Street Gangs

Street gangs are very common in America and especially amongst African American populations. The history of street gangs can be traced back to the 1930s when African Americans were undergoing challenging moments considering that it was an era of great racial discrimination. Different street gangs have different names for instance, famous street gangs in the US included The ‘Kelleys’, The ‘Driver Brothers’, The ‘Boozies’ as well as The ‘Magnificents’ .Activities of such gangs evolved from violence, robbery, drug dealing, and prostitution to covert missions. In addition, street gangs have been usually composed of juveniles. Composition of the street gangs has always been around peers such as friends, sisters or brothers. Although street gangs lack clear ideology in the struggle for black liberation street gangs were seen as the voice of black struggle within the black community and very little was done by the community to deal with th e problem of street gangs.Today, street gangs have various definitions depending on who is defining them. For instance, a researcher’s definition is different from a police definition and definitions have varied from author to author with different authors giving different definitions for street gangs. For example; (Skogan, 1990) defined street gangs as groups of teenagers who congregate around street corners not necessarily for covert missions but also because of social pressures such as lack of shelter (Sarnecki. 2001).Another author, Sheriff and Sheriff (1964) defined street gangs as an elaborate network of young persons whose goal is to violate the law (Sarnecki. 2001). This shows how greatly the topic of street gangs has been surrounded by mystery in America. However, there is agreement that street gangs in America are largely networks of people with a loosely threaded ideology which is temporary. In addition, membership to street gangs is never permanent as the street g angs have very strict ‘code of conduct’ which often see members fall apart.In addition, street gangs cut across racial, religious, national and ethnic backgrounds and today, unlike before the definition of street gangs goes beyond ‘black’ gangs (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004). Street gangs have a way of identifying themselves which is distinct from other competing gangs. For instance, each gang in America has their particular label of clothing or shoes which is only specific to that gang and anyone found to be using the same label outside the gang membership is often met with punishment which can include lynching or assault and in some cases, death (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004).Street gangs also use specific types of tattoos on their bodies to further define themselves and as a result differentiate themselves from other competing gangs (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004). Also common amongst street gangs is the use of hand signals which are unique to members of the given street gang and is a way of communication, identity and a sign of loyalty to the particular street gang. Street gangs also have their unique communication styles embedded in both verbal and non-verbal use of language and this is further used to promote the culture of the givens street gangs.As mentioned earlier, street gangs are rarely permanent in terms of the duration which members last in the gang. Leadership of street gangs is often autocratic and oppressive, something which is responsible for the rampant fallout amongst members which makes it very difficult for members to stay long in the groups. Another factor which defines street gangs in American is the fact that all street gangs have their turfs which they control and fight any effort by police or other law enforcement agents to oust them.As a result, street gangs come to form part of the life of the area where they occupy, something which has led to the spread of gang life especially practices such as drug abuse, prostitution and violence in the areas occupied by street gangs (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004). Another factor, which defines street gangs in America, is the fact that all are involved in criminal activities and rarely do street gangs engage themselves in any constructive activity apart from some form of art such as rap music .It is generally accepted that street gang is a problem which is not only a threat to social order but also to national security. In the advent of terrorism, the police and other law enforcers cannot leave anything to chance when it comes to addressing loopholes in national and homeland security. To that end, several policing strategies, new legislations and other changes have been implemented in America to not only address the danger posed by external aggression but also the potential of threats within the United States of America. Street gangs are known to carry out any business for money indiscriminately.Therefore it does not matter whether it is a terroris t that the gang is working for. All that matters to a gang is that it forms a source of income. To counter the potential of street gangs posing a significant threat to homeland security, the police have moved as a measure to contain the street gangs within their ‘territories’. As mentioned earlier street gangs operate strictly on their territories and rarely do they move to new locations. This has presented an opportunity to the police to contain and deal with street gangs in a more localized manner.To ensure that the influence of street gangs does not spread widely into the community the police have come up with a strategy of road patrols which are made to make the community safer and secure. This is made to counter the possibility of gangs using the roads to harm their victims or to infiltrate fear amongst the members of the community. This has greatly worked well although it has been faced with the problem of racial profiling, given the fact that members of racial mi norities are often targeted by police searches aimed at countering street gangs.However, to a great deal, police road patrols have raised the level of security even in areas where