Ethnocentrism :: essays research papers

The official definition of ethnocentric is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“characterized or based on the attitude that ones own group is superiorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“having race as a central interest.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? There is a whole world of problems, politics, and, other cultures, but it seems that the average Americanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s only interest is that of themselves. The reason I chose to focus on the American being ethnocentric is because I have been exposed the most to this culture in the past. America is the melting pot of the world with so many different cultures and accepts this variety into our country as we were accepted when our ancestors came over. Today I feel that people are arrogant towards those foreigners who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t wash away their former demeanor. Why donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t we realize that we are so lucky to live in a secure and free country that should glorify diversity and not promote prejudice? When we make contact with people whose beliefs and cult ural tradition challenge our own perspective most feel some sort of intimidation. Ethnocentrism in my opinion is very ignorant, unintelligent, and closed minded in that your normal rituals may seem just as strange to other cultures, but are seen by them in a more understanding way. Ethnocentrism has been instilled in us since birth, learning to attach our selves to our cultural groups depending on them for comfort and a sense of safety. People as a whole in a way have to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“de-centerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? their strong cultural beliefs, as well as the thought that their culture is the only one important enough to concern themselves with. Ethnocentrism may manifest itself in behavior such as warfare, attitudes of superiority, hostility, violence, discrimination, and verbal aggression. In the past, groups such as the Nazià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, the Crusaders and, the Muslims have waged wars and death over cultural and religious differences using ethnocentrism as there incentive. Hate groups are also formed on this notion believing that their religious or cultural group is superior to others when in reality their customs are simply different.

Justice System in a Tale of Two Cities Essay

It is no secret that, in a Tale of Two Cities, Dickens constantly critiques the English society. In chapters two and three he focuses on critiquing the justice system. By using various language strategies including juxtaposition, and the lack of quotation marks, Dickens comments on the ridiculousness of the court. Dickens’s use of juxtaposition is evident when he describes Charles Darnay as â€Å"a false traitor to our serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth† (Dickens 65). He uses many formal and descriptive adjectives followed by â€Å"and so forth†, which is informal and vague. The informality of these words reflects the barbarous actions of the crowd. The crowd craves entertainment and information so much that, â€Å"people paid the see the play at the Old Bailey, just as they paid to see the play in Bedlam† (Dickens 63). Dickens demonstrates his animosity for the English judicial system by showing the reader the cruelty of the people. In chapter three there is a noticeable lack of quotation marks even when the characters are speaking. â€Å"Had he ever been a spy himself? No, he scored the base insinuation. What did he live upon? His property† (Dickens 69) is just one example. This absence reflects how in the English court people aren’t really heard. The â€Å"prisoner† has almost no opportunity to defend himself and is always guilty until proven innocent. The people are so positive that the prisoner will be convicted that they will even venture to say â€Å"‘Oh! they’ll find him guilty. Don’t you be afraid of that’† (Dickens 63). It is evident through his writing that Dickens believes that this is not the way to run things. He believes that people should be judged fairly. In using these language devices, Dickens conveys his opinion about the judicial system in England. He assesses the situation and works to convince the reader that the traditions need to be trained.

Mechanical Engineering Essay

Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principle of engineering, physics and material science for analysis, design, manufacturing , and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering, that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the design, production, and operation of machines and tools.[1] It is one of the oldest and broadest engineering disciplines. The engineering field requires an understanding of core concepts including mechanics, thermodynamics, material science, structural analysis, and electricity. Mechanical engineers use computer aided engineering and product lifestyle management to design and analyze future manufacturing plants industrial equipment and machinery heating and cooling systems, transport systems, aircraft, watercraft, robotics, medical devices, weapons etc. mechanical engineering’s development can be traced back several thousand years around the world. Mechanical engineering science emerged in the 19th century as a result of developments in the field of physics. The field has continually evolved to incorporate advancements in technology, and mechanical engineers today are pursuing developments in such fields as composites ,mechatronics, and nanotechnology. Mechanical engineering overlaps with aerospace engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, petroleum engineering, and manufacturing so, all of these are encountered and cannot be avoided. There are other fields mechanical engineers have to do like, biomedical engineering and modeling of biological systems like, soft tissue mechanics. Mechanical engineers have to design and build engines and power plants, structures and vehicles of all sizes. Mechanical engineering requires a bachelors degree. The formal name for the degree is â€Å"Mechanical Engineer†, and the course work is based on five or six years of training, but in order to qualify as an Engineer you have to pass a state exam at the end of the course. Standards set participation to society and are intended to provide uniformity in fundamental subject material, promote competence among graduating engineers, and mostly to maintain confidence in the engineering profession as a whole. Students are required to show that they can â€Å"work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas. Mechanical engineers are also expected to understand and be able to apply  basic concepts from chemistry, physics, chemical engineering etc. All mechanical engineering programs include multiple semesters of mathematical classes including calculus, and advanced mathematical concepts. Also most mechanical engineering programs also require varying amounts of research or community projects to gain practical problem-sol ving experience. Engineers may seek license by a state, provincial, or national government. The purpose of this process is to ensure that engineers possess the necessary technical knowledge, real-world experience, and knowledge of the local legal system to practice engineering at a professional level. Once certified, the engineer is given the title of professional engineer. The field of mechanical engineering can be thought of as a collection of many mechanical engineering science disciplines. Several of these disciplines which are typically taught at the undergraduate level are listed below, with a brief explanation and the most common application of each. Some of these disciplines are unique to mechanical engineering, while others are a combination of mechanical engineering and one or more other disciplines.

