Comparison of Early American Literature Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Early American Literature Essay The two selections Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and The General History of Virginia by John Smith are some of the earlier pieces of American literature. Although they were both written in the same time period the style and attitudes vary greatly. William Bradford had a very direct form of writing; commonly known as plain puritan style, whereas, John Smith had a somewhat confusing, more elaborate, writing style. Bradfords piece also seemed more accurate than John Smiths account. For example, John Smith wrote of his capture by three hundred bowmen, conducted by the king of Pamunkee which seems more than a little exaggerated. After all, it generally doesnt take three hundred men to capture one. Smith exaggerated many times in order to boast about himself. There are many times when he refers to his greatness. In the following quote he boasts of his leadership skills and compassion for his fellow men while belittling his superiors: The new President and Martin, being little beloved, of weak judgment in dangers, and less industry in peace, committed the managing of all things abroad to Captain Smith, who, by his own example, good words, and fair promises, set some to mow, others to bind thatch, some to build houses, others to thatch them, himself always bearing the greatest task for his own share, so that in short time her provided most of them lodgings, neglecting any for himself William Bradford, on the other hand, boasts about his colony: there was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and hard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them. Bradford and Smith, both leaders of their colonies, wrote of their hardships in the new world. Despite these similarities the way they acted was very different. When John Smith writes about the Native Americans he refers to them as savages and barbarians. He even calls Pocahontas, the girl who saved his life, a young wench. Bradford writes of the Native Americans as  human beings. He even had a peace treaty with them that lasted twenty-four years. They also had different motifs for writing, which may contribute to the many differences. Smith wrote his selection to encourage people to come to America to find excitement and adventure. Bradford simply wanted to inform the readers of what the lives of colonists was really like. As different are their writing styles, motifs, and views these two men share some common ground, one being they are some of the earliest works of American Literature. So no matter how different or alike Smith and Bradfords writings are, History of Virginia and Of Plymouth Plantation will always be remembered as great American literature.

How Electron Configuration Accounts for Ion Formation

How Electron Configuration Accounts for Ion Formation Consider electron configuration as it applies to the periodic table and explain in detail how this accounts for the formation of ions. Elements are arranged in the periodic table (see figure 1) according to their electronic configuration, which describes the number and arrangement of electrons in an atom, helping to make sense of the chemistry of an element. The notion of Electron configuration was first highlighted with the Bohr model, in which the electron shells were orbits at a fixed distance from the nucleus of an atom, and it is still common to speak of atomic structures in terms of shells and sub-shells. An electron shell is the set of atomic orbitals which share the same prinicpal quantum number n (Krauskopf 1995) – the number before the letter in the oribital label. Orbitals are filled in the order of increasing n+1, where two orbitals have the same value of n+1, they are filled in order of increasing n (reference.com). This gives the following order for filling the orbitals: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p 6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p If we look at this in relation to the periodic table we can see that starting with Hydrogen (which has one electron) going across to Helium having two. These two electrons have no filled up the first ‘shell’, called 1s. The next ‘shell’, 2s, is filled by Lithium and Beryllium. Moving across to the 2p sub shell (1p does not exist) – B, C, N, O, F, Ne. Each whole (one row in the table) ‘shell’ holds 8 electrons (with the S sub-shell holding 2 electrons, and the p sub-shell holding 6). So the second shell, looking at one row of the periodic table, is Li and Be (2s), and B, C, N, O, F, and Ne (2p). The elements of group 2 of the perdioic table have an electron configuration of [E]ns2 (where [E] is an inert gas configuration, taken from reference.com). Those elements grouped together in the periodic table have notable similarities in their chemical properties (Drever 1997). Electrons fill energy levels according to the Aufbau principle – the principle that the electron configurations of atoms build up according to a set of rules. The three rules are that: Electrons go into the orbital at the lowest available energy level Each orbital can only contain at most two electrons (with opposite spins) Where there are two or more orbitals at the same energy, they fill singly before the electrons pair up. Figure 1: Periodic Table of Elements ‘Valence electrons’ are the electrons contained in the outer shell (commonly called the ‘valence shell’) of an atom, and are important in determining the chemical properties of an element (Krauskopf 1995). As a result of this, elements with the same number of valence electrons are grouped together in the period table. As a general rule, the fewer