Assess the view that women Essay Example for Free

Assess the view that women Essay In order to fully assess the view that women are stereotyped and symbolically annihilated in the media, the two terms; Stereotype and symbolic annihilation must be defined. A stereotype is a negative name given to a group of individuals and which is always an ideological name so that it supports an already existing idea. For example, as the sociologist Meehan found, women are often represented as matriarchs or witches in TV dramas and soaps. Stereotyping is also seen as an ordering process that brings order to potential chaos by the means of relating groups of people so we can understand them. Symbolic annihilation is the way in which a certain group of people are featured less or are totally erased from the media. Within the media, women have been symbolically annihilated if they are not slim, beautiful or fashionable for instance. Instead, all women shown in the media are slim, attractive and seemingly very image conscious. The 3 main types of media in which women have been stereotyped and symbolically annihilated are; TV, magazines and Video games. Research carried out by the sociologist D. M Meehan into the way women are portrayed in television, revealed that women are categorised into 10 different character types. These character types are; The imp, The goodwife, The harpy, The bitch, The victim, the decoy, The siren, The courtesan, The witch and The matriarch. Obviously the imp is a rebellious tomboy character, the Goodwife is a domestic, attractive, home centred character, the bitch is a sneak and a cheat and the courtesan is close to being a prostitute. Even though these findings were released in 1983, they are still relevant today because there are some characters in modern soap operas who still fit into the 10 character types. For example, Pauline from Eastenders is an example of a good housewife, as is Monica in friends. Also, Janine from Eastenders is an example of the courtesan and Steph from neighbours is an example of the imp. Others findings of Meehans study are that women are portrayed as either good or evil, and never a combination, that good women are portrayed as submissive, sensitive and domesticated and that bad women are often portrayed as being rebellious, independent and selfish. Another main finding of Meehans study was that female occupations were limited to a few, primarily housewife, receptionist and whore and that women are portrayed as lacking any sexual appetite. However, studies such as Meehans can be criticized for being dated, because most of the TV programs researched were from the 1960s and 1970s, but because these TV shows are still being shown on satellite channels it means that the study is still relevant. Another type of media in which women are stereotyped and symbolically annihilated is magazines. Almost all women who are shown in magazines are; slim, attractive, fashionable, white and have perfect skin etc. However, when you look more closely at these magazines, you also find that almost all women are portrayed as being in fairly poor jobs and are portrayed as sex objects. The sociologist Ferguson said that womens magazines deal with material that is considered too trivial for general media and that these magazines tell women what to do and how to think about themselves, their men and their colleagues. In adverts within magazines, twice as many women appeared with children than men and women are rarely shown outdoors, instead in the house being depicted as a housewife. Since the 1980s, there has been increased awareness of eating disorders among young people, especially girls, and statistics indicate that the frequency of eating disorders is increasing. The main reason behind this are magazines aimed at teenage girls, which are too preoccupied with romance and reinforcing a dominant ideology of femininity. These magazines show pictures of slim, attractive, beautiful young women, and this causes the readers to strive to achieve unrealistic body sizes girls as young as 11 and 12 are worried about their weight and body size. The sociologist Bruch said that illness is related to the enormous emphasis fashion places on being slim. Movies and magazines carry this message, but the most persistent message is portrayed through TV. The message says that one cannot be loved or respected if you are not slender. Also, the sociologist Coward said that advertising encourages women to view their body as a project, similar to DIY, which can be worked upon and improved. Therefore, some women are symbolically annihilated from this type of media, because only women who are slim, attractive and fashionable appear in them, but you hardly ever see any other type of woman. However, a criticism by the sociologist Hermes points out that people derive pleasure from these magazines and from interviews she found that people found them relaxing and educative. One other type of media that stereotypes and symbolically annihilates women is video games. The sociologist Provenzo pointed out that video games show a very stereotypical view of both males and females. The games are very macho and women are often depicted in poses of ritual subordination. In most video games, women are acted upon rather than being initiators of action and in the game Double Dragon for example, Billy has to rescue Marian, his kidnapped girlfriend. The cover for this game depicts Billy supporting Marian, her dress in shreds and her tank top ripped. Another aspect of video games is that women are not even named very often, instead being referred to as someones girlfriend or the princess. Video games are often very Macho in orientation, depicting boxing, car racing and so on, and the roles of both males and females in such scenarios are very limited. Finally, both male and female characters within such video games are always portrayed and depicted as young and being physically ideal. Therefore there is an aspect of symbolic annihilation in video games too, because only a certain type of character is portrayed as you rarely see a fat, old man for instance. After looking at these 3 media types, I can say the women are indeed stereotyped and symbolically annihilated within them. All of the 3 medias show in ideal image of women; slim, attractive and fashionable, but this raises a question does the media create the people in society or do the people in society create what goes into the media? I think that it is the people who create what goes into the media, because things that get printed or shown are things that people in society want to see. In conclusion, you can also look at the feminist view of the media to try to see if women are stereotyped and symbolically annihilated. Liberal feminists believe that journalists have learnt to portray women in a particular way, usually classless and family based. Radical feminists see men as the enemy. Men hold dominant positions in the media and they consciously manipulate the content for their own benefit, and to the detriment of women Finally, socialist feminists blame the capitalist structure for the disadvantaged position of women in society and that the role of the media is to sustain the capitalist system and the role of women within it.

