Category: Sociology 7256

Introduction

The heated political, social and economic events of the 20^th and beginning of the 21^st century convincingly indicate that intercultural relations and interactions are important factors in life activities of modern states and nations. This can be expressed in the unity of ethnic commonalities in attaining territorial and cultural integrity. The process of extending intercultural connections, the unifications of Europe, the disintegration of many multinational states, numerous ethnic conflicts, and nationalistic, religious and cultural movements demonstrate that ethno cultural problems in the recent history are still important and topical.

In Iran, there are about 15 millions Azeri (20 and 30 in different sources), which is about a third of countrys population. They are all concentrated in northwest of Iran, in Southern Azerbaijan: in provinces the Western and Eastern Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and Zanjan. Azerbaijani language is common for the northern and southern part of Azeri ethnos and it is not understood for most of the Iranians. The study of the Azeri minority in Iran is of major importance as it can show the formation of the ethnical identity of the Azeri ethnos, especially after the establishment of the independent republic of Azerbaijan in 1991.

A significant feature of the present day is that no person can live without any mutual relations with other people, and in that sense, any ethnic generality is not capable to exist in absolute isolation from other people. Practically each ethnos is to some extent open for contacts and perceptions of cultural achievements of other ethnos and simultaneously ready to share own cultural achievements and values. The Azeri minority was influenced to many factors during the various regimes and geopolitical changes in Iran which require a thorough study of the Azerbaijani ethnic factor in Iranian society. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the Turkish media in Iran and the media in general on the formation of the identity of the Azeri minority.

Despite the rather successful development of intercultural contacts, there are still problems in the formation of ethnic identities. This phenomenon, when the minorities are guided by the ethnic commonality, with which they connects their expectations, plans, and status. The demonstrations in Iran in regards of the cartoons that ridiculed Azeri language, show the existent difference in the statuses of the Azeri minority, where the social status is still correlated between the large proportion of the Azeri elite and at the same time being ridiculed in the Iranian society. In that sense, this study is significant in enlightening the effect of the media on the restoration of Azeri identity.

The research question is investigating the relation between the positive media portrayal of minorities and their self-esteem as well as the realization of their identity in the society. Thus the main research hypothesis states that, Turkish media has positively contributed to enhancing and developing the identity of Azeri minority in Iran.

The study does not intend to address the effect of the past on the current consideration of the Azeri status. In that sense, the research cannot serve as an indication of the gradual development of the Azeri identity through several generations. The limitations of the study include the sample population which is middle class and middle age participant, which is the majority of the Azeri population. Although, it is believed that minorities from upper social class would not change the results of the study, the research cannot be generalized among all social groups of Azeri minorities.

Review of literature

In Iran and the challenge of diversity, Asgharzadeh emphasizes the importance of language in assessing ones identity. The author argues that, An acknowledgment of the right to self-expression and self-definition will empower the subordinated groups to self-identify and self-designate their own identity. That is why so much emphasis has been placed on the ability to use ones own language to articulate ones own condition. (Asgharzadeh) In that sense, the author put an importance on the way language is used to identify certain minority groups and how the same identifications were changed depending on who put these definitions. The importance of modern communication tools is also observed through the work of Asgharzadeh, as Marginalized communities have now more access to information relevant to their condition produced by members of their own community, members of other similar communities, as well as international sources (Asgharzadeh 202)

In Borders and brethren, Shaffer states that the ethnic or national Azerbaijani identity contains tensions between the territorial aspects of Azerbaijan and the civic identity of the independent republic of Azerbaijan. (Shaffer 205) The strengthening of the Islamic Republic in 1980s served as a turning point in the shift of the image of Azerbaijanis Soviet-oriented intellectuals, which contributed to the popularisation of a comprehensive approach of Azerbaijani nationality (Southern Azerbaijan: Fortunes and Misfortunes of a Geopolitical Representation), into image that required recognition of cultural rights. Shaffer also pointed out the importance of the portrayal of Azeri people in shifting the negative image in Irans media, as many pointed out that for the first time they saw the Turk portrayed in a positive light-educated, successful, wealthy-in contrast with the image presented in Iranian media&. (Shaffer 174)

In Iranian Azerbaijan: A Brewing Hotspot, the author pointed to studies that revised the disregard in regards the Azeri identity in Iran. The authors refer the strong following of the ethnic Azeri Ayatollah Shariat Madari contributed to that a separate and distinct Azerbaijani identity has been growing among the citizens of north-western Iran, which made it an issue Iran treated with utmost caution. (Cornell) Additionally, in We the media, Gillmor addressed the power of journalism in the era of new technology, web blogs specifically, in helping to reveal the truth in repressed countries. Iranians, who live in a repressive country with strict controls on media, were able to speak out and access a variety of news and opinions. (Gillmor 141)

The literature is showing that there is certain gap in the information regarding the factors that contribute to the assessment of the positive image of the minorities in Iran, mostly concentrating on their perceptions by Iranians, rather than on perceptions among the Azeri themselves.

Method

The study was designed as a quantitative analysis of a data collected from a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in a way that the independent variable is the portrayal of Azeri minority in the media, Turkish television to be specific. This variable was also manipulated with several examples from different excerpts of chosen newspapers that mention news related to ethnic minorities. The dependent variable is the perception of the participant in regard of such images, and the way he/she are treated.

The participants of the study were randomly chosen from Azerbaijani people residing in Iran. The total number of the sample was 100 people, mostly young to middle aged. Additionally, 50 questionnaires were made in electronic format and distributed in popular Iranian-Azerbaijani web blogs and forums. An additional method was implemented in analyzing media resources for a chosen month and measuring the way ethnic minority was portrayed. These measured was ranked on a scale of three, where one was positive, two neutral, and three negative.

The conducted questionnaire consisted of 15 questions. Some of the data collected was not directly affecting the topic of the survey, but merely to identify and group the categories of the participants for statistical purposes. For categorical grouping variables, participants were asked to circle the word that best indicated their (a) female or male gender; (b) ethnicity; (c) age; (d) level of educational degree; (e) occupation. The main question that the survey should answer is what type of portrayal will/did discourage or promoted the participants association with their national identity.

The pre-test procedures was merely in analyzing the data collected from media resources which should be combined with the data collected from the questionnaire.

The main design is experimental with quantitative discrete data. From the used printed questionnaires, 80 questionnaires were filled, whereas merely half of the electronic variants were replied.

The collected data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel, where the printed data was entered manually and the electronic versions were automatically filled.

Clearly, male participants were prevailing in the data collected, which might affect the validity of the experiment. From the sub-analysis of the data collected from media sources, it was found that 80% of the headlines were neutral in the defined period, while 10% was hard to identify, and the rest was mainly negative. The analysis of the questionnaires showed a direct correlation between the positive image of the Azeri minority and their association with their direct ethnic group, this was apparent even in categories of young participants. In the same manner the negative portrayal revealed the exact opposite results.