electrons an atom holds, the less stable it becomes and the more likely it is to react. Conversely the more complete the valence shell is the more inert an atom is and the less likely it is to chemically react. Elements in the same group of the periodic table have similar properties because they have the same outer electron configuration. There are trends in properties down a group because of the shielding effect of the increasing number of inner full shells (Drever 1997). Electrons are able to move from one energy level to another by emission or absorption of a quantum of energy, in the form of a photon (reference.com). It is this gain or loss of energy that can trigger an electron to move to another shell or even break free from the atom and it’s valence shell. When an electron absorbs/gains more photons, then it moves to a more outer shell depending on the amount of energy the electron contains and has gained due to absorption. When an election releases/loses photons, then it moves to a more inner shell depending on the amount of energy the electron contains and has lost. If we use fluorine as an example, we can see that the full electron configuration of Fluorine is 1s2s2p5 (F is 5th from the left in p-block, one behind Neon so has 5 2p electrons). The valence electrons are 2s2p5 as there are two shells and these electrons are in the outer one. The key point is that atoms like to have a whole shell of 8 electrons, as this makes them more stable. As we can see from figure 1, Fluorine has only 7 electrons (7th from the right on the second row). It really wants to gain an electron (to be like Neon) in order to have 8, and complete its shell. Fluorine is, therefore, very reactive and ‘steals’ and electron off anything it can find. When it does this it gains an electron and becomes a negative ion – F (1s2s2p6). The reverse of this is Sodium (1s2s2p3s1), where 3s1 are the valence electrons. It really wants to loose this one extra electron to become 1s2s2p8 like Neon. It looses an electron and becomes a positive ion (Na+). REFERENCES: Baird, C. (1995) Environmental Geochemistry. USA: W.H. Freeman and Company Drever, J.I. (1997) The Geochemistry of Natural Waters. London: Prentice-Hall Krauskopf, K.B, Bird D.K. (1995) Introduction to Geochemistry. USA: McGraw-Hill Howard A.G. (1998) Aquatic Environmental Chemistry. Oxford: Science Publications Garrels, R. M., and J. C.Christ. (1965). Solutions, minerals, and equilibria. San Francisco: Freeman, Cooper. Web Resouces: www.reference.com

Changes in the Business Environment of Shell and Subsequent Strategy

Changes in the Business Environment of Shell and Subsequent Strategy The main objective of this assignment deals with business environmental changes of Shell Company (Petroleum Company) from last 5 years. PESTEL analysis was applied in the following assignment, in order to present Shell Companys present status in all aspects and the changes that have taken place in the company. Moreover, the various types of strategies formulated were outlined and discussed. Introduction An organization is an entity that provides goods and services to consumers who need or want them and it does not function in isolation. Therefore, it is imperative to identify and understand all the factors within its environment that could potentially affect it. The environment of a business is normally divided into two categories, the micro environment and the macro environment. Below we shall discuss in details what each category means. Micro-environment: Internal factors like suppliers, competitors and employees are volatile and influence transformation of a business process and often it leads to undermining the current balance within the system. Suppliers: A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. www.overstockuniverse.com http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/A_company%27s_supply_chain_%28en%29.png/300px-A_company%27s_supply_chain_%28en%29.png Company should have a social responsibility towards their suppliers, as they transform the natural resources and raw materials into finished goods which are delivered to the end consumers. They also play a vital role during product shortage. They are the combination of all types of business practice and ethics. www.overstockuniverse.com Customers: A  Client, buyer or purchaser, is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the  products  of an individual or  organization, called the  supplier,  seller, or  vendor. Slogans for the Customer: the customer is king or the customer is god or the customer is always right. www.rajputbrotherhood.com Competitors: Competition  is a  contest  between individuals, groups, nations, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. Competition arises whenever two or more parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Humans compete for  wealth, prestige, and  fame so that they met deep rivalries often arises over the pursuit of. Business is often associated with competition as most companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers. Macro-environment: Decision making by managers are influenced by many factors that constitutes the macro environment in a business. The examples for the macro environment are Tax changes, trade barriers, demographic change and government policy changes. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm The following factors are: Political factors: Political environment is an unpredictable element which effect specific organizations badly due to instability in government and rules passed by the political parties. Factors like political stability in the country, party in power, ideology of government and foreign policy greatly influence the business in political environment of the country. Example: Indian Government restricted coca-cola sales during late seventies following policy of restricting the growth of multinationals in Indian markets. But coco-cola was allowed after some years under the New Industrial policy of 1991. Under this new policy, government liberalized licensing, imports and exports, inflow of foreign capital and technology on more liberal terms. www.rajputbrotherhood.com Economic forces: Interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates are all comes under economic forces. Foundations of Economics book economic change is a major impact on a firms behavior. Some of the examples are it has been difficult to export due to higher cost of raising finances, strong domestic currency makes it difficult to compete with that foreign prices. Social/cultural: The availability and willingness to work, and the demand of a product has lot to do with the social trends around which the firm is operating in. Cultures and attitudes towards work are varied from country to country. A firm may forced to wind up operation if it hurts intentionally or unintentionally the religious belief of a religion. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm Especially in Indian culture eating beef is against the religion they are e.g. When McDonalds opened their chain of restaurants in India; they were opposed by religious activists as McDonalds were serving beef in their menu which forced McDonalds to change their menu. Technological factors: Technology makes the human life simple; by using technology we can create new products and new services in the market like usage of Internet for online banking transactions and upgrade the old products. Technology helps firms to store customer data to their data base by using different data base tools like IBM data base software tool which helps for top brand companies to track their privileged customers and simultaneously it provides lot of employment opportunities for service based IT companies. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm Example: Few years back in India people were going to ICICI bank and had to fill the deposit form and they have to stand in line to deposit amount (its a time consuming process) but after up gradation of technology in ICICI everything changed no need of standing in line to deposit the amount, just deposit the amount directly in to automated teller machine and enter account number details. Environmental factors: It includes both weather and climatic change. Change in climatic conditions affects the farming and tourism industries directly. These climatic changes are mainly due to global warming .Firms should aware on environment changes , in fact people from different parts of the world are aware of the fact how important to preserve our planet and they shows more interest to minimize wastes and maintain healthy and hygienic environment. http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm Example: Especially London government takes lot of care to maintain healthy and hygienic environment by creating recyclable products, using recycled materials and sustainable timber, minimize packaging, buying locally to save fuel costs, creating an efficient distribution network, working with suppliers and distributors who take steps to minimize environmental risk. Case Study The Royal Dutch Company was established in the year 1890 in the Netherlands, East Indies and after some years it abbreviated as Royal Dutch Petroleum Company in the year 1949. Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Its headquarters is located at Hague, Netherlands. Royal Dutch Shell plc is the parent company of the shell group, which is incorporated in England and Wales(www.shell.com). Shell is responsible for Manufacturing, Selling and distributing of oil products across the globe and is positioned as a global leader in oil and gas industry. Shell helps in meeting global energy demand economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways. www.shell.com Challenges that Shell has dealt with the last 5 years Political factor is one of the important factor which affect all types of business directly and indirectly because so many political party people keep on changing the rules and regulations, instability in the political power and the price of oil keeps on increasing its a major threat for oil and gas companies with international operations. The following are the political changes and threats which are faced by the shell in the last 5 years: Majority of shells operations is in Nigeria. Due to militant activities in Nigeria Shell is facing lot of political issues, which resulted in closure of 4 production facilities for the safety of their employees which resulted in loss of production by 400,000 BPD. In June 2008 there was a militant attack and Shell had to close their operations in Bonga field which resulted in reduction of production by 225,000 BPD. Shell has shutdown his Soku gas plant in Nigeria in November 2008 because thieves have damaged the gas pipelines at the Soku plant. Due to rise of illegal activities Shell was forced shut down of the gas plant which produced 40 percent of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for Nigeria and produced 10 percent LNG throughout the world. Shell published a warning to Nigerian government in the year 2009 as it helps by giving support to the local forces to lower the gas and oil prices. Shell lent $1.69 billion to the Nigerian government to solve the debts for the covered cost on gas project from 2009-2011.The source of income for shell investments in the Nigeria delta region depended on capability of controlling the