The Illusion of Freedom in Miss Julie

The Illusion of Freedom in Miss Julie August Strindberg’s Miss Julie is a naturalistic play which deals with the themes of love, lust, and power struggles between social classes and genders. Being a naturalistic play, Miss Julie deals with the upbringing of and the environment surrounding the two main characters, Julie and Jean, and how these factors affect their motivations.As with the convention in naturalism, the two main characters would have no real control over their fates and instead be subjugated to hereditary and environmental forces. Julie, being of aristocratic descent, seemed to have complete freedom. She had access to the best of luxuries and yet could heavily interact with the servants, such as participating in their Midsummer Eve celebration and dancing with Jean, without severe consequences other than some gossip among the servants.However, Julie’s gender and upbringing seems to be a great disadvantage and hinders her freedom. Raised by her mother to act like a man and yet despise men and subsequently herself, Julie became what Strindberg refers to as a â€Å"man-hating half-woman† (page 60), though this upbringing allowed Julie to ignore the social norms of her time and assert her dominance upon male characters (her fiance and Jean), it is also responsible for her eventual suicide which was implied in the end of the play.The illusion of Julie’s supposed freedom is revealed throughout the play, with Jean holding power over her during a significant portion of the play and her father, the Count, being an absent, but nevertheless imposing presence throughout the play, especially in the end. Jean is diametrically opposite to Julie in his heredity, being of common descent and a male, although Jean is well travelled and possesses a degree of sophistication in his speech and manners.He has access to little resources other than his own ambitions and determination. Jean dreams vaguely of someday opening a hotel and using the p rofits and prestige gained from such an enterprise to purchase a title and make himself a Count like Julie’s father. Despite the numerous power reversals that occurred after his seduction of Julie, he remains subjugated to authority throughout the play, both to that of Julie and especially her father.Any reminder of the Count such as his boots, Jean’s inferior clothing, and especially the ringing bell reduced Jean from a normally eloquent or sadistic speaker to a pathetic servant. There were multiple factors, other than the supposed love that was professed by both characters towards one other, which caused Julie and Jean to engage in such a tryst. The Midsummer Eve celebration and its intoxicating drinks and passion-inducing dancing lowered the inhibitions of both characters.The celebration increased Julie’s lust and her emotional vulnerability from her recently broken engagement with her fiance made Julie vulnerable to Jean’s seduction; his tale of falli ng in love with her upon laying his eyes on her and subsequently wanting to kill himself because of the obviously lack of romantic relationship that would form between them was especially effective; Julie’s vulnerability to Jean’s seduction could also be attributed to her female sensibilities.Likewise, the celebration likely emboldened Jean to proceed with his seduction, with Jean’s ultimate goal being using Julie’s wealth to finance his dreams of opening a hotel and becoming a Count. Before Julie’s seduction by Jean, she possessed the power or the appearance of power in the relationship. Jean addressed her respectfully, as befitting a servant talking to his mistress. Julie could toy with Jean and command him to do almost anything, such as forcing him to dance with her or kissing her shoes, as she was of a higher class and had authority over Jean, who was a lowly servant.However, after Jean’s successful seduction of Julie, the class lines th at existed between them were broken down and they were became social equals, thus their relationship shifted focus to power struggles with respect to gender. While Julie still insults Jean regarding his lower social standing, Jean responds with derogatory remarks such as calling her a whore (page 90) for throwing herself at one with such a lower social standing, which was unthinkable for women in her position at the time.Despite the antagonistic and sadomasochistic relationship that arose between them after the seduction, Julie and Jean still could use each other to benefit themselves. Julie was tired of the social standards that were imposed upon her, thus she desired to fall to Jean’s social level. Whereas Jean, with his grand ambitions of becoming a Count, sought to rise in the social ladder through Julie’s wealth. Julie and Jean were able to temporarily rebel, against the social norms that constrained them, through having an affair despite the immense difference in their social standings.They planned to further this rebellion through running away together and starting their own hotel. However, this radical plan was stopped by Christine, who prevented the lovers access to horses and their escape, who embodied the social disapproval at the inappropriateness of a tryst between two of such different class and their plan to escape the consequences. Julie and Jean still could have escaped by foot but for the ringing of the bell that signaled the return of the Count.The Count, whose presence pervaded throughout the story, whose very mention reduced Jean to sniveling servility, and shamed and angered Julie greatly, ultimately held power over both the lovers. Despite never being physically present in the play, the Count still commanded great fear and respect in both Julie and Jean. He symbolized the omnipresence of social authority and the power it commanded over its subjects. The most convincing example of this is in the end of the play, Julie wished to commit suicide to escape her shame and indignity but lacked the willpower to do so.She implored Jean to command to do so, but he suffered the same problem and lacked the willpower too. Only through hypnotizing himself, by acting as the Count giving him a command, was Jean able to command Julie to commit suicide. Only through both Julie and Jean submitting to the social authority, represented by the Count, was Julie able to achieve the end that she desired. In the end, though Julie and Jean were able to temporarily fight against the environmental forces through their affair and hatching a fantastic escape plan for a new life, neither of the lovers were able to escape their respective upbringings and social classes.One could argue that Julie was able to rebel against the social authority through suicide which released its power over her; one must also consider that an aristocrat such as her would be ingrained to avoid bringing such great shame upon her family through her upbringin g and surrounding environments , thus the social authority is responsible for her suicide, which is almost unsurprising or even expected.Likewise, Jean was not able to escape the social authority either, he was not able to commit suicide because of his lack of aristocratic pride is replaced with a greater sense of self preservation, thus Jean will suffer the full wrath of the Count and the social authority for causing Julie’s death and attempting to disrupt the social equilibrium.Ultimately, Jean and Julie have been and always will be subject to the social authority for the entirety of their lives, any control or freedom is merely a temporary illusion which will be broken quickly and dramatically. Work Cited 1. Strindberg, August. Miss Julie and Other Plays. Oxford University Press, 1988. Print.

