Feminism and the Importance of Identity Politics Essay Example for Free

Feminism and the Importance of Identity Politics Essay â€Å"To be feminist in any authentic sense of the term is to want for all people, female and male, liberation from sexist role patterns, domination, and oppression†. Bell Hooks succinctly sums up what it means to be a feminist, and yet when we look to the feminist movement and feminist theorizing today, we see a disturbingly different picture. In a social movement founded on equality for all human beings, the patriarchy and its’ power structures have still made a negative impact in the way this movement is shaped and perpetuated, especially in terms of intersectionality and identity politics. Whose voices are heard? What issues are prioritized? Who is considered a â€Å"true† feminist? When we ask how and why issues of identity and intersectionality are relevant to feminist theorizing, the answer is simple. When the true and complex identities of individuals and social groups are ignored, what forms is a limiting and narrow view inherently oppositional to the movement’s foundation and goals. Essentially, ignoring these issues means perpetuating the oppression the movement itself is trying to fight. What follows is a brief analysis on three reasons why feminists should care about identity and individuals with complex identities: 1) addressing oppressions in a movement dedicated to eliminating all oppression, 2) identifying the negative consequences of elision of difference, and 3) recognizing the real importance of intersectionality in terms of survival in the real world, as opposed to simply theorizing in academics. While the feminist movement is explicitly dedicated to fighting racism and any other types of â€Å"isms†, we see that typically marginalized groups continue to be marginalized within the movement. These groups are well aware of this oppression, yet how often their voices are heard or even considered are slim to none. In a statement from Black feminists part of The Combahee River Collective, it is explained that there was â€Å"the need to develop a p olitics that was anti-racist, unlike those of White women, and anti-sexist, unlike those of Black and white men† (CRC: 59). As members of two oppressed groups in society, Black women face the highest obstacles in their pursuit of complete liberation, especially because of the dominant narrative and voices that have typically commandeered the political movement. As Kimberle Crenshaw purports, â€Å"the need to split one’s political energies between two  sometimes opposing groups is a dimension of intersectional disempowerment that men of color and white women seldom confront† (Crenshaw: 85). The intersectional experience of White women have typically dominated the women’s movement as White women have had more accessibility and opportunity to speak out/theorize academically as opposed to Black women. Thus, the experiences of Black women – which are distinguishably different from the White woman’s are essentially absent from the discussion, an issue that is highly problematic as it points to racism and oppression within a social justice movement (not to mention a limited perspective). Feminist theorists and activists must make sure to account for intersectional experiences in order to avoid this hypocrisy. Specifically, White feminists and activists must understand that their role as genuine activists in the movement mandates a need to be educated and literate in Black history and culture, something that the Combahee River Collective has explicitly called for. As they argue, â€Å"eliminating racism in the white women’s movement is by definition work for white women to do, but we will continue to speak to and demand accountability on this issue† (CRC: 63). Being a conscientious and fully aware member of this movement involves more than addressing intersectionality and racism within the movement. Feminist theorists need to identify the importance of 1) making the personal political, and subsequently 2) avoiding the harmful and common elision of differences between and within groups. These two ideas cannot happen or be fully achieved without the other. The first step requires a great deal of honesty and self-reflection, which may come with some discomfort and pain, a reason that many individuals may avoid this introspection. As Mari Matsuda argues in her article, â€Å"by claiming, exploring, and questioning my own identity in an explicit way, I seek truth, and I seek to encourage my students to do the same† (Matsuda: 75). Feminist theorists must consider the value of truth and justice over any type of discomfort or personal guilt that blocks the path towards complete liberation for all. Just as honesty is crucial in terms of oppression within the movement, it is also key in recognizing privilege. Matsuda supports this idea: â€Å"I do not know of any other politics of social change that works other than the one that asks people to explore deeply their own location on the axes of power† (Matsuda:  76). Once one has a certain amount of self-awareness and recognizes their privilege, only then can they be able to avoid ignoring intragroup differences. Ergo, the White woman cannot fully understand the complexity struggle of a Black woman’s experience in the movement if she does not understand her own privilege over the Black woman within the same movement. While intersectionality is quite real in the day-to-day lives of women, feminist theory has typically categorized identity as a limiting either/or dichotomy between â€Å"woman† or â€Å"person of color†, leaving women of color marginalized. In terms of violence against women, Crenshaw argues that this elision of difference is harmful because it is perpetuating the violence by not fully understanding how multiple dimensions of woman’s identity contribute to her experience. For example, in our society ruled by a racist/patriarchal structure and system, battered women of color face poverty and racially discriminatory employment/housing, thus have a much harder time finding shelter and support. The elision of difference can also be harmful because it poses as a threat to solidarity – ignoring intragroup differences simply continue to raise tension between these sub groups and ultimately harms the progress of the movement, which requires everyone to stand with one another. Lastly, feminist theorists must recognize the importance of intersectionality and identity as transcendent issues that go beyond simply theorizing and play a very real role in the lives of women every day. As Crenshaw argues, â€Å"The struggle over incorporating these differences is not a petty or superficial conflict about who gets to sit at the head of the table. In the context of violence, it is sometimes a deadly serious matter of who will survive and who will not† (Crensaw: 89). The commonly shared assumption that battering is a minority problem, for example, exemplifies the issues with ignoring intersectionality/identity. Battering is a human problem, and if a Latina woman cannot get shelter from a husband threatening to kill her multiple times because she can’t prove she is English-proficient, then something is very wrong. These exclusionary policies are inherently oppositional to the goal of human liberation and the women’s movement, and if feminist theorists do not address this, then not only will real change remain absent, but we will continue to lose the lives  of women around the world. These are human beings that deserve to live and exercise their rights; that deserve to celebrate their multi-dimensional identity, instead of suffer from it because feminist theory and societal structure are ignoring them. Feminist theorists, we need you to be honest with yourselves and your privilege. We need you to address the complexity and beauty of every individual, help use these differences to resist against oppression instead of perpetuate it, and ultimately harness and use the full power of group solidarity to truly and genuinely fight for human liberation.