violence by the Nigerian government in the delta region. Due to the continuous violence and explosions, Shell had to shutdown their pipe lines which were damaged. In 2009 5 theft incidents were reported, they siphoned oil from oil wells in Niger delta, even fire incidents were also reported but production was not effected as those oil fields were already closed due to lack of security in that area. 100,000 barrels of crude used to get stolen almost every day which means that is equal to 5% of Shells production in Nigeria. Increase in violence lead to decline of oil production by 20%. Shell faced the problems with both the Nigeria and Iraq governments .Especially in the case of Iraq government said that they were not in a position of consuming or exporting the gas which lost $40 million in day but shell tried to change this, due to the Iraq war led to terror attacks and instability in the government. Even though Shell settled a deal with Iraq government in oil production share and owned 49% of its venture to obtain the natural gas during the production of oil. Even now also shell operating the same venture even it is dominating by the sectary violence. Technology is most powerful factor for any manufacturing and oil based companies to stabilize their products in the market and to compete with other company products. In fact many companies must maintain good relationship with the customers to know the basic needs of the customers and be proactive to volatile behaviour of customer which is at times caused by introduction of new technology and its market impact. The Technology used by shell is in situ process which is very expensive and environmentally troublesome mining operation and would create thousands of tons of waste in the form of spent shale, as the mining method does and process is complicated due to the usage of this process it prevents groundwater from flowing into production area and this leads to raising pollution and scatters the more heat in the underground. After some years around 2008 Shell start using advanced EP technology not only helps to reduce the cost on oil goods and services by producing maximum quality at the same time it shows that how an organisation can take advantage of new technology by creating innovative products. Shell not only using EP technology but also using three other more technologies to minimize the global warming effect on the environment even though it is inevitable. http://www.isa.org/InTechTemplate.cfm?Section=Automation_Update1template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfmContentID=72109 Out of those GTL (Gas to Liquid: produced a clean burning fuel from natural gas) is one of the best technology which is used by the shell to minimize the emission of gases .GTL technology had create a lot of demand in 2006 due to increase in transport in the world, pollution norms were becoming stricter and stricter and it demanded for clean burning transport fuel , this forced Shell to introduce GTL technology. With the use of this technology Audis diesel car became the first car to win the Le Mans 24 hour race. GTL technology was also successfully tested in buses and taxi fleets in highly polluted cities. Introduction of this GTL technology will increase in the air quality we breathe. http://www.faoi.shell.com/2008/reviewoftheyear/technology/downstreamtechnology.html http://www.faoi.shell.com/2008/alternativeenergy/biofuels.html Social factors: Shell uses different strategies to maintain healthy relationship with industry experts as well as focus on its people. Company wants to maintain a good relationship with the society to improve goodwill of the company. According to Haney, Shell has been working with other companies and institutions to improve the competitiveness of local industry and develop more competition in Brazil, which will bring more jobs to the country. The pressing challenge is recruiting talented people and Shell has been successful in this, as the industry is still attractive to new graduates worldwide. Finding experienced people is a challenge, Haney says. We have a mix of expats here who volunteered to fill these gaps. Thats primarily on the technical side. Shell does employ local Brazilians to staff its finance, legal and external Affairs departments among others. Shell attracts their local people by providing transport fuel to around 10 million customers each day through our 44,000 service stations worldwide. Environmental factors: This is the main factor which is faced by the shell at present environment. Environmental Challenges and problems faced by company: In 2006 Shell faced an environmental challenge which caused environmental damage and also financial damage to the company. This happened due to negligence by a contractor who forgot to tighten the bolts of oil supply pipe. Oil which was supposed to be in harbor containment system was leaked through pipeline, this wasnt discovered until oil started floating in water, though the refinery employees started taking action to stop the oil leak already much of damage was done to hull of 75 boats. The California Department fish and Games of spill prevention and Response team investigated the cause of oil leak and they also claimed that it didnt cause any damage to sea life. Shell worked with US Coast guard and cleaned the entire oil spill. Shell had paid 300,000 pounds as fine for the negligence of their contractor. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15202 A detailed study by PFC ( Trusted advisor for energy companies and government) showed that Shells carbon emissions was relatively higher than other oil companies, its report showed that it ranked high in carbon emission. This report was published in their annual report and was publicly available and which made stakeholders think about the companys performance and its position in the competitive market. Emissions disclosure study puts Shell bottom of the big oil class In 2010 Shell refineries reach Clean Air Act settlements; Shell companies are agreed to 6 million dollars for installing pollution reduction equipment at two oil refineries under clean Air Act settlement with the federal government to reduce harmful emissions. Shell Chemical LP and chemical Yabuco, units of Royal Dutch Shell PLC had installed new pollution control equipment at shell oil refineries. This settlement was announced by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2010/03/31/3-3-million-penalty-imposed-on-shell-for-clean-air-act-violations/ http://www.shell.com/home/content/environment_society/environment/ http://www.shell.com/home/content/environment_society/environment/biodiversity/shell_biodiversity/ Conclusions: In this report we discussed some challenges faced by Shell these include Political, Social, Environmental, and Technological among others and how Shell dealt took pre-emptive actions. Shell has faced many penalty and criticism from various governments regarding various Shells activities including Extraction, Processing, Production, Handling, transportation, storage of hazardous petroleum and chemical products. Shell has been constantly working on technological advancements to reduce carbon emission to the environment; Shell came up with innovations that help produce more eco-friendly environment. One such example is GTL Technology Producing clean burning fuel from natural gas which greatly reduces the emissions of the pollutant gases and hydrocarbon in the air. Shell is working towards CSR to build relationships with the society its running its business in. Attracting talent industry experts, and encouraging local talent to join forces and providing employment to the local community. Recommendations: Due to negligence of an employee Shell had to pay huge amount in the form of fine this shows that they need to conduct frequent training on risk associated to safety, training on new technology when any up gradation is taking place. Give a brief idea of what climate risk is. Shell also needs to some in depth risk analysis before starting a new project in demographic location. They need to work more on Marine safety and hygiene near their oil fields.

George Orwells 1984 Essay -- Essays Papers

Orwells 1984 1984 as an Anti-Utopian Novel A utopia is an ideal or perfect community. While some writers have created fictional places that embody their ideals societies, other writers have written satires that ridicule existing conditions of society, or anti-utopias, which show possible future societies that are anything but ideal. In 1984 , George Orwell presents a terrifying picture of future as life under the constant surveillance of â€Å"Big Brother.† This book 1984 is an anti-utopian novel. The main character Winston Smith lives in the large political country Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two huge countries, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant correction of news. â€Å"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,† the party slogan reads. Basically, Winston takes real news and twists it to what â€Å"Big Brother† wants the people to know. In the grim city and terrifying country, where â€Å"Big Brother† is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in great danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the party controls people by feeding them lies and taking away their imaginations. The Pa...

Technology Addicts :: Technological Communication Essays

Technology Addicts Five empty chairs form a circle in the center of the room. Slowly but surely, people begin to make their way into the room. A young man dressed in a black suit sits down with his Newsweek and briefcase. He adjusts his tie, clears his throat, and pushes his wire-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. A teenage girl sits down beside him, tucking blonde strands of hair behind her ears to reveal tiny white headphones attached to her iPod. She crosses her right leg over the left, tapping her foot in mid-air to the beat. The worn wooden door creaks open again, slamming shut behind a twenty-something carrying a thin silver laptop computer. He slouches down into the chair with an exasperated sigh and begins to type furiously at the keyboard. The businessman glares over the top of his glasses at him when the familiar chimes of instant messaging become as frequent as the taps of the keys. The young man continues, oblivious to his surroundings. The clock on the wall ticks closer to seven o'clock as the last two people amble in. A middle-aged woman sits down with her knitting, occasionally stopping to jot notes in the sleek PDA beside her. Finally, a woman with a clipboard comes through the door and takes her seat, completing the circle. She clears her throat and begins. "Good evening, and welcome to group therapy. Let's go over the ground rules: First no technology allowed at meetings. Put away your iPod, laptops, PDAs, etc. RIGHT NOW. And don't bring them back to these meetings or they will be confiscated." The group members scowl as they slowly wind up wires. "My only other rule is that you participate. You won't get anything out of group therapy if you don't put anything into it. Let's begin." * * * What would our lives be like if technology were our life support? We would probably not be able to go an entire day without emails, instant messaging, or the World Wide Web. Cell phones might as well be permanently attached to our ears.