McDonald’s: The coffee spill

1. What are the major issues in the Liebeck case and in the following incidents? Was the lawsuit â€Å"frivolous† as some people thought, or serious business? The major issues in this case include how hot the coffee should be, when to draw the line on making a case outrageous and how corporations are supposed to please customers without worrying about being sued. I believe that the lawsuit was frivolous because of the amount of money that was being asked for. It is common sense that when you order coffee or any other hot beverage that contents will be hot.I feel that it was the fault of Liebeck and although this is the case, McDonald’s should have paid the medical bills and settled out of court before it was blown out of proportion. 2. What are McDonald’s social (economic, legal, and ethical) responsibilities toward consumers in the Liebeck case and the other cases? What are consumers' responsibilities when they buy a product such as hot coffee or hot hamburgers? How does a company give consumers what they want and yet protect them at the same time?McDonald’s responsibilities are to be honest and fair economically, legally and ethically. Any business should keep the safety of their customers in mind and if an incident does occur, take responsibility. Consumers are responsible for situational awareness. They should pay more attention to what they are doing and if something does occur, consumers should act within reason and not try to get every cent from the company they can. It is impossible to keep everyone happy. 3. What are the arguments supporting McDonald’s position in the Liebeck case?What are the arguments supporting Liebeck’s position? McDonald’s stated that Liebeck had only herself to blame for placing the cup between her legs. It was also stated that Liebeck failed to leap out of the seat allowing the coffee to penetrate her clothing and burning her. A burn expert for Liebeck stated that 170 degree coffe e is capable of causing second degree burns within 3. 5 seconds. It was also argued that 700 complaints, equal to one in every 24 million cups sold, is trivial.This statement was supposed to help McDonald’s but in turn helped Liebeck. 4. If you had been a juror in the Liebeck case, which position would you most likely have supported? Why? What if you had been a juror in the pickle burn case? If I were a juror in this case or the pickle burn case, I would have most likely supported McDonald’s. I feel that people should show a little more common sense when they order food. Most people want to get their food while it is still hot so why don’t people sue when food is too cold?On the other hand, McDonald’s should make the warning on the cup larger and warn consumers as they order. 5. What are the similarities and differences between the coffee burn case and the pickle burn case? Does one represent a more serious threat to consumer harm? What should McDonald's, and other fast food restaurants, do about hot food, such as hamburgers, when consumers are injured? Both the coffee case and the pickle burn case have one big thing in common. Both cases are against McDonald’s.Both cases are based on the same complaint, too hot, but the burns resulted from different sources. As I stated above, fast food restaurants should make labels larger as well as give a verbal warning. Maybe they should make the entire wrapper or cup a warning. I cannot however agree to lower the temperature. I feel that if a customer wishes to have a cooler beverage, ask the server to pour a little cool water in it to cool it off. As far as food is concerned, consumers should have the common sense to wait. 6. What is your assessment of the â€Å"Stella Awards?†Is this making light of a serious problem? I think that the Stella awards are funny. They show us what people are willing to sue over and how outrageous the cases can be. The serious problem that I see is people are losing more and more common sense and businesses are paying for it. 7. What are the implications of these cases for future product-related lawsuits? Do we now live in a society where businesses are responsible for customers’ accidents or carelessness in using products? We live in a society that is growing older.Does this fact place a special responsibility on merchants who sell products to senior citizens? I feel that we are living in a world where businesses are responsible for consumer carelessness and accidents. Senior citizens should be warned over and over if a product is hot but should not place a special responsibility on merchants that sell to senior citizens. As far as implications, for the court systems to remain fair, damages should and need to be given to all but it does not have to be millions and millions of dollars.

Discuss whether the division between virtual and real is becoming more Essay

Discuss whether the division between virtual and real is becoming more blurred through the use of augmented reality - Essay Example It is a part of common sense that we rarely can view it. It is an idea according to which each individual has a mind. The constituents of the mind include faiths, apprehensions, anticipations, motivations, yearnings, etc. The continuity of our minds is the source of our personality and identity as individuals. In the past couple of centuries we have also become convinced that this common-sense psychology is rooted in the brain. These mental conditions and occurrences are somehow going on in the neurophysiological systems of the brain. So this leaves us with two stages at which we can illustrate and elaborate human beings: a level of common-sense psychology, which seems to operate well enough in practice although not scientific; and a level of neurophysiology, which is definitely scientific. However, the most modern specialists know very little about the level of neurophysiology (Searle, 2007, p. 1). What we call minds are merely very complicated digital computer programs. Mental states are only computer states and mental procedures are computational systems. Any process whatever that had the correct program, with the correct input and output, would have to have mental conditions and systems in the same literal sense that we do. The programs in question are "self-modifying" or "self-structuring" "systems of representations" (Searle, 2007, p. 2; Calvin, 1987). The fast progress of computers may indicate the possibility of these machines replacing human brain and emulate human intelligence. It is apparent that at least some human mental capabilities are algorithmic. It follows that a person could not find out that the brain or anything else was inherently a digital computer. A person can allocate a computational interpretation to it. Some physical arrangements make possible the computational application much better than others. That is why we put

Enterprise IT at Cisco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enterprise IT at Cisco - Case Study Example These strategies can encompass what are known as the four building blocks of competitive advantage; superior efficiency; quality; speed, flexibility and innovation; and responsiveness to customers. Discussion What was Pete Solvik's approach to IT governance? what was the primary style in use at the network/infrastructure level? What about the data level? How about the application level? Pete Solvik completely decentralized the IT functions and distributed the IT funding among all departments in a way that all functions and departments had the autonomy to make decisions regarding the IT system that they wanted to deploy and go ahead with the investment. At the time, IT was considered as an overhead cost and this needed to be changed. He restructured the way in which IT decisions regarding the investment on applications were made. As the IT system of Cisco was failing and the technology was becoming outdated, Solvik decided to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning system to attain a more robust infrastructure. The ERP system was implemented to control the functions of the inventory and manufacturing department and to keep the departments in sync. With the help of the infrastructure implementation, Cisco then launched intranet service for the employees and a web-base online resource for the customers. Solvik enabled all functions and department to select the IT systems that they wished to implement and gave them an autocratic environment of decision making as well as the budget to make the IT investments. He also divided the IT budgets among regional department to give different regions a choice to implement the systems that they found more feasible. However, with the number of different systems deployed, data was being entered into the ERP differently through each department which made it all the more difficult to track information. Although this approach proved successful in the short run, eventually there were too many projects to implement and handle and t his caused various issues. What problems did Cisco have with its internal IT by 2001? Why didn't the ERP system help more? There was a lot of investment over IT implementations but hardly any proved to be fruitful. By giving all departments and functions the autonomy to have their own IT tools caused duplication. This was wasted funds over the same type of systems that had similar functionalities. This not only wasted funds but also caused miscommunication within the company. Also, different tools had different keywords to extract data which caused further problems. As Solvik decentralized the system, there was no single centralized group that overlooked the IT decisions and systems that were being implemented to ensure that there are no redundancies. The problem with interfacing the ERP system was that the various different systems tried to access different information in different ways. Data from the ERP was used differently by the independent systems as there were a number of int erfaced developed to communicate with the ERP. Implementing an ERP system is not enough, the system has to upgraded and extended with the passage for time for it function better. The updating and extension of the system was hindered with the different interfaces used to communicate with the system. Moreover, the employees had become accustomed to the systems that

Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Communications - Essay Example All these elements are in constant interaction. The purposes of nonverbal communication: The necessary communication skill is listening. Listening is used with the purpose to set appropriate goals, to understand main ideas or thoughts, to retain information, to evaluate and to analyze someone's behavior, etc. Listening is important to let sender known that he is being listened to. It involves also asking questions about the topic being discussed, paraphrasing, repetition, visualization, etc. The main barriers affecting communication process are: desire to be always right; fear, not listening, running away, dreaming, etc3. Jennie was new employer of our management team and we were sent to a business trip. At the same time I was studying at the university and working. It was difficult for us to start communicating, because we were a little bit embarrassed and confused as we saw each other practically for the first time. Situation took place in train: March, 2005, 4:00 p.m. Me: Frankly speaking, I don't think that the course is too boring and bad, the first two weeks were really interesting and fascinating and the lectures were gripping maybe I'm the reason not the course Me: Oh, they wanted me to achieve something in life. ... Situation took place in train: March, 2005, 4:00 p.m. Jennie: I see you are not reading at all, are you Me: Sorry What Jennie: I mean the book I noticed you haven't read a line in the last half an hour. Me: (laughing and then smiling) Yes, you are completely right. You know I have to read it, but I'm not able to collect my thoughts. It is too stuffy in the carriage! Jennie: As far as I see you are not greatly interested in book. It doesn't hold your interest. Maybe the book is too abstruse and complicated for you Me: No, it is okay. But you are right, it is rather boring, but I need to read it for my classes. You see, I'm studying at the university. Jennie: (shrugging her shoulders) There is a cute phrase suitable for you: it is a labor of labor rather than that of love. Me: You know I'm fond of literature, but I don't like Joyce the author of the novel as the result I feel I'm getting bored with the whole course more and more. Jennie: (sarcastically) I see it is the course that irritates you, not the book. Me: Frankly speaking, I don't think that the course is too boring and bad, the first two weeks were really interesting and fascinating and the lectures were gripping maybe I'm the reason not the course Jennie: I'm sorry, but you look completely confused. I understand that the course is okay. I see that you would have chose art instead of literature. Am I right Me: Oh, they wanted me to achieve something in life. I know that but You know they thought it would be practically impossible to find perspective job with the degree in Arts. Therefore they sent me generous allowance for my tutorials. But now I realize that I'm just wasting my time. Literature is not mine I feel that I'm spending their money in vain. Jennie: They chose your course

Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Holocaust - Essay Example The functionality of a family relies on the efforts and contribution of all persons who constitute a given family unit. Clara’s family is no exception in terms of its setting and functionality. The interdependence between members of Clara’s family and other families in the Zolkiew community shows the extent to which families can go in order to remain together and united as one. Family ties were critical to account for during the Nazis occupation in Zolkiew, Poland. Family completeness is influenced by the manner in which family members relate. Clara and her family have close relationship that is characterized by love and care for one another. This factor enhanced the family’s unity during happy and sad times. Given the fact that the Nazis were against the Jews, Clara’s family was a close and direct target. Just like any other Jewish family at the time, Clara’s family was under significant threat. Amid this, the family ties between Clara, her mother, and her father remained close for the purpose of uniting the family. The presence of the Nazis in Zolkiew, Poland jeopardizes the family setting as a safe haven for the Jewish community. Family setups are broken while others are subjected to extreme livelihoods that they were not previously used to. In this respect, there is the aspect of ruined family ties in Clara’s memoir. In fact, she interacted with persons who were direct victims of such experiences. On the same note, the presence of the Nazis in their community could not offer anything short of these experiences. An aspect of help, assistance, and support is depicted by the manner in which Clara’s family relates with the Beck’s. In regard to this experience, it is evident that family ties do not only involve family members, but also friends and families within and without. Insights into the family context are based on strong ties that are established through good relations and

The Problem With Akeem In Education. Causes And Decision Case Study - 12

The Problem With Akeem In Education. Causes And Decision - Case Study Example Kirkley further elaborates, solving a problem in some cases requires the problem solver to dynamically restructure and run their mental models of the systems to effect a particular action on a system. Developing a mental model is more practical and requires more than the declarative teaching than students such as Akeem received from their classroom. The solution would thus be aimed at making the studies a bit practical to make such students to express mental models practically rather than theoretically. Cooper & Henschkle (2001) describe andragogy as a form of learning for adults where practice in the field is supplemented with theoretical work form the class. Such an approach would help in helping children such as Akeem. The children exhibiting such behavior should be offered with an environment that stimulates practical activities. Once the area of concern is established, the students would then be encouraged to participate more in this specific area, and later when enough interest is accumulated, the student might be introduced to the theoretical aspect of the idea. The plan has to work effectively in that the plan isolates the areas of interests as portrayed by the student, and then develops these areas. In short, it is a student controlled learning instead of a teacher controlled learning. As Cooper & Henschkle (2001) elaborate, the interest and practical aspect gained would be the motivation towards learning the theoretical concept. Cooper, M.K. & Henschke, J.A., (2001). Andragogy: its research value for practice. A presentation to the Midwest Research to Practice conference, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois, Sept. 26-28, 2001.

The Hotel Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Hotel Industry - Essay Example the customers. For any commercial organization it is then a people versus people equation for its survival. Unlike other resources which an organization deploys people or its staff are live resources that think, have feelings, aspirations, motives and emotions which get nurtured, developed ,frustrated or stunted every now and then. No human would be willing to work with frustrated aspirations or stunted and suppressed feelings. Thus it becomes incumbent on an organization to nurture and develop the feelings, aspirations, emotions of its employees. This is the traditional function of the human resource management function in any organization. Present day literature, however lays more emphasis on strategic human resource management wherein the human resource management function is aligned in such a manner that fulfilling human resource management function automatically ensures reaching strategic objectives of the organization. In short the human resource management function is woven wi th in the overall strategy of the organization. ... tivities that are undertaken consciously or unconsciously, internally or externally to an organization whereby human resources of the organization are developed and utilized in a manner to maximize achievement of organizational goals. One important precept of entire human resources' management exercise is the recognition of the fact that the most valuable resource for any organization is its human factor; it is the only live factor and thus the only truly mouldable factor. Therefore human resource management (HRM) is a term used to represent that part of an organization's activities concerned with the recruitment, development and management of its employees (Wood & Wall, 2002). Employee empowerment is an important piece of strategic initiatives in human resource management in any hotelling organization. Empowerment if adopted as a conscious strategy has important implications for employee motivation, performance and the quality of the service offered by the hotel. This paper seeks to examine the issue of employee empowerment in some star hotels in Jordan in the back drop of a comprehensive literature review. The Hotel Industry Parks (2003) states with abundant clarity the role of human interface in hotel industry in following words," The hospitality industry is obviously customer-service driven. If your employees aren't satisfied in their jobs, their unhappiness is bound to spill over into their attitudes and behaviors toward clients and guests. Most hospitality positions require people to be in constant communication with the public while servicing guests. Because of this, employee satisfaction is vitally important to the success of your business. Everyone knows that it costs much more to hire and train a new employee than it does to keep an existing employee.

