Ssci 316 Study Guide Answers Essay - 978 Words

study guide, chapter 1 1. Which is more problematic: acknowledging differences in groups or assigning a hierarchy to different groups? Assigning a hierarchy to different groups is more problematic. For example if our society were to simply note that different groups are different, without an overt or implied status hierarchy, the issues of inequality would not be as important as they are today 2. Are race and ethnicity the only types of inequality in the US today? diversity in US today is not limited to ethnicity, race – other factors: social class (SES or socio-economic status), education, size of group, religion, language As defined in this class what do the terms ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ refer to? (understand that a primary†¦show more content†¦(society determines what the groups are, where the boundaries are, what the hierarchies are) - therefore the consequences are social - consequences: where to live, education, employment, etc. — impact: exposure to pollution, available diet (nutritious or not), neighborhood safety 8. What does ‘markers’ of group membership refer to? How are they important? traits above - set boundaries of who is or who is not part of which groups ‘markers’ of group membership - these visible signs allow quick and easy identification - and differential treatment - these traits / characteristics themselves not significant - become significant through social construction process What is stratification? stratification - unequal distribution of valued goods, services stratification is basic to almost all human societies What did Marx mean by ‘means of production?’ How did Marx feel about the economy? What were the 2 classes that Marx described? ‘means of production’ important to understanding inequality means of production (materials, tools, resources, organizations a society uses to produce, distribute (usually unequally) goods services) Did Weber agree totally with Marx? What did Weber add to our understanding of stratification? felt that Marxs view of inequality (primarily economics) was too narrow - need to also consider economic position (socio-economic status - SES), prestige,

The Battle Against Emotions Free Essays

Emotion is a word that best represents the feeling of a person. An individual can have more than one emotion and explore how it impacts him/herself as a whole. The growth of an individual is well attached to their emotions; and often times, emotions are used as a weakness. We will write a custom essay sample on The Battle Against Emotions or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, weakness of emotion also allows for growth in an individual. In the novel Soucouyant, written by the Canadian author, David Chariandy explores the theme emotion as weakness. Chariandy explores this common theme, as the growth of the character develops using the relationship between the mother and son. This relationship is used to show how different emotions have been created in use of a weakness to the character. Caramba, the son of an ill mother, tries to the best of his ability to be a successful care taker. However, the emotions of Caramba unfold as he reveals how he truly feels. Caramba learns to overcome his guilt about abandoning his mother as he comes to terms with his remorse that portrays his anger, his mother’s failing memory that connects to his childhood and the patience he discovers he has when care-taking for her. However, the result leads to Caramba crumbling furthermore inside and attempts to commit suicide. The growth of the character will slowly unfold the weaknesses caused by emotion in connection to the actions of the character. There are several different emotions that a human can feel. There are times where emotions over take the power and ability to control our minds. The greatest difficulty one can experience is to feel that they are responsible for a problem which has no solution to it. Just as Caramba, the protagonist of the novel, shows how he let his emotions over-rule his ability to think with a stable mind. The fact that his mother is unwell and he cannot help her frustrates him. His anger is shown as he screams â€Å"†¦because she’s not just some goddamned patient of yours, she’s my mother†¦! † (Chariandy 82). The frustration of Caramba and the anger he holds within himself shows as he yells at the nurse for treating his mother as an ordinary patient. The emotions of Caramba over took his sense to think straight, causing an outburst which created a moment of weakness for him. The emotion allows the character to evolve showing how much he cares for his mother. As the protagonist realizes this, he pitches in a helping hand to the nurse trying to fix his mother a meal. However, patience is lost by him when his mother does not reply to him. He then shouted to his mother, â€Å"can you shut up and tell me, Mother? Can you please just shut up for a moment and tell me? † (Chariandy 46). The character conveys his emotion of anger as he does not get a response from his mother when trying to help her. Caramba’s character understands and acknowledges the way he had spoken to his mother which appalled him and all the others. It is evident from this quote however, that Caramba understood the indecency in which he spoke to his mother allowing him to better recognize that he cannot repeat that mistake once again. The constant battle with his inner self presents itself yet again as he cries to the nurse screaming in a fit of rage â€Å"who the f*** are you to judge me, anyway? † (Chariandy 85). Caramba learns from this outbreak how much he is hurt deep down inside for leaving his mother and realizes that his inner conflict with himself has taken over him. As much as he tries to act normal and speak politely, he finds himself losing his anger in fits of rage making him understand how much trouble he is having coping with his mother’s illness and his absence