Pedagogical Implications

The implications of that study show the great importance of the media in associating a certain group with their national identity. In the conditions of more and more intensified international relations, the increasing interrelation of the separate countries, nations, whole regions and continents from each other, the value of psychological factors as well as the media portraying such factors, inevitably increases in the regulation of intercultural interaction. Thus, by controlling the way the media considers the status of the minorities, the position of minorities among themselves could be sufficiently enhanced and developed.

References

Asgharzadeh, Alireza. Iran and the Challenge of Diversity: Islamic Fundamentalism, Aryanist Racism, and Democratic Struggles. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Cornell, Svante. Iranian Azerbaijan: A Brewing Hotspot. Human Rights and Ethnicity in Iran. Cornell Caspian Consulting.

Gillmor, Dan. We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. 1st ed. Beijing; Sebastopol, CA: OReilly, 2004.

Gollust, David. Us Cites Systematic Repression of Iranian Dissidents, Minorities. 2007. South Azerbaijan.

Shaffer, Brenda. Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity. Bcsia Studies in International Security. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002.

Southern Azerbaijan: Fortunes and Misfortunes of a Geopolitical Representation. The new geopolitics and changing territorialities: between international studies and political geography.

William had never felt alive before he met Austin, his new neighbor, who was young, energetic, and handsome. His every gesture revealed absolute confidence and great zest; his words presented high intelligence and unusual broad-mindedness. William, who turned 30 a few days ago, admired the youth but was too shy to come to him and start a conversation. Williams shyness, along with passivity, literally had destroyed his childhood dreams.

The man rented a studio flat in Brooklyn, worked at the office, hanged out with his colleagues, and sometimes attended dance classes. There was nothing special about him. William was the most ordinary person among the most ordinary ones. He did not have a girlfriend or friends except his colleagues, and his relatives lived far in the West. It was likely that nothing unusual would have happened to him unless he had met Austin. For sure, it is fantastic how one encounter can change somebodys life.

Good morning! Do you have any plans for the weekend? Austins voice appeared from nowhere.

Good morning. Excuse me, have you asked something?

Of course, William did not have any plans, but he was embarrassed by the new neighbors sudden question. William thought Austin would invite him to his place or offer to hang out around the neighborhood. However, the suggestion was out of his expectations.

What about setting off on a weekend hike on the Appalachian Trail? Dont care about the gear. I have enough.

The Appalachian trail? You know, I have never hiked before& William murmured.

Oh, you must try it. See you on Saturday at 4 a.m. Dont be late! Austin shut the door.

William could make up something like he always did. He could say he felt terrible or some urgent work had come up. However, William was waiting for Austin at 3.55 a.m. on Saturday with the strange feeling of excitement and fear at the same time. He knew that it was the opportunity he could not miss  the chance to change his life. It was cold, misty, and dark outside, the middle of March, and the men traveled to the Appalachian Trail, where neither of them had ever been before.

The beauty of nature, its peacefulness, and the individual, who accompanied William, amazed him. He enjoyed the moment and forgot about his shyness and passivity. No doubt, William had never felt alive before, and it was the first time he realized that his life was a precious gift to enjoy but not a burden to carry. Moreover, Austin told him exciting stories about hiking in the Himalayas, cycling across Europe, and being a gardener in Chili. William recalled his childhood dreams of traveling the world, which he had not achieved at all.

My disease taught me to live in the present moment, make the most of each opportunity, stop caring about others opinions, and take risks. Sometimes I think people need to get terminally ill to realize what matters in life, Austin said suddenly during the hike.

William did not understand what the new acquaintance meant by disease or terminally ill but feared to ask about it. Austin was the most extraordinary man among the most extraordinary ones. He opened new horizons to William, he broadened his perspective, and he made him adventurous. William spent much time with Austin in the spring and summer of 2015. They traveled within the East Coast, tried different activities ranging from gardening to skydiving, and enjoyed themselves.

It was the end of the summer, and William had not seen Austin for the last five days. Austins flat was empty; he answered neither calls nor messages. Despite having spent half a year in close relationship with the neighbor, William knew little about his work or relatives. They had never discussed their matters or the past.

Hello, are you Austins neighbor, William? an attractive woman of 25 at the door asked.

Yes, I am. Do you know where Austin is? I have not seen him since Monday.

He died on Wednesday. I am his sister, Jane, and he asked me to give you this letter. He did not want you to see him dying and preferred to say his last words in the letter, the woman said with sad calmness.

He had some disease; he was terminally ill; he did not even mention it except during their first hike. William said nothing, just took the letter, and shut the door. He felt abandoned, as the one thing that mattered at that moment was the scruffy letter from the dead friend. It consisted of three sentences:

Do you have any plan for this fall? What about setting off on a journey to Europe. Dont care about the airline ticket, you can find it in the book I left on the sill in your bedroom.

William was waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport for the plane to the Netherlands in September of 2015. He had quitted his job, bought some gear, and spent much time planning his travel. The man had the same feeling of excitement and fear, which he had experienced half a year before while waiting for Austin near his door.

Good morning. Do you have some business in the Netherlands? asked a neighbor during the flight.

No, I am going to travel and make my childhood dreams come true.

When are you going to return home?

I dont know, maybe in several months, or a year, or several years. I dont know&

William returned to the United States in March of 2020. The man had visited more than 50 countries, met thousands of individuals, and lived to the fullest. His childhood dreams had finally come true. William had returned a completely different individual, extremely broad-minded, full of energy, confident, and eager to live. He learned to paint while living with a blind painter Rosa in Lithuania. The woman taught him that all restrictions are only the products of his imagination. Further, Rishabh, a father of 8 children who lived in a run-down neighborhood in India and enjoyed cleaning it each Sunday, proved that people were able to create their environment. The elderly football coach, who devoted all his time to training poor Brazilian boys, demonstrated the great importance of love and commitment.

William also learned many other lessons while traveling the world. Anyway, among the most important were to appreciate each minute, make the most of different opportunities, and take risks. He regretted not living to the fullest in his youth, but it was too late to change the past. Instead, the man concentrated on the present, married an adventurous woman, and became a hiking guide on the Appalachian Trail. William always wondered who he would have been unless he had met Austin and said yes to his unusual offer.

Introduction

Classism is considered to be promoted in the form of oppression or prejudice against people through their social class on the basis of higher or lower socioeconomic status; nowadays the notion classism is a real issue being widely spread not only in the American society but throughout the world. It is necessary to underline the fact that the USA faced the problem of classism several centuries ago; the analysis of historical development relates this phenomenon to Whiskey Rebellion, when wealthy white men supported and controlled the Great Britain rebellion, or to the period when the vote was given only to property owners at the beginning of the 19th century. Nevertheless, nowadays this concept is considered to be analyzed on the basis of class welfare within the particular society, considering it to be the depth of the problem.

