus improving the blood flow to the heart (Ruth, 2011). Conclusion CAD is a disease caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, referred to as atherosclerosis which reduces the amount of oxygenated blood to the heart (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Occlusion of the coronary arteries due to plaque buildup leads to a condition called atherosclerosis; atherosclerosis refers to the narrowing and hardening of the arteries leading to damage to the blood vessels and is a major contributor to many heart diseases and disorders (McPhee Papadakis, 2011).With approximately sixteen million Americans suffering from CAD, a person dies every minute as a victim of the disease (AHA, 2012). Common risk factors of CAD are family history, physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and alcohol consumption; additionally, health issues such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity are also prevailing risk factors (Ruth, 2011). CAD is a condition that develops over time; therefore, there arent any palpable tests that can indicate if a person is suffering from CAD (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Treatment options for CAD tend to be simple at its early stages, such as lifestyle changes (Ruth, 2011); for advanced stages of CAD, medication such as anticoagulants, aspirin, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and nitroglycerin are prescribed to help reduce symptoms, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, prevent blood clots; aspirin is the leading medication to help relieve angina and prevent myocardial infarction (McPhee Papadakis, 2011). Patients that have extensive damage to their arteries or have experienced a myocardial infarction may require medical procedures, s uch as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting (Ruth, 2011).

Analysis of JNY and LIZ Financial Data Essay -- GCSE Business Marketin

Analysis of JNY and LIZ Financial Data The following paper will compare the five-year performance of two apparel manufacturers utilizing the DuPont Framework and Return on Equity. Then a three- year analysis of common-size income statements will be undertaken to explain changes in income and expenses within each company. Jones Apparel Group (JNY) and Liz Claiborne (LIZ) are the industry leaders in the manufacturing of better clothing, footwear, fragrances, and costume jewelry, and the subject of this analysis. Jones Apparel Group’s recognized brands include: Jones New York, Polo Jeans Company, Nine West, Napier, and costume jewelry licensed under the Tommy Hilfiger brand. Jones aims to gain stability in the apparel industry as well as retail markets through building â€Å"complete lifestyle brands serving a wide breadth of consumers in a wide range of income levels and shopping destination preferences.† (PR Newswire, 2/7/01). Liz Claiborne’s brands include: Claiborne, Curve, Lucky Brand, Monet, and licenses to produce DKNY Jeans and DKNY Active. The company’s success can be attributed to its â€Å"multi-brand, multi-channel strategy† of diversification in the apparel marketplace. (PR Newswire, 2/23/01). The apparel industry is among the most volatile sectors in the market today. Subject to overnight changes in trends and fashion, the industry leaders must be accurate with their predictions and quick to accommodate changes. Because of these fluctuations, it is very hard to assign a competitive advantage to one company over another. While Jones Apparel Group seems to have a comparative advantage in profitability and leverage, Liz Claiborne has been historically more effective at generating revenue from its assets. While Liz is surging to eclipse Jones’ ROE numbers as of late, Jones Apparel Group holds a historical comparative advantage in return on equity and overall financial health. One look at the common-size income statements for these companies can tell a story. While Jones Apparel Group was lagging at year ended 1998, even with a restructuring charge on Liz Claiborne’s income statement, 1999 was a different story. Huge growth at Jones lead to revenues double of that one year ago while Liz, while increasing, was quickly falling behind. The growth for both of these companies continued into the year ended 2000, but Jones Apparel Grou... ...eaders must be accurate with their predictions and quick to accommodate changes. Because of these fluctuations, it is very hard to assign a competitive advantage to one company over another. While Jones Apparel Group seems to have a comparative advantage in profitability and leverage, Liz Claiborne has been historically more effective at generating revenue from its assets. While Liz is surging to eclipse Jones’ ROE numbers as of late, Jones Apparel Group holds a historical comparative advantage in return on equity and overall financial health. One look at the common-size income statements for these companies can tell a story. While Jones Apparel Group was lagging at year ended 1998, even with a restructuring charge on Liz Claiborne’s income statement, 1999 was a different story. Huge growth at Jones lead to revenues double of that one year ago while Liz, while increasing, was quickly falling behind. The growth for both of these companies continued into the year ended 2000, but Jones Apparel Group’s results were brilliant compared to Liz Claiborne’s. One billion dollar growth in revenues as well as higher net income is making Jones Apparel Group the company of the future.