Becoming a Healthy Team: Five Traits of Vital Leadership

Stephen A. Macchia, who is the writer of this book, is the founder head of Leadership Transformations group. This has been a ministry which mainly focuses spiritual needs which leaders together with their roles is supposed to have in day operation of fellowship or in ministry activity in churches both local and international.Creation of team has proved to be difficult as described by Stephen A. Macchia. He goes further to say that; it’s hard to motivate and lead most teams, since they can tend to inspire greatness into a leader and sometimes discourage someone to lead.Teams can be assembled together in a short while and at the same time they can disintegrate apart faster. Thus, this is why he saw a need to write more about building and managing a team. For a healthy and well organized team, it should possess characteristics of understanding, friendship, efficiency and effectiveness of team work which could lead to vitality of the team. Discussion Stephen A. Macchia, summarized his five traits of a team as TEAMS meaning; Trust, Empowerment, Assimilation, Management, and Service.He discussed all this with guidance from bible plus reflection questions at the end of each chapter. In this book, he formed a valuable team building resources for both pastors and leaders of the ministries, and also for other individuals who are most of the time involved in leadership process or role. From the back page, he explains how healthy and essential its for building a formidable team. The writer of this book has helped many churches to develop effectiveness in church service. Currently, he has concentrated on provision of practical leadership practices which leadership team does the same.He illustrates ways of trusting, empowering, assimilating, managing and serving. Lacking efficiency in our church leadership teams may lead to a failure in ministering. This book is outline with guidelines, which shows one to a good member of a team together with questions aligned with th eir answers of actual leadership to control and maintain team’s leadership track. As they face challenges. In most cases this challenges will rarely be handled spiritually or with clear approach like Stephen Macchia.In case someone is part of the ministerial team, one is advised to miss this book- Larry Crabb, the originator of New Way Ministry. It has been described that for one to be a great leader or team member, then greatness is the least expected. Stephen's approach to building a great team has played an important role the literature. † Compelling and appealing, this is a must-read for leaders who desire to build a biblical Spirit-led team. â€Å"-other authors like Luis Palau, a healthy Church, Becoming a Healthy Church Workbook, and Becoming a Healthy Disciple.To have a healthy church, Stephen illustrated ways of being lifted ahead and developing healthy church. It has been emphasized further that a healthy church will require assuming risks and their managemen t together with prompt evaluation. Stephen’s book is a real and practical publication which has been essential in transforming churches and leadership in ministries. Majority of churches and leaders have tried to implement the main traits and their effect have been applied in many churches worldwide regardless of their denomination, race and size.He suggested that the tool he could suggest to churches is being guided by the purpose. The nurturing of the most remarkable qualities will be guided by God, so that churches can obtain a good revival. Conclusion Stephen’s book has greatly made a good support in renewal of churches and leadership development universally. His alertness and spiritual guidance has strengthened the pillars of local churches. By reading this book one will find a spiritual guidance in undertaking leadership activities in churches. He has focused on spiritual development of leaders in local churches.He has also written exemplary books like Becoming a healthy disciple and church. He has helped many churches in the develop revival of healthy ministries. Nowadays he offer practical leadership training of church leaders, as he show them how to be trusted, empowered, assimilated, managed and served, which provides the TEAMS spelling. He has emphasized on the needs of teams which when not considered will lead to their failure. Reference Macchia, Stephen A. (2005). Becoming a Healthy Team: Five Traits of Vital Leadership, New York: Baker Books