Classism and class welfare analysis

The classism promotion within the USA should be explained through the factors influencing its development:

• Slavery and economic oppression suffered by ex-slaves;
• Land grabs;
• The promotion of immigrant labor during the period of industrialization;
• Causes connected with sharecropping, tenant-farming and farm mortgages. (Abramovitz, 2000)

People are aware of classist prejudices; nevertheless, no one has completely eradicated them from speech. It is necessary to underline the fact that our classism is based on disdain for religious people, big corporations employees, and patriotic people. The increase of social status and position in the society appeared to be the start for the promotion of prejudiced perception of other classes; it should be noted that there is no person of middle-class, who has never said insensitive things related to working-class toes. Though in most cases people try to defend themselves, saying I did not mean that, they find themselves in the situation of apologizing or just laughing at themselves. The reduction of classism in modern society is to be concentrated on not keeping our mind out of trouble through avoiding working-class people angering; the basic aim is to become trustworthy and express less alienation of working-class people, working in the atmosphere of economic justice. According to Cecile Andrews, Study Circle Democracy, human welfare is to be aimed at classism reduction, &to believe in democracy, you need to believe in the power of people to find answers to the problems theyre facing. You must commit to the idea that people have the wisdom they need. (Leondar-Wright, 2004)

The middle class, or as it is sometimes called, the ruling class, is considered to be perceived in society as an articulate and smart social group, dominating over the working class. Wealthy people internalize the attitudes and beliefs of the dominant society and try to play them against each other. It is necessary to underline the idea that internalized superiority is considered to be the justification of middle-class privileges; nowadays class welfare is defined through the status and possibility of personal contacts with the companys employers; this domination gives an opportunity to get legacy admissions to various higher institutions, perfect health care, inherited money, quality education and having the knowledge as to the power system operation in the society.

Social welfare is the background for gradual life quality improvement; nevertheless, it leads to the formation of a more sharp line between classes, economic, political and national. The cases of classism are openly promoted in the media and expressed by famous politicians and heads of huge corporations; for example, we may consider the words of Stephen Dempsey, who noted, Of course I am going to be patronizing to workers, I am educated. (Classist Comments, 2005) People are usually kept from considering the material holdings and privilege of comfortable and wealthier classes of modern society; it should be stressed that the current situation provides no time for the poor classes to make the analysis of salaries in multi-million dollars, or expense and retirement accounts of the higher classes; nevertheless, the elite would be unable to have the power and obtain all the wealth but for hard work of the low working class. The welfare and wealth of the owning class is the result of the masses efforts and labor; besides, the wealth is the cause of inheritance taxes failure to redistribute adequately the privileges and benefits for the few. Beneficial job positions are usually kept among the elite; political positions are characterized by disproportionate access promoted for the higher classes being able to buy them. (Burch, 2000) It is necessary to consider the words of Kathy Modigliani, who stated, that she heard an African-American university president say that she could not support home-based childcare for low-income families because we have to get those little children out of those neighborhoods. (Classist Comments, 2005)

The depth of the classism problem does not lie in the worthiness or integrity of elite individuals keeping poor class poor; the reason is connected with deliberate acts and policies produced by wealthy classes, aimed at keeping adequate and privileged resources from the majority, and stigmatizing people for living in need, while the welfare of the elite is completely cloaked and disguised for the publics sake and welfare. The nature of classism from the position of class welfare is based on the process of rejecting the existence of class discrimination on the basis of social and political structures, blaming the poor for their status. Such cases are frequently faced in our everyday life; thus, Jenny Levison shared her own experience, underlining the level of classism in modern society, I ate out with a friend  someone proud to call herself a Massachusetts liberal  and the waitress got her order wrong. My friend said, Well if she was smart, she wouldnt be a waitress. (Classist Comments, 2005) It means that habitual communication and interpersonal relationships in public and private life are built on the principles of class differences and attempt to blame the social groups providing hard work for social welfare. (Burch, 2000)

The problem of classism is also connected with the fact that people live in silence and labeled, and damned environment, where speaking about the wealthy truth is considered to be risky and unpopular. It is necessary to unmask the intent of the called names, and labeling used against the majority, based on threats and fear. The welfare promotion in the US community and throughout the world is the indicator of economic and political stabilization; nevertheless, people are the stimulator of social order and, it is we, who are to be blamed, for the sharp classism promotion. (Burch, 2000)

Conclusion

The analysis of classisms role in modern society was based on the investigation of its real causes and current level promotion; it is necessary to stress that the paper researched the links between social welfare and classism sharpening, underlining the grave mistakes leading to the formation of class inequality.

Values alteration, observed since the previous centuries, resulted in the power of money and wealth, dominating over natural human ethics, norms, and standards; as a result, the elite lives in the wealthy environment created by the hard labor of the working class.

References

Abramovitz, M. (2000). Under attack, fighting back: Women and welfare in the United States. New York: Monthly Review Press.

Burch, H. (2000). Social welfare policy analysis and choices. Routledge.

Classist Comments. (2005). Class Matters. Web.

Leondar-Wright, B. (2004). Classism from our Mouths. Web.

In the past two decades, the United States has been facing an escalation in abuse of opioids, primarily heroin. According to Congressional Research Service, in 2016, approximately 0.4% of the U.S. population older than 12 years old reported having used heroin in the past year (2). Besides, the majority of them admitted the use of heroin in the previous decade (Heroin Trafficking 2). The issue requires taking action, but before that, it needs to be discussed. One of the most important and famous pieces on this topic today is a book named Dreamland.

Dreamland is a non-fiction book written by an American journalist Sam Quinones and published in 2015. Quinones spent many years exploring and investigating Mexican culture from the inside, which made a significant contribution to the piece (Leonard 1). In the book, he takes a close look at the three distinct factors that, coming together, gave rise to an opioid epidemic in the United States.

Initially, the opioid crisis was built on drugs that were being prescribed by medical care professionals, as wells as misunderstanding and underestimation of their effect. Scientists and doctors have always been aware of the addiction risks opioids cause, but they have not always been responsible with them. According to Quinones, in the 1980s, a new approach to medical care and pain treatment started developing (110).

The idea was that that pain counteracted opiates euphoric effect and thus reduced the risk of addiction (Quinones 110). This meant that eventually the drugs were prescribed more and more easily, in large amounts, with little to no control over their usage. In the 1990s, this crusade took over  people started thinking that America was undertreating pain (Quinones 111). The medical care professionals were urged to treat pain as the most routine thing, as another vital sign of a humans body. It was believed that opioids could not cause addiction if used correctly.

It became a new business model, and massive brainwashing  the liberalization of painkiller drugs was promoted and highly supported. One after one, people were surrendering to it, and the brand-new addicts were lining up at doctors offices. New clinics kept opening up, benefitting from the opioid boom. Companies were creating new devices for drug use  the drug company Baxter and others produced intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps, allowing patients to administer their own painkiller with the push of a button. (Quinones 112). Instead of treating people, everything and everyone seemed to be encouraging painkiller abuse.