Any proposed area of commercial law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Any proposed area of commercial law - Coursework Example A perspective shared among the technology providers and the companies collecting and mining data is that ethical, privacy-respecting practices simply make good business sense. Are there guidelines in developing privacy policies to help organizations in establishing ethical responsibilities of the organization and the data professionals? How does an organization develop a data privacy policy that provides the environment for trust on the part of the consumers? A major focus needs to be the incorporation of fair information practice principles of notice, choice, access, and security. Management and information technology professionals need to develop an understanding of how to manage data ethically and communicate the policy effectively to the consumers (Samuelson, 1999). More information and experience is needed by students and professionals in management and information technology in the development of a data privacy policy. This research project serves to provide the needed informat ion and experience for both students and professionals. Current technology makes the threats to privacy less tangible and less visible. It is difficult to know when and for what purposes individuals are being watched or information is being gathered and used for purposes that are not endorsed by the individuals. While many organizations have the capacity to collect data from consumers, businesses have a profit motive that adds a greater threat to the privacy dilemma. It is not only the continual compilation of data about individuals that poses privacy trepidation, but the ways in which data can be transformed and sold to other organizations. This consumer profiling can be misleading and damaging. If e-commerce is to succeed, businesses must work to develop a trustworthy, secure online environment. Developing a privacy policy is the first step in creating that trust. Incorporating a privacy

Financial system and interimediaries Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial system and interimediaries - Coursework Example Financial institutions act as intermediaries and they determine the flow of funds. Financial regulators monitor the participants in the financial system. Conditions. Banks will always want to know how the borrower intends to use the loan. They will also check on whether the economic conditions will enable the customers make enough income to comfortably repay the loan (Wells Fargo, 2015). Financial intermediary is a financial institution that connects individuals with surplus finances with individual with deficit finances. The individuals with excess finances are savers while those with deficit finances are borrowers. The savers give the money to a financial intermediary and the financial intermediary transfers the money to spenders through loans or mortgages. Examples of financial intermediaries include banks, private equity, venture capital funds, leasing companies, pension funds, insurance companies, financial advisers and brokers, collective investments schemes, building societies and micro-credit providers (Robert E.W et. al., 2012). A venture capital is a financial capital provider that provides financing to start-up businesses that have high chances to succeed. The venture capital makes money by owning equity in the financed business. A building society is a financial institution that is owned by members as a common organization. Building society of most banking services such as saving and loans especially on mortgages. The profits generated by the building society are distributed among members depending on their share ownership of the building society. A collective investment scheme is a professional arrangement that enables investors to collectively pool funds and have these monies managed by professionals. Collective investment schemes invest in a wide range of investment thus spreading their risks. They can invest in bonds and quoted equity, real estate and in transport and

War on Terror Essay Example for Free

War on Terror Essay I, myself, before September 11, 2001 did not know what terrorism was. It is completely a new term for me, and I could never figure how terrible it is. But then, experiencing and witnessing the feeling of losing the one you loved who was a victim of that disaster, I recognized that the world is no longer as safe as before. Today, not only America but also Britain, Spain, Indonesia†¦became the target of terrorists. The terror tissue is the most challenged thing for all the governments to solve. Even though after September 11, 2001, US has attacked and destroyed a lot terrorists’ bases in over the world, the terrorists still survive and keep aiming to US and its allies. There is an old proverb of ancient Asian military: â€Å"understanding yourself and your enemies is the key to win every battle.† Thus, in order to annihilate terrorism, we need to comprehend what it is. From the book â€Å"War on Terror† of Patrick Coaty, we will be able understand deeply how and why terror has an influence in our society by basing on 3 perspectives: terror and international environment, terror and state, and terror with individual. Terror was first used From the French revolution to the end of World War II as a tool to clean the monarchy in a society by the Jacobins, terrorist groups of French revolution. Then terror was developed when the Soviets threatened and exploited people. Opponents were starved to death. The state controlled what a person ate, wore and even drank. It was evaluated as reliable for Soviet society. The Soviets used terror to break the traditional societal structure that evolved during the Czars ‘reign†. Under the time Soviets ruled the country, the gap between the poor and the rich became larger. The rich became richer and they hide the poor to work for them. Later on, that created the food shortage in the urban of the society because the rich only produced what they needed for life instead of what society needed. The duty of the Soviet Union is to maintain the balance of entire society by control the products of rich peasants. However, they did not success, and that was also the reason why the Soviet Union is collapsed later. Eventually, terrorism evolved under Hitler’s reign to basically killing people to take control and gaining power by combining it with the police power of the state. Hitler learned from the experience of Stalin of Russia he killed all of the people that helped him to become a leader. The Military Organization combined with the Gestapo which was one of the four organizations of the German Workers Party, and was responsible for the killings of millions people. As a result of World War II, the United Nations, which were the permanent members of the U.N Security Council include Great Britain, France, Russian and the Soviet Union, China and the United States, was established to prevent future wars and genocides. The United Nation has an obligation to provide international peace and security. Unfortunately, each member has different perspectives and ways to maintain their influences over the world, and that led to the forming of a favorable environment for terrorist groups and their state sponsors. The nation liberation is another type of terror. During the cold war, many countries were established by using the violence to gain the power. We saw the connection between Soviet Union and groups that used terror as an expression of national revolutionaries to destabilize the government like revolutionaries in Vietnam, Cuba, and Korea. These attacks have these similarities: support from the state, the element of surprise and the access to international media. To gain more power and more influences to other half of the world, Soviet Union and its allies such as Syria, Libya secretly supported the terror group and used them as a political tool to break down the Western countries. The terror groups such as PFLP and the PLO usually targeted to citizen of Israel, and US allies. Although the ending of tension and completion between the Soviet Union and the United States led to the termination of the Soviet Union, and many of the terrorist of groups based in the United States and Western Europe began wither after Communism fell, terrorism did not disappear. In order to maintain and survive, terrorism needs to have a sponsor. The state sponsors of terrorism are between Iran, Syria and their sponsorship group Hezbollah. Iranians have expanded their impact through the Middle East and mainly in Lebanon by helping with the founding of Hezbollah. The Iranian administration has taken part in direct kidnapping and slaying of hundreds of Americans starting with the U.S. Marine barrack attack in Lebanon in 1983. In the meantime, while not directly responsible for the killing of Americans, the Syrian made the terrorist attacks possible by letting the Iranian provide Hezbolla h with military needs that the United State Department has approximately calculated is about 80 million dollars a year. After the attack of 9/11, the US government has discovered that Al-Qaeda was behind. September 11th, an important event for al-Qaeda, marked the change of al-Qaeda from an organization to a movement. The U.S. pushes the September 11th attacks, issue of the counter-terrorism to the top. Unlike the other groups of terrorist like Hezbollah which require a sponsor to make their move, Al-Qaeda has their own financial system. Al-Qaeda makes profits from our needs for drugs and oil. Another way to earn money quickly of Al-Qaeda is trading heroin for money and weapons; it is hard for US government keeps an eyes on what Al Qaeda did to prevent them on time in the future. Moreover, Al Qaeda also used charities as a cover to raise the fund for the attack their enemy, Americans. Bin Laden, a leader of Al Qaeda, made a speech that all Americans will be the target of attack because they pay tax for the government. Before 9/11, Al Qaeda has successful bombed World Trade Center of US, but US government failed to destroy all terrorists at that time. There are three different levels of plans to fight the counter-terrorism. The three are: criminal justice, preemptive strategy to counter-terrorism and targeted killing. Like criminal justice, the domestic police power of the state treats terrorist the same way one would treat kidnappers, bank robbers or murderers. Although international public opinion is generally in agreement that those that preach and actively use terrorist tactics to spread their ideas must be stopped, there is a problem when the U.S. uses means that go against the idea of humane and fair treatment of those being pursued. This is shown by the negative reaction of many Americans to the length of time suspected terrorists have been imprisoned on Guantanamo Bay and the mistreatment of suspected terrorist in the prisons of Iraq. However, to wait for the terrorists to come to U.S. soil is to play with fire. It does not know when and where their next attack will be. How to prevent terrorism is one of the most concerning problem of the government. Supporting the terrorists’ group is one way helps them gain more power and influence. Therefore, the government had better find a way to cut off all the connection between them and their sponsor than trying to rummage everywhere and destroy terrorists one by one. The government has to tighten the security. The lack of security along our borders has also made it possible for terrorist to live among us and to train and organize without our consent. It is the best to let the police and army always be prepared and practice every single day. Protecting and checking status and biography of every citizen cannot be neglected. As a citizen, we should and have to report some suspicious actions of stranger to police. There are a lot of plans being given, but it is said above that we will not know when and where their next attack will be. All we can do is being prepared and knowing how to protect not only ourselves but also people we cherish. Our government needs our help and cooperation. . Although we don’t know that the attack like 9/11 would happen in the future or not, it would be a good start in letting the average individual improves their understanding the elements in the War on Terror.