Diary of Mrs. Amelia Stewart Knight :: essays research papers

Response on â€Å" Diary of Mrs. Amelia Stewart Knight† When I finished this article I started to realize that the life of pioneers was not just one big adventure, but they had to face some really difficult problems like dangerous river crossing, bad weather, different kinds of accidents and diseases along the way without any chance for medical treatment. But first of all I had make a research to answer one question before all the problems along the way. It is how much did pioneers traveling west needed and how long did they have to safe money to be able to support their trip. It took roughly $800-$1,000 to obtain a proper outfit (wagon, food, clothing, etc.) and enough supplies to live a whole year without planting or harvesting a crop. Some families saved for three to five years before being able to begin their trip to west. From mine point of view they had to be very patient and live more or less in poverty to be able to save such a big amount of money. That means that most of people had a lot of problems even before they started they â€Å"trip† to west. Another great surprise for me was that most people walked and made the entire 2,000-mile journey on foot because most emigrants grossly overloaded their wagons and that is why only few could ride inside the wagons. Most of emigrants who could ride inside were children and women. To ride in a wagon sounds really better than walking all 2000 mile on foot, but another problem which they had to face was that the emigrant wagons didn't have any safety features. If someone fell under the massive wagon wheels, death was instant. Many lost their lives this way and as I mentioned above most often, the victims were children. Farther more the river crossings, which were necessary to get to their point, were a constant source of distress for all members of the group. Hundreds drowned trying to get wagons, cattle and another stuff to the other shore. Perhaps the biggest problem on the Trail was a deadly disease with no cure at that time, called cholera. This disease was a really big threat, not only for an individual, but also for the whole group. First of all it’s very contagious and secondly the sick person would slow down the whole caravan. Sometimes they received a proper burial, but often, the sick would be abandoned, in their beds, on the side of the trail and die alone.

Working class and racial discrimination

Each period of U. S. history presents an opportunity to think about the history of working class and racial discrimination. Having yet to develop thorough, critical, and radical interpretations of the civil rights struggle, historians have tended to share a sympathetic attitude toward the quest for civil rights. They also lack the advantage recently gained by diplomatic historians with the end of the cold war, and they cannot, and do not want to, declare the straggle to be â€Å"over† because racial discord has not ended and racial justice has not been achieved.Historians will, therefore, continue to write about an ongoing movement for equal rights in which their advocacy and support seem to them important to the movement's success. Surveys of the literature by Upton Sinclair and Anne Moody have already made important contributions in identifying persistent problems. For these writers, direct personal participation preceded writing about the movements. Unlike Sinclair’s The Jungle, Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi is compelling autobiographical narratives in the African American literary tradition.In a voice that is as subtle as it is insistent, as unpretentious as it is uncompromising, Moody maps her coming of age in Mississippi during the repressive 1940s and 1950s and the turbulent early years of the 1960s. Yet Moody’s narrative is more than a poignant personal testimony; it is an immensely valuable cultural document that offers an insightful view of life in Mississippi during the middle decades of the twentieth century and the carefully orchestrated resistance to that way of life that the civil rights movement initiated during the 1960s.The beautiful descriptions of Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi are all very good. They served a purpose and served it well. Coming of Age in Mississippi was a great book. It is lively and warm. It is written with pain and blood and groans and tears. It says not what man should be, b ut what man is forced to be in our world. It presents not what our country should be, but it describes what our country really is, the residence of pressure and unfairness, a nightmare of suffering, an inferno hell, a jungle of wild brutes.But I consider that The Jungle, which has beautiful theories, is even a greater book. It was the novel, which was responsible for the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act. In 1906, Sinclair's The Jungle catapulted him into almost-immediate fame. The Jungle became a best-seller in many languages and actually made Sinclair's name known all over the world. The New York Evening World announced: â€Å"Not since Byron awoke one morning to find himself famous has there been such an example of world-wide fame won in a day by a book as has come to Upton Sinclair† (Foner 89).The Jungle produced big public excitement. I think that Upton Sinclair was emotionally involved in the creating of The Jungle. Though Upton Sinclair's The Jungle concentrates mo re on working-class struggle than mobility, it does as well good job in getting readers to think about socialism, immigration, capitalism, and future reform. Written in Chicago's immigrant neighborhood under the name the Back of the Yards, The Jungle beckons readers to look for history of this neighborhood.Descriptions of the neighborhood encourage readers