street gangs are common. Another strategy has been to use technological power to deal with street gangs. This has seen the police use sophisticated weapons to fight street gangs whenever confrontations occur and to ensure that the police always remain in control. The police in most states have strategic plans which have seen police set up traffic checks along major roads aimed at ensuring that gangs’ activity is limited.The fact that most gangs trade in narcotics means that police have to strengthen their anti-narcotics units to decapitate the ability of street gangs to carry on illegal drug trade. This has seen the police work closely with intelligence, local community leaders as well as religious bodies to ensure that every member of the society is involved in fighting street gangs. Another great change in law enforcement agencies that has resulted from street gangs activities in America is the introduction of community policy. Unlike conventional policing, community policing is proactive, less resource laden and problem-solving .As a result of community policing, violence and drug abuse incidences have significantly dropped in the community level. However, it is worth noting that community policing requires training of local community members to equip them to deal with the sophisticated nature of crime in the society. The fact that police departments lack enough resources has seen a slow implementation of community policing as a strategy of law enforcement. Nonetheless, community policing has led to a decrease in fear levels amongst community members .Although originally community policing was motivated partly by the threat of street gangs in the community, community policing has turned out to be effective in fighting even crime which is unrelated to street gangs. The strat egy of community policing revolves around training of community members to equip them with the necessary tactics and knowledge to deal with crime, establishing of stations at the community level, increased foot patrols of police officers, as well as brainstorming meetings between community members and police in a bid to encourage citizen participation in fighting crime .It is worth noting that policing strategies, laws and other changes aimed at dealing with the problem of insecurity is largely based on state administration. This therefore means that different states use different approaches to fight with levels of crime considering the fact that different states have different security needs. For instance New York policing strategies is aimed at tackling crimes such as public drunkenness, violent crimes as well as prostitution. This therefore shows that the nature of criminal issues facing a state may vary and therefore may dictate the types of policing strategies.In addition, New York State is faced with a high threat of terrorism than the threat of street gangs for example. This therefore means that the changes and strategies by law enforcement agents have been broadly aimed at dealing with threats specific to that state . In Washington DC for example, there are gang legislations which have been specifically enacted to deal with the problem of gangs. This has attracted more funding aimed at empowering law enforcement agents’ efforts to deal with prevention of gang activities in Washington.The availing of funds has seen the police and other law enforcement agents become more capable of dealing with the problem of gang violence, which is deep-rooted in the State. The legislation has also allowed for funding of intervention measures and programs, which have seen the community, enjoy safer neighbourhoods. Other changes aimed at dealing with the problem of street gangs in Washington DC have included the imposition of tough penalties for street gang member s who are caught participating in violent crimes . This approach has seen the threat of violent street gangs decrease significantly in Washington DC.However, it is worth noting that all efforts geared towards dealing with the problem of insecurity and particularly street gang activities need to be integrated into federal laws so as to ensure that the state is able to fully address the challenge. Such legislation such as the companion legislation is aimed at making sure that there is the availability of funds to deal with lawlessness. In addition, the legislation aims at making sure that the police and other law enforcement agents are able to meet the challenge as well as effectively deal with violence before it becomes widespread (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004).Efforts to deal with the threat of violent street gangs has moved from the preventive level to correctional facilities by empowering correctional officers to put in place reform measures aimed at rehabilitating street gang off enders. It can be said that the tough laws have been largely successful in not only dealing with violent street gangs but also in increasing the level of security in the neighborhoods (Sarnecki, 2001). Not all policing strategies or new laws have been successful in dealing with crime.However, some strategies such as road policing strategy have been effective due to its ability to prevent crime at the neighbourhood level. Other strategies or changes such as enhanced penalties have to some degree failed given the fact that the prisons where such offenders are sent to are not necessarily effective in correcting the behaviour of the offenders and therefore when such street gangs or any other offenders come out of the prisons they usually continue with the same criminal activities.Forfeiture is a strategy aimed at decapitating not only street gangs but other criminals of their ability to coordinate and execute criminal activities. Laws permitting the forfeiture of profits gained from cri minal activities have made it possible for law enforcement agents to seize property of criminals and therefore making sure that it becomes very unattractive for criminals to continue with their crime activities (Sarnecki, 2001).Another change or strategy which can be said to have resulted from the threat of street gangs is the initiation of gangs’ data bases which makes