from her. The unmistakable remorse and guilt are both apparent and these huge outbursts were just a cry of anger for him to release how he truly felt. The fact that he had his emotions trapped inside him troubled him and caused these flare-ups. However, the growth of his character through these explosions of anger fighting his inner conflict made him realize that his guilt and remorse cannot be an excuse to justify his actions and rude behavior. The growth of his character shows, as he understands that his emotions were just a weak moment for him to cry out loud by releasing anger to those in front of him. Caramba’s development shows for every single quote and supports the thesis showing an inner conflict which he expresses by crying aloud in anger to his mother and the nurse. Eventually, he understands that he cannot continuously carry the burden of his mother’s illness upon his shoulders. He learns to accept that his mother’s condition is not due to him leaving her. Caramba’s behavior proves how anger is used as a weakness as the guilt he had within himself for leaving her is still existent. He understands after each of these incidents that he needs to overcome the guilt and continue living ithout guilt or sorrow. A person’s past can play a huge role in their present. The connection that’s created may form a greater effect on the person more than the present moment they may be living. Other times, the connection from childhood memories to present day may introduce a sense of vulnerability. Caramba, the main character witnesses this happening to him as he reminisces of the past. He tries to see into his mother’s expression and cannot do so. This makes him wonder what is going through the mind of his very ill mother. He thinks to himself, â€Å"I remember Mother looking up into a cloudless sky, an infinite blue. I couldn’t read the expression on her face. After this, everything seemed to change. † (Chariandy 38). As much as he wanted to understand what his mother was thinking, it was difficult for him to do. Therefore, he left his mother alone letting her stay at peace with her own thoughts. Moreover, the bond of the two became stronger as they spent more quality time together. The growth of his character shows in the time that he spends with his mother reconnecting his bond and has flashbacks of memories. He understands he cannot help her but also realizes that he cannot see her as she is either. Caramba does not like to know about his mother’s illness and what stage it has processed to as he was just a little boy at the time. They visited the doctor once as a family for his mother; the doctor provided them with information about the condition his mother has. Returning home, he tried to read through the pamphlets provided and wasn’t strong enough to fulfill his need of becoming knowledgeable about his mother’s condition. His actions spoke louder than his words. Caramba thought, â€Å"I couldn’t use this. I couldn’t go further. I put the pamphlet back and joined Mother in the living room, determined to see her my own way. † (Chariandy 41). The vulnerability of Caramba exceeded far beyond words as he was a little boy at the time who wanted to believe his mother was not suffering from a serious case of Dementia. This allowed for a stronger bond between mother and son, as he did everything he could to help her through her illness as a child. The fact that he was not able to help her financially, being so young made him feel sad which is why he just wanted to view his mother in his own way; normal. Coming back to present day in the novel, as he returns home to see his mother, he sees first-hand how fragile she’s become. The older she got, the sicker she became. However, despite being so old and ill, she still knew how to have a good time. Mother and son got up for a dance and he was impressed at his mother`s memory. Caramba thinks â€Å"She moves briskly about the room. I struggle to keep up, astonished both by her energy and her memory of the moves. † (Chariandy 44). The bond between them grew even more so as they dance with one another. Caramba is speechless seeing his mother dancing and remembering every move as he struggles to keep up. This makes him feel fragile while she demonstrates the stronger character despite being ill. He feels weak and does not know how to express his feelings of vulnerability and astonishment at the same time. The growth of Caramba is impacted throughout the novel with vulnerability and flashbacks of his childhood strengthening the bond between mother and son. As he better understands that he cannot be blamed, rather help her with her illness like his childhood days; he would be happier. However, the little boy inside of him feels helpless trying to understand how his mother can remember some things and not others. The failing memory of Caramba’s mother proves how fragile Caramba had become. He understands that his past and present are two different times. However, there are times when Caramba is reminded of his past, proving this to be a weakness for him. His emotions take control of him as he realizes the difference in his mother and himself from the past and the present. Patience is a virtue, so it’s said. It’s much easier to rehearse the saying then it is to demonstrate it. However, Caramba shows patience fairly well as he understands that the condition his mother is suffering from is not his fault. Instead of feeling guilty further, he could help her with the things she is nott capable of doing herself which is exactly what he does. As he knows his mother does not have the ability to do much for herself, he becomes more caring and nurturing, and helps her with everything he possibly can. Caramba says, â€Å"I can bathe you. You can? I can do it too. I’m your son. She nods warily at this. I accept the bag of sugar from her and guide her upstairs to the bathroom. † (Chariandy 83). Although there is a nurse to provide assistance to Caramba’s mother, he