To See and Not See Essay Example for Free

To See and Not See Essay Have you ever been blind and then regained your sight even for a little while? Here’s another interesting question. If you have been blind and regained your sight for just a little while then, how would you think and how would you feel? It is imaginable that you might experience happiness and excitement at being able to see a world that had been hidden from you for so long; then, after a bit you might experience anger and frustration because of the difficulty adjusting to life as a sighted person. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that these and many other emotions were felt by Virgil, Amy, and his family when he regained his sight after being blind for most of his life. However, despite an operation to regain his sight Virgil loses his sight again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both the book To See and Not See by Oliver Sacks and the dramatic movie called Love at First Sight starring Val Kilmer as Virgil and Mira Sorvino as Amy tell Virgil’s remarkable story as his travels from darkness to light back to darkness again. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the story and the movie. In addition, I will provide some personal reflection concerning how I would function in everyday life if I were blind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The movie called At First Sight and the story To See and Not See has many differences. Some differences between the story and the movie are important to how the reader/viewer makes note of the key differences and some differences between the story and the movie aren’t important to how the reader/viewer look at the differences between the two mediums. There are many case studies of other blind people who have regained their sight for a while just like Virgil’s case. In fact, the story illustrated these other case studies such as a patient who went by the initials H.S. in order to compare and track Virgil progress and regression after the operation (Sacks, 1994, 10). The movie didn’t talk about other people who had been blind almost the entire lives and then regained their sight for a short time. This difference isn’t important to the evaluation of the two mediums.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In contrast, there is a difference between the story and the movie that does make an important difference in looking at the key points between the two genres. In the story Virgil and Amy had met and dated many years before they met again and ultimately married and in the movie Amy and Virgil had never met before they met at the spa. In addition, Amy in the movie had never been married and Amy in the story had been married before when she met Virgil. This is an important difference because some people when they have gone through life changing events such as moving and divorce would contact someone they liked and felt comfortable around. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Amy would contact Virgil who she had dated before and felt comfortable with him. Also, the fact that in the story Amy and Virgil got married and in the movie Amy and Virgil are just dating make a huge difference because married people might stay together in times of crisis and a dating couple may decide that being together in times of crisis isn’t worth it and they may break up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, I think that the fact that Amy has health problems in the story and she doesn’t have health problems in the movie provides her with different motivations for Virgil having the operation to restore his vision. In the movie At First Sight, Amy motivation for Virgil having the operation may be grounded in the fact that they are involved in a new love relationship. Also, she could wish Virgil to have the eye surgery because she is a perfectionist and if he has the operation to restore he will be perfect in her eyes (At First Sight, 1999). In the movie it seems as if Amy equates having the operation with having the â€Å"perfect† life with Virgil. In contrast, Amy in the story has health problems herself such as diabetes and asthma. In fact, Amy had to quit her job as a botanist due to her asthma (Sacks, 1994, 5). In the story, it seems as if Amy’s motivation for Virgil having the operation involves trying to help Virgil get better using the doctors that Amy uses to help her with her eye check ups due to diabetes (Sacks, 1994, 5). Due to the different motivations that prevail for Virgil having the operation the viewer of the movie might see Amy as selfish whereas the reader might feel for Amy and root for her and Virgil because of their health problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I think that it is hard to give a concrete answer to the question whether operations to restore sight should be performed. It seems as if both in the movie and in the story Virgil had more problems when he could see than when he was blind. In the story when Virgil was blind he enjoyed life more because he loved going to the zoo to touch the gorillas and the giraffes. He also loved listening to baseball games when he was blind. However, when he could see and he went to the zoo he wasn’t allowed to touch any of the animals. Therefore he didn’t enjoy the zoo. Also, he lost his job due to complications from the operation (Sacks, 1994, 15, 20). Therefore, it seems that Virgil had freedom and independence when he was blind and he acted like a scared little child when he could see a bit. In fact, in the movie Virgil screams when he hears loud horns and sees bright colored cars coming at him (At First Sight, 1999). Therefore, based on these two examples it would seem that there needs to be more discussion and thought before allowing operations that restore sight. I think that people who have had their sight restored should have the option to have a Seeing Eye dog until they adjust to the world as a sighted person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If I were blind then, I would have to have to have much help in learning to adjust to not being able to see. I am an avid reader and I love to cook and bake. Therefore, it would be hard getting used to reading with my hands and learning a different way of cooking and baking. I would be frustrated if I regained my sight and then lost it again I feel for Virgil in both the story and as I watched the movie. However, I felt more sympathy for Amy in the story rather than Amy in the movie. I think the moral of both the story and the movie is sight doesn’t always give you the freedom or perfection that you seek.

