Science and Religion Essay Example for Free

Science and Religion Essay Assess the view that science has replaced religion as the main ideological influence in society today? (33 marks) It will be important to assess the view that science has replaced religion as the main ideological influences in society today. The enlightenment project could be seen as the start of the debate between religion and science as the main ideological influence in society today. As moments in the 16th century had lead to the first real questions of religion being asked. As the contribution of natural sciences such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics grew it lead to more doubts about religion. As Da Vinci acts can be seen as an example of this, he had stolen bodies from graveyards and drew the inside of them which was as ethically wrong but beneficial in helping scientist asses the human body. Leading to people questioning the amount religion had done for society. Therefore showing science has replaced religion as the main influence in society today. As one sociologist Popper argues that science is a open belief system where every scientist’s theory can be falsified, as science can be open to criticism and tested by others. For example if scientist argues water boils at 100 degrees Celsius this can be tested (falsified). However with religion this is impossible as you are unable to test religious ideas on what happens after death. This leads to religion not being falsified and science ruled by the theory of falsification. Thus leading to Popper to believe science has been successful in explaining and controlling the world becoming the main ideological influence in society today. As Kuhn argues Religion consist on too many paradigms, as he believes there should be one dominate paradigm such as Science. As in religion you have many different religious such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism making it difficult to have one dominate paradigm. While science has one dominate paradigm. As Kuhn accepts that paradigms can change for example it was believed the earth being flat which was the dominate paradigm however had changed. As religion consist of too many, thus for Kuhn science has replaced religion as the main ideological influence in society today. Interactionist believe a scientific fact is simply is a social construction, it can’t be seen as a scientific fact because of the case study ‘little green men’. Researchers from the Cambridge astronomy laboratory annotated the patterns shown their printout from the radio telescope as LGM 1 and LGM2 which being published would have ended their careers. This lead to them believing the patterns was a type of unknown stars bringing internationalist to the conclusion that scientific fact is simply a social construction. Thus science is not replacing religion as both are just social constructions. Beck a late modernist believes that science has lead to a negative impact on society, as science has caused an increase risk in accidents, illness and major disasters like never before. For example of nuclear bombs has lead to the fear of war and a loss of millions of lives. Giddens similar to Beck believes science has lead to a negative impact on society such as the recession. As advancement in technology has lead to many losses of jobs, particularly in the financial industry which is more capital intensive then before. Thus leading to both Beck and Giddens arguing science has replaced religion as the main ideological influence in society today but negatively. However Beck’s views on how were faced with risk of accidents, illness and major disasters on a everyday scale can be seen as over exaggerated. Lyotard a postmodernist believes both science and religions are metanarratives of modern society. As a metanarrative is a ‘big story’ such as the enlightenment project, Christianity’s view of life. As Lyotard argues that people no longer trust scientist, as science has lead to a chance of nuclear war and fail to cure cancer. Leading to people not accepting science and postmodernist such as Lyotard believing it’s a metanarrative with no absolute truth. However Lyotard’s theory can also be seen as a metanarrative therefore contradicting him-self. Thus Lyotard believes both science and religion is a metanarrative and provides society with no benefits. George Bush can be seen as Christian fundamentalist being a man of the Old Testament which led to his religion influencing his opinions and polices on certain issues. As being a Christian he believes abortion is the same as murder and single sex marriages are seen as a big sin. This may have lead to policies created to make both of these harder to achieve. As being a born again Christian while George Bush was the Governor of Texas there were 131 state executions. Thus showing in the United States religion is still the main ideological influence in society today. To conclude it is inconclusive that science can be seen replacing religion as it varies depending on country and can change as more sociological views are brought forward.