Medical Advances Essay -- Essays Papers

Medical Advances Besides the computer revolution, medical advances have caused tension between faith and reason. The medical advances of the Twentieth Century have many beneficial effects for humanity. Diseases that used to be dangerous or life threatening, like mumps, measles, and whooping cough, are no longer worries in todays medical world. Tetanus, typhoid, and the bubonic plaque can now be treated with antibiotics or other medicines. Vaccines, especially the polio vaccine, freed many people from the effects of a disease. Advances in heart surgery and organ transplants have saved many lives. Anesthetics and painkillers have been made to reduce or eliminate pain during surgery or a painful disease. Advances in cancer and AIDS have also been made, although many of the details of these diseases are yet to be learned. Another area of medical advancement is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering will detect and possibly stop diseases before birth. Many diseases are associated with specific genes that can be checked for disease and replaced if dysfunctional. Genetic testing has already revealed genetic mutations that cause hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, polycystic kidney disease, Alzheimers disease, and others. (5) Replacing missing, altered, inactive, or dysfunctional genes will prevent diseases or even death. Also, progression of a disease can be monitored, and proactive measures against recurrence and relapse of the disease can be made. Molecular medicine in genetics will also improve the design and testing of new drugs. Cloning is another new medical advance that allows for many great possibilites. Exact organ matches for organ transplants could be made through cloning. Animal... ...e" specific traits in people could lead to the "creating" of a specific person, also known as cloning. Although the ability to create people could mean Mother Teresa could be re-created or cloned, this ability also means Hitler could be re-created or cloned. The effects of this power depend upon whose hands the power is in. So, who has the power to play God? This question needs to be answered to decide if many of the latest medical advances are justifiable. Obviously, only God can have the power to be God. Only He truly understands peopleà ­s purpose on earth since He put them there. Court cases and congressional actions are taking place to decide how the United States stands on the ethics of medical procedures. Humans have been working hard to find medical techniques to save life and now all this progress is being reverted, especially through abortions and euthanasia.