Swift Courier Company | Analysis

Swift Courier Company | Analysis Introduction to the Company: SWIFT courier company is a reputed Parcel and Document courier company. Operating since 1989, it has offices in Oxford, Reading, Swindon and Newbury. It has grown exceptionally since its inception and now caters to the entire UK population. It also provides Logistics and Supply Chain Management solutions to some of the leading players in the business like DHL. It is also a preferred corporate partner with corporate giants like Herma UK Ltd., Epic data, Stryker UK Limited among others. SWIFT has tie ups with a number of global players, ensuring that its customers can also make international shipments (SWIFT Couriers, 2009). SWIFTs success hinges on its values of integrity, team work, customer centric business operation and providing a platform for people development. Services Portfolio: SWIFT provides three standard services both to the general public and corporate clients alike: Same day Parcel delivery and Courier Services: A premium service wherein shipments are collected and delivered across to any UK destination on the same day. Next Day Parcel Delivery and Courier Services: Shipments are collected and delivered to any location in the UK within one business days time. International Parcel Delivery, Courier and Freight Services: A high end service offering catering to international logistics demands. The company operates its own fleet of transport vehicles and also uses third party networks in service delivery. The firm is highly responsive to market trends and provides a fleet of vehicles for business operations. It has on its range Small courier Vans, Mercedes Vitos, Mercedes Luton Tail Lift, 4ft Arctic Lorries, Mercedes extended sprinters and 7.5 tonne lorries. It offers both branch and on line bookings. Customers can choose to place their orders at any of their 4 branches, over the phone or online through the companys website. It allows for the online baggage tracking and has a tie up with Prudential Insurance to provide lost baggage insurance to all its shipments. The company has an impressive pricing strategy and is one of the low cost service providers operating in the same day delivery market. It has secured numerous corporate partnerships and is now an official carrier for a large number of manufacturing firms, solely relying on its competitive pricing. Operations and its cycle: SWIFT has close to two thousand employees working in its operations department and another 400 providing supporting functions to the operations team. The companys Operations cycle can broadly be classified into four divisions: Sell: The marketing team is responsible for lead generation and execution of deals. For the Operations staff, this is the input for their functioning. Source: The purchasing department is concerned with the acquisition of the transport fleet and other equipment necessary to provide the service. The staffing function is outsourced to professional recruiters who provide the necessary human capital. Build: The operations staff is now concerned with the delivery of shipments. For domestic shipments, the operations team ensures the product delivery. For international destinations, the network management team works with third party operators to have the package delivered. Delivery: The online tracking system generates an automatic delivery confirmation to the customer. The Operations function starts with a delivery consignment being keyed into the companys ERP. Depending on the packages dimensions, its weight and the delivery timelines, the ERP routes the details to the respective teams. The tagged pick up team then picks up the package and transports it to the take away shuttle points. Various packages are then sorted at the shuttle point according to their destinations. Using the Mercedes Vitos, they are all routed to their base collection centres. The bases currently operating are Gatwick Airport- for international consignments, Lambeth for domestic same day deliveries and Oxford for domestic nest day deliveries. Air carrier fleet then transports these packages to the local distribution centres- Edinburgh for Scotland destinations, Cardiff for Whales and London for domestic. From these distribution facilities, the packages are finally routed to their respective destinations using a range of road carrier fleet. The Operation function ends when the recipient signs digitally on the collection barometers upon the receipt of the consignment. At Swift, Operations assumes the most critical of the business functionalities and is the organizations Bread Earner. It has a layered relationship with the other departments and works in tandem with them. The Operations Function consists of two teams- IT and Fieldwork. The IT team is the brain of the company and does all the calculations for finding the most effective route to deliver a package. It encompasses a strategic and an operational role. It literally details the specified route for each shipment and the fieldwork simply follows the channel to deliver the shipment. Company Vs. Market performance: The UK logistics services business has grown multi fold over the past decade. The market has seen over a hundred new entrants, a majority of them being successful global brands. The industry has seen a lot of players create a mark in the niche segments as well as a few firms like Fedex and UPS, spread their wings with diversified and customized offerings to all segments. In 2004, the industry has posted 7% growth rate, 10% in 2005,11% in 2006, 12% in 2007 and 9% in 2008. 