Social And Cultural Aspect Of Child Abuse In Punjab

Social And Cultural Aspect Of Child Abuse In Punjab In the article he discussed that children are a very vulnerable sector of our society. Child abuse can occur in every sector of our society, but some children are at a higher risk for abuse. The reason behind the research is to find out what is child abuse and to know the different forms of physical abuses. D.P.Noe said Children are at an increased risk for abuse if they were a product of an unwanted pregnancy, or have parents that are still children themselves. There is an increased risk for child abuse if the parents of a child have history of being abused when they were children. or are have been brought up in a home with domestic violence. Single parents or parents with a drug or alcohol problems put a child at a higher risk for abuse. Certain socioeconomic levels such as children living in poverty place them at a higher risk for abuse. The different types of physical abuses discussed by the author are May present with bruises that are patterned, multiple bruises of different ages, bruising in a non-ambulatory child, burns, and lacerations. The reason behind the research is to know the role of the family life educator that how child abuse can be prevented by the family itself. He said there are different programs to prevent child abuse there are school based programs, Schools are in a unique position to address the child abuse problem through school based programs. School based programs should stress the primary prevention of child abuse by basing content on the cultural forces contributing to abuse. He describe some teaching suggestion in the article which are effective in a family life education program emphasizing the teaching of positive discipline as a primary prevention method for child abuse for example Invite student perspective on the topic of discipline, Invite students to share their feelings with the class. Further more he discussed that what question should be asked by the student and how should they be treated. The role of the teachers. He said equally important is the need to develop activities that will provide students with an opportunity to confront feelings about discipline issues and to learn discipline and guidance strategies that help children develop social competence. The reason behind the research is to know the reason why and how child abuse occur in step families. Evidence from the cases suggests that stepparents are overrepresented among abusers. Jean Giles-Sims and David Finkelhor explained five theories that have been used to explain this presumed relationship. The theories are: social-evolutionary, normative, stress, selection and resource theory. Author also discussed Stepparents and Natural Parents as Perpetrators In Three Types of Child Abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse). According to his research step mother conduct more physical and emotional abuse. The social-evolutionary (sometimes referred to as socio-biological) perspective predicts that stepchildren are more likely to be both physically and sexually abused than natural children, using different arguments to explain each type of abuse. According to the normative theory of sexual abuse by stepparents is consistent with a social-evolutionary perspective which ar gues that the justification of incest taboos is to avoid genetic degradation. However, the normative argument does not require a biologically based assumption. In the stress theory it is stated that stepfamilies experience stress, and that stress is related to child abuse. In the selection factor theory author said that it may be that the same factors which make people prone to divorce and remarriage also make them prone to abuse children. It may be that the same factors which make people prone to divorce and remarriage also make them prone to abuse children. Resource theory is the final theoretical approach which explains higher rates of child abuse by stepparents. According to this theory, the more resources a person can command, the more power and authority that person has at his/her disposal to regulate a social system. the reason for conducting this research is to analyse the Ethical dilemmas that are commonly encountered in family sexual abuse cases. In the research the primary ethical problems faced by marital and family therapists working with families in which child sexual abuse is suspected or has occurred are examined. The sexual abuse of children is most frequently perpetrated by males upon females, with stepfather or biological father/daughter molestation being the most commonly reported form of abuse. Kitchener (1984) and Thompson (1990) suggest that the practitioner turn to the following six general ethical principles to guide ethical decision making: autonomy, fidelity, Justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and self-interest. These provide a framework for considering the specific ethical dilemmas encountered by family therapists who are confronted with child sexual abuse. Author also discussed the therapeutic treatment of abuse it is recommended that sexual abuse treatment with these fam ilies not be undertaken without specialized training and supervision (Principle .6). The therapist may need to refer the family, a process that can be facilitated by helping the clients understand that this action affirms the therapeutic promise to promote their welfare. Awareness of the meta-ethical principles involved in working with these families can help to identify where principles may conflict. The reason for the study is to identify economic and cultural generative factors of child abuse. There are special circumstances affecting the occurrence of child maltreatment, such as parental youth and inexperience, parental discord and divorce, adoption, and problematic child attributes, which are explored in the research. The evidence for intergenerational transmission of abuse is also examined. The few prospective studies that have used quantitative methods have yielded mixed results, with two (Johannesson, 1974; Sears, 1961) reporting no evidence for an association between corporal punishment and child aggression, and (Lefkowitz, Eron, Walder, Huesmann, 1977 McCord, 1979 Singer, Singer, Rapaczynski, 1984) find a positive association. The reason why parents maltreat their children are parents own background, economic position. Economic factors leads to economic stress, Economic stress generated depression and demoralization in parents, which in turn resulted in marital conflic t and bad parenting-harsh, inconsistent discipline and hostile rejection or non involvement. Divorce is also the reason for the maltreatment of children by parents. Low income and single parents also become the reason for the child abuse. Data obtained from research with non abusive middle-class families. The research also focuses on facets of responsiveness (warmth, reciprocity, attachment) and demanding ness (coer- civeness, confrontation, monitoring, supervision, consistent