Human Resource Information Systems Essay

Employees’ retention and keeping them satisfied so that they work on their full capacity and be productive for the company is very important. They should be well motivated and the programs like compensation, training and development and base salary should set such that employees feel that the company values them and their hard work a lot. For all this, the company’s human resource department has to put in all of this data into the computer system and then to manage it for further references in future. This information is then saved in the company’s system and special software’s are there to handle them for the company. Since the human resource department happens to bear the responsibility of the organization in the terms of the range of tasks for the employees and how the employees are supposed to interact with each other depending on their assigned designations and with other businesses. The software’s used in the human resource department have a range which starts from performing a primary function, to all complete software suits which are designed to solve all the needs of human resource department may have. These software target all the functions of human resource like payroll, benefits, for employees, recruiting, compliance and many more. This information maintained is so sensitive that it must be and should be handled by the human resource department only, and should be uploaded on their network map drives rather than on every other department’s, which might cause trouble as they would be able to access it. In this report, it would also be discussed that which of the software the companies use would be the best for them because of their efficiency and the time they consume to give out results to them. Human resource information technology faces many needs. Like mentioned above, human resource department has to solve many assignments related to the payroll of the employees, the benefits the employees get on their performance they show for the company. Other software or the multi task software check about the employees and keeps a record of their designations and the promotions they get further in their careers. The last part of compliance software is used to ensure that the policies they are making do not abuse the company mission and other goals they really want to achieve. For the payroll part of human resource, human resource department needs those softwares that can do the basic function for them like calculation all the employees pay according to their given designations. This software must also be able to take calculations of the employees hourly and monthly pay. It should also be able to calculate the compensations and the uncompensated time given by the employee and added and adjusted in the employees’ salaries ( . Kavanagh and Thite, 2008) These softwares should be such that they automatically cut the taxes from the salaries of the employees of the company, and this tax should be both pre – tax income and post – tax income of the employees especially when the employees have elected for the pre – tax deduction, which are known as the 410K, cafeteria, plan and medical deductions. Deduction management should also take place in this software, so that the employees do not have to do it manually, which cause some man error in calculations. If this is done manually, it would take a lot of time to get done with every employee of the company and their might be some errors too. The other department of human resource where they need information technology is at the benefits area. Softwares which is multi tasking or who performs solely benefit functions helps the human resource employees by making them track every other employee of the company, its accrual and the usage of benefits they get. This would also count paid time off, and the payments which are given on time. This software would also help the human resource employee to check whether the other employees’ are eligible for the medical and health related benefits. All those fringe benefits provided by the company like health clubs, to its employees may also be tracked the human resource department at the need of information. That is why, the companies’ need a software which would help them out the benefits for all the employees of the company and keep a record whether they are eligible for it or not. The third part is employees. This is an important part since it’s the duty of the human resource department to do the hiring and selecting of the employees and then later retain them for the company. Since the company is not run by only two or three department but by many, the number of employees is a lot too then. To keep a track on all of the employees, who are currently employed by the company is very hard and that too by their designations. Softwares help the human resource department people as they set a range of the designation for the employees and to the employees group at very different level of the organization. For employees, the human resource department would need few basic functions from the softwares. Human resources would like the softwares to have tracking system and also feature recording of employees’ performance, their attendances and absences and lastly the development and the work they are putting in for the company. This would help the company as they would know how much effort is been put in by the employees and who then becomes eligible for the compensation or the bonuses. This software may also have these features such as management of compensation, time information system, software which could do assessments on employee skills, on their training and education and a record on their behavior with other employees, especially if they got themselves into conflicts or an incident in which they have resolved things. Recruiting is another part of human resource department which requires software to do their task on every process of the recruitment. This software would have every employee’s job descriptions according to the designations and this may also help in future while hiring new people on those posts. Software might also help the human resource staff by storing extra information of prospective background and relocation of the employees among the departments and lastly, about the new employees who had been hired by the company. Lastly it’s compliance which is to be dealt by the human resource. Any software related to it would help the department by letting them know that whatever the company they are working for is complying with, is actually applicable with the laws or not. This includes the process of hiring new employees, so that no nepotism occurs and the qualified people are not left behind. No employee is fired or terminated without any legal reason. The education criterion matches the job post requirement and should also store information complaints regarding sexual harassment. Also that the company complies with all of the federal regulations they are supposed to follow. For human resource department, the best softwares they have found so far for their work to be done very efficiently are the OrangeHRM suite software and the other software is by the Microsoft, named Microsoft Dynamics suite which also happen to be single-source providers. These are considered to be the best softwares for the companies to complete their human resource related tasks. These softwares are such that they not only manage the tasks of the human resource department very efficiently but they also consumer less time to complete the assignment. The other softwares are Ajiva Simple HR which is considered to be a least expensive product and does all the functions required by the human resources. The information of this is available in the forms of graphical dashboard. Other software is of People-Trak HR which is affordable too and gets more expensive on adding more features ( Rashid, 2009). There are other softwares too for the human resource departments. There are other softwares too available for the completion of human resource department task. They are mostly related to the payroll like mentioned above, then work time of the employees, and the benefits administration to keep a track of who is eligible to get one or not. Recruiting softwares are also available and training and learning management system softwares are there too to help the employees the human resource department to sort out their things more easily (Sleezer, Wentling and Cude, 2002). Performance record softwares are also available for the human resource department that sorts out the bonuses or the incentives the employees would get according to their performance they have shown for the company. Lastly, appraisal softwares are also there so that the human resource department can collect online information about the views the employees hold for their company and their jobs and then make policies out of them so that the employees are highly motivated. Before selecting the software technology, the company must make sure whether the software they are going to get from the other source has enough flexibility and scalability for the human resource department and its tasks or not. The employees should determine that whether the data could be imported from the excel spread sheets, its databases and other paper documents, all those things which contain important data that needs to be put into computer, otherwise it would create a problem. The software should also be able to take in the information and do filter of things which it needs to take in and store in specific data bases. Companies should also check whether the software is able to accommodate the human resource department of the companies. If true software is picked out for the enrollment, it will evaluate the enrollment activity and impose all the necessary rules and combination of rules, messages and other ways to meet and fulfill the eligibility of the requirements which are desired.