it possible for law enforcement agents to trace criminals with this (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004) This also allows for easy monitoring of released criminals to monitor whether such have reformed. Having gang data bases also enables the easy exchange and sharing of information amongst law enforcement agents. Another change in the law enforcement agencies, which has been occasioned by the threat of street gangs, is the adoption of information technology systems .The introduction of information technology use amongst law enforcement agents has seen a dramatic increase in the ability of law enforcement agents to counter the activities of gangs. This has also made it very possible to collect data on criminal activities. Information technology has led to the quick exchange of information and intelligence on security issues, which significantly has boosted the ability of the law enforcement agents to prevent crime. Information technology has made it very hard for the gang members as well as other criminals to infiltrate law agencies, something which can jeopardize the effectiveness of law agents.Another strategy, which has been initiated to deal with crime in America, is the empowerment of law enforcement agents (Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou, 2004). This has been done through providing them with better equipment as well as training which makes it possible for law enforcement agents to operate with a high level of efficiency. Lack of capacity can greatly impact negatively on the war against crime. Therefore the move to empower law enforcement agents must be seen as one of the most effective changes e ver in dealing with organized crime.If the war against crime is to be won, a combination of the above mentioned strategies and changes must be implemented. For instance, having legislations however good, without having a capable human resource to enforce the legislation is likely to yield not better than meager results. The war must be sustained, focused and the aims should be well defined. Clearly, the strategies must address the root causes of criminal behaviour and activities. This should not be left to law enforcement agents alone.Violent behaviour has been found to be caused by a myriad of factors namely social factors, economic factors, political factors, religious factors and cultural factors. This indicates that the changes and strategies must cut across socio-cultural issues as well as economic, political and religious dimensions. There is an increasing trend of juvenile violence in America. This is a clear indication that there is a social crisis which must be addressed no t necessarily by law enforcement agencies but by other departments such as children’s department.In the past, efforts to deal with violent crime have tended to be reactive as opposed to proactive. If this approach is not changed, there is a high likelihood that a lot of resource will keep on being wasted due to using of the wrong strategies to fight lawlessness. Indeed, crime is not a war that can be won by law enforcement agencies only. Hence the reason why all efforts geared towards reducing criminal activities in the American society should be multisectoral. The introduction of community policing strategy is particularly encouraging.However, it is sad that most legislation aimed at curbing street gang crimes or other forms of crimes in the society have tended to originate from criminal justice. Given the fact that crime is influenced by other factors such as economic factors, there is a need for legislations based on economic principles such as equitable distribution of re sources especially to the marginalised communities to be enacted. Such legislations will see youths from the marginalised groups empowered economically and perhaps desist from joining street gangs or any other forms of crimes.Educational reforms or legislations can also be a great intervention measure in dealing with crime in the society. This is true considering the fact that there is a direct positive correlation between involvement in criminal activities and the level of education. Therefore, empowering people and especially the youths through education is likely to deter a good number from participating in crime. There is a need for education to reach every single youth in America as a way of empowering the society. If this is realized it will be an effective and less costly way of dealing with the problem that crime has become in the society.There is a need for more research to be commissioned to deal with the issue of street gangs in America. It appears that one of the reasons why law enforcement agencies have been slow in winning the war is the fact that most of the decisions made concerning how to deal with street gangs in America are not based on empirical evidence but rather on egoistic feelings of politicians. Until the law enforcement agencies realise the power of research in dissecting social problems, street gangs and other violent crimes are likely to continue threatening the American society.In addition, there is the possibility that a lot of resources will be wasted and there will be no resource to show for it. In conclusion, it can therefore be said that the war changes in street gangs in America have had an impact on law enforcement agencies in regard to the type of strategies the police have come up with, laws which have been put in place to deal with crime as well as the resources allocated to the fight against crime. Reference George, L, K and Coles, C. M. 1997. Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and ReducingCrime in our Communities. 88. Simon & Schuster. New York. Jennifer Lee, Min Zhou; 2004. Asian American Youth: Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity Routledge. United States. Jerzy, Sarnecki. 2001. Delinquent Networks: Youth Co-offending in Stockholm. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. Mark, H. M. 1992. Problem Solving and Community Policing. Modern Policing. Vol. 99 Scott, Robert C. , Warner, Mark R. , Wilder, L. Douglas. June 7, 2004. Democrats Square off over Richmond Election. The Washington Times.