Advanced Clinical Nutrition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advanced Clinical Nutrition - Research Paper Example Many theories have been advanced to explain this analogy. But the most acceptable is as follows; the trigger in heart attacks and some forms of stroke is the accumulation of cholesterol rich plaques (atheromas) in blood vessels of the heart and brain. The body detects these plaques as foreign and unwanted in the body; hence, through the process of inflammation, the body tries to remove the plaques from the walls of blood vessels. However, as the body is trying to remove the foreign plaques from the walls of blood vessels, circumstances may go wrong in that the plaques may rupture causing aneurysms or it may trigger blood clot formation. These clots normally obstruct blood flow to vital organs of the body causing heart attacks or cerebral infarcts (strokes). 2) Choose a nutrient or food that is considered both â€Å"anti-inflammatory† and â€Å"heart healthy†. Provide evidence that supports that your nutrient/food is â€Å"heart healthy† using key studies from the literature (described sufficiently and referenced appropriately). Beans. Foods like beans are anti-inflammatory in the sense that they do not have triggers of inflammation which may predispose to cardiovascular diseases. ... Beans are anti-inflammatory from many respects. Clinically, beans have been observed not to cause any heart conditions. Basically, beans do not have any cholesterol; hence, they do not trigger any inflammatory response in arteries of the heart. Epidemiologically, studies have revealed that incidences of heart conditions with plant products are rare, but animal products have been implicated. 4) Is the anti-inflammatory evidence clear? Why or why not? The anti-inflammatory response is clear in that there is no content of LDL cholesterol in beans and bean products. 5) Briefly, how would you design a study to provide information that would strengthen your case for the anti-inflammatory effects of your nutrient/food in humans? I would conduct biochemical tests on beans to ascertain that they do not have LDL cholesterol that triggers inflammation to cause cardiovascular diseases. QUESTION #2: Consider the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), adult treatment panel III (ATP III) re commendations for reducing CVD risk. Discuss EITHER the dietary soluble fiber OR plant sterols/stanols recommendation and answer the following questions: 1) First, mechanistically speaking, how is that particular recommendation supposed to lower CVD risk? Be specific Introduction of soluble dietary fibers is a strategy for reducing cardiovascular disease. These foods have trace amounts of saturated and trans fats, hence, they reduce incidences of cardiovascular disease. The therapeutic lifestyle changes that are recommended to reduce cardiovascular disease risk are that fiber should be between 20 to 30 g per day. 2) Where did the recommendation itself come from? In other words, what research led to this recommendation?

Mothers in Federal Prison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mothers in Federal Prison - Essay Example This information also supports the premise that when women are in federal prison it has severe repercussions on the entire family. Historically women who were mothers and sentenced to federal prisons were given lighter sentences. However, the literature indicates that tougher prison sentences, especially federal, are being handed down. As a result, more children are being affected by a parent's incarceration, (The Center for Youth and Families) The repercussions to the entire families of the incarnated women, not just the children are serious. There are emotional, political and economical effects that the entire family must endure. In the "Long Goodbye" by Amanda Coyne, all of these factors are addressed. The major factor that Coyne's work is concerned with is the emotional impact both on the mother and the rest of the family, especially the children. There is an emotional toll that affects the entire family f the imprisoned mothers. The literature suggest that the large numbers of women in federal prisons has a social impact and supports the premise that many women are in federal prisons due to the unsuccessful war on drugs. ... This causes great angst for the mothers in federal prison and it raises concerns as to what and how they will explain their incarceration to young children. The current literature also reveals that mothers in federal prisons have difficulties with adolescents and the adolescents of incarcerated mothers are problematic. (Coyne, p 73) Current literature is concerned with the unintended consequences of the incarceration of parents on children. (Coyne, p 72) These consequences may include problems with separation, caretaking, schooling, and antisocial behavior during childhood, educational failure, precocious sexuality, premature departures from home, early childbearing and marriage, and idleness and joblessness during adolescence and early adulthood. (Bloom, p 21) There is current literature that examines the dimensions and causes of these problems among children of mothers that have been sentenced in the federal district courts system. (Coyne, 74) The literature also suggests that the withdrawal or loss of a parent can result in the loss not only of economic capital, but also of social capital involving relationships among family members and the organization of family life toward the maintenance and improvement of life chances of children. (Bloom, p 22) The presence of mothers in United States prison populations is growing with the increasing reliance on incarceration as a criminal sanction, for women as well as men. (Bloom, p 22) The literature presents the results of a recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (1991) that revealed that about two-thirds of incarcerated women and more than one-half of incarcerated men are mothers of children under 18 years of age. (The Center for Youth

You have to analyse our calculations that i will upload Case Study

You have to analyse our calculations that i will upload - Case Study Example In choosing the securities that are to be included in the portfolio, the risk involved should be considered. Risk is usually measured by the use of beta. Beta is used as an indicator of how sensitive a stock is, towards market forces. A security that has a bet greater than 1 is said to be risky while a security that has a beta less than one is less risky. Risky securities are often associated with high returns. In the choice of the securities, the companies should not be correlated. That will ensure that the risk involved in the portfolio is minimal. Our group has considered six companies. The companies include Adidas, Wal-Mart, Samsung, syngenta, Google and Lufthansa. The companies are from different industries and that will help in reducing the risk that is associated with the portfolio. A good portfolio should have securities that are not correlated (Levinson, 2006, 155). That will help in ensuring that a failure in one industry will not lead to a failure in the other. The first step in the evaluation in considering the securities is finding the average rate of return. The average rate of return can be calculated by using the geometric or arithmetic mean. The rate of return was as follows, From the analysis of the rate of return, Google has the best rate of return while Wal-Mart is associated with the lowest rate of return. That means that if two investors invest the same amount of money in the two different companies, the investor at Google will earn more in terms of return. However, in making an investment decision, the risk factor has to be considered. Below is a table showing the risk associated with the securities. From the analysis on risk involved in all the securities, Wal-Mart turns out to be the less risky security. Such analysis of risks and return will enable an investor to come up with the appropriate stock portfolio that will be well balanced. After analyzing the return that will accrue from individual securities, an analysis should be done