discipline, corporal punishment) (Maccoby Martin, 1983). Compared to parents from non abusive families, parents from both abusive and neglectful families can be expected to be less responsive and neglectful parents to also be less demanding. The reason for conducting the research is to find the exact relationship between stress and child abuse despite the fact that stress contributes to child abuse. Author discussed three models postulating the influence of stress on child abuse phenomenological model, life change model, and social model. In phenomenological model describe that an early formulation of the stress and child abuse relationship, suggests that abusive behaviour is unleashed by figurative or solid incidents perceived as stressful by adults who are vulnerable to abuse from inadequate upbringings. Stress arises when an incident is judged to be personally threatening. Assessing the threat, including risks to self-esteem and physical comfort, occurs after the individual inventories his or her personal resources for coping. The usefulness of the phenomenological model is limited by its lack of ability to identify unique characteristics of the situation or the abuser. Such constraints as cultural factors, for one, c ontribute to abuse. In the life chain model describe the connection between stress and abuse. This model posits a series of changes in life situation as contributing to the potential to abuse. It also assumes that physical and psychological stress processes are equivalent. The life change model is as follows: C:UsersstudentDesktopaaaaaaaaa.PNG The social model describes another explanation of the connection between child abuse and stress. Child abuse is largely a function of the stresses of poverty, the social model rests on accumulating evidence from child abuse researchers that diminished social or ecological resources accompany poverty and increase child maltreatment among the poor. members of lower socioeconomic groups are exposed to more stressful events than members of higher socioeconomic groups and that the poor are more helpless to the impact of those events. Social isolation is manifest in child abuse. In short phenomenological, life change and social models of stress in child abuse explains that stress in part arises from personal appraisals, cross-sectional life disruptions, and environmental deprivations. This research is done to analyse the different effects of demographic, social, and economic factors on the number of child abuse and there are neglect reports in 18 urban, suburban, and rural counties over a period of 6 years. The analytic portion of this research consists of two parts. The first tests hypotheses about the effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable, child abuse and neglect reports. The model is separately tested for the urban, suburban, and rural counties. The second part uses the independent variables to determine the extent to which the model replicates actual data in each type of county. The time-series approach is used to analyse the growth of child abuse. Eighteen of 58 urban, suburban, and rural counties were selected for analysis. Child labor has become an important discussion topic and that how childrenà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s rights may be protected as globalization has increased so has concern for childrenà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s rights and child labor.. Most societies believe that if children will work they will learn more but conditions that are detrimental to their health is an area of concern. Children who are appreciated by their families are able to learn more an in a less stressful manner compared to those who are not praised and whose work is also not praised. Many conventions have been held by ILO to de motivate those who employ children and force them to work in hazardous conditions. Some international organizations have also been trying to create awareness about childrenà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s rights. In every country organizations are working for rights of child. New institutions are opened to guide the people. UNICEF and various nongovernmental organizations are working to protect Convention on the Rights of the Children and its effective implementation There are several forms of child abuse and the one which has received most concern is the battered child syndrome. There are six main types of abuses that have been discussed including physical abuse and physical neglect. The reason for child abuse could be that as a child the abuser was also maltreated by his parents for not meeting their demands. Such children when marry look for spouses who have been through similar experiences during their child hood. Parents sometimes have unrealistic expectations from their children and when the child is unable to meet these demands the parents become frustrated and become abusive towards the child. Adolescents aged 12 to 17 account for 20% of the abuse and neglect cases. These children can be treated with the help of the family and several different community services. Although the aim of the treatment is to protect the child but it also focuses on the parents. Abusive parents have problems asking for help thus a reporting system can generate better results. Suspected child abuse may be directed by observing a sick or injured child with his parents or by listening to parentà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s explanation of injuries. Parents should be told of places from where they can receive help for parenting their child in a better manner. The emotional aspects of parenting should be incorporated into parental training classes as well as into all other types of parenting education. Family life courses and family planning clinics should inform people of the responsibilities negative along with positive. The American public health association adopted policies to prevent child abuse as a problem which has significant health problems. The cost of child maltreatment has significant and long lasting effects. Cultural acceptance for child abuse is seen in schools in the form of punishments and abuse by parents and neighbors is seen as a problem. Thus measures should be taken to reduce acceptance for child abuse and violence. Coordinated efforts of the public sector and the private sector shall be taken in order to create awareness about the responsibility. Training programs should also be held in order to reduce abuse against children in an effective manner. These programs need funding and support to become more affordable by the society. A conclusion that the article with draws is that those children who have been abused as a child tend to become child or spouse abusers themselves thus research shows that child abuse is directly related to family stress, financial problems and single parenting responsibilities. Child abuse can only be prevented with the help and cooperation of all the sectors private and public including public health, law and order and educational institutes.