Does Media and Music Affect Our Lives

Critical Response The argument of whether or not music and media affect or influence our lives is a very complicated argument that divides people in their viewpoints. I personally believe that music and media will influence you only if you let it. Everything in life becomes only what you make of it and I think that some people in life hold music artists on a pedestal and go so far as to live their lives according to what they hear in their idols music. A song that truly depicts this concept in a disturbing, but yet believable way is the song â€Å"Stan†, by Eminem.This songs tells the story of a young man named Stan, that believes himself to be Eminem’s biggest fan that he goes so far as to live his life in away that imitates what he believes is how Eminem lives his. He confesses his devotion to Eminem through letters and by going to concerts and standing outside in the cold for hours just to get an autograph, but things go really bad when Stan doesn’t get a repl y from Eminem in a time span that he believes he should have.So Stan makes one last message for Eminem, which involves him being drunk, locking his girlfriend in the trunk and driving the car off a bridge. In the end Eminem writes Stan back with his concern of him trying to imitate his life, but then realizes what has happened. This song illustrates a perfect example of a crazed fan going to far. This guy is named Stan, which is Eminem’s â€Å"code† name, and in the music video he even dresses like him and goes so far as to make sure he has the same hairstyle and color.Everything else also is an attempt to imitate Eminem, from the pregnant girlfriend that he eventually ends up locking in the trunk and killing to have an absent father. But the thing is though is that everything he is trying to imitate in this song are not the real characteristics of Eminem, they are only based on songs Eminem has written, including one song where Eminem kills the mother of his baby and locks her in a trunk.I think that this song is a great example of how influential people can be, but I don’t think that all people are this influenced by music. I think that you are your own person and what you allow to influence you and affect you is your choice. This not only applies to music, but also to the media and news. Last week I had a very eye opening experience as a result to one of readings on the media and how much of the truth it tells and what it chooses to leave out. It made me ealize that sitting around and waiting for the truth to come to you, isn’t a logical approach and if you chose to live like that they you shouldn’t expect to receive the whole truth. The news and media also is very biased and can influence viewers to be the same. This has been very evident at least to me since 9/11, with how the media is so biased against Muslims and Arabs, and how they portray them all to be â€Å"the bad guys† and the ones to blame for the problem s that we are enduring now.But what us even more upsetting is that some Americans are letting the media influence them into believing this biased view point and instead of getting the whole story by going and getting other news sources, people just go along with what the media tells them. Even though a lot of people believe that the media and music is responsible for influencing the way people live their lives and the choices they make, I believe that how it influences you and to what extent is your choice.If you hear a song on the radio that talks about killing someone, doesn’t mean that you should go out and do it, but you ultimately are the one that makes that decision, not the song. The same thing applies with the news, if you hear on the news that the Muslims are the ones to blame for all of our problems, it is your choice to agree or disagree with that statement and it is your responsibility to go and look at other sources if you want to get a real stance on the problem that is not biased.

Explain and evaluate claims made by linguistic relativists regarding the relationship between language, thought and culture Essay

The relationship between language, culture and thought has been a controversial discussion over decades. Many linguists and thinkers have argued that language lead to large differences in culture and thoughts. Some argue that language controls people’s view and thought of the world, where language embodies worldview, and some argue the otherwise. Language, culture and thought may always refer as together, but any one of them implies the other two. In this essay, I am going to focus on linguistic relativism and I will evaluate claims made by linguistic relativists. Linguistic relativism is a weaker interpretation of linguistic determinism. It is â€Å"a window through which to view the cognitive process, not as an absolute. It’s set forth to be used in looking at a phenomenon differently than one usually would. † (Badhesha, 2001) Linguistic categorize and usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behavior. Linguistic relativity hypothesis has always been a controversial and serious topic. In late-eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Boas claimed that there’s no intrinsic relationship between culture and language. (Boas, 1911) Acquainted with Boas, Edward Sapir was impressed with Boas’ statement. Later, he proposed a theory which becomes the most famous attempt in demonstrating relationship between language, culture and thoughts, â€Å"Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis† (Whorfian Hypothesis). The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis can be broken into two simple concepts: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativism. Linguistic determinism holds a stronger view. It refers to â€Å"the concept that what is said has only some effect on how concepts are recognized by the mind†, â€Å"A strict view that what is said is directly responsible for what is seen by the mind. † (Badhesha, 2002) This stronger point is supported by Sapir. Sapir: â€Å"language and culture are not intrinsically associated† but â€Å"language and our thought-grooves are inextricably interwoven, [and] are, in a sense, one and the same† (1921: 228, 232) Sapir believes that language and culture are not explicitly related but language, culture and thoughts are interwoven that cannot be unwoven each other. Sapir also expressed his view that language affects how we perceive the world, â€Å"Even comparatively simple acts of perception are very much more at the mercy of the social patterns called words than we might suppose. †¦ We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. † (1929, p. 210) Sapir here explained that language determines our thoughts and culture, it affects our views of the world and culture is a product of language. Sapir’s student, Benjamin Lee Whorf supported and made his theory stronger. Whorf’s claims are both to the extreme, strongest but