The most popular painkiller drug was OxyContin, or simply Oxy, but after developing tolerance toward it, people switched to black tar heroin. It was cheaper than painkillers, could be smoked instead of being injected, so the transition from prescription drugs to heroin was a natural and easy one (Quinones 187). Every person addicted to Oxy had a strong potential to become addicted to heroin, which is precisely what was exploited by the Mexican dealers. They saw the growing need for a drug that would be more affordable and easier to consume and did not fail to act on it. The system that the Mexican created was refreshing and effective. They took care of their customers  offering a test bite beforehand and providing delivery within half an hour, all of it keeping their prices low.

At the time, a great number of people in rural America lived in dissatisfaction and despair. No wonder they would turn their hearts to drugs  doctors were very generous with prescribing opioids, and afterward, the cheaper and stronger heroin looked very enticing. Nevertheless, heroin was not a product for the poor and marginalized only, as people of every class and every field of work were exposed to it.

In the Mexican system, the primary instruction for drug dealers was to sell in white neighborhoods. These white kids, often coming from the wealthy suburbs, were looking for something to fulfill their hunger for adventures. Heroin became mainstream, with musicians and artists making it out to be sexy, edgy, and appealing. All of this made teenagers drawn to opioids and heroin in particular. The Mexicans played to their privilege as well, delivering everything to their neighborhoods, making the consumption easy and plausible. In a culture that demanded comfort & heroin was the final convenience. (Quinones 254). This tactic made their business flourish, profiting off wealthy white Americans.

Middle-class Americans were indeed a goldmine. The economy was on a rise; they could afford to buy drugs regularly; at the same time remaining high-functioning members of society, most of them could even show up to the work high (Quinones 142). The drug dealers watched the neighborhood, especially at fair or parties  pinpointing those who were spending a lot. Part of their success came from studying their audience and clientele up close.

Eventually, mostly in the early 2010s, the society started to understand the nature and patterns of addiction. The myths regarding it started getting destroyed one by one. It was not portrayed as an evil or dirty thing anymore  but an illness. It was officially confirmed that once people get addicted, they really lose the power of choice. (Quinones 353). Instead of being sent to jail for using drugs, people started being put into treatment. Rehabilitation centers began opening up, where non-violent and non-criminal addicts could get back on their feet.

Nowadays, there is a much more careful attitude toward prescription drugs in the U.S., as well as there is broader knowledge about the distribution of illicit narcotics around the country. Since 2016, there is a National Drug control strategy functioning in the U.S., which is meant to reduce illegal drug consumption (Heroin Trafficking 12). It includes preventing drug use in the U.S. communities, increasing access to treatment and supporting recovery, as well as disrupting domestic drug trafficking (Heroin Trafficking 12). Although the heroin epidemic is not at all gone yet, the U.S. is taking consecutive steps for its alleviation. Thanks to this, there is hope that the heroin crisis in the U.S. will be stopped relatively soon.

References

Heroin Trafficking in the United States. Congressional Research Service, 2019, pp. 1-19.

Leonard, Elizabeth. How Dreamland Colored My Summer Vacation and Thinking about the Opioid Epidemic. JOTWELL, 2018. Web.

Quinones, Sam. Dreamland: the true tale of Americas opiate epidemic. Bloomsbury Press, 2016.

There exists a commonly accepted theory that says that the development of civilization and movement of society may be presented in the shape of a spiral; this means that in the course of time humanity changes, but sooner or later it repeats the past at least partially, it appears on the same or very similar turn of the spiral of development. That is why often it is very useful and reasonable to refer to men of the wisdom of the past to find the answers to urgent questions of today. They say that, for instance, Aristotle is almost sure to be the primary source to address if you want to answer some question. Still, he is not the only person to refer to, because a great number of outstanding people of the past threw light on the aspects of life that present vital importance today. Such people are, for instance, H. D. Thoreau and R. W. Emerson, who can teach us a lot, despite the fact that they lived more than a century ago.

As for me, H. D. Thoreau together with R. W. Emerson may be called prophets, because my firm belief is that the description of American society in their works, mainly in Life Without Principle by Thoreau corresponds to our contemporary society even better than to the society of the nineteenth century. If we did not know the dates of their life, we could well imagine that they were our contemporaries.

Thoreau says: I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business (Thoreau 2). By means of this idea the author wants to say that our life has been turned upside down, we live in order to earn money and we have forgotten its primary purpose  to provide our living. Money is just the means of achieving some aim; it is, certainly, not the most important thing for our existence. The author condemns such people who are the slaves of money, unfortunately, nowadays the majority of the people are, no matter, in which country they live. Money is our God; this is why in our whole life the values and principles become distorted and we choose the wrong route in life. Nowadays we have completely forgotten that such things as poetry, art, music can make us happy. Maybe our skills of perceiving beauty have atrophied; we simply cannot get pleasure from anything that does not bring profit. Among contemporary people there are so many workaholics and businessmen, whose first consideration is a financial success because they do not work in order to get pleasure, they work with the only aim of accumulating wealth. Thoreau warns us about selling our life for money (Thoreau 2). Besides, he stresses that the employer should not hire a person who is sure to work for money only; they are not appropriate employees, it is better to find a qualified person with multiple aims than a robot, who is programmed for getting a salary.

Besides, the author claims that we should: Read not the Times. Read the Eternities (Thoreau 17). He wants to prove to us that we get the wrong sources of information, and it is really so. Together with money, we are deluded and misguided by the mass media and, sometimes, even science. We should not scatter our aspiration for knowledge; we should just understand that the main source of knowledge is our soul and our culture.

Related to this matter is one more topic tackled by Thoreau, the function of politics in our life. There is no denying the fact that nowadays politicians rule the life and mind of society. Thoreau agrees that politics is useful, but there is no sense making so much fuss about it, to devote entire columns in newspapers to it, because it should perform its functions imperceptibly. Politics is for politicians only, but in our society, it occupies the minds of common people, though it is evident that it makes no use, this is why we should transform our attitude toward politics.

One more proof of the wrong life position of contemporary people who have money in the center of things may be proved by the following quotation:

If a man walks in the wood for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is an esteemed industrious and enterprising citizen (Thoreau 3).

This citation presents special interest because here the author subconsciously described one of the main problems of todays humanity: environmental problems. There is no denying the fact that many plants break the laws that protect nature in order to increase profit, they pollute water, air, and soil for the only reason  increase of the capital, and if citizens let them do this, it means that they approve of their actions. Thoreau advises us to return to nature, to find there the source of power and natural beauty that is necessary for our soul.

Thoreaus ideas are supported in Emersons work; what is more, this author throws light on other aspects of a person in society that continue to be topical today. Such is the importance of societal approval for people, which often prevents us from trusting ourselves. And self-reliance and trust in oneself are the main principles of life suggested by Emerson. It is obviously true; every one has noticed not once that we act under the threat of being condemned by society, and this is peculiar for the majority of people today. Emerson inspires us to act in accordance with our individuality to avoid foolish consistency. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines (Emerson 24). We should always remember that we are unique individuals and our desires and aspirations should guide us and prompt the right actions. At the same time, Emerson is not trying to establish anarchy in society, as it may seem, because he draws our attention to the fact that self-reliance should be regarded not as an ultimate goal of actions, but just as a starting point for every person.