At universities and colleges Essay Example for Free

At universities and colleges Essay In today’s society, a large number of the students in universities and colleges have less physical exercise than ever before and hardly go out of the campus to have some social activities. Many people argue that students pay more attention to the study than their health which may because they[SQQ1] do not get enough financial support. As to this problem, I hold the opinion that sports and social activities are just the same significant as classes and libraries and receiving equal financial support can have many benefits though it still has some shortages[SQQ2]. In what follows, I will illustrate my point of view. First of all, today’s students need to face more challenges which means they specially should have a better body[SQQ3] to fight for their future. Enough sports and social activities can help them become healthy not only physically but also mentally. As we can see, some of the students in universities choose to end their own lives because of their pressure on scores or other things and we can easily find most of these students hardly do exercise and even never go out to do social activities such as volunteer work. If this part of the students can regard sports and social activities quite important, they may have a healthier psychology and may not end their own life[SQQ4]. Secondly, if the universities can give sports and activities equal financial support as classes and libraries and build up enough gyms and exercise areas, it can be more convenient for students to keep fit. Because of the schools’ support, the students do not need to go out of the school to do social activities and they can find more chances in school campus like joining the school’s Red Cross to visit the local welfare center for children. Also, the increasing sports place can even bring students the convenience to do any sports any time they like. However, it can still have several disadvantages. For example, the schools  may have less money than before to support students’ study which means the school may invite less famous professors from all over the world to make speech for students. In conclusion, I hold the view that sports and social activities should be regarded as important as classes and libraries and should also get the same large amount of financial support which can help the students have a healthy body physically and mentally. These two facto

Gender Discrimination In Education In Afghanistan Sociology Essay

Gender Discrimination In Education In Afghanistan Sociology Essay Afghanistan is one of the toughest regions for women to survive. Although the country has a highest number of school-going populations, gender disparities in education remain high. Women discrimination in the education system is a pervasive practice, which the political systems have not considered it seriously. Many girls opt to attend to their domestic duties because of the fear they have about insurgents and other group, which usually attack them in various learning institutions. Compared to boys, the societal norms and practices do not favor the girl because they hold minor roles in the building of the society and culture. Research question What are the reasons of gender discrimination in the education in Afghanistan? Proposed claims During the Taliban rule, women oppression and denial to access education has been evident by several attacks insurgent have orchestrated in schools. It is good to note that, this political system exercised male dominance and hegemonic practices against the women because of their position in the society. Socio-cultural norms and practices within the Afghans contribute largely to the discriminative way of sharing resources like education in the community. At the primary school level, the literacy level of girls for aged 15-24 stands at 18%, while the literacy level for bay at the same age bracket remains at 50%. More than half the boys have a chance of completing education compared to girls (Brodsky, Portnoy, Scheibler, Carrilo, 2012). Cultural practices and traditions encouraged boys to further their studies because of the leadership positions they occupied in the society. According to a report filed by the Human Rights Commission in Afghanistan, parents elucidate that major challenges affecting their daughters is insecurity and accessibility of education. Others stated that a girl child ought to attend to domestic duties, engage in productive activities to enable her family earn a living and children marriages (Whitsel Mehran, 2010 p. 504). The Islamic the Islamic rule under the Taliban government did not allow women in public areas. For this reason, other girls opt to remain indoors for fear of execution of assault by law enforcers. This situation influenced the way girls attended schools as opposed to boys who had the time to acquire knowledge. Factors contributing to gender discrimination in education in Afghanistan The Brutal Taliban Rule The Taliban became prominent in 1994 after they took power and ruled the Afghanistan in a dictatorial way. The group targeted women in such a way that many succumbed to health complications, others lost their lives, and the majority lacked the power to acquire knowledge at institutions of learning. Since most of the schools in Afghanistan are gender-segregated, the insurgent group conducted several attacks on girls in order to deprive them from acquiring basic education. It was a rule that girls ought to stay away from public places; the school was a public place where they socialized. According to the Taliban rule, oppressing women was a show of winning despite losing the victory at the battlefields. In Takhar province, the Taliban group poisoned 40 girls student, some of which succumbed to severe health complication (Facar, 2006 p. 31). This group burnt girls schools because they wanted to get rid of the enlightened generation of women, which could challenge their political ideolog ies and power. Before the Taliban assumed power, Afghanistan was a peaceful place, which ensured equality between boys and girls with regard to knowledge acquisition. Thereafter, when the Taliban ruled, they perpetrated egregious acts of violence against young girls. Such actions induced fear in girls who were at learning institutions because they knew anytime they face attackers (Spink, 2005 p. 197). In a certain incidence, In Tukhar province insurgents attached a girls school at night, raped students, assaulted and kidnapped others. For this reason, many abandoned learning as they moved to Iran and Pakistan for refuge. In 1999, Talibans jailed and deported a female worker who was helping Afghanistan women in engaging in home-based work. In Kabul, female teachers lost their jobs, a move that crippled learning in some institutions. Since these teachers attended mainly elementary classes in girls schools, children missed fundamental of education making some to record poor marks in examinations. The Taliban also restricted female from enrolling at the Kabul University. The rationale behind it was the facility was full to capacity and that women should wait for the government to construct another facility. Society norms and practices According to norms and practices of the Afghans, women had no authority over certain traditional practices like marriage. In the video, it was stated that many parents married off their young daughters without their consent because the parents wanted to raise resources, which could sustain the rest of the family (men). Following this initiative, many girls were pulled out of schools or deprived the right to education because they will get married. Some families forced their girl children to stay indoors because they were afraid of fines and penalties, which societal leaders could charge upon exposing their siblings. Brodsky, Portnoy, Scheibler Carrilo, (2012) asserts that the culture has a requirement, which states that girls should not compete with men in any way; going to school as boys do was a form of competition, which the society did not allow. Moreover, culture also required that girls and boys should be segregated in any gathering or event. This doctrine was also exercised a t government institutions, which had a mandate of building schools and allocating other resources. Such an environment does not promote healthy competition during learning. There is a possibility that girls will perform poorly. In the Video, Parish Will of World Edition state that, the society has had a perception that girls should only acquire basic primary education, which sometimes is not essential. With this in mind, many parents had not until recently realized the importance of supporting their daughters education. How working knowledge influenced topic selection In my relationship with female colleagues, i interviewed a few who stated that the major problem, which they face in their pursuit of education, was discrimination and oppression from men. Many asserted that male dominated societies could not favor them or support their educational needs. Apart from that, I noted that the number of female teachers and other workers at various places of work was low. I wanted to establish the rationale behind the situation. I considered that the topic was important for research because I wanted to explore the problem and establish some of the problems, which have led to the situation. Misunderstandings about the topic During the time women were oppressed and discriminated, I do not understand the reason why insurgent and the Taliban targeted women. The explanation given does not give a clear reason for the brutal activities women went through. I consider that Afghanistan men could have been target of Taliban because they can challenge their rule of law. The Islamic rules and practices have given women an equal opportunity as men to pursue various sectors and acquire knowledge in order to develop the society. The Taliban were also Islam, but did not adhere to this requirement. There has been no evidence showing or explaining why women were denied the right of education. Conclusion Indeed women in Afghanistan were denied the right of education. The Taliban used their authority to oppress and deprive women from learning because they wanted to eliminate the likelihood of having enlightened future leaders, who could challenge some of their political ideologies. Although the society still holds that women should remain passive to societal practices and activities, I will carry out sensitization campaigns, which will enlighten women and teach some fundamental rights that they need to demand from the authority. In addition, religious leaders will also be used in teaching the society against the practices, which discriminate against the women. Annotated Reference list Brodsky, A., Portnoy, G., Scheibler, J., Carrilo, A. (2012). Beyond (ABCs) Education, community and feminism in Afghanistan. Journal of Community Psychology, 40(1), 159-181. This journal highlights how Socio-cultural norms and practices within the Afghans has contributed in the oppressive way through which resources and services like education have been shared in the community. The author cites evidence stating that, at the primary school level, the literacy level of girls for aged 15-24 stands at 18%, while the literacy level for bay at the same age bracket remains at 50%. More than half the boys have a chance of completing education compared to girls. Facar, M. (2006). The pendulum of gender politics in Afghanistan. Central Asia Survey, 25(1), 27-59. This source gives a historical perspective of how the Afghanistan society lived during the time before and after the Taliban. The author observes that because most of the schools in Afghanistan are gender-segregated, the insurgent groups have always conducted several attacks on girls in order to restrict them from acquiring basic education. It was a rule that girls ought to stay away from public places; the school was a public place where they socialized. The author adds that oppressing women was a show of winning despite losing the victory at the battlefields. He cites an example in Takhar province, where Taliban group poisoned 40 girls student, some of which succumbed to severe health complication . Spink, J. (2005). Education and politics in Afghanistan: the importance of an education system in peace building and reconstruction. Journal of Peace Education, 2(2), 195-207. In this source, the author gives the picture of the situation after the Taliban assumed power. He explains and demonstrates how women underwent difficult situations in their pursuit of education. He observes that men were favored unlike women who suffered perpetration and egregious acts of violence from the insurgents. Whitsel, C., Mehran, W. (2010). School, work and community-level differences in Afghanistan and Tajikistan: divergence in secondary school enrolment of youth. Central Asia Survey, 29(4), 501-519. In this source the author, identify various problems that lead to the low number of women registration in secondary schools. He observes that traditional norms and practices also deprived women from accessing education by forcing them to stay at home while boys went to school.