Panopticism by Michel Foucault Essay

In Foucault’s Essay on Panopticism he describes how in the Seventeenth Century they began to control the spread of a plague. He begins by explaining what measures were taken to control the plague, such as quarantine and forced separation. One thing that really stood out to me is that he said everyone is locked up in his cage which makes me think of a prison but they were in there own houses. Throughout the essay he breaks down our social/economical systems and explains societies mentality on the law system. Many times his explanation is very much based off of J. Bentham’s â€Å"Panopticon†. Which in todays view we would describe as a prison. These forms of discipline were used during the plagues, which has been the support for much of the discipline that was apparent during that time. He also explains how he feels a person should be disciplined and he looks at it from many different angles. I think this is how he describes a disciplinary action and is a key model for all to follow. In disciplining that way it would make the individual a better person, â€Å"exercising power without division† is an example. Foucault’s essay is very interesting because I can relate it to our society now and how much control our government has over us. For an example the prison system, even though we aren’t quarantining people with diseases by putting them â€Å"away†. We use the system to keep a balance in the society. And in a way it keeps a lot of people in line by knowing what the consequences are of committing a crime. And I think that is what Foucault is essentially describing when he talks about the quarantine.

Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Example

Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Example Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay Great Gatsby and the American Dream Essay ?The Great Gatsby is a novel hailed as one of the greatest books of all time. Its many vague motifs provide for a unique experience upon every reading and a literary digestion that accompanies few novels beside it. It is a prime epitomization of the roaring twenties, and many immediately think of The Great Gatsby upon mention of â€Å"the American Dream.† F. Scott Fitzgerald makes this idea extremely prevalent throughout each chapter, emphasizing that the American Dream is truly unattainable, through its representation in the green light, Tom and Daisy’s unhappiness despite their apparent possession of it, and Gatsby’s terminal inability to achieve it. The green light is a significant symbol of the American Dream, which becomes apparent early on in the book. At the end of chapter 1, Nick observes a figure outside of Gatsby’s mansion that he infers to be Mr. Gatsby himself, and he narrates: I decided to call to him. Miss Baker had mentioned him at dinner, and that would do for an introduction. But I didnt call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. (21) : Gatsby has a desire throughout the entire book to live happily with Daisy amongst his wealth and vast estate. The fact that the light is green is indicative of the money aspect of the American Dream, and it is fitting because of Daisy’s background of inherited wealth. Daisy in herself is a symbol of money, and Gatsby’s arms outstretched toward Daisy’s light, not able to fully reach it, are representative of his failure to achieve the American Dream. A key piece of informa