By means of conclusion, it should be stated that H. D. Thoreau and R. W. Emersons views and principles are extremely important for contemporary American society and human society on the whole. It is evident that society is moving in the wrong direction, because it is guided by wrong values, material wealth, in particular. The authors message for the current generation may be decoded in the following way: awake our individuality and search for real values in our soul and mind. Only in this case society will survive and become happy.

References

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-reliance and Other Essays. NY: Courier Dover Publications, 1993.

Thoreaur, Henry David. Life Without Principle. NY: Forgotten Books, 2008.

Introduction

In this paper, we are going to discuss such question as amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants and possible implications of this policy. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the positive and negative sides of this phenomenon, and the consequences, which this approach would entail.

On the whole, this issue has been a subject of heated sociological, political and legal debate, and at the moment it still remains very acute. In this essay, we should compare scholarly views on this problem, namely we need to show how different authors regard this amnesty, given to undocumented people from Mexico. At first, we may analyze the article Amnesty to Illegal Aliens: Neither Compassionate nor Just by Edward Erler. The author argues against this policy claiming that this would worsen the economic situation in the country.

Arguments against amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants

First, he states that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the main objective of people who come to the United States from Mexico is just to take advantages of economic opportunities available in America but to obtain citizenship (Erler, p 21).

Furthermore, the author refutes George Bushs hypothesis that this amnesty will make America more humane country. He points out that such policy is hypocritical in its very core, because there are many illegal immigrants from other states but they cannot receive such pardon unlike Mexicans. The question arises what made Bush administration so benevolent toward former Mexican citizens. Edward Erler is firmly convinced that this may turn the United States into some magnet for further illegal immigrants (Eller, 21).

The positive in favor of this policy

Nevertheless, the most crucial point of Edward Erlers argument is that the US government should not make such concessions to the Mexican President Vicente Fox. First, he states that this country harbors many alleged murderers, and the authorities are not willing to extradite them to the US. The question is why the United States should be so contractible to Mexico if this state refuses to help our country. In addition to that, Edward Erler believes that such notion this compassion for aliens will eventually mean cruelty to the natives who stay at the very bottom of social ladder and this only aggravate their position.

Therefore, according to Edward Erler, this policy leads to the downfall of American economy. It should be taken into account that this article was written in 2004 long before the world economic crisis, and, to some extent the scholar has predicted further scenario and ultimate outcomes.

Nonetheless, it has to be admitted that there are opposing views on this issue. For instance, according to such scholars as Shelby Gerking and John Mutti, under certain circumstances, immigration can be rather beneficial to the countrys economy. It should be taken into consideration that this research work was conducted at in early eighties and at that point the problem of immigration was not as urgent as it is nowadays, but scholars manage point out several very interesting details concerning the effects of immigration. First, in their opinion, the belief that aliens take away American jobs is not evidence-based (Gerking et al, p 76).

The thing is that many people overlook computerization of manufacturing process, which means that a great number of menial and low-skilled jobs are performed by machines. Therefore, some accusations are even groundless. Naturally, they acknowledge that inflow of immigrants plays only in the hands of large corporations or in other words employers but they state that leading companies will always find a way to cut operating expenses, for example by off-shoring their activities oversees. Their reasoning is mostly based on the assumption that inflow of immigrants may also bring qualified and skilled labor force into the country.

Discussion

Thus, it can be observed that scholars are not unanimous in their treatment of this issue. Judging from these articles, we may say that illegal immigration in general and amnesty to undocumented citizens still requires in-depth examination. As we have previously mentioned, too many problems are blamed on these people, but very often, this is just populism. In order to form an unbiased and unprejudiced judgment, it is necessary to study the impacts of this amnesty on economic, political and cultural situation in the United States. Additionally, if this policy is erroneous, it is of vital importance to devise certain strategies that may help to avoid complications. We also need ascertain the true motives of this benevolence toward Mexican immigrants in particular, because such attitude of the US government is not quite clear.

Conclusion

To conclude, the amnesty for illegal Mexican immigrants gives rise to heated debate in American society. On the one hand, we should stay that this will only stimulate the influx of many undocumented people from this country. But, it should be borne in mind that the United States can benefit by these people, especially if we are speaking about highly-skilled employees. Most importantly, too many people are inclined to blame them for all the problems while ignoring other important factors such as computerization and off shoring. On the whole, this issue still should be analyzed from various perspectives.

Bibliography

Gerking, Shelby D.; Mutti, John H. Costs and Benefits for Illegal Immigration: Key Issue for Government Policy. University of Texas Press. (61), 71-85. 1980.

Edward J. Erler. Amnesty for Illegal Aliens; Neither Compassionate nor Just. The Washington Times 21, 2004.

Carbados lists help one think intersectionality about privilege since this author illustrates how privilege and oppression co-exist in peoples everyday lives. Peoples identities are linked with the system of pressure, and therefore, some people benefit from unearned privilege while others are unjustly discriminate against (Braithwaite and Orr, 2017). Carbados lists can help one understand that to overcome oppression, and one must act beyond merely acknowledging the existence of unjust practices.

According to Huff, airlines assume that their passengers bodies are fit and slim. This fits with the societals general view, in accordance with which fat bodies do not fit in, creating a social stigma. In connection to a discussion about rights, one should note that the excuse about excess weight is used as an explanation for why these airlines do not account for all body types. Our everyday environments would change for the better if a more comprehensive array of body types were accommodated because people would feel welcome instead of feeling as if they have fewer rights because of their body shape.

According to Abbas, the issue with the straight acting men is the privilege that they have and the lens they use to view the experiences of queen people of different ethnicities. With this approach, they fail to recognize many issues, such as poverty, healthcare, military policies, and other problem that affect the queer population. Abbas talks about sexual citizenship as something that leaves out issues of poverty, healthcare, immigration, and military policy (as cited in Braithwaite and Orr, 2017, p. 140). Hence, sexuality is evoked as a way of progressing with the nations democracy since the incorporation of it helps address these issues and facilitate a proper inclusion of all viewpoints and perspectives when making governmental decisions.

Reference

Braithwaite, A. & Orr, C. M. (Eds.). (2017). Everyday womens and gender studies: Introductory concepts. Routledge.

Abstract

This paper evaluates my learning experience about Narcotic Anonymous. I carried out research on Narcotic Anonymous, its activities, and operational framework. Narcotics Anonymous is a community of women and men who have faced major challenges because of drug influences. Such women and men have agreed to undergo rehabilitation processes in order to support one another to recover from drug addiction. These meetings are important to assist and support addicted people, persons recovering from addiction, and professional experts who interact with addicted people.