Blindness and Sight - Lack of Vision in Oedipus the King :: King Lear essays

Parental Blindness in King Lear As Shakespeare presents to us a tragic pattern of parental and filial love, in which a prosperous man is devested of power and finally recognises his "folly", empathy is induced in the audience. In "King Lear", it is noted from the beginning of the play that both Lear and Gloucester suffer from self-approbation and will consequently find revelation by enduring "the rack of this tough world". While Lear mistakenly entrusts the shallow professions of love from his "thankless" daughters - Goneril and Regan - instead of the selfless words of Cordelia, Gloucester shadows a similar ignorance by initially entrusting love in the evil Edmund, rather than Edgar, whom we consider to be a "truly" loyal "noble gentlemen". Undeniably, both parents misjudge appearance for reality, as it is only in this way that they can "let the great gods that keep this dreadful pudder O'er [their] heads / Find out their enemies" where "all vengeance comes too short". When Lear is rejected by Goneril and Regan and stripped of his "hundred Knights and squires", he is left with "nothing" in the wilderness, besides the loyal company of Kent and the Fool, and later on, Edgar and Gloucester. It appears that at this stage he senses his "folly", that he "did [Cordelia] wrong". But Lear has yet to gain full insight. Although, before entering the hovel, he realises that he has been a "man more sinned against sinning", the process of self-discovery is not complete until all truth is unveiled. As Lear realises his foolishness in bannishing Cordelia - his "joy" and the only daughter who truly loves him - we sense Lear's increasing sorrow and despair. By revealling his "sin", he is subjecting himself to punishment. Perhaps it is a deserving motion, since he had passed judgement and punished Kent and Cordelia for coming between "the dragon and his wrath", that is, him and his power. Now the gods above rightfully control Lear's destiny, abiding by the process that man has to suffer to gain peace. At this particular moment, Lear is still unaware of Kent's identity, disguised as Caius, ever since he bannished Kent for defending Cordeila's thoughtful choice to "love and be silent". We understand that the disguise is a way in which Kent can protect and continually serve the "poor, weak and infirm" Lear. Lear begins to accomplish understanding through the change in his contemptuous behaviour to a sympathetic learning man.

Free Song of Solomon Essays: Biblical References :: Song Solomon essays

Biblical References in "Song of Solomon" Under the recorded names were other names, just as ‘Macon Dead,’ recorded for all time in some dusty file, hid from view the real names of people, places, and things. Names that had meaning. No wonder Pilate put hers in her ear. When you know your name, you should hang on to it, for unless it is noted down and remembered, it will die when you do. - Song of Solomon Hagar- Sarah’s Egyptian maid. God had promised Sarah and Abraham many children, however they remained childless. If the wife was childless, it was custom to permit the maid/slave to substitute as the wife. Hagar bore Abraham a son, Ishmael. When Sarah gave birth to her own child, she became jealous of Hagar, and forced Hagar and Ishmael to the desert. Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the desert and would have died from thirst, but God directed them toward a well. Genesis 16,21,25 Magdalene called Lena/Mary Magdalene- Jesus healed her of seven demons; these included physical, emotional, and moral problems. She was one of the group of women who gave money and provisions to Jesus and the disciple band, and she accompanied them on some of their preaching and healing tours. She witnessed the Crucifixion. Mary Magdalene was one of the first to meet Jesus after he rose from the dead. She was the first to know of the Resurrection. Matthew 27, 28 Mark 15,16 Luke 8,24 John 19,20 Pilate/Pontius Pilate- He was the Roman governor of Judea. The New Testament portrays him as generally weak and poor at making decisions. Jewish sources depict him as a strong figure of authority. Both sources, however, claim that he was unjustly hostile toward Jews. Jewish leaders took Jesus before Pilate. They said Jesus claimed to be The Messiah (King of Jews) and charged him with treason. Pilate discovered Jesus was from Galilee and sent him to Herod Antipas, Galilean ruler. Herod mocked Jesus and sent him back to Pilate. It was custom for the Roman governor to release one Jewish prisoner at the Passover season. Pilate took Jesus and another condemned Jew, Barabbas, onto the palace steps and told the crowd to choose who was to be freed. The crowd chose Barabbas, and Pilate then sentenced Jesus to die on a cross. Before he ordered the crucifixion, Pilate washed his hands in public to absolve himself of Jesus’ murder.