2009 has been a dreaded year. The current economic downturn, coupled with the freezing consumer spending has contacted the market; diminishing its value by 15%. According to Highbeam Research Consultants, the UK courier market will grow to 127% by 2011. SWIFT has grown quite well in this lucrative market. The company, over the past two decades has been posting impressive growth rates each year. The company has posted a 15% growth in bottomlines in 2004, 13% in 2005, 16% in 2006, 5% in 2007. It has declared a negative growth of 5% in 2008 and 25% in 2009. Though the company has fared well for the better part of the last decade, it has been sluggish over the past two years. A recent survey conducted by the company on the cause of its declining market share has shown that customer dissatisfaction is the main reason for this dismal performance. Problem Identification: SWIFT runs its operations in traditional ways using very little automation and a lot of manual intervention. The scale of its business, currently, does not support complete automation as by firms like Fedex, UPS and DHL. This makes the functioning error prone. Numerous packages have been misplaced and delivered outside the timelines, resulting in a lot of customers looking for alternative operators. SWIFT has even lost 3 corporate clients over the last 3 years. A lot of these errors have been traced to the point of collections- the earliest part of the supply chain. Lack of clearly defined routing procedures mean that a package to be delivered to London could easily be mistagged to be delivered to Glasgow. The mistake could only be identified when the package has been delivered to the regional collection point in Edinburgh. It then has to be returned back to Lambeth from which it is finally routed to London. All this happens at huge unplanned costs for the company. Added to this, it leads to delays in shipping the consignment. In a tough and competitive market, customer dissatisfaction is aggravated and the customer starts looking at other carriers. According to the company sources, erroneous routing has cost the company over five hundred thousand pounds in 2009 and lost atleast 2000 customers from transacting again. A few mistakes have also been committed downstream, by the regional collection centres. They have been dysfunctional in identifying the most cost effective and quick modes of disseminating the shipments. As an instance, a package arrived at Lambeth for final destination to London is grouped with packages to be delivered to Cranfield. By the time the Trucks have delivered all the packages in Cranfield, only to see a last package to be delivered to London, a transit has to be made all the way from Cranfield to London for a single consignment. With the rising fuel prices, this can be very costly for the company. Analysing the business operation, it can be seen that a lot of efforts are being wasted in areas that make no contributions to service delivery. In other words, there is a high propotion of Non Value Add (NVA) pieces in its model. As an instance, two separate hubs- one as a collection hub and the other as a delivery hub, can be avoided. Problem Resolving: In times as dynamic as the current and in a market with cut throat competition, the business has to look at a mix of innovative and tested business techniques to reduce overhead expenditure and to ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction. We suggest the management to adopt the tried and tested Six Sigma concepts in Operations. Though this will involve a complete revamp of the functioning and some major decisions in Operations Strategy, the positive outcomes of successful implementation will overshadow the costs by a fair margin. Six Sigma: Six Sigma is an Operational concept, originated by the Motorolla Corporation of Japan and widely used across the services industries. The Six Sigma culture aims to achieve operational excellence by consistently writing off the errors. It aims to minimize variability is Business production. It preaches the provision and management of appropriate tools and techniques which ensure that the error tolerance is no more than one defect per million operations (DPMO). The term Six Sigma has its roots built around the concepts of probability. In this case, its the probability of a defect. Majority of the things in the common world have a probability which form a normal distribution. The normal distribution can be explained on two parameters: mean- the average of the expected values of the parameter and Standard deviation- variability(fatness of the curve). This can be measured by the distance between the mean and the perpectual closing points on either one of the sides. This distance is also popularly termed as Sigma. The term Six sigma emphasizes that if an organization has sophisticated working conditions which ensure that the lower and upper service levels (or the range of tolerance) is within six standard deviations on either side of the mean, the chances of a manufacturing defect are only 3.4 per every million operations. Suggested tools for implementation: SWIFT can implement Six Sigma across the length and breadth of its operations using two basic tools: Business Process Mapping and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). The scale of its operations do not, yet, suggest the use of more complex and sophisticated techniques like Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Process Capability Analysis for two reasons: High costs involved in the analysis. The medium scale operations of the firm will not provide the sufficient data for a more rigorous analysis. Business Process Mapping: Business Process Mapping refers to an activity involved in defining the exact functioning of a business. It aims is present, in clear and quantifiable terms, the objective of each business vertical, the steps to be followed in achieving the objective, the acceptable standards of the goods are services produced, the roles and the responsibilities of every person involved in the business functioning. It results in an illustration of the business functioning, usually through a flow chart. Services industries use two software packages for business stream mapping or business modeling as it is called in a few companies- Microsoft Visio and Casewise Business Modeller. We suggest the use of Visio because it is inexpensive. Casewise is amongst the most highly priced softwares and the scale of our operations do not justify its use. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): FMEA is a procedure used in Operations management. It explores the potential failure within a business function with an aim to rate the severity of the failure, the probability of the occurrence of the failure and its effects. Failure modes are anything which originate the dysfunctionality within the business. Effects Analysis studies the effects of these failures on the business. The three principal parameters of an FMEA are : Occurrence, Detection and Severity. In an FMEA, all the Implementation: Implementation of Six Sigma on the job floor is a very important function. The effectiveness of the whole project depends on careful planning and implementation in a phased manner. We suggest the following technique be used in the structured implementation and effective absorption of the Six Sigma culture. Initialization The initialization phase is strategic in nature. Responsibility lies with the Senior management to initialize the Six Sigma thinking. The CEO/ Chairman understands the concept of Six Sigma and how its implementation influences the business core competencies and effectiveness. Upon the managements decision to proceed, an enterprise level delivery leader, having a direct line of sight and reporting to the CEO should be identified. A set of formal guidelines, policies and implementation plan have to documented by the identified leader, in consultation with Operations, Human Resouces, Finance and other support functions. Execution With the framework set, it is now turn to put the plan into action. The company has now to select domain experts from different functions and assign them to work full time on the project. Training is now crucial. Having identified the people who would be the as the quality team, experienced consultants have to hired to train them on the Six Sigma and Lean concepts. Initial projects should then be identified. These could be any major problems that the business is facing. The projects must clearly identify one or more of the organizational goals thereby contributing to the enterprises core competencies. The goals must be clearly defined and be practically achieved within three to four months. There has to be a continuous review of these projects by the senior management. Assessment As projects are deemed to be completed and additional ones taken up, objective vs benefits assessment is to be done. The phase serves as a control mechanism. This is to ensure that: Key constituents of the Six Sigma Initialization plan are being achieved within the predefined time lines. Identify and manage any variability between set goals and actual accomplishments. Six Sigma is all about continuos improvement (Kaizen) and continuos learning. An assessment is necessary to ensure the knowledge is being shared across the business verticals. Promote discipline and accountability. The assessment could be a formal illustration or a word based. A sample suggestion is provided below: Project Selection and Execution: Having looked at the organizational wide implementation, the next focus should be on the individual projects. We propose the use of DMAIC thinking. Define: Identify a suitable defect. Measure: Measure the impact of the defects. Analyze: Analyze the defects and identify solutions. Improve: Implement Improvement opportunities. Control: Set up a control mechanism to monitor the project.

Virginia V. Sebelius Essay example -- Health Care, US Government

Health care has been a much needed but problematic institution for the United States over the last several decades. Particularly private companies have been the main cause of high premiums and the denial of coverage for the previously ill. In attempts to remedy these issues, Congress in conjunction with the President of the United States Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The PPACA is a federal state that focused on the reformation of the private health insurance market, provide better coverage for those with existing conditions, and improve the conditions of Medicare. Within this statute there is the section 1501 mandate, the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision, which requires every citizen, besides the exempt, to maintain a minimum level of health care by 2012. Those choosing not to participate will be subject to a momentary tax with their annual income tax returns. Since its creation, this particular mandate has caused a great deal of cont roversy. In early 2010, the Commonwealth of Virginia passed into law, a statute that forbade any type of mandate that would force citizens to purchase health insurance. They believed such a mandate would cause an immediate and continuing burden of the State and its citizens. Although it was created months before the PPACA statute it is clear the Virginia statute come in direct conflict with the federal mandate. It is the responsibility of the courts to solve this conflict between the two parties, Virginia and Kathleen Sebelius. The Commonwealth of Virginia has lodge a complaint with the about the constitutionality of the PPACA statute. Through the state’s Attorney General, it challenges the enforcement of the statute due on part to section 1501 of th... ...only a choice between participation or retaliation. In New York v. U.S., the courts found that Congress cannot directly force states to legislate is accordance to their scheme. Forcing a state to participation or penalty is coercive in nature. This would counter the federalist structure outlined in the tenth amendment. In closing the constitutionality of this mandate is a minimum sketchy and often steps over the delicate boundaries allotted to Congress. Although there are a multitude of precedents to rule in favor of the defendant, doing so could leave a means in which to bring Congress unrestricted powers. Our goal is not to create a police State where the federalist structure becomes miniscule to the greater good of the poor, sick, and unfortunate. Although, the court supports the intentions of the PPACA statute the means of accomplishing them cannot be backed.