Narcotic Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous is meant for people who are recovering from difficulties associated with drugs addiction. There are chat rooms and gatherings for persons who share their hardships, hopes, and experiences about drug addiction. Narcotics Anonymous chat room is where addicted people share their experiences with an aim of recovery. People who intend to recover from drug abuse need to seek rescue and support through spiritual counseling from Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Narcotic Anonymous is beneficial since Narcotic Anonymous information is proclaimed to people who suffer from drug addiction and willing to recover (Halter, 2013).

The Narcotic Anonymous forums, gatherings, and chats are important network systems that assist addicted persons to come out and seek guidance from persons who recover from drug influences. In the recent past, internet has played a significant role in social networking among the members of this group. Narcotic Anonymous online gatherings have offered great guidance to addicted people. Over the years, the internet has become a global device that has improved social networking among the members of Narcotic Anonymous; hence addicted persons are assisted from undergoing emotional isolation due to drugs addiction.

Indeed, newcomers are easily encouraged to join Narcotic Anonymous online gatherings. Narcotic Anonymous has responsibility to protect and recover addicted persons. Actually, Narcotic chartrooms have prime intention to assist addicted persons. However, Narcotic online meetings do not offer medical help to addicted people. Therefore, addicted persons who might need medical attention are encouraged by this group to visit medical practitioners (Kelly & Myers, 2007).

The Narcotic Anonymous has a website that is focused to offer guidance to addicted individuals in order to get better alternatives of living standards. Moreover, the website assists addicted persons to get online meetings and important resources that are helpful for recovery. The website also provides important links that are helpful to addicts who seek recovery. In addition, the Narcotic Anonymous website provides Recovery Literatures that give hope to addicts who are imprisoned due to drug addiction.

Such literatures are valuable resources that rehabilitate addicts. Actually, I read one of the online recovery literatures which presented twelve steps that guide victimized persons during rehabilitation processes. The recovery literatures are avenues for healthy exposures that inform addicts about their shared life experiences. In addition, Narcotic Anonymous website offers links for local gatherings to people who seek to participate in their meetings. Interestingly, Narcotic Anonymous welcomes every person who seeks to get assistance and to share life experiences about drug addiction (Toumbourou, Hamilton, URen, Stevens-Jones, & Storey, 2002).

Conclusion

According to Narcotic Anonymous, non-addicted persons are also welcomed to its gatherings. However, non-addicted individuals are encouraged to attend open gatherings. Addicted persons are advised to attend Narcotics Anonymous gatherings to share their experiences with other people who suffer from drug addiction. The Narcotic Anonymous website states that addicts should attend such gatherings for at least three months in order to be conversant with recovery programs.

References

Halter, M.J. (2013). Varcarolis: Foundations of psychiatric mental health nursing (7^th ed.). New York, NY: Saunders.

Kelly, J. F., & Myers, M. G. (2007). Adolescents participation in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous: Review, implications and future directions. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 39(3), 259269.

Toumbourou, J. W., Hamilton, M., URen, A., Stevens-Jones, P., & Storey, G. (2002). Narcotics Anonymous participation and changes in substance use and social support. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 23(1), 6166.

Executive Summary

There is evidence of gender pay discrimination in the United States with such figures as those of women in sales occupation, male and female professors at medical school faculties and full-time physician jobs earning lesser than men at equal positions indicating this trend (LCCR & LCCREF, 2000). Women have been found to occupy lesser executive positions that places them at a better chance to earn more even than men. Explanations that can be put forward to give guideline on the gender pay disparities include women occupying fewer executive positions than men. Law in the United States has not been silent on the demand for elimination of gender pay disparities, with the practice being criminalized in such acts like the Equal Pay Act which discourages companies to pay more or lesser in terms of gender aspects. Although the womens choice for lesser paying jobs may not explain the reason for paying women excecutives lower salaries than their male counterparts, it may result to low average score in the gender pay gap. The fact that women faced reluctance in their appointments to the boards of largest companies in the United States may indicate the reason for the low presence of female employees at top positions.

The study on gender pay disparity may help application of mitigations which can help companies, for example, to take advantages of the cultural and financial benefits that a more diverse company (in terms of gender) would get (Shannon, 2009). Because the education system in most of the countries rears employees, females may be encouraged by solving problems related to issues that encourage their discrimination on pay aspects.

The problem of gender discrimination was also present in the not-for-profit organizations according to a 2006 Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Theories that can be put forward to help understanding the gender pay differences in women and men include the human capital theory and the social capital theory. The first one theorized that the amount of income was proportional to the level and quality of education. This view has been diluted with the complexity entering at the workplace, and the management becoming of more importance. Other factors that come into play to determine the level of pay include continued improvement at the workplace, lifelong and organizational learning, and all having an inverse relationship with human capital. The idea of increasing skill at workplace and the level of knowledge would become important (Hietela). Women would be placed at a disadvantage to developing their human capital than men because of lesser ability to cope or adapt to changing technical environment and economic aging. This is because of added responsibilities at home. Men would be better placed to earn more skills and career development at workplace, and these skills would help in making judgment for their promotion to high or executive positions and earning better pay, than women who had lesser time to have career development because of added responsibilities at home.

Another theory that has been put forward here is that of social capital development which links attachments at workplace, interactions, social networking, mentoring and mutual support of employees to likelihood of promotion to executive positions and better pay, as well as favorable judgment from colleagues or peers, and other benefits. Women can be perceived to have or forming lesser linkages, interactions and networking at workplace which would otherwise let them enjoy the aforementioned benefits, and thus the disparity.

Problem Statement and Significance of the Study

Gender discrimination remains a problem not only in the societal context, but also in the pay disparity at work place. For example, women in sales occupations in 1999 earned 59.9% of the mens wages in equivalent positions, while women full-time physicians earned 62.5% of the male physicians. This is the case even with women calling for equal gender treatment. To help champion the rights of women in an attempt to end discrimination has been equal opportunity programs and acts seeking to open more opportunities for women. Gender pay disparity has also been revealed for pediatricians at the medical school faculties for male and female professors at every rank (LCCR & LCCREF, 2000). According to LCCR & LCCREF, womens choice for low-paying jobs for a number of reasons cannot explain the difference in gender pay.

The absence of women as executives at highly paid positions, which may finally influence the outcome of the studies for gender pay disparities among top executives, has been documented. It was reported last year that from the InterOrganization Network (ION) tracking of 1161 companies in nine out the ten U.S regions, no woman occupied the top-compensated executive positions. Results which could lead to the hypothesis that highest paying positions are still being left for men, were evident from this tracking, with the number of companies without female occupants in the top compensated executive ranks exceeding that of those companies with no women executives in the United States (Shannon, 2009). This study also found reluctance in the appointing of women at boards of the largest companies in the United States despite good progress in the number of women in the labor force over the past.