chooses to help his mother on his own showing patience opposed to outbursts of anger. He really shows patience with his mother as he leads her upstairs to bathe her. This mother and son time also strengthens the bond between them helping him to stay patient longer when helping her. His character builds a stronger support system by helping his mother with his every task and creates an awareness and strength for greater patience as well. His mother has an accident shortly after she had been bathed and Caramba being kind and caring tries to help her yet again. However, this time around, he was in for a surprise as his mother refuses his help feeling embarrassed at the incident that had occurred. Caramba witnesses â€Å"She’s soiled herself again and she’s standing in a corner of her room with liquid clots running down her legs, her face breaking. ‘It’s alright, Mother. Let’s go to the bathroom and clean up. No. Go away. Come, Mother. We have to go now. No! Go away! Way, way. Don’t be silly, Mother, you can’t stay in that†¦state. Leave me! ’ She screams. † (Chariandy 84-85). Caramba was brave and extremely patient with his mother knowing that it was not going to be easy to make her understand that it was going to be alright. Therefore, he slowly tried to make his way and instead, his mother screamed aloud as if he’d done something wrong. Despite the loud screaming and shock that he felt, he still stayed calm and tried to help his mother into another set of clothing after bathing her yet again. Caramba demonstrated patience very well in these events that occurred. The fact that he was not able to explain to his mother in words how he could help her however, show her when the opportunities were granted increased his tolerance for his mother; allowing him to present his patience. Caramba had the opportunity to display his patience once more when his mother grew a little older and acted more childish than ever before. He said, â€Å"I eventually persuade her to trust me with the fuzzy noose†. (Chariandy 108). These series of events caused Caramba to recognize how much his mother needed him, built patience and made him understand that this was the only way he could really overcome his guilt for leaving her in the beginning. He became more aware for his mother’s needs and satisfied her by taking care of her. Patience really portrayed the weakness as an emotion for Caramba because his patience was limited before. Though, he began to understand better that his mother’s illness is not of his fault which means there was no need for guilt. Once he overcame his guilty feeling that had been hurting him for so long, he realized the more he lent a helping hand to his mother, the more she would appreciate him and their bond would strengthen. The strength and patience used by Caramba is shown as a weakness because he slowly breaks apart inside himself. He examines his ill mother very carefully and tries to take care of her the best he is capable of doing so. He watches his mother become sicker however, still shows endurance until the end. Emotions always play a big role in a person’s life as they are the main key to understanding people. Caramba, the protagonist of the novel, tries his levels best in trying to understand his very sick mother. As he tries to do so, he understands many things which allow him to make an emotional connection. Caramba overcame his guilty feeling that had possession of him for a long period of time. He understood that his character developed more as he accomplished relieving himself of anger, strengthening his bond with his mother with her empowerment to lose memory, and patience being used to help her with her inabilities to fulfill tasks. In conclusion, emotion is portrayed as weakness and shows how a human can express and grow from how they may be feeling. Emotions should never be able to control our minds and disable our ability to think wisely and correctly. Moreover, emotions should be used to explore and understand ourselves better. How to cite The Battle Against Emotions, Papers

Management Information System free essay sample

Coca-Cola Company is the worlds largest nonalcoholic beverage company. It offers a portfolio of world class quality sparkling and still beverages, starting with Coca-Cola ® and extending through over 400 soft drinks, juices, teas, coffees, waters, sports and energy drinks that refresh, hydrate, nourish, relax and energize. Coca-Cola has more than 400 brands are nearly 2,400 beverage products. Four of the worlds top-five soft-drink brands are: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke ®, Sprite ® and Fanta ®. Thums Up and Limca, which are formulated to appeal to local cultures and lifestyles. With operations in more than 200 countries, we have a diverse workforce of approximately 55,000 Company employees. Coca Cola family of beverages accounts for approximately 1. 3 billion servings worldwide of the 50 billion beverage servings consumed every day-a figure that indicates both strength and growth opportunity of the company. Coca-Cola Production Description The Rejuvenation division offers a range of drinks designed to improve how people feel physically and mentally. Products include ready-to-drink coffees, teas and herbal beverages. FedEx is actually divided between FedEx Ground, only delivering to business, FedEx Home Delivery, only going to residential neighborhoods, FedEx Freight, overnight planes around the world, and many other branches to meet the demands of all different types customers. This customer satisfaction is a key to success in the new global economy. FedEx is also one of the first companies to come out with state of the art technology such as Insight which will help recruit and retain more customers in the long run. Staying in the lead of this information technology will help FedEx to adapt to changing economies better then UPS who is struggling to maintain the competitive advantage. Fedex has the better