to think about places where the author was writing and to understand historical events. The labor struggle in the book is based on the ineffective stockyard strike by workers of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen in Chicago in 1904. Sinclair, who was there as a journalist for the Socialist weekly Appeal to Reason, stood among a growing number of pro-labor social workers. Unlike Moody, however, Sinclair evidently had much less sympathy for the struggles of African Americans, as his racialist description of the strikebreakers makes clear.In fact, Sinclair described a group of the strikebreakers as â€Å"a throng of st upid black Negroes, and foreigners who could not understand a word that was said to them† (260). Sinclair describes the strikebreakers – especially the African Americans – as idle, unqualified, and threatening. He had the most tractable pupils, however. â€Å"See hyar, boss,† a big black â€Å"buck† would begin, â€Å"ef you doan’ like de way Ah does dis job, you kin get somebody else to do it. † Then a crowd would gather and listen, muttering threats. After the first meal nearly all the steel knives had been missing,and now every Negro had one, ground to a fine point, hidden in his boot (261). Sinclair's recurring mention of African American men as  «bucks » deserves attention. Studying the stereotypes of African Americans, Donald Bogle observes the character of the black buck or black brute in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. Bogle depicts the African Americans as â€Å"subhuman †¦ nameless characters setting out on a rampage of black rage. Bucks are always big, baaadd [sic] niggers, over sexed and savage, violent and frenzied as they lust for white flesh† (Foner 41). Sinclair presents a similar stereotype.He dramatizes the accusation by union officials in Chicago where African American strikebreakers brought amoral conditions to the plants because they were more lecherous than white workers. The lack of remonstrance to racist passages gives additional proof of white supremacy during this time, which claimed â€Å"that the Negro belonged to an inferior race and warned their comrades against violating the Caucasian purity of their association†. Unlike Sinclair, Moody presents the South through the eyes of Negro in the battle against Mississippi’s deep-rooted racist institutions and practices that remained largely unchallenged until the 1960s.While Sinclair again minimizes the cruelty against African American workers by simply saying that the â€Å"scab† who made the mi stake of going into Packingtown â€Å"fared badly† (263) Moody emphasizes the harsh realities of life in the Deep South in the mid-twentieth century—in Arkansas and Mississippi, respectively. As the critic Roger Rosenblatt has asserted, â€Å"No black American author has ever felt the need to invent a nightmare to make [her] point† (Foner 89). Touched by the powerful effects of these destructive forces, Ann Moody holds herself with dignity and self-respect.She moves forward toward a goal of self-sufficiency, combining a consciousness of self, an awareness of the political realities of black life in the South, and an appreciation of the responsibility that such awareness implies. Moody, however, is not entirely uncritical of the blacks in Mississippi. In fact, like Richard Wright’s Black Boy, the autobiography of Anne Moody can be read as an articulate yet restrained critique of certain aspects of southern black folk culture. It is a culture of fear that a ttempts to stifle inquisitiveness.Many black adults actively discourage the children from asking probing questions about race relations. A curious black child, they are afraid, might grow up to be a rebellious adult, and rebellion, they knew, could be lethal in Mississippi. When Moody, as a child, wants to know why whiteness is a marker of privilege or when she asks questions about reports of racially motivated violence, she is faced with a wall of silence or sometimes even intimidation. Later when she becomes an activist, some of her relatives plead with her to abandon her activism; some, in fear of white retaliation, refuse to associate with her.However, Moody’s fiercest criticism is directed at the whites. She is relentless in her assault on the Mississippi way of life. While she freely acknowledges the decency of some individual whites, even contemplates the possibility of interracial unity, she carefully exposes how the politics of color informs every aspect of life in M ississippi. With appropriately sharp sarcasm, the title of her autobiography alludes to Margaret Mead’s famous text Coming of Age in Samoa.Mead, an American anthropologist, examines in her work the social rituals and cultural codes that govern an individual’s passage from childhood to young adulthood in a supposedly â€Å"primitive† Samoan culture. In Coming of Age in Mississippi, with nearly anthropological precision, Moody maps her initiatory journey from innocence to experience among the seemingly â€Å"primitive† whites of Mississippi. Coming of Age in Mississippi is divided into four sections. In the first section, titled â€Å"Childhood,† Moody remembers her early years amid the grinding poverty of rural Mississippi.Even though her parents labor in the cotton fields from dawn to dusk almost every day of the week, they are barely able to feed and clothe their children. At age nine Moody starts doing domestic work for white families. After her father abandons the family, she works several hours a day after school and on weekends to help feed her siblings. The opening section of the autobiography concludes with her recollection of her first calculated act of resistance to the southern racial codes. She begins to work for Mrs. Burke, a white woman. On her first day on the job Moody enters