Jean De La Fontaine :: essays research papers

Jean de la Fontaine La Fontaine, the most versatile and most widely celebrated nondramatic poet in seventeenth –century France. He has often experienced the misfortune of having the artistry of his works obscured by a host of myths, half-truths, prejudices, and nonaesthetic issues. This great poet, has become a "classic". His fables, on which his Reputations rests, are part of the literary canon of French writers and are studied in schools. His other works, however, have been rediscovered and are the object of quite a few recent studies. (Carter, pg.46) Very little is known about the early part of La Fontaine’s life. He was born in Château-Thierry, a small town in the province of Champagne some fifty miles northeast of Paris. His baptism was entered in the parish of Saint-Crépin register on July 8, 1621. Most take this as his actual birth date, but according to the custom of the period, it probably means that La Fontaine was born a day or two earlier. (Mackay, pg.4) He was the son of Charles de la Fontaine, a royal government official who inspected forests and waterways. His mother Françoise Pidoux, who came from a nobler family from Poitou. He also had a younger brother who was born two years after La Fontaine. He also had an older step sister named Anne de Jouy on his mothers side of the family. (Carter, pg. 46) Burns 2 The education and formative years of young la Fontaine are not documented. Most biographers state that, in all likelihood, he attended château- Thierry "college". This is a secondary institution where humanities were taught to the sons of the middle class. (Encarta n.pag.) He then attended a school at Reims. From there he went to Paris to study medicine and theology, but was drawn into the whirls of social life. During that time he became qualified as a lawyer, but never perused it. In 1641 he went to the Oratory of Saint Magloire in Paris, intending to become a priest and was soon joined by his brother who later dropped out as did La Fontaine. (Http//localhost, pg. 3) After he left the Oratory he went home and started to work for his dad and eventually took over in 1647. The same year he married Marie Héricart, who was an heiress. In 1653 Marie and La Fontaine had a son, (his name was not found in any of my sources).

Physics of Springboard Diving :: Sport Swimming Swim Diving Diver Physics

The Hurdle Before a diver jumps off of a springboard, he does a sort of hop-skip step called a hurdle. After doing a few steps, the diver leaps up into the air with his arms raised. When he lands back down on the tip of the board, he swings his arms down past his legs and then up, leaping into the air and off of the board. The purpose of this hurdle is as follows: A diver cannot simply stand on the end of board, step off, and expect to have the power to go up or the momentum to rotate his body in any direction. What the hurdle does, is first to allow the diver to use the diving board as a slingshot, and second get as much energy as possible out of the "slingshot". This is achieved when the diver takes the first leap into the air with his arms raised. When he comes back down on the board, his own mass falling onto the board will apply a certain force. An additional force is added as the arms swing down at the same time with a greater acceleration, applying more force. At the bottom of the diving board's oscillation, all of the now stored potential energy is released. The diver swings his arms upward and begins to release his pressure on the board. The board pushes the diver up and into the air with a huge force. This force now can be used by the diver not only to go up, but to rotate and therefore perform various dives. The Dives and Application To do a front dive a diver pushes his hips upward just slightly as he leaves the board. After he had begun to go up into the air, he throws his arms downward just enough to make is upper torso rotate around his hips. At the peak of the dive, the diver tightens his stomach muscles and pulls his legs up towards the sky, leaving his body in a perfect upside-down position to enter the water head-first. In order to perform a front dive with a somersault, it requires a full flip of the body and therefore it takes a quicker rotation to cover such an angular distance. The diver takes off from the diving board with the same hip motion and arm swing as for a forward dive, but throws the arms further and makes a smaller "ball" in the air. Physics of Springboard Diving :: Sport Swimming Swim Diving Diver Physics The Hurdle Before a diver jumps off of a springboard, he does a sort of hop-skip step called a hurdle. After doing a few steps, the diver leaps up into the air with his arms raised. When he lands back down on the tip of the board, he swings his arms down past his legs and then up, leaping into the air and off of the board. The purpose of this hurdle is as follows: A diver cannot simply stand on the end of board, step off, and expect to have the power to go up or the momentum to rotate his body in any direction. What the hurdle does, is first to allow the diver to use the diving board as a slingshot, and second get as much energy as possible out of the "slingshot". This is achieved when the diver takes the first leap into the air with his arms raised. When he comes back down on the board, his own mass falling onto the board will apply a certain force. An additional force is added as the arms swing down at the same time with a greater acceleration, applying more force. At the bottom of the diving board's oscillation, all of the now stored potential energy is released. The diver swings his arms upward and begins to release his pressure on the board. The board pushes the diver up and into the air with a huge force. This force now can be used by the diver not only to go up, but to rotate and therefore perform various dives. The Dives and Application To do a front dive a diver pushes his hips upward just slightly as he leaves the board. After he had begun to go up into the air, he throws his arms downward just enough to make is upper torso rotate around his hips. At the peak of the dive, the diver tightens his stomach muscles and pulls his legs up towards the sky, leaving his body in a perfect upside-down position to enter the water head-first. In order to perform a front dive with a somersault, it requires a full flip of the body and therefore it takes a quicker rotation to cover such an angular distance. The diver takes off from the diving board with the same hip motion and arm swing as for a forward dive, but throws the arms further and makes a smaller "ball" in the air.