The Handmaid’s Tale Freedom To and Freedom From :: English Literature

The Handmaid’s Tale Freedom To and Freedom From In â€Å"the time before†, Gilead had become a place where â€Å"women were not protected†. Gilead was very unsafe and percussions had to be taken. For example women were told not to open their door to a stranger even if they said it was the police (ID’s had to be slid underneath the door), they were told not to stop and help a motorist ‘pretending’ to be in trouble and not to â€Å"go into a laundromat at night, alone.† This shows that the society of Gilead as a whole had become very cautious. This also proves that in some sense Gilead was in danger from its security. From these facts alone it is understandable to see why Gilead chose to enforce a new regime. It may have been thought that in doing so everyone would benefit form a safer society. This much is true. In some sense, women especially, as Aunt Lydia said have been â€Å"given freedom from†. Freedom from all the bad aspects from the time before. Women no longer had to be afraid for their safety, rape was no more and they were free to walk the streets without being hassled, as they were now protected by the â€Å"eyes† that watched over them. In doing so however their freedom to, had been taken away from them. â€Å"In the days of the anarchy† says Aunt Lydia; â€Å"it was freedom to† do what as one pleased, now in Gilead, this kind of freedom was no more. They weren’t allowed any form of independence. Jobs were taken away, money confiscate and so forth. Depending on which perspective you look at it from, different people have benefited from the change in freedoms. In Gilead now, there is a hierarchy of structure. Everyone has a defined role to play in society; they know their place and wouldn’t question it. At the top of the hierarchy are the commanders, right at the bottom are the handmaid’s, and the others such as a the commanders wives, Martha’s, and guards fall in place somewhere in between the two. Looking at the hierarchy, it is obvious to see that it is the commanders who benefits from Gilead’s freedom. They hold the most status within the society. It is this status which segregates the commanders from others in this society, especially from the Handmaid’s. Whereas the commanders have the power to do as they please when they please, the Handmaid’s lives are ran by various rules and regulations that they are forced to keep to. They are not given the freedom to do as they like. They are put into place to perform a service and it is

Gender Inequality in the Ancient World

Francesca Succi Dr. Brown Western Civ I 18 September 2012 Gender Inequality in the Ancient World Throughout history, women have been regarded as unequal and subordinate to men. In the male-dominated Western culture, the issue of women’s rights seems unending; even thousands of years after the first evidence of gender inequality, society has yet to even the playing field. Although it seems like our culture is progressive, we still share many qualities with the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Greece.Women were in no way equal to men during these ancient times; in fact, in some areas, they were considered subservient to men, with no rights or privileges. However, there were some areas of Ancient Greece that had a different model for social structure. The treatment of women in Mesopotamian culture differs greatly from that of Greek culture, as well as within Greece, between Lacedaemon and Athens; despite this, gender inequality was still present in each culture at some le vel.Of these three areas of the ancient world, Lacedaemon indisputably had the most progressive model for social structure, with Mesopotamia close behind. Athens, which seems like it would have the most liberal model for society, actually had the highest level of gender inequality. In ancient times, there were several aspects of life that caused a divide between genders. First, and probably most obviously, women had various levels of responsibilities and several social roles within the different areas of the ancient world.In the most progressive social structure of Lacedaemon, women played an indispensable and essential part. Since the basis of their culture was to train and sustain an unconquerable army, this occupied most of the time for almost all men, who left many responsibilities that the women needed to take on. Girls learned from age seven not only how to cook and clean and be a good housewife, but also everything that was required to run an estate (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Yo ung women were taught math and accounting so they would easily be able to take on and run an estate when they were older.Lacedaemon â€Å"was unique among ancient Greek cities in the freedom it granted to its female citizens—this was partly due to reliance on women to manage estates while men were away at war† (Sacks â€Å"Sparta†). This culture relied almost equally on both the men and women in society for very different jobs. Since the responsibilities were so evenly distributed, there was more of a sense of gender equality. Indeed, Lacedaemon was quite unique in this tendency to treat women relatively equally to men.The Mesopotamians, who were the second most liberal of these three areas, set women on a much lower pedestal than the