Police: Racial Profiling in America

POLICE: RACIAL PROFILING IN AMERICA Naomi D. Hopkins Stevens-Henager College APP 101 9 February 2013 Abstract This paper will discuss the relationship between Fear and how it relates to Racial Profiling in Police Practices. We will also discuss and illustrate real life examples under which Racial Profiling has occurred and how it is scientifically defined. The communication between peace officers and ordinary everyday citizens will also be examined. Police: Racial Profiling in America The issue of Racial Profiling in America by our Police Force is an undeniable truth and tragedy.Steve Holbert and Lisa Rose in their book the color of Guilt & Innocence recount a story of a Caucasian woman who is forced to walk alone with her young daughter down dark unfamiliar San Francisco streets at night in the dark. We’ll call this woman Lisa. She had just exited a train car with her young daughter and was walking down the dark streets unsure of her surroundings when she noticed that a stran ger man, whose features she couldn’t make out, was following her and her daughter.Lisa had heard and seen reports about a young man in his mid-20s that was dark complected and had been robbing tourists. She felt her body tighten as she began breathing rapidly and she had quickened her pace pulling her daughter along without realizing it, until her daughter started pulling her in the opposite direction because she had dropped her candy cane that she had gotten from the cable car employee earlier that evening. After her experience in the city, she began to question whether the irrational fear of monsters conjured up in the mind of a four year old was so different from the â€Å"monsters in the closet† we perceive as adults, the only difference being that the â€Å"monsters† we see as adults have a face and the face is of those who are different or those whose skin color is darker than our own. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This begs the question, â€Å"Did she fear this man because it was nighttime and she couldn’t see him and was unsure of her surroundings?Or was it because the man following her reminded her of that minority man who had been on the news who was robbing tourists? This brings to mind another quote I found while writing this paper: â€Å"Rather, racial profiling is more about our human response to an instinctual and primitive fear buried deep in each one of us. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) On the subject of Fear and Racism, I’m led to another quote in the book used primarily for my research on this very subject as it relates to American Law Enforcement practices. When we ponder the concept of fear in the comfort of a classroom, almost all would agree that to fear a person because of skin color, religious affiliation, or appearance is irrational. In the phobic sense, this fear is xenophobia, the fear and/or hatred of foreigners or anything that is foreign. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). I would even go so far as to say that contempt prior to investigation is in itself, a form or fear and intolerance. How can we judge a situation, let alone a person, accurately without all the facts?Do we assume we are Gods or Goddesses that are worthy to judge our fellow men or women? If so, what makes us so different, or dare I say, â€Å"Superior† to another? I am reminded of my own feelings, when as a small child; I made the decision to say that â€Å"all white people are racist. † This statement in and of itself is in fact, a form or racial profiling. That is, I was judging a certain race of people, in this case, whites and assuming that I had gathered enough information to do so.This brings me to another quote out of my research, â€Å"To understand the complexities of prejudice, racism, and racial profiling, we must first explore the origin of fear and understand how it can dictate the way in which our body responds to outside stimuli long before we become consciously aware of the racial implications. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). In fact, the word â€Å"fear† comes from the old English word for â€Å"danger. † When we, as human beings, experience fear our brains respond to perceived danger by using three distinct systems.The first is called Primal or Primitive fear system, and is found in most animals and mammals. This system responds first by alerting the body to any danger. This reaction is automatic and triggers our â€Å"fight or flight† response. The second is triggered by the â€Å"fight or flight† response and is the mind’s Rational or logical fear system. â€Å"This system takes over in an effort to assess the potential danger and weighs options for survival or escape. † (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This system effectively plans possibilities we need to consider to escape an immediate or future threat.The third system is called a person’s Consciousness or Awareness, and acts as a mediator bet ween Primal Fear and Rational Thought. This system will strike a balance between the mind’s emotion and reason and will become the ultimate decision maker in the entire process. Now, let’s examine some history on racial profiling that is actually quite interesting. This thought brings me to another quote I pulled out of this book I used to research this topic/ â€Å"Start with a good idea. Test it thoroughly, and use it with care.Put it in the hands of those who don’t have the experience and training to apply it properly. Add a little discrimination and pressure, and turn up the heat for 20 years. What do you get? Racial Profiling. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). â€Å"In a nutshell, this is the story of Howard Teten, a former FBI Chief of research in the late 1950s who many criminologists credit with popularizing the concept of â€Å"criminal profiling. † A man who lived the best of both worlds, Mr. Teten studied psychology at the University of California at Berkeley while working crime scenes in San Leandro, California.Back in the 1950s, cops typically looked for clues at a crime scene to try to tie the crime to a particular suspect. Teten took this concept one step further by looking at the manner in which the criminal committed the crime in order to develop a psychological profile. This profile ultimately helped officers identify a criminal’s personality traits and mental state and led to a classification of potential suspects who could have committed the crime. † (Holbert S; Rose, L 2004). This very method, which is called â€Å"criminal profiling†, has been widely distorted, especially when it comes to the United States â€Å"War on Drugs. For example, it is assumed that if a person, particularly a person belonging to a minority group (that is not white or Caucasian), is seen wearing gold jewelry that is large in size, a â€Å"corn roll† hair style, baggy clothes, and perhaps gold teeth, Law Enforceme nt Officials automatically assume that this individual is a â€Å"drug courier,† or an individual that smuggles drugs or money into or out of the country. It can be said that a person’s appearance, jewelry, and travel habits can be used as a basis for identifying and prosecuting those involved in the â€Å"drug trade. The end result of these discriminatory attitudes is that these â€Å"profiles† do not demonstrate â€Å"good science† or offer sensible approaches to productive Law Enforcement procedures. Now, let’s examine the other side of the coin, as it were as it relates to basic race relations. When we all think of a police officer, we all have this stereotypical view that they are tough, intimidating, and very arrogant. In actuality, police officers have learned their very behavior and personality traits from the general public. Most people, when contacted by a police officer, become irritated, hostile, overbearing, and even belligerent.So, i n turn, officers have learned how to desensitize or become â€Å"numb† to their emotions and feelings. It wouldn’t be a far cry to say that they have learned to behave as â€Å"not human† just so that they can get through their day without having to worry about what they said, was it rude, right or wrong, what the repercussions might be, and so on. So it is accurate to say that the general public ourselves, have contributed to the attitudes and behaviors of our own Police Force in America. What we don’t hear about or realize often times is that when an officer goes on duty, he or she faces any number of different variables.For example, having a gun pulled on them, being attacked, being shot, taken hostage, being kidnapped, and any number of other things that would threaten or endanger their lives either mortally or fatally. I will illustrate an example of what ought to be advertised when hiring police officers: WANTED: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: Must be a social worker, mediator, a fighter, a priest. Must be savvy to the criminal element yet have an unblemished criminal background. Candidates should be compassionate yet distant. Intimidating yet gentle. Aggressive yet always in control. Daily risk of death.Low Pay. Must be willing to work all hours of the day and night in hazardous and extreme conditions. The Faint of Heart need not apply. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) WANTED: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: Must be a social worker, mediator, a fighter, a priest. Must be savvy to the criminal element yet have an unblemished criminal background. Candidates should be compassionate yet distant. Intimidating yet gentle. Aggressive yet always in control. Daily risk of death. Low Pay. Must be willing to work all hours of the day and night in hazardous and extreme conditions. The Faint of Heart need not apply. Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004) Realizing these facts, we all ought to be a little gentler with the officer next time we are pulled over for speedi ng or contacted about a conflict resolution issue. Police Officers deserve respect, but they also do not have the right to demand respect, and it is the same with the rest of us. That being said, when we think of â€Å"use of force† by police officers, we all know the familiar image conjured up; the Rodney King beating on March 3 1991. In case you’re wondering, the case went to trial and all of the officers involved were NOT convicted. The result was the L.A. Riots of 1992. When we think of this case, we wonder, what could have gone so wrong in our justice system? The answer is not as clear as one might speculate. The â€Å"code of silence† is as much to blame as ignorant and wrong attitudes are to blame. â€Å"The Code of Silence† also known as â€Å"The Blue Wall of Silence† is based on the premise that an officer does not reveal negative information about a fellow police officer. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). I can recall an experience I had in Ca lifornia with an officer who responded to a call about me when I was homeless and sleeping in my vehicle.The officer responded alone, without backup, and contacted myself and two friends of mine. He falsely accused us of smoking weed, arrested my friend for a warrant she had, shined his flashlight deliberately in my face, and pulled his Taser on me when I reacted unfavorably to his â€Å"bullying behavior. † I then had to demand that he call his Watch Commander, or Supervisor out to the field to discuss what happened and what I wanted done about his misconduct. I told the Watch Commander that I wanted an apology, both written and verbal, but to my dismay, he responded and told me, â€Å"I’m sorry ma’am I cannot do that.If I promise to talk to him about this incident, will you refrain from reporting it? † I was appalled to say the least. I later had to go through the channels to report this incident at the Police Department in person, but this is a prime r eal-life example of â€Å"The Code of Silence† in action. How many times has this happened to other citizens, but for whatever reason, they are too afraid or intimidated to report such misconduct. If we as a society wish our Police Force to be more accountable, we must take the action to make sure that happens. Otherwise, we are just birds preaching to a choir with deaf ears.The sad fact is that many Police Departments still retain the right to â€Å"police† themselves on such issues of misconduct and â€Å"use of force† incidents. This is the main reason that the officers involved in the Rodney King beating of 1991 were cleared of guilt. First of all, to even file a complaint against a police officer, citizens must endure a lengthy and time consuming process that involves appearing in person at the police department, then weeding through the trouble and intimidation of even telling a department employee or filling out a report about the alleged incident, and so metimes are refused and intimidated out of that process.Second and most important, even after all that trouble has been endured by the complainant, little or nothing is ever done about the problem other than to refer it to the Internal Affairs Division of the police department and they in themselves have their own policies and procedures which may or may not include final review by the Chief of Police and even then, the issue may not be resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant. In conclusion, I have learned it is sometimes better to ignore arrogant and racist comments by officers unless I have the time to devote to a complaint and investigation process.I’ll end with this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. â€Å"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. † (King Jr. , Martin Luther 1963) References Holbert, S; Rose, L (2004) the color of GUILT & INNOCEN CE RACIAL PROFILING AND POLICE PRACTICES IN AMERICA King Jr. , Martin Luther (1963) â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† April 16, 1963 Retrieved from www. history1900sabout. com/od/martinlutherkingjr/a/mlkquotes. htm

What Causes Racism

What causes Racism? Racism is one of the most revolting things within the vicinity of humanity. It haunts our past, many times degrading the future. The causes of racism aren't known to the majority of humans living on earth, however, a good fraction of them express it. In order to cure racism, or at least minimize its affects on humanity, we have to examine the root causes. Some of the causes of racism are: Stereotypes Unfamiliarity selfishness and environmental factors. | |One of the most common causes of racism is stereotypes. Through television, through radio, through the internet, through music, through books, and the like, the potential for stereo types to build are a definite possibility. When a person, especially one that is very young, is exposed to stereotypes of a specific group for the first time, then that person will assume all are that way. Likewise, when a source is constantly displaying negative things about a particular race, then that will affect the overall opinio ns as well.Another very common, and probably the most common cause of racism is unfamiliarity. People fear what they do not know or understand. If someone hasn't grown up around a particular race before, then there is more of a chance the person can be racist toward that particular group. Not all the time, but when the person has already been fed negative stereotypes, and does not have the actual real life experiences with at least one within the particular group, then the chances of racism are increased.This is why it is important for children to be around other races at a young age: to ensure they get their minds used and adapted to being around them, and also to help counterbalance any false stereotypes they may encounter in the future. Selfishness is another obvious cause of racism. Humans are sometimes very selfish creatures caring only about their own at the expense of others. If individuals aren't taught how to respect others, then the potential for the person to become racis t is increased as well. This is why you will find that most caring individuals aren't racist. Neither are they sexist or anything else.The lastly and probably the most surprising cause of racism is environmental causes. We are all made different biologically and genetically. Our physical environment can affect our biology and therefore, in many cases, affect our minds. This does not mean freewill and choice are not options, but that an individual's potential for racism could possibly be increased through certain environmental factors unknown to man. By default, racism is nonexistent. However, things such as improper health maintenance, excess chemicals, head injuries, or other factors may help contribute to it.This should not be used as an excuse that racism has to persist, but more of a better chance to cure racism by enhancing biological health and medical technology, rather than thinking it can only be done by other means. Those are the 4 main causes of racism. As previously stat ed, racism is one of the most revolting things that paralyzes humanity. To cure racism permanently, we must first address the root problems, which are: stereotypes, unfamiliarity, selfishness, and environmental aspects. When we cure and address those things, we will cure racism as well.