to the weaker and more cautious at the same time. The extreme perspective is linguistic determinism, where the weaker is linguistic relativism. In fact, linguistic relativism is widely spread through Whorf’s work. Whorf: â€Å"The background linguistic system of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas. † (1940, â€Å"Science and Linguistics,† Technology Review 42: 229-31, 247-8) In this quote, Whorf proposed the stronger form where language determines thought, language shapes our ideas. â€Å"The world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which have to be organized largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. † (Whorf, 1940a:231) This is a weaker form where Whorf argue that the world is somehow under the influence of our linguistic systems. Both in stronger and weaker form, Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis argue that our thoughts, ideas, behavior and culture are under the influence of language. This hypothesis is supported with evidence. Perception of colors is one of the obvious evidence that support language influences our thoughts. Different languages has their way to encode and categorize colors, in English, there are sixteen basic colors and common two color terms â€Å"dark† and â€Å"light†. However, Russian has different words to distinguish light blue (boluboy) and dark blue (siniy). When Russian and English speakers are put to a test to discriminate the two blue colors, Russian is found to be better at it. As Russian perceive the two blue colors as different colors unlike English speakers who categorize it as blue generally. In both English and Chinese, when giving directions verbally, we tend to use â€Å"left† and â€Å"right† instead of E/W/S/N, this is also true in many other languages. However, Kuuk Thaayorra (aboriginal language spoken in Queensland, Australia), they use E/W/S/N to represent â€Å"left† and â€Å"right†, e. g. when they refer to right hand, they may say east hand. Their perception of the world differs from us due to the use of direction terms. To them, the world needs to include precise orientations. This is an example of perception of space which display language affects our perceptions and thoughts. Grammatical feature is another proof of language affects our culture. Whorf asserts that â€Å"users of markedly different grammars are pointed by their grammar towards different types of observations†¦ and hence are not equivalent as observers but must arrive at somewhat different views of the world† (Whorf 1940b:61) Whorf suggested that speakers of different languages will think about the world differently. Hopi language (aboriginal language spoken in Arizona) is early evidence to Whorfian Hypothesis on language and thought. In Hopi language system, they don’t have tenses such as –ed, -ing, -s in SAE [1], they have different perspective of time from SAE speakers. Also, in Hopi, the concept of time cannot be counted and talked like a physical quantity. Language also affects and reflects our culture and values. In Hong Kong, we refer to relatives in different terms, not only â€Å"aunt/uncle†, â€Å"cousins† unlike English. For example, we have different terms for cousins that are older and younger than us, e. g. â€Å"biu-gor† (older male cousin), â€Å"biu-mui† (younger female cousin). It reflects the hierarchy and projects the importance of respecting senior in Chinese family. We can see that Chinese family, including families in Hong Kong divides and identifies its members. For Chinese people, they perceive seniors as people to respect. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is the idea that the language that person speaks will affect their perception of the world and accordingly their behavior and culture. In stronger form, language determines the way we think and what we are capable to think of where as linguistic relativity; the weaker form indicates that our thoughts and culture are under the influence of language. Although there are more and more scientific and real life examples that support Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, anthropologists and linguists still argues weather the hypothesis is too strong or not today. Many argue that instead of language determining our thoughts and culture, they are in fact inter-related and none of them should be dominating the other two. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has received criticism over the years, and it summed up to be three main criticisms, the idea of causality, the methods and translations. While Whorf and Sapir claimed that language affects our perception of the world and the formation of our cultures. Both of them didn’t include the evolution of language, what made up our language, the cultural values that may have been included while setting language system. It is possible that cultural values that might have developed language helped the way we perceive the world. Humboldt (late 18th century) also questioned Sapir-Whorf’s hypothesis, â€Å"The spiritual traits and the structure of the language of a people are so intimately blended that, given either of the two, one should be able to derive the other from it†¦ language is their spirit, and their spirit is their language; it is difficult to imagine any two things more identical. † He also questioned the causality of such hypothesis. Whether if language is the spirit of thoughts and culture or the otherwise. He claims that it is uncertain which one should be derives and to be the spirit of the others. Another obvious criticism is the methods Whorf’s methods. Some believed that Whorf deliberately translated Hopi language in a certain way to support his own hypothesis, to emphasis another thinking system. Linguists, Steven Pinker accused Whorf’s method with strong attitude, â€Å"No one is really sure how Whorf came up with his outlandish claims, but his limited, badly analyzed sample of Hopi speech and his long-term leanings towards mysticism must have helped. † (Pinker, 1994) He also overthrown Whorf’s claim of Hopi people has different perception of time as â€Å"anthropologist Malotki (1983) has found that the Hopi do have a concept of time very similar to ours. † (Neil Parr-Davies, 2001) Translation is another criticism of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Many critics raised the question, if our thoughts are really affected and determined by language, then presumably certain concepts would only be understandable to people that shared the same language. That suggested that if the hypothesis is entirely true, Whorf would have been failed to understand Hopi people’s concept, needless to say even to understand their first thought. Although criticisms are raised against Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, there are more evidence and claims that support it even in modern days. In fact, psycholinguistic have been studying far beyond perception of color and Hopi language