Lacedaemonians: Mutually exclusive extremes [like male vs. female] are at the core of ancient Near Eastern gender roles†¦ [cuneiform] makes it very plain that the place of a woman was considered the domestic sphere, where she gave birth and raised children; cooked, baked, and brewed; made textiles by spinning, weaving, and sewing; laundered and cleaned; and kept the household running (Radner). The women’s social roles and responsibilities were much more restricted than those of Lacedaemon women.They were only expected to clean and be a suitable housewife. One of the only similarities between Lacedaemon and Mesopotamia is that the women were held somewhat responsible for running the estate. Males and masculinity were associated with power and strength, while females and femininity were associated with passiveness and weakness. This probably sounds relatively familiar, because in the modern and post-modern eras, society still experiences these gender roles that were established in ancient times. Mesopotamia, the foundation of Western civilization, is where these moderately-conservative gender roles truly began.Even more extreme gender roles could be found in Athenian culture. Women were, in the most literal sense, inferior to men. The Athenians took the conservative gender roles that were found in Mesopotamia and inflated them to enormous proportions: Male Greek society valued rational discourse, military courage, and physical endurance and self-restraint. Women  were believed to be irrational, fearful, and ruled by physical desires. One reason why  women  were kept secluded at home is that they were thought liable to sexual seduction (or other mischief) if they ventured out unescorted (Sacks â€Å"Greece†).Women were predominately seen as mothers – they would be married off at a very young age, begin bearing children as soon as possible, and consequently died much younger than men, often during childbirth. Women were taught not to speak unless spoken to, and were required to tag along beside their husbands the rare times they were ever permitted to leave the house. Although Athens was the birthplace of democracy and was one of the most progressive cities i n history, they still stripped women of some of the most basic equality rights (Brown, Lecture, 2012).Athenian culture perpetuated the gender stereotypes that began in Mesopotamia and exaggerated them to ostracize women in society more than the Mesopotamians or Lacedaemonians ever did. Women and men were separated not only in their social roles and responsibilities, but also in their legal rights and punishments. In Mesopotamia, citizens were under the command of Hammurabi’s code. Although this code was harsh in general, it is important not to compare the laws and punishments to modern or post-modern practices, but instead to compare Mesopotamian legal treatment of men vs. omen. Where men had to pay monetary fines for crimes that broke Hammurabi’s code, most times women had to pay with their lives. With more serious crimes, Hammurabi seemed to follow the â€Å"eye for an eye† philosophy when it came to men, but women were once again subjected to more serious pun ishments, and men were permitted to add to the abuse: â€Å"In addition to the punishments for a man’s wife that are written on the tablet, a man may whip his wife, pluck out her hair, mutilate her ears, or strike her† (Brophy 33).However, while men could physically abuse their wives with no penalty, women were sentenced to physical punishment if they laid a hand on their husbands. The one accommodation that the Code made for women is that they were allowed to own property. If the scenario arose where a woman was widowed, they would inherit the land that her late husband owned. Although the Code of Hammurabi was an effective ruling tool in Mesopotamia, it created a double standard that is still prevalent in society today. This double standard is seen not only in Mesopotamian culture, but in theAthenian society as well. The Athenians treated women as subservient and inferior, so naturally the laws would favor the males in the society over the females. Similarly to the M esopotamians, the punishments for women were more severe than those for men. Women had no rights in society, while most free men had the right to vote in the original democracy, whether it was in the Assembly or the Council of 500 (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Since the Athenian double standard is more extreme than the Mesopotamian one, it seems clear that their law codes would in turn be more extreme.Athens solidified the gender inequality between men and women, and it lasted through pre-modern, modern, and post-modern eras. One of the cultures that went against the grain of gender inequality is the Lacedaemon society. Because the society was more inclined to equality between genders, the laws were more predisposed to be fairer towards women. Although the voting rights were similar to Athens, where only free men could vote, the women still had more rights than they ever would in Athens or Mesopotamia.As aforementioned, women were educated on how to run an estate in Lacedaemon, so even at a young age they had more privileges than women in other cultures (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Since women were so essential in the society, their rights, as