Essay --

Traveling around the world can open your eyes to many new discoveries. Jonathan Swift was a well-known author during the 1600 and 1700’s. Many of Swift’s pieces were based on his experiences during his travels. â€Å"For most general readers, the name Jonathan Swift is associated only with his satiric masterpiece Gulliver's Travels. They are not aware that, in addition to it and hundreds of poems, he wrote a great deal of nonfictional prose, much of it of considerable interest, significance, and excellence† (Schakel). As a child, â€Å"Swift grew up fatherless and dependent on the generosity of his uncle† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift†). Jonathan was born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. According to â€Å"The Early Life and Education of Jonathan Swift† his father died in 1667 before Jonathan was born. Jonathan’s mother felt very strongly about her son’s education. â€Å"At the age of six he was sent to Kilkenny School, then the best in Ireland† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift†). â€Å"Swift continued in residence at Trinity College as a candidate for his masters of arts degree until February 1689. The Roman Catholic disorders began to spread through Dublin after the Glorious Revolution, causing Swift to seek security in England with a distant relative named Sir William Temple, at Moor Park.† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift†). As stated in â€Å"Jonathan Swift† Temple was engaged in writing memoirs and preparing essays for publication, and Swift acted as h is secretary. Swift gained much knowledge while he was with Temple by reading many books from Temple’s vast library. This is when Jonathan really became interested in writing. â€Å"Between 1691 and 1694 Swift wrote a number of poems and between 1696 and 1699 he turned to prose and wrote some of his most famous works such as A Tale of a Tub† (â€Å"Jonathan ... ...an Swift Biography†) â€Å"The closing years of Swift’s life have been the subject of some misrepresentation, and stories have been told of his ungovernable temper and lack of self-control† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift†). Jonathan Swift lived a long 78 years, he died on October 19, 1745. â€Å"He is said to have suffered what is known to have been Meniere’s Disease, an affliction of the semicircular canals of the ears† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift†). In 1742 he was declared incapable of caring for himself, and guardians were appointed, according to the article â€Å"Jonathan Swift†. â€Å"Later that year (1742) he suffered from a stroke and lost the ability to speak† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift Biography†). In 1745, Swift was â€Å"laid to rest next to Esther Johnson inside of Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral† (â€Å"Jonathan Swift Biography†). After living his long life Swift said â€Å"No wise man ever wished to be younger.â € 

Plea-Bargains: Currency of the Courts An Examination of the Effectivene

â€Å"Rahim Jaffer case heads for plea-bargain†; former Alberta MP Rahim Jaffer was being charged on cocaine possession and drunk-driving charges; his case was likely to be resolved with a plea-bargain agreement (Makin, 2010). This is but one case of many that are settled though a plea-bargain agreement. Plea-bargaining can take the form of a sentence reduction, a withdrawal or stay of other charges, or, a promise not proceed on other charges, in exchange for a guilty plea by an accused. During discussion of a potential plea bargain agreement, the Crown Attorney and defence lawyer will look at 4 distinct sections of a plea negotiation: charge discussions, sentence discussions, procedural discussions, and agreements as to the facts of the offence and the narrowing of issues in order to expedite the trial ("Plea bargaining," 2011). According to the Department of Justice, approximately 90% of criminal cases are resolved each year by use of plea-bargaining (â€Å"Findlaw,† 2012). Despite what appears on its face to be rampant use of the plea agreement, plea negotiations are incredibly helpful to our court system. First, plea agreements serve to diminish the overload of cases and avoid lengthy trials, thus avoiding appeals of trial decisions and allowing greater access to the justice system. In turn, a less burdened court system can focus its efforts on the most serious of criminal offences thereby ensuring that such cases are handled in the manner with the greatest likelihood of securing a conviction. Overall, this judicial efficiency results in a cost savings and better allocation of resources. This paper will explore these two main benefits and also discuss potential criticisms of the plea bargain system. Plea-Bargaining has become... ..., 2012, from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/icg-gci/pb4-rpc4.html Plea bargaining. (2011, February 28). Retrieved from http://www.victimsofviolence.on.ca/rev2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=378&Itemid=197 Plea bargaining in canada. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2002/rr02_5/p3.html Romaniuk, T. (n.d.). Centre for Constitutional Studies - R. v. Askov.Faculty of Law Home - University of Alberta. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.law.ualberta.ca/centres/ccs/rulings/Ask Tappscott. (2012). street directory. Retrieved from http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/14026/legal_matters/plea_bargaining_pros_and_cons.html Young, R. (2011, November 16). Cutbacks have some courts dismissing criminal cases. Here & Noe. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.hereandnow.wbur.org/2011/11/16/budget-cuts-court

Matrilineal Societies