currently, it has been studying and discovering more evidence in modern days such as emotion perception, memory etc. Modern famous researchers like Lera Boroditsky, John A. Lucy believe in Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, that language indeed influences thoughts, however in relatively narrow ways. I agree the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis to a large extent. I believe language does influence our thoughts and perceptions of the world. Recently, I have been studying different accents in the world and discovered that it is evidence supporting the linguistic relativists. For example, if someone speaks English in BBC accents or Queen’s English, we would immediately refer them coming from higher social status in Britain. Indeed, our perception can be easily affected by the trivial elements in language as accents. Even nowadays, there are more and more evidence that prove linguistic relativists; we cannot deny the fact that language does somehow shape our daily thoughts and life. Language changes the way we see different culture, it can reflect a certain culture and background of people. Taking Soviet Ukraine as an example, as the prices and supply of product was centrally controlled, they were very cheap and hard to find, and instead of saying â€Å"What are they selling? † they ask, â€Å"Shcho dajut? †(What are they giving? ). Through the language, we can see the cultural values and background of a country, allowing us to understand and perceive different cultures. Nonetheless, I disagree to a small extent as I believe, on one hand, language may shape our thoughts and culture; on the other hand, our culture and thoughts also shape language. Language may act as a tool merely reflecting our thoughts and culture. Under patriarchy and stereotyping, many European countries referred male as a stronger, rational and more dynamic member of the society while female were emotional, silent and subtle one. Leading European languages like French, Spanish are some examples that reflect social stereotyping under patriarchal influence. In French, almost all sport and daylight activities are referred as male, â€Å"le soleil† (the sun) while almost all night time activities are referred as female, â€Å"la lune† (the moon). Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is a powerful and leading linguistic theory that suggests the relationship between language, culture and thoughts. It can be interpreted as linguistic determinism and relativism; it remains arguable and controversial whether this hypothesis is too strong. Much evidence arises even until today supporting the hypothesis. It is inevitable that every hypothesis receives criticism, but I truly believe the reason why Whorfianism is still being studied today is because we can never deny the influence of language on our thoughts and culture. Language may not be the one the strongly defines our perception and values, but it does affects us in our everyday life.

Criminal justice issues Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal justice issues - Annotated Bibliography Example Criminologists believe that this is a strong predictor of criminal outcomes in youth. Early educational experiences, the negative labeling influence by teachers and peers in school, has been sited as having direct connections to later criminal behavior. Some studies have identified a peer effect on delinquency, where the peer group influences individual participation in delinquent behavior, which influences the later onset of delinquency. While doing poorly in school may present other factors, certainly the reaction from teachers and peers and the discouragement or encouragement by those in power has a direct impact on the way the student comprehends him or herself. This has been found to have not only current societal but far reaching life consequences as well. On the other hand, positive labeling at an early age and continued positive support by peers and caregivers and other authority figures has an enormous influence in the further prevention of violence and other criminally associated behavior. . Succinctly put, labeling theory looks at differing labeling sources and specific relationships over time and makes an attempt to predict the onset of deviant behavior in juveniles. Juveniles are routinely bombarded with different prompts and signals as to how they are being perceived by others. Through the act of role taking and other defining situations Adams, Robertson, Gray-Ray & Ray believe that juveniles are able to â€Å"accurately interpret the meanings of symbols and gestures used to project labels upon them† (2003, p. 172). This allows a projection of self into the role of an authority figure or significant other and allows the youth to make a self-appraisal or assessment through the eyes of another. The all too common response, â€Å"I wonder what they are thinking about me,† is a familiar refrain to us all. In some sense the self then becomes an object

Meditation in Taoism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Meditation in Taoism - Research Paper Example Taoist meditation gives the mind an opportunity to focus wholly. This form of meditation is evident in the Buddhist religion2. Meditation is a religious aspect that seeks to define life and its forms and to connect with nature. It helps an individual realize meaning of life and peace. Since Taoist meditation is a humble form of meditation, people practicing it experience a new form of transformation that generates energy enough to do anything the individual intends. Evidently, a Taoist meditation serves to connect body, spirit, and mind. Taoist meditation is a common aspect among the different groups of Taos. For some, it is purely way to attain the transformation to immortality. The Taoist meditation has health benefits because it concentrates on establishing a healthy status of the mind and body. Taos believe that meditation can lengthen life and real Taos believe in n eternity3. Meditation makes the human spirit sensitive to spiritual matters. It leads to a new form of discovery that identifies with nature. From the Taoist view, they seek to establish knowledge of nature and reality and associate with the changing forms of nature. The ultimate goal of a Taoist is to observe nature and its complexity and patterns and then apply these patterns to drive life. Taoists believe that humans are part of the vast universe. The Taoist keeps making efforts to discover the true pure mind. The Taoist meditation is an inner exercise4. The meditation takes fifteen minutes or more. It requires a cool and still internal environment. The individual must create a balance in the body posture, regulate and slow down breathing and then concentrate on the inner self. The Taoists consider the body, breathe, and spirit as the three treasures. A comfortable body posture ensures that the body weight is under a good balance and the spine remains straight. An individual must give attention to sensations resulting from the physical senses. In some cases, Taoists involve

Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Virginia State Government - Essay Example 18, making monies available for â€Å"grants to pay for temporary housing, minor home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses† (1). There is little argument that these services were needed, but the number of requests in the years to come might speak volumes. In June 2004, aid was given to Virginia once again. The â€Å"Federal Disaster Aid Authorized for Virginia Storms† press release read that funds were requested for a â€Å"series of severe storms† (para. 1). Most of the money went to southwestern Virginia to help residential families and small businesses affected by flooding from rainstorms, and damage done by tornadoes. In December 2006, the state of Virginia made application to FEMA once again for damage done by Tropical Storm Ernesto. This time, however, the state was denied FEMA help. In â€Å"FEMA Denies Richmond’s Housing-Money Request,† Michael Martz writes that the city was denied â€Å"more than $198,000 †¦ spent to house people in hotels and apartments after their North Side neighborhoods were flooded Sept. 1† (para. 2). Even with the rejection, Martz reported that Virginia officials still planned to apply for $35 million to fix a collapsed sewer line, and to take preventive measures against further flooding in the city’s Battery Park. Later that year, a news story titled â€Å"Blame the Weather† appeared in Economist. Although Virginia was not named specifically, the main idea of the article was that â€Å"bad weather and bad government may be related† (para. 1). The story read that the large influxes of cash provided by FEMA made it easy for government officials to skim money off the top by inflating the actual amount of damage done, demanding kickbacks from contractors hired to rebuild, etc. It was revealed that if FEMA were defunct, government corruption would be â€Å"cut by more than 20% in the average state† (para. 4). That is based on the idea of each state’s resident being cheated out of only $1. This

Fallacy arguments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fallacy arguments - Essay Example This was also the time when Lindsey decided to go to university. The fallacy that the speaker commits here is the oversimplified cause fallacy. First, the speaker believes that since the relationship went downhill at the same time that Lindsey went to university, then the university thing must have been the reason behind the failure of the relationship. However, these may have only been a coincidence, and that nobody could really actually say that two events happening together in close succession would be both a cause and an effect. Second, the speaker falsely labels Lindsey’s decision to go to university as something that violates the traditional female role. Perhaps, the speaker equates female tradition with submission to the male gender or prioritizing one’s boyfriend instead of going to school. Either way, the meaning of â€Å"traditional female role† is vague. The fallacy is therefore committed as the speaker labels this decision of Lindsey’s to go to university as something that violates the traditional female role, and somehow hastily ascribing to this abandonment of the traditional female role as the cause of the failure of a relationship. 2. Mayor Ford: Reporters from the Toronto Star, and Globe and Mail newspapers have claimed that I use crack cocaine, and that my brother dealt drugs in the 80’s. But those reporters are just a bunch of maggots. So, nobody should listen to those little sleaze bags. Premise 1) The reporters of certain newspapers claim that Mayor Ford uses cocaine and implicates his brother in this. 2) These reporters are a â€Å"bunch of maggots† and â€Å"little sleaze bags.† Conclusion: Nobody should listen to them, or what they are saying is not true. Fallacy: Ad hominem According to the mayor himself, the reporters of the various newspapers whom he named were accusing him of using drugs and even implicate his brother in this. However, instead of stating whether these accusations are t rue or not, or instead of giving his statement on the matter, the mayor decided to resort to committing the fallacy of ad hominem by calling these reporters a â€Å"bunch of maggots† and â€Å"little sleaze bags† – which are extremely derogatory terms. These bad names were used by the mayor in order to discredit these reporters and to somehow make the reader feel that these reporters do not deserve to be heard at all. Thus, the tendency of those who will believe the mayor’s statement will be to refuse to believe the reporters. The mayor is perhaps committing this fallacy deliberately in order to evade the true issue, or perhaps the possible truth that he really was a crackpot. 3. Keesha: I’ve just started using Weight Watcher’s weight loss program. You should really try it. Martin: Why Weight Watchers? Aren’t there lots of different weight loss programs out there? Keesha: Well maybe, but I know Weight Watchers is the best because the sales associate at Weight Watchers told me that their program is the only way to lose weight safely and effectively. Premise 1) The sales associate at Weight Watchers told Keesha that their program is the only way to lose weight safely and effectively. 2) Weight Watchers is the best. Conclusion: Keesha has started using Weight Watcher’s weight loss program. Fallacy: Inappropriate Appeal to Authority According to Keesha, the Weight Watchers weight loss prog

Types of Information Systems Used Within Organizations Essay

Types of Information Systems Used Within Organizations - Essay Example Information Systems have many different areas of work. These include Information Systems Management, Information Systems Strategy, and Information Systems Development. Information Systems Management is a system of collecting, processing, disseminating, and storing data in the form of information that is required to carry out functions of management. An Information Systems Strategy is a system used to assist and manage information to help in strategic decision making. The IT department of an organization partly focuses on the development of information technology in an organization. It governs the development of Information Systems that focus on the development, use, influence, and application on an organization or business. A computer-based Information System is a medium which is used for storing, recording, and spread linguistic expressions, and also drawing conclusions from these expressions. These systems are technologically implemented. There are many different types of Information Systems; some of these include Management Information Systems, Transaction Information Systems, Expert Systems, Decision Support Systems, and Business Intelligence Systems.