well as their punishments for broken laws, would naturally follow the same trend and be relatively evenly matched. After seeing all of these variances between different cultures, a logical progression of thought would lead one to ask, why? Why is there some much differentiation between cultures in the same time period, and even in similar geographical locations?The answer may lie in a group of people called the Dorians. The Dorians invaded and conquered the ancient city of Mycenae, taking the Mycenaeans as slaves (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Later on, the city developed into Lacedaemon. This sort of shift in power happened only in the Lacedaemon civilization, not in both the Mesopotamians and Athenians. It could be that the Lacedaemonians, so afraid of a slave uprising with their new political paradigm, developed a different system of g ender roles to try to remedy the potential situation (Sacks â€Å"Sparta†).This could be the reason that Lacedaemon differed so greatly from the other two civilizations, while Athens and Mesopotamia – although they has some dissimilarities – were relatively parallel to each other. Overall, each culture has at least some level of gender inequality woven throughout the society, despite the variances between levels of different cultures. No matter the level or severity of gender separation, it is indisputable that women were treated as subservient and inferior to men.The developing Western civilization began a double standard between men and women that would perpetuate through thousands of generations, and is still prevalent today. This inequality between genders can be clearly identified in the ancient traditions, laws, customs and social structure. The issues of women’s rights, uneven distribution of responsibilities and privileges, and unequal treatment b ased on gender are obviously not going away any time soon, because they have endured through thousands of years of societal development. Even post-modern era thinkers cannot eliminate this disparity.The everlasting discrepancies between genders are more a result of Athenian and Mesopotamian customs, rather than Lacedaemonian. Western civilization has always been, and very may always be, male-dominated. Works Cited Brophy, James M. , Cole, Joshua. , Epstein, Steven. , Robertson, John. Perspectives from the Past: Primary Sources in Western Civilizations from the Ancient Near East through the Age of Absolutism. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. , Inc. Print Brown, K. M. 2012. Lecture. York College of Pennsylvania. Radner, Karen. gender structures and roles in ancient Mesopotamia. † Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Sacks, David. â€Å"Sparta. † Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Sacks, David. â€Å"women in ancient Greece. † Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc.

City road

Drawing on what you have learned from the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1, describe some inequalities on City Road. Contemporary Brutal over the last fifty years has come to welcome a wide and diverse community made up of nationalities, races and religions, none more so, as seen on City Road in Cardiff.This particular street is featured in the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1 (LLC), from which it is evident that there are noticeable differences and inequalities within the community. These being; monopolizing of high street shops, secondly local businesses effected by community arrives and thirdly, a sense of security within the community. What follows will attempt to briefly describe and provide possible rationale for such inequalities to exist. Established themselves firmly along this road which happen to be In close proximity to smaller Independent supermarkets, consequently the monopoly which these shops hold mean they can afford to attract large n umbers of the community by using their buying power to host special deals, reduced items and stocks range of products all under one roof, this convenience for the individual can save the need to ravel to many of the smaller independent shops, such as the newsagent owned by Colon Butler, a family run business since the sass's.Colon Butler was interviewed by poet and artist Lloyd Robinson regarding how his business may have been effected by the larger shops to which he admitted â€Å"†¦ But that didn't affect me but it did knock out the newsagent next to him. † (the Street' 2009 Scene 1). Customers visiting Colon Butler are directly affected by this inequality, existing due to inflamed prices. However, It Is often that regular customers to such a local shop feel a sense of immunity split despite probably paying a premium.Furthermore, Colon Butler and his family business may be adversely affected due to the local council's plans to implement a bus lane along City Road. Whil st this aims to create a fast and efficient service for it's community, an inequality emerges for the local shops opposite the bus lane, as road markings will inhibit potential customers from parking and collecting goods too heavy to be carried on the bus. This is highlighted by a local business man, Jose Ramose Square stating â€Å"†¦ We are a small cuisines people, we earning our living here and we don't want to lose our customers because they, it's bad enough now