This study seeks to review the status of the situation of gender pay differences, its causes and possible solution. Discovery and understanding of the trends in the gender pay disparities can help in solving the root cause problems so as to advance further the rights of women. Pay discrimination can directly or indirectly cause low motivation to the girl child because people in many countries are largely being trained to become employees and look forward to working in large firms with very good pay. Solution to the related problems can result in the pay equality between men and women which can motivate those women aspiring to occupy high paying executive jobs.

Factors that lead to pay discrimination at work place among the executive positions may negatively influence the company where it does not take the full advantages (financial and cultural, for example), which would otherwise be brought about by workplace diversity in terms of gender (Shannon, 2009).

Statistical methods that shall be considered in this paper to test the two hypothesis; male business executives earns more than female colleagues in the same positions, and there is no significant difference between the salaries of male and female executives.

Literature Review

Evidence to the pay disparity among men and women executives in the United States exists despite the presence of legal regulations like The Equal Pay Act of 1963 barring discrimination at workplace on the base of the sex of an individual. The Act prohibits companies to paying less or more than on the basis of gender. This means that since the legal regulation has not eliminated the vice, there is more explanation as to the causes of it.

The problem of gender pay discrimination is also present among non-profit making organizations for executive positions according to Chronicle of Philanthropy dated 2006. Women earned lesser 26% less salary than men, and elsewhere, 12,500 USD less than men executives in accounting profession (Bird, McCraw & Malley, 2007).

The Human Capital theory can be put forward to explain the gender pay disparity between men and women. It holds that the employees income is directly proportional to the quality and level of their education. With the increasing complexity of jobs over past and the management becoming prominent, the situation has changed where the determinant of the income is not the level of education or its quality. There is a general belief that organizational learning, lifelong learning and continuous improvement at workplace are also directly related to the human capital. It was possible to increase productivity and performance at work and in life through human capital- i.e. the increased skills and stock of knowledge (Hietela). It was possible that technical or economic aging would occur to human capital, where the former refers to the technical knowledge becoming obsolete or the individual is unable to cope with the technical changes in the job environment, whereas the latter refers to a situation where the individual is unable to keep up with the fast changes in the job environment and may happen prematurely. Because of the fact that many women carry more than one role, coping up with job requirements and the accompanying changes may be challenging or impossible. In addition, men may be advantaged or better placed than men to be able to advance with development (in terms of organizational learning, lifelong earning and continuous improvement) of their skills that links them to be rated as more productive or with higher performance than women. The fact that women a times choose jobs which are lesser paying because of added responsibilities may be hypothesized as resulting to better chances of occupying positions with higher pay, and their lack of availability in commitments that would lead to improvements of their careers or career development which is a major determinant of employee income.

The linkage of traditional perceptions relating to the role of women may also have influenced the tendency to promote women to higher or executive positions that qualifies them for higher pay. The social capital theory can also be put forward to explain, though partially, the impact of social networking, interactions, mentoring and mutual support. Those individuals who scored high on social capital were likely to earn more salaries, receive favorable evaluation from peers, be more efficient in completing assigned tasks, and be promoted faster according to Woolcock. The linkage of men being at a better advantage than women to exploit the opportunities and become more empowered in terms of social capital can be perceived in the fact that women may establish lesser linkages with their peers at work which can be linked to chances of promotion and amount of salary. A pay gap of 27% between men and women executives in the United States was found in a study involving 1171 female executive-year observations in relation to gender bias in reference to human capital and social bias theory. The percentage was low as a result of some factors, namely, low number of women executives compared to men (4.5% of the total) and a lot more women being employed in smaller companies even when holding similar or same positions (Anderson, Banker, Rong & Jiangxia, 2008). The ability of the men to interact more with the organizational components, longer working hours available to men employees, multiplicity of roles by women employees (McBrier, 2003) could also result in pay disparities. Companies were unable to exploit the potential, qualifications and capabilities of women compared to men employees hence having a lower social capital than men.

Women have been found to occupy lesser positions of management of organizations and firms in addition to being paid lesser amount of money than women in the same positions. One of the reasons why men earn higher than women at executive positions on a general scale may be the fact that there are a few numbers of women in occupying these positions. According to Isaacs (1995), women do not get promoted to executive positions as men, and this may resist their occupation of the top positions which are highly paid. According to Dwyer (1993), the wage gap increased as the management level increased as revealed by a 1993 ComputerWorld survey of IS managers salaries. For example, women made 98% of mens salaries among the programming managers whereas they earned 82% of mens salaries among the IS directors or managers.

Women take time to take care of children and choose professions that pay less and therefore increased pay gap according to Isaacs (1995). Only three female CEOs were present in the Fortune 1000 companies according to a study carried out in 1988 (White, 1992) as reported by Isaacs (1995). Only 34% of women had reached four rungs of management according to Smith and Mitchell (1993; Isaacs, 1995).

Another aspect that may be thought to cause the difference between the found gender pay disparities is the power of negotiation and influence. Although the difference in negotiation between the two sexes may not have direct evidence according to Harvard Business School, men performed better under certain circumstances. In case of presence of unclear limits and opportunities in the negotiations and the sensational cues in these ambiguous situations trigger different behaviors by men and women, different outcomes for negotiations done by men and women may be witnessed according to Pradel, Bowles & McGinn, (2006). Unclear terms would include variance of compensation standards for the job, across different companies and where the job is not easily quantifiable. Ambiguity in negotiations could occur in high-ambiguity industries such as real estates, health services, media and telecommunications. More or less equal salaries and negotiating outcomes was observed among both genders in low-ambiguity industries. A study involving MBA graduates found out that men were able to negotiate a higher average salary to the extent of 10,000 dollars per annum even when job performance for both sexes were similar. Another factor reported is that men were better placed to increase performance to outdo colleagues, than would do the women, and this would subsequently lead to higher pay.

Method

The purpose of this study is to find out if there is any difference between the salaries earned by male and female business executive; in essence, the study aims to prove that the male executives earn a larger salary than their female contemporaries.

• The Hypothesis: male business executives earns a higher salary than their female contemporaries.
• The Null Hypothesis: there is no significance difference between the salaries of male and female business executives.
• Variables: in this study, the Independent variable is gender and the dependent variable is the Salary. The two variables are classified as above due to their nature; while we will know the gender of the subjects of the study (thus the independent variable) the amount of salary they earn will be differentiated by their gender (thus the salary scale is dependent on the gender).

Data collection

The data will be collected from 100 business management firms in one city, the method of data collection will be through self administered questioners with the questions formulated specifically for this study. The scope of the study will extend from when the person was first employed, the starting salary, the regular increments (if any) and the expected increase in salary in the near future. Since the salary data is numerical to indicate difference in value between the parameters, the Likert scale measured at interval level will be used; the salary scale will be separated in intervals of $20,000. The gender question is dichotomous while the rank-question is ordinal-polytomous; for this latter, the Rasch model will be used for scaling. The list of questions in the questioner can be found in appendix A.