Factors Influencing the Increase in Temporary Employment Essay

Factors Influencing the Increase in Temporary Employment - Essay Example Temporary employees subsume all forms of non-standard or contingent employment, including part time and contract workers. Originating early in the 1980s, temporary employment has been on a constant rise not just in the United States, but across Europe and the developed world (Hardy and Walker, 2003 p.141) According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth in temporary employment through the 1990s was dramatic (Golden And Appelbaum 1992 p.473). A survey carried out late in the 1990s indicated that approximately 90% of U.S business and about 95% of the Fortune 500 firms employed temporary employees or used the services of temporary employment agencies. This rise in the demand and supply of temporary employment is unprecedented. Though, temporary employment used to be restricted to clerical and office jobs, its growth has now encompassed almost every job type. Areas that have witnessed raid increase in temporary employment includes professional, services and technological corporations. However, companies use temporary employees to fill vacancies caused by employee absentee, special assignments, seasonal work increases and temporary workers shortages. In addition, employers often make use of temporary employee to fill staff vacancies when they do not intend to increase the ir staff strength (Temporary Employment, 2005). The first te... employers often make use of temporary employee to fill staff vacancies when they do not intend to increase their staff strength (Temporary Employment, 2005). Background of problem: The first temporary employment firms began operations in the 1940s. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s, however, that temporary employment grew rapidly. Annual average temporary employment grew from 340,000 in 1978 to 695,000 by 1985, increasing three times faster than total service sector employment and eight times faster than total nonagricultural employment. The temporary employment industry experienced its most explosive growth in the early 1990s, expanding by an average of 17 percent a year. Annual average temporary employment rose to 2.2 million workers by 1996 and to nearly 2.8 million by 1998 with an annual growth rate of about 9 percent. Between 1992 and 1998, 18.4 million non-agricultural jobs were added to the U.S. economy. Temporary employment accounted for 1.4 million of these jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS predicts that the temporary employment will increase by 53 percent by 2006, making it one of the most rapidly expanding indu stries. Overall, temporary employment accounts for about 2 percent of the country's employment. In the late 1990s, temporary employment agencies began investing greater more in training employees for their assignments. A NATSS survey from 1998 reported that temporary employment agencies spent $720 million on training 1997, in contrast to only $260 million in 1995. The survey also indicated that 4.8 million workers participated in the training programs and that about 90 percent of all temporary employment agencies provide training for free. Statement of the problem: This section of the research put the

Strategic HRD and HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Strategic HRD and HRM - Essay Example Each cupboard is a complex ensemble of fume extraction units, plumbing, and electrical systems to be designed and fitted. Each cupboard is unique and requires flexibility and an attention to detail within the manufacturing process to suit client’s customization needs. The company delivers bespoke fume-cupboards to customers gate but does not get involved in its installation. The Company consists of 220 personnel, 175 of them work on manufacturing process-the core process. Balance of 45 personnel work in the sales department, design department and the support function. Support functions include payroll, accounts, HRM, and administration. HRD problem as identified in company structure appears to be the fact that HRM function is small and inadequately staffed within the company. Further evidence in the case reveals that this function is not able to achieve its objectives to a very large extent. Similarly, sales and design departments appear to be under Staffed.The Company has cor e operations in the manufacturing process in which 80% of employees are deployed. It comprises of several functional sections like the sheet metal cutting and folding for the cupboards, protective coating application, initial assembly, plumbing, and electrical sections. The first HRD/Organizational problem identified in core operations appears to be a loose span of supervisory control over laborers. Assuming 4 supervisors per functional section, we have about 20 supervisors in 5 sections and 155 laborers under such supervisors. Each supervisor on an average has about 8 laborers under him. The second problem relates to very high labor turnover on manufacturing shop floor. This disturbs the supervisor span of control further which is already high at 8 laborers and possibly obstructs the product customization process leading to defectives and quality deficiencies. Moreover, quality control function at the company is very weak too.