Mrs.Burke’s house through the front door. The next day, when she knocks on the front door, Mrs. Burke directs her to the back entrance and Moody complies. However, the following morning, Moody knocks on the front door again. Once Mrs. Burke realizes that she cannot dictate Moody’s conduct, she lets her do the domestic chores without complaining. â€Å"Working for her,† says Moody, â€Å"was a challenge,† and Mrs. Burke would be the â€Å"first one of her type† that Moody would defy as she grows older (117). Moody’s minor revolt against Mrs. Burke foreshadows her later civil rights activism.Her poli tical awakening begins during her teenage years, and Moody chronicles those years in the book’s second section, titled â€Å"High School. † When she asks her mother for the meaning of â€Å"NAACP† (127)—something she had overheard Mrs. Burke mention to a group of white women who regularly meet at her house—her mother angrily tells her never to mention that word in front of any white persons and orders her to complete her homework and go to sleep. Shortly thereafter Moody discovers that there is one adult in her life who could offer her the answers she seeks: Mrs.Rice, her homeroom teacher. Like Mrs. Bertha Flowers in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Mrs. Rice plays a pivotal role in Moody’s maturation. She not only answers Moody’s questions about Emmett Till and the NAACP, but she volunteers a great deal more information about the state of race relations in Mississippi. Moody’s early curiosity about the NA ACP resurfaces later when she attends Tougaloo College. Titled â€Å"College,† the third section of the autobiography reveals Moody’s increasing commitment to political activism.The fourth and final section of the autobiography, titled â€Å"Movement,† documents Moody’s full-scale involvement in the struggle for civil rights. In the opening chapter of the final section Moody narrates her participation in a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson. She and three other civil rights workers—two of them white—take their seats at the lunch counter. They are, predictably, denied service, but the four continue to sit and wait. Soon a large number of white students from a local high school pour into Woolworth’s.When the students realize that a sit-in is in progress, they crowd around Moody and her companions and begin to taunt them. The verbal abuse quickly turns physical. Moody, along with the other three, is beaten, kicked, a nd â€Å"dragged about thirty feet toward the door by [her] hair† (226). Then all four of them are â€Å"smeared with ketchup, mustard, sugar, pies and everything on the counter† (226). The abuse continues for almost three hours until they are rescued by Dr. Beittel, the president of Tougaloo College who arrives after being informed of the violence.When Moody is escorted out of Woolworth’s by Dr. Beittel, she realizes that â€Å"about ninety white police officers had been standing outside the store; they had been watching the whole thing through the windows, but had not come in to stop the mob or do anything† (267). This experience helps Moody understand â€Å"how sick Mississippi whites were† and how â€Å"their disease, an incurable disease,† could prompt them even to kill to preserve â€Å"the segregated Southern way of life† (267). In the chapters that follow she comments on the impact of the assassinations of Medgar Evers and Pre sident John F.Kennedy on the civil rights movement, the escalating turmoil across the South, and her participation in the attempts to integrate white churches in Jackson on the Sunday after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. The short final chapter ends with her joining a busload of civil rights workers on their way to Washington, D. C. As the bus moves through the Mississippi landscape, her fellow travelers sing the anthem of the civil rights movement: â€Å"We shall overcome† (384). As she listens to the words of the song, Moody wonders. The autobiography ends with two short sentences: I WONDER. I really WONDER† (384).The word wonder, in the context of the autobiography, lends itself to two different meanings. On the one hand, it suggests that Moody is skeptical if blacks in Mississippi will ever â€Å"overcome,† as the anthem asserts. On the other hand, the word reveals her awe over her participation in a mass movement, her remarkable journey from her impove rished childhood on a plantation to her defiant participation as a young adult in a social rebellion that will shake the foundations of Mississippi, and the dignity and determination she sees on the faces of her fellow travelers on the bus to Washington, D. C. Both novels work well in determining the distinction between revolution and reform.The result, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, was championed as a victory of progressive reform, but in many ways it was a defeat for Sinclair and his revolutionary ambition. Coming of Age in Mississippi expanded coverage and broadened understanding of the black freedom movement beyond the traditional major events, individuals, and institutions. Moody examined the relationship between organized labor and the black freedom struggle. Her book opened new ways of understanding the southern movement.The economic forces that inspired the works by Upton Sinclair and Anne Moody still operate. And the books do more than prove the importance of interracial labor solidarity. The works remind us that racialized enmity and violence are never without moral, political, and socioeconomic consequences. Works Cited Foner, Eric. The New American History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990. Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. Laurel Editions, 1992. Sinclair, Upton. The jungle. Memphis, Tenn. : St. Lukes’s Press, 1988.