Preamble of the United States' Constitution Essay

Preamble of the United States' Constitution - Essay Example The language used in the preamble of the US’ constitution envisions an American society where citizens are granted the freedom to develop appropriate sets of beliefs that governs the way they relate to each other. It states further that the monarchy does not have divine rights over its subjects. The source of power rests with citizens because they were born with it. The monarchy was established by the citizens for protection purposes. Citizens agreed to obey the monarchy and in return, the latter would protect their innate rights (Loflin 7). The preface of the US constitution guarantees freedom and posterity to all American citizens (Borgwardt 10). The constitution of United States promotes a democratic system that guarantees pluralism and self-government. With regard to pluralism, citizens have the liberty to develop customs and beliefs that will govern their lives. With respect to self-rule, citizens are granted the freedom to partake in the development of polity in which they reside and in its ensuing governance (Loflin 3). As note above, the language of the preamble promotes the general wellbeing of US citizens. It also states that citizens have rights to elect a government that will protect their interests. Consequently, the working class citizens can use the democratic process to elect leaders that will promote their welfare (Borgwardt 10). Borgwardt, Elizabeth. All the clauses in the Preamble to the Constitution are worth fighting for: FDR’s Four Freedoms and Mid-century Transformation in America’s Discourse of Rights. Washington University: St. Louis, n.d.

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean Research Paper

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean - Research Paper Example Implicit within the patriarchal ideology was the perception that those outside the hegemonic male were losers and inferior to males. The paper explores the status and role of women in ancient Mediterranean. A review of women’s agency in ancient civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Rome demonstrates the social, political, and cultural factors that propelled female empowerment. In addition to the powerful images of goddesses and women’s roles within the religious sphere, women’s activities manifested within other social realms including economic, health, war, poetry, governance, and philosophy (Rutland 16). Largely, the sphere of religious practice can be regarded as an opportunity for exceptional women to attain their own value within a culture that concisely defined feminine roles as subservient to masculine models. Hence, historians highlight the Minoan civilization that appeared to manifest several of female deities backing the assumption that women in Knossos benefited from religious gender democratization. In most cases, only exceptional women who are atypical of the mainstream impacted on the politics of the day, mainly through their husbands as was the case of Olympias (Alexander the Great mother). This observation also applies to Cleopatra VII, who was the final Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty. This was also true of the egalitarian early Christian church that largely relegated women to the home to serve their husbands (Walcot 163). Discussion In ancient Mediterranean, women ranked along property rather than separate legal persona. As a result, the control of women remained a male prerogative; hence, adultery or rape remained sins against the male members of the family (husband, father, and brothers), and only incidentally against the victim (woman). This is well captured in the book of Deuteronomy (22:25-8), whereby if a married woman is raped within the confines of the city and is not heard to cry out, the ordeal i s not considered rape but adultery, and as such, should be castigated accordingly. In the ancient Mediterranean, prostitutes were depicted as dangerous, capable of stripping men their virtue (at worse their masculinity) since they were not within the confines of a dominant male. Women came out as irrational, prone to hysteria, and sex-obsessed. Women, especially virgins formed a section of the limited good of the society as limited resources to be pursued and acquired by men of prestige, power, and wealth. Men epitomized status and honor while women epitomized decorum and purity and lack of these meant the presence of shame. The social stigma heightened the powerlessness of the woman (Walcot 163). For instance, upon registration, a prostitute lost her healthy liberties as a citizen and listed for life and marriage or motherhood could not eliminate her name from the list. This highlights that a prostitutes occupation was the core determinant of her entire life-style and the stigma as sociated with the occupation could not be eliminated. There is ample literature on the social structures of honor and shame and how they affected women within Mediterranean antiquity. Honor and shame acted as coordinates in an intricate matrix of other societal factors such as kinship, economic control, social networking, and social hierarchy. The honor code derived from gender roles linked to sex, whereby honor can be ascribed to men while shame to women. In this model, the honor of the family resides in its women (women embody the possibility for shame via their sexual conduct); however, men carry the responsibility for protecting women (considered as the â€Å"