Japan :: essays research papers

Japan, a country made up of islands, has a very extensive history that goes along with it. Recorded Japanese history beings about A.D. 400. It is believed that Japan was created by the sun goddess, from whom the emperors descended. The first emperor was Jimmo, who supposedly ascended the throne in 660 B.C. There're two main reasons for this report. To give people an overview of Japanese History, and what happened to make it what it has become. Also, to give a better understanding on what happened, and facts that led up to certain Japanese events.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In approximately A.D. 400, the Yamato clan, eventually based in Kyoto, managed to exact a control of the other family groups of central and western Japan. Korean contact introduced Buddhism to Japan. Through the 700's, China greatly influenced Japan, and there was an imperial court set up much similar to that of China. The authority of the Imperial court in the ensuing centuries was undermined, and various family clans vied for control. During this time, warrior clans were rising as a distinct clan known as samurai. In 1192, the Minamoto clan set up a military government under Yoritomo, their leader. Yoritomo was designated shogun (a military dictator). For the next 700 years, shoguns from different clans ruled in Japan, and the imperial court existed in relative obscurity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In about 1542, Japan had its first encounter with the Western World. An off course Portuguese ship arrived in Japanese waters. Soon after, Spanish, Dutch, and English traders followed. From Christianity, and the Portuguese support of a Japanese revolt, the shoguns of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), cut off all trade with the foreign countries, only allowing the Dutch trading post at Nagasaki. The western countries tried to renew the trading, but failed up until 1853. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry, from America, sailed a fleet of American ships into Tokyo Bay. Trade was forced upon Japan, under terms not favorable to the Japanese. Struggles caused by these actions brought the shogun rule to an end. Emperor Meiji came to the throne in 1868   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1889, an Imperial army was formed, and also a parliamentary government. The Japanese began to make steps to extend their empire. In 1894-95, there was a brief war between Japan and China. Japan gained Taiwan (Formosa), the Pescadores Islands, and part of southern Manchuria. China also recognized the independence of Korea, which Japan annexed in 1910.