IT investment strategy and will hopefully grow to the size of UPS. 2. Is FedEx â€Å"move, communicate, and shoot†? IT strategy a good one for its competitive battle with UPS? Why or why not? Is it a good model of competitive IT strategy for other types of companies? Defend your position. FedEx has chosen the competitive strategy of innovation and it works for them. Since FedEx is a mature brand, they really donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to grow or break into a new market. Lowering prices wonaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help too much since the competitor could easily lower their prices as well. FedEx has to find new and creative ways to appeal to the consumer so they will choose them for their shipping needs and his is done through their IT. If FedEx wants to stay ahead of UPS, then their slogan of aâ‚ ¬? move, communicate, and shootaâ‚ ¬? helps them figure out the edge they have on the competition. An example is their Insight product. They have found a way to track shipments, let the customers know that it is available, and execution of the new product. If they were to sit back and relax, then UPS could hav e developed this technology first giving them the advantage. The keep moving (innovation) strategy is a good strategy for certain companies and it is not the best process for other companies. Companies who are mature can take the opportunity to innovate and keep it fresh for their customers. Also, these companies need to have the resources to be able to spend on technology, people, and experimentation. Many pizza places or food delivery places offer online ordering, this new way of doing business can help retain customers who might have been tired of the same old from their food place. Some businesses would not thrive with the innovation strategy. For example, companies who are trying to grow or trying to reduce their costs to lower their prices. A company that is growing or a start-up just wants to get into the market so they may be more concerned with differentiation. They want people to know they are out there. A company with a cost leadership strategy doesnaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to increase their costs because they may have to bump up the price to the consumer and that could lead to a loss of a competitive advantage for them. A widget maker who produces the same thing on an assembly line probably doesnaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care too much about innovative ways to stay ahead of other widget makers. 3. FedEx CIO Carter says his company is in the business of engineering time. Is this a good vision for FedEx? Why or why not? How vital is IT to this definition of FedEx’S business? Use examples from the case to illustrate your answer. The idea that Carter believes FedEx is in the business of engineering time is a good business vision for FedEx because the world and its technology is always changing. With technology comes managing and engineering time, keeping up with the changes in the society we live in. This is a good vision for FedEx because when society changes, FedEx acts upon it, communicates and keeps moving forward. They keep up with society and technology changes by innovating new ideas to remain competitive. FedEx believes in offering solutions that allow you to engineer time so things can happen that werenaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t able to happen in the past (Carter/Oaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Brien 44). Information technology is very important to this definition of FedExaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business. Information technology is seen as a competitive advantage for FedEx. FedExaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main and biggest competitor is UPS, and in second is DHL. Both companies are continually trying to make the challenges harder for FedEx and in particular CIO Rob Carter. UPS and FedEx have been at battle on technology especially customer based technology. aâ‚ ¬? We tend to focus slightly less on operational technology. We focus a little more on revenue generating, customer satisfaction generating, strategic advantage technology (Carter/Oaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Brien Pg. 43). Carter believes in having technology that will increase the top lin One example from the case study that Carter mentioned was a product called Insight. This product allows customers to not only track their package but also to see every inbound package whether or not you knew someone was sending it to you (Carter/Oaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Brien 43). Having this Insight product has been vital for FedEx because it has given them an infotech competitive advantage over UPS. Staying competitive in a large business like FedEx is extremely important and if you donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t stay on the heels of competitors the business could plummet faster than it took to get the business going. For FedEx to remain competitive in what they do they must have employees or an innovation team that does nothing but look for new opportunities. Another example the case study mentions is the war on terror. Information technology helps FedEx in this way because the system that they use compared to others is that they can visibly see every transaction that takes place. When shipping something through FedEx no one remains anonymous because a lot of the packages are going across borders. The system that FedEx has helps keep terrorists who want to ship over bombs or other harmful things away from their service. FedExaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s technological advances allow their business to be secure, and also receive the help of the DEA, the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Defense, and various foreign agencies to keep their business safe, loyal, and reliable.