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011, Matrilineal Descent, Patrilineal Descent Matrilineal societies are those societies in which descent is traced through mothers rather than through fathers. In matrilineal societies, property is often passed from mothers to daughters and the custom of matrilocal residence may be practiced. In matrilineal societies, the descendants of men are their sister's children and not their own, who belong to their mother's matrilineage. Matrilineage is sometimes associated with polyandry or group marriage where women have a variety of sexual partners and lines of male descent are uncertain. Ancient societies are known to have recognised matrilineal descent. Matriliny is not the mirror image of patriliny. Matrilineal societies differ from both patrilineal and bilateral societies in that the institution of marriage tends to be, relatively weak (Schneider and Gough 1961, Goode 1963). In a gerontocratic matrilineal society, women's influence and prestige tended to increase with age and were usually expressed in informal settings, although there were offices of formalised informality such as â€Å"mothers† of matrilineages. Matriliny required the subordination of marriage and conjugal duties to loyalty to and participation in the descent group. This, combined with economic activities, farming, artisan work, and trading, gave women considerable independence. Women (like elders) had prestige in the matrilineal home town, where black stools symbolised the â€Å"seat of power. † (Bartle). In a matrilineal society, women generally have a greater autonomy in terms of sexuality and reproduction than their counterparts in male dominated societies. The woman in a matrilineal society represents the clan and her children carry on the name of her clan. Land Inheritance and Schooling in Matrilineal Societies: Evidence from Sumatra – Agnes R. Quisumbing, and Keijiro Otsuka Abstract: This paper explores statistically the implications of the shift from communal to individualized tenure on the distribution of land and schooling between sons and daughters in matrilineal societies, based on a Sumatra case study. The inheritance system is evolving from a strictly matrilineal system to a more egalitarian system in which sons and daughters inherit the type of land that is more intensive in their own work effort. While gender bias is either non-existent or small in land inheritance, daughters tend to be disadvantaged with respect to schooling. The gender gap in schooling, however, appears to be closing for the generation of younger children. – capri. cgiar. org/wp/capriwp14. asp Gough, K. (1961) â€Å"The modern disintegration of matrilineal descent groups,† in D. M. Schneider and K. Gough (eds. ) Matrilineal Kinship, Berkeley, U. Calif. , pp. 631-54 Oppong, C. (1974) Marriage Among a Matrilineal Elite, Cambridge University Press. Matrilineal Society in India – Dr. Madhumita Das When most of the people in the world follow the patrilineal system, there exist a few groups here and there who believed to be the descendants of Japheth (son of Noah), and are followers of the matrilineal system (Syiemlieh, 1994). At the global level, the existence of matrilineal society is found among the tribes of African countries, in some part of Southeast Asia and among three groups of India. It is the Minangkabaus of West Sumatra, Indonesia, comprising the largest ethnic group in the world who follow a matrilineal system (Tanius, 1983). In Indian context, the matrilineal social system is found only among small pockets of south the and northeast India. The Nairs and Mappilles in Kerala, the tribal groups of Minicoy Island and the Khasis and the Garos of Meghalaya are the followers of matrilineal system. However, the matrilineal system of the African countries differs considerably from that of the Southeast Asian groups. Even within India, the system differs from one group to another (Kapadia, 1966). Among these groups, difference is mostly observed in the type of residence after marriage. The pattern of duo-local residence exists among the Ashanti of the Gold Coast in Africa, Minangkhau of Sumatra and the Nayars of Central Kerala. However, the Khasis of Meghalaya, generally follow the residential pattern known as â€Å"matrilocal residence†, where the husband resides with his wife's matrilineal kin or in other case couples settle down together in a new residence in and around his wife's maternal place (neo-local residence). Methodology This work discusses the changes that are occurring among the only few existent matrilineal setup in the world in terms of their attitudes and behaviour. In order to discuss the changes, the existing literature has been reviewed and they are supplemented by in-depth interviews of a few key informants. The key informants include eminent academicians, elderly persons of different localities, local heads, social workers and persons representing the younger generation. In addition, two focus group discussions (FGD) were done with women from different age groups. The idea behind this exercise is to clearly identify those features that have been characterising the matrlineal system of the Khasi tribe these days. Along with the qualitative analysis, the profile of women living in original matrilineal arrangement as against those who have completely transited in the form of percentage distribution is also presented. A few socio-economic, demographic, and developmental characteristics of both women and her husband has been taken into consideration. Lastly, a multivariate analysis has been undertaken to substantiate the findings from bivariate analysis and to find out the factors, which brought changes among the society. Study Area The basic aim of the study is to understand the structure of matrilineal system and the changews that has taken place in it over the period of time among the Khasis of Meghalaya. In Meghalaya there exists three tribal groups, namely Khasi, Jaintia and Garo. The state is predominantly inhabited by the Khasi tribe, who are known for their matrilineal social system. The sample design adopted was a multistage design, fitted to the study requirements. Given the resources available, it was decided to cover 600 eligible women (currently married Khasi women age 15–49 years), all from (erstwhile) East Khasi Hills district. The choice of East Khasi Hills over West Khasi Hills was purely purposive. According to 1991 census, little over 33 per cent population of the East Khasi Hills district live in the urban areas. Thus, it was decided to cover 200 eligible women (33 per cent of 600) from the urban areas and the remaining 400 women from the rural areas. The Khasi Matriliny: An Overview The term matriarchy or matriliny has become inseparably associated with the Khasi social organisation since it was first used in 1914 by Gurdon to describe Khasi social customs (Das. Gupta, 1964). Although the term is used to explain the pattern of residence after marriage among the Khasis, it is, however, known that matrilocal residence is not an invariable concomitant of matriarchal or matrilineal society. As among the Nayars of India, though they are also the followers of matrilineal system, the residential system among them is duolocal, where husband is usually the night visitor to their wife. Before we begin to understand the nature of Khasi social organisation, it becomes necessary, to clear that the general rule of matrilineal system is that females inherit property. However, it must be noted that at the outset the system of inheritance is governed by some code of rules, which, if taken in its totality and richness, can hardly be described as simple. In fact, the Khasi society is more complex and vivid than what is it apparent. The Khasis have matrilocal residence and matrilineal descent. Participation in the family religion and the common sepulchre, where bones of the members of the family are interred after death, are the two elements that bind the members together. Besides the matrilocal residential pattern and matrilineal descent, family property is mainly transmitted through the female line. The children of the male do not belong to the family. The youngest daughter, Ka Khadduh, in a Khasi family is in charge of the family religion. She cremates her mother and inters her bones in the common sepulchre (a place where the bones are kept with a huge stone over it which is different in shape for males and females). Marriage is a great social institution among the Khasis, as it determines the system of matrilocal residential pattern among them (Sinha, 1970). Being the followers of a unique social system of matriliny, the Khasi women enjoy a special place of status and dignity (Kyndiah, 1990). A Khasi woman is the guardian and preserver of the family goods. She plays a crucial role in the affairs of the family. However, she is not the head of the family, as this is left to a male member. The father of the family has a definite role to play in the household affairs. However, his role is limited to the final word of the maternal uncle. When Christianity came, the Khasi family was aced with the question whether a â€Å"Ka Khaduh† could hold the family property if she would convert to the Christianity. In 1918, the Government ruled that Christian converts should be allowed to inherit the ancestral property. Property is thus divorced from religion. Though religion was divorced from the traditional rules, because of the modernisation process, such as, educational development along with the spread of Christianity, that had somehow changed the traditional system in many respect (Roy, 1964). The original system and moral efficacy has now a days been largely distorted (Bareh, 1994). The literature shows that a shift is taking place in the matrilineal society towards parental or patrilineal one (Tanius, 1983; Syiemlieh, 1994). Syiemlieh (1994), in his write-up on the Khasis and their matrilineal system has explained that due to some basic reasons there exists a transition in the matrilineal set-up in Meghalaya. This transition in the matrilineal society is due to the changes in the overall set-up. Such changes can be the result of factors like the intermingling with other neighbouring patriarchal communities, the advent of missionaries and spread of Christianity among these tribal groups. The spread of urbanisationand urban development along with the spread of Christianity have changed the perception and attitude of people among the Khasis ( Kapadia, 1966; Syiemlieh, 1994). Thus from the above review we get the idea that over time these matrilineal societies are undergoing changes in its characteristics. On the basis of the above literature, each characteristic feature has been given weightage to categorize the sample women in two groups, viz. , Traditional: Women fulfilling all three criteria or those who possess at least ownership right along with matrilocal residential pattern or matrilocal residential pattern and descent through female. Transitional:Women who follow none of the criteria or only descent. It is found from the above categorisation that 55 per cent of sample women are from the traditional group while the remaining 45 per cent are from the transitional group. The Traditional women will be refereed to as ‘traditional women’, whereas women in Transitional group will be referred to as ‘transitional women’. It may be relevant to mention here that these nomenclatures are used for the purpose of conceptual categorisation of these two groups of women according to their characteristics assessed at the time of survey. Yet another issue that needs to be kept in mind is that the term ‘traditional’ is not used as opposed to ‘modern’. It may be emphasised that women in traditional group are the followers of all the three or the first two important characteristics of the matrilineal system, i. e. , property ownership right, matrilocal residence and/or family name through mother’s side. Socio-economic and Demographic Characteristics ofWomen in Matrilineal Set-up Type of Residence Type of residence is one of the important determinants that has its effect on the changes that take place in any society, as well as, on the changing perception of people towards traditions. Women from traditional group are mostly concentrated in rural areas (79 per cent). What is, however, more interesting is that 21 per cent women following the matrilineal system live in urban areas and also almost half of the women who have deviated from matrilineal system continue to live in rural areas. This indicates that the transition that we witness in Khasi society is a complex phenomenon operating at family level than merely the outcome of urbanisation and modernisation process.