people cannot park. (Making Social Lives DVD, 2009, Scene 5) It would appear according to the DVD, that some motorists may park outside their shop of choice. However, once said bus lane Is fully functional, no parking will be permitted by customers at any time Including the elderly or Injured who may view this as an Inequality. Educational establishments to name but a few. Some of these occur in daytime whilst others such as eating out would often happen after dark. The cover of which can to some residents seem uns ettling and unsafe.This sense of lack of security/safety is of course purely subjective, yet made ever more real by groups of younger people hanging around the bus shelter along the road, for instance a local police-officer, Pc Bob Keenan, argues that City Road â€Å"†¦ Is not a bad area†¦ If you apply common sense†¦ † (Making Social Lives DVD, 2009, Scene 6) conversely, a young female was interviewed at a pool hall along City Road expressing her frank feelings regarding the atmosphere in this local community at night time. Although this woman cannot recall any personal negative experiences, she talks of how this â€Å"†¦ Dead rough†¦ † (Making Social Lives DVD, 2009, Scene 8) area reminds her of Nottingham where she used to live. Coupling the female's view of City Road being an unsafe and dangerous place to be, are the sentiments of one male user of the Municipal Club, when asked â€Å"Is it safer these days? † He replied â€Å"No it's not safer, you walk top of City Road at night you're afraid to walk up there. † (Making Social Lives DVD, 2009, Scene 5) Why should these wow individuals and possibly more suffer the injustice of this particular inequality, being a sense of lack of safety?City Road, Cardiff describes to it's local community a myriad of inequalities some having been discussed. To some members of the local community certain inequalities will always exist whilst to others they may not seem so apparent. Should the local authorities fail to make parts of this neighborhood ‘feel' safer, the next result cold mean a reduction in socializing at clubs thus forcing a closure. Could such inequalities lead to a tear in the fabric of this local community? City Road When I began this course I always took for granted that inequalities were obvious things, but the more I learned on the subject and the further through the material I got I discovered inequalities can come in all shapes and sizes , obvious or inconspicuous and can affect all people differently. Through this paper I will first look at similar inequalities between ‘City Road’ and a street I know well, the street which I will use is Ballygall Road east Finglas Dublin 11, I will then look at some inequalities that seem unique to my street and why they are unique. The two main shared inequalities between Ballygall Road and City Road are private clubs and homelessness. In the very first film ‘the street’ we are shown a tennis club that because of its high walls and closed off areas gives people the assumption that it is a private club and would be unable to use its facilities . Although that is just an assumption in Ballygall Road there is a members only gym and membership can only be obtained if you are a resident of a particular apartment complex. This causes near constant tension between the other locals and the residents of the complex. In all of the films on the DVD there is a scene that is shown again and again it is the image of the homeless man sitting outside the shop. Homelessness is the most obvious inequality and there is no area that is free of it , in Ballygall Road there is two homeless people they are both originally from the area ,they are well known to all the locals and are treated with disgust and are avoided completely if possible . The two inequalities that are unique to Ballygall Road are council estates and a methadone clinic. Although council estates are not uncommon all over Ireland in Ballygall Road the council estate is seen as a thing to be ashamed of and that anyone who lives in one is lower class or ‘rough’ which is simply not true. There is one council estate in Ballygall Road and directly beside it is a private estate there is obvious distaste towards the people living in the council estate by other locals as a lot of the residents are un-employed and this is seen as socially unacceptable. A methadone clinic is a clinic for people for are trying to get themselves off heroin, there is one clinic is Ballygall Road and is possibly the biggest inequality as anyone seen entering or leaving this building is immediately labeled as a drug addict even though it may not be the case . A drug addict in Ballygall Road is on the lowest rung of the social ladder and are treated as such, there for the methadone clinic is used as a tool to label people in the area. In closing I would just like to state one observation that has been born from studying this module I believe there are two types of inequalities there are the obvious inequalities such as homelessness and being in a methadone clinic and there are inconspicuous inequalities such as private clubs or living in a certain estate. Although the obvious inequalities can affect and hurt people the inconspicuous ones can hurt just as much if not more so. These are the inequalities I noted in City Road and the inequalities in my street.