Gender Inequality in the Ancient World

Francesca Succi Dr. Brown Western Civ I 18 September 2012 Gender Inequality in the Ancient World Throughout history, women have been regarded as unequal and subordinate to men. In the male-dominated Western culture, the issue of women’s rights seems unending; even thousands of years after the first evidence of gender inequality, society has yet to even the playing field. Although it seems like our culture is progressive, we still share many qualities with the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Greece.Women were in no way equal to men during these ancient times; in fact, in some areas, they were considered subservient to men, with no rights or privileges. However, there were some areas of Ancient Greece that had a different model for social structure. The treatment of women in Mesopotamian culture differs greatly from that of Greek culture, as well as within Greece, between Lacedaemon and Athens; despite this, gender inequality was still present in each culture at some le vel.Of these three areas of the ancient world, Lacedaemon indisputably had the most progressive model for social structure, with Mesopotamia close behind. Athens, which seems like it would have the most liberal model for society, actually had the highest level of gender inequality. In ancient times, there were several aspects of life that caused a divide between genders. First, and probably most obviously, women had various levels of responsibilities and several social roles within the different areas of the ancient world.In the most progressive social structure of Lacedaemon, women played an indispensable and essential part. Since the basis of their culture was to train and sustain an unconquerable army, this occupied most of the time for almost all men, who left many responsibilities that the women needed to take on. Girls learned from age seven not only how to cook and clean and be a good housewife, but also everything that was required to run an estate (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Yo ung women were taught math and accounting so they would easily be able to take on and run an estate when they were older.Lacedaemon â€Å"was unique among ancient Greek cities in the freedom it granted to its female citizens—this was partly due to reliance on women to manage estates while men were away at war† (Sacks â€Å"Sparta†). This culture relied almost equally on both the men and women in society for very different jobs. Since the responsibilities were so evenly distributed, there was more of a sense of gender equality. Indeed, Lacedaemon was quite unique in this tendency to treat women relatively equally to men.The Mesopotamians, who were the second most liberal of these three areas, set women on a much lower pedestal than the Lacedaemonians: Mutually exclusive extremes [like male vs. female] are at the core of ancient Near Eastern gender roles†¦ [cuneiform] makes it very plain that the place of a woman was considered the domestic sphere, where she gave birth and raised children; cooked, baked, and brewed; made textiles by spinning, weaving, and sewing; laundered and cleaned; and kept the household running (Radner). The women’s social roles and responsibilities were much more restricted than those of Lacedaemon women.They were only expected to clean and be a suitable housewife. One of the only similarities between Lacedaemon and Mesopotamia is that the women were held somewhat responsible for running the estate. Males and masculinity were associated with power and strength, while females and femininity were associated with passiveness and weakness. This probably sounds relatively familiar, because in the modern and post-modern eras, society still experiences these gender roles that were established in ancient times. Mesopotamia, the foundation of Western civilization, is where these moderately-conservative gender roles truly began.Even more extreme gender roles could be found in Athenian culture. Women were, in the most literal sense, inferior to men. The Athenians took the conservative gender roles that were found in Mesopotamia and inflated them to enormous proportions: Male Greek society valued rational discourse, military courage, and physical endurance and self-restraint. Women  were believed to be irrational, fearful, and ruled by physical desires. One reason why  women  were kept secluded at home is that they were thought liable to sexual seduction (or other mischief) if they ventured out unescorted (Sacks â€Å"Greece†).Women were predominately seen as mothers – they would be married off at a very young age, begin bearing children as soon as possible, and consequently died much younger than men, often during childbirth. Women were taught not to speak unless spoken to, and were required to tag along beside their husbands the rare times they were ever permitted to leave the house. Although Athens was the birthplace of democracy and was one of the most progressive cities i n history, they still stripped women of some of the most basic equality rights (Brown, Lecture, 2012).Athenian culture perpetuated the gender stereotypes that began in Mesopotamia and exaggerated them to ostracize women in society more than the Mesopotamians or Lacedaemonians ever did. Women and men were separated not only in their social roles and responsibilities, but also in their legal rights and punishments. In Mesopotamia, citizens were under the command of Hammurabi’s code. Although this code was harsh in general, it is important not to compare the laws and punishments to modern or post-modern practices, but instead to compare Mesopotamian legal treatment of men vs. omen. Where men had to pay monetary fines for crimes that broke Hammurabi’s code, most times women had to pay with their lives. With more serious crimes, Hammurabi seemed to follow the â€Å"eye for an eye† philosophy when it came to men, but women were once again subjected to more serious pun ishments, and men were permitted to add to the abuse: â€Å"In addition to the punishments for a man’s wife that are written on the tablet, a man may whip his wife, pluck out her hair, mutilate her ears, or strike her† (Brophy 33).However, while men could physically abuse their wives with no penalty, women were sentenced to physical punishment if they laid a hand on their husbands. The one accommodation that the Code made for women is that they were allowed to own property. If the scenario arose where a woman was widowed, they would inherit the land that her late husband owned. Although the Code of Hammurabi was an effective ruling tool in Mesopotamia, it created a double standard that is still prevalent in society today. This double standard is seen not only in Mesopotamian culture, but in theAthenian society as well. The Athenians treated women as subservient and inferior, so naturally the laws would favor the males in the society over the females. Similarly to the M esopotamians, the punishments for women were more severe than those for men. Women had no rights in society, while most free men had the right to vote in the original democracy, whether it was in the Assembly or the Council of 500 (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Since the Athenian double standard is more extreme than the Mesopotamian one, it seems clear that their law codes would in turn be more extreme.Athens solidified the gender inequality between men and women, and it lasted through pre-modern, modern, and post-modern eras. One of the cultures that went against the grain of gender inequality is the Lacedaemon society. Because the society was more inclined to equality between genders, the laws were more predisposed to be fairer towards women. Although the voting rights were similar to Athens, where only free men could vote, the women still had more rights than they ever would in Athens or Mesopotamia.As aforementioned, women were educated on how to run an estate in Lacedaemon, so even at a young age they had more privileges than women in other cultures (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Since women were so essential in the society, their rights, as well as their punishments for broken laws, would naturally follow the same trend and be relatively evenly matched. After seeing all of these variances between different cultures, a logical progression of thought would lead one to ask, why? Why is there some much differentiation between cultures in the same time period, and even in similar geographical locations?The answer may lie in a group of people called the Dorians. The Dorians invaded and conquered the ancient city of Mycenae, taking the Mycenaeans as slaves (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Later on, the city developed into Lacedaemon. This sort of shift in power happened only in the Lacedaemon civilization, not in both the Mesopotamians and Athenians. It could be that the Lacedaemonians, so afraid of a slave uprising with their new political paradigm, developed a different system of g ender roles to try to remedy the potential situation (Sacks â€Å"Sparta†).This could be the reason that Lacedaemon differed so greatly from the other two civilizations, while Athens and Mesopotamia – although they has some dissimilarities – were relatively parallel to each other. Overall, each culture has at least some level of gender inequality woven throughout the society, despite the variances between levels of different cultures. No matter the level or severity of gender separation, it is indisputable that women were treated as subservient and inferior to men.The developing Western civilization began a double standard between men and women that would perpetuate through thousands of generations, and is still prevalent today. This inequality between genders can be clearly identified in the ancient traditions, laws, customs and social structure. The issues of women’s rights, uneven distribution of responsibilities and privileges, and unequal treatment b ased on gender are obviously not going away any time soon, because they have endured through thousands of years of societal development. Even post-modern era thinkers cannot eliminate this disparity.The everlasting discrepancies between genders are more a result of Athenian and Mesopotamian customs, rather than Lacedaemonian. Western civilization has always been, and very may always be, male-dominated. Works Cited Brophy, James M. , Cole, Joshua. , Epstein, Steven. , Robertson, John. Perspectives from the Past: Primary Sources in Western Civilizations from the Ancient Near East through the Age of Absolutism. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. , Inc. Print Brown, K. M. 2012. Lecture. York College of Pennsylvania. Radner, Karen. gender structures and roles in ancient Mesopotamia. † Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Sacks, David. â€Å"Sparta. † Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Sacks, David. â€Å"women in ancient Greece. † Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Be Sure You’re Right, Then Go Ahead Essay

The Davy Crockett gasolene Craze by Sarah Nilsen is an article virtually the effects of hero sandwichplay in the Davy Crockett draw serial in the 1950s. The cartoon series depicted Davy Crockett as a fighter with a gun, and to the younger viewers, it portrayed to them that guns were unexceptionable to use in play. The author, Sarah Nilsen, is a professor at the University of Vermont, and she teaches the history of television and contain and how they affected popular culture and their fix on the audience (UVM.edu). In the article, Nilsen believes that the media drop control their audience by characterization something in a positive light, and she uses the Davy Crockett delirium as an warning of how cartoons can exchange the image of guns to the public. With the use of subjects and quotes in the article, Nilsens article flows well and provides a qualified amount of information astir(predicate) the Davy Crockett gun craze. Through bug out the article, Nilsen provides some great examples to serve up resurrect her point. A fast(a) example that helped strengthen the article when she pointed out that in 1942, Disney came out with the film Bambi that was anti-hunting and anti-gun, which was contradictory of Disney because about 10 years later, Disney produced the Davy Crockett cartoon series that promoted gun use where the gun was the summation of his image and message (Nilsen 3).This example helped prove her point that Disney is very contradictory of itself and the messages that they are sending kidskinren. Nilsen used another example that was a report of what a child said to head that the Disney shows were influencing children using guns In Brooklyn, New York, a six-year-old son of a policeman asked his father for solid bullets because his short sister doesnt die for real when I shoot her like they do when Hopalong Cassidy kills em (Nilsen 4). Nilsen is showing the reader that children are be influenced by what they watch and its causati on them to be desensitized about guns. Guns are seen as normal and since they are portrayed as toys, people arent going to be safe with them as they should be.Along with strong examples to help prove her points, Nilsen also uses many quotes in the article to have a bun in the oven her points and show the reader that her points are validated and has through with(predicate) sufficient research. For example, she takes a quote from what media idealogue Daniel Dayan when he says ideology is hiddenin our very eyes (Nilsen 2). She uses his quote as a reference and in the next sentence she validates the quote by byword that the Davy Crockett series displays the ideology that contradicts the message (Nilsen 2). entirely in all, Sarah Nilsens article, Be reliable Youre Right, Then Go forwards The Davy Crockett Gun Craze, is an overall excellent article. Nilsen draws out many great points through examples and stories to support her points. Her knowledge of the subject is eminent through her control of writing and use of valid sources to help validate her points. The writing had sum and flowed well to keep the reader on track and focused on the writing.