The data on gender will be nominally collected through probability sampling since we already know the gender of the subjects; the dependent variable, that is the salary scale will be generated from the data collected during the study. The reason for using probability sampling is to eliminate bias that may arise from an overrepresentation of one gender in the total population of executives in the city; since gender is independent then an equal number from each gender is selected. The population will be divided into the male and female populations in each of the firms; then an equal number of subjects will be selected randomly from each of the groups. In each business management firm five representatives from each gender will be selected randomly from each gender-group where they will fill closed questions in a questioner that will take about 15 minutes to fill.

The names of the executives will not be part of the data collected; only the gender will be used in grouping the subjects accurately. Additionally, the level in the corporate structure will have to be assessed so that contemporaries can be paired accurately; this grading will be used in the generation of the score that will be assigned to each of the respondents during the analysis of the data.

The study has a major limitation since it will be carried out as a single-capture study; the respondents of the study may not be representative of the population thus affecting the internal validity of the study (Davis, 2005). For example, in the face of the economic recession, the lay-offs or resignations may be overrepresented in one gender than the other. The result is therefore that the results of the study can be interpreted in more than one way; with the various outcomes being attributed to factors other than the gender of the respondents.

The external validity of the study may also be at risk (Davis, 2005); for example, can the results that we will acquire from one city be generalized to the whole population of executives in the country. Here we have to note that different cities are supported by different industries; and that the representation of the genders may not be equal in these industries. Additionally, depending on the type of industry, the remuneration packages may not be formulated in the same way for the two genders.

Data Analysis

The data will be analyzed in an attempt to rule out the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the salary of the male and female business executives between the two genders; and to test the hypothesis that the salary of the male executives is significantly more that that of their female contemporaries. For these purposes, the t-test will be employed to determine whether there is a significant difference between the salaries of the two genders.

However, before the test is administered, the raw data collected from the study will have to be collated to meaningful statistical data. Each the respondents forms will have to be analyzed for accuracy in filling in order to eliminate any entry errors that may be present (for example, responding positively for both male and female genders in the questioner). This will be followed by the conversion of the data into digital form by entering it into a computer database; in order to further reduce entry errors, a double entry method will be used. Additionally, any missing information can be added to the data (for example, the amount of experience in the job can be generated from the date of hiring to the day of the study if the respondent failed to provide such information).

A descriptive analysis of the data will follow the computerization; this involves the generation of statistical values such as the mean, median, mode (that measure the central tendency of the data); the variability of the data will also be defined by the calculation of the standard deviation and the variance of the data. Finally, the data will be represented in diagrammatical format either in graphs and/or histograms.

This will immediately be followed by the formal statistical analysis of the now coherent data; the t-test will be used to test the hypothesis of our study by defining the significance of difference between male and female salaries; both hypotheses will be tested independently to ascertain whether they are accurate. In this study, we expect to demonstrate a causal relationship between gender and salary; whereby male business executive will have a slightly higher salary that their female contemporaries.

This will effectively result in the rejection of the null hypothesis [Cooper and Schindler, 2006]; that there is no significant difference between the salary of the male and female executives; and the acceptance of the hypothesis of the study, that there is a difference.

Discussion

As mentioned above, the results seen after the statistical analysis of the collected data shows that there is a significant difference between the salary of men and women in executive position; with the men earning higher salary than the their female contemporaries. This study therefore will prove the earlier discussed reason which put women at a disadvantage in their pay packages. Among the factors that were discussed to have caused or influenced the gender pay disparity, the number of women in the executive positions had the greatest influence in the pay disparity between the two sexes. Women were found to be less likely promoted as compared to men which influenced the number of women at high or executive business positions. Women were likely to be influenced by family factors in making job-related decisions like making them to take positions that are lesser paying because of added responsibilities.

By defining this difference in statistical terms this study links the social aspects attributed to the lower salaries in females to the actual effects that this aspects have on the pocket of the lady; for example, it would be impossible to quantify statistically, the influence of the social circle of the executive has on the salary offered since such relationship are numerous, non-quantifiable and complex. In addition, although gender bias has been discussed in terms of social factors, it would also be difficult to define social (gender) bias against (for example) women since sentiments of this kind cannot be revealed by the subjects in an empirical study without causing further complications.

Ideally, according to the Human capital theory mentioned earlier (Hietiela), there should not be any difference in the amount of salary paid to people with the same amount of education, expertise and experience; by directly linking gender with salary, this study discuses the disadvantaged position of the females despite rules and regulations to prevent this.

However, as mentioned above, the studys relevance is threatened by issues of validity (Davis, 2005); for example, the different sectors of the economy may not have similar pay dynamics. Future studies should aim at isolating individual industries all over the country and analyzing them as different entities in-order to solve the issue of external validity. This would enable proper measures to correct this anomaly in the sectors that are most severely affected by this pay difference.

Additionally, methods of quantifying the individual factors that are attributed to the disparity between the two genders should be created for the purposed of discovering which of them is the most influential in reducing the chances of a female executive getting an equal or larger salary to that of the male. For example, how much does a social network or social bias contribute to the lower salary? This would allow for each of these issues to be attacked individually, rather that trying to deal with a poorly defined problem that is not even widely acknowledged in the society and is subject to speculation and conjecture.

The results of this study will therefore add to the mounting amount of evidence that women are clearly disadvantaged in the place of work in terms of salary; by concentrating only on women in the executive positions, this does not exclude the possibility that a similar phenomenon might be affecting women in all other positions in the countrys economy; in fact, concerns have already been raised about this issues in the lower grades of employment. Future studies should also try to quantify this disparity in a similar manner.

References

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The article The Mall as Civic written by Victor Gruen and Larry Smith is dedicated to the disclosure of environmental plannings role in society; the authors demonstrated the fact that every democratic society functions by order and law based on planning aimed at safeguarding human rights. The article centralizes the place of environmental planning disclosing the idea that it can even protect the lives of people in case of providing necessary conditions for mental and physical health; besides, it is aimed at liberty and freedoms protection in any democratic society.

The basic idea underlined in the article highlights the necessity to make a profound analysis of all social conditions in case of environmental planning being applied to new commercial facilities development. The authors managed to introduce the term shopping center, stressing the significance of the shoppers desires and wishes, rather than the sellers ones. It is necessary to underline the fact that suburban shoppers key need is concentrated on the availability of free parking and plentiful shopping area, allowing him to make good planning for clients attraction. The authors managed to stress the point that shopping centers usually fill the existing void, in terms of pedestrian environment recreation and educational and civic facilities incorporation.

The article discloses the functions and role of the shopping center, aimed at providing the opportunity for communitys participation in modern life, as, Town Squares and Medieval Market Place provided a long time ago. It should be stressed that such centers can provide the conditions for teeming life at any period, but not only during shopping hours. People will have an opportunity to enjoy their time relaxing in the garden courts and admiring various exhibitions during the period of weekends and holidays. Cultural and civic affairs are considerably stressed in meeting rooms created for all age groups and auditoriums.

The idea of planning concept introduction described in the article was stressed through residential area upgrading; this concept leads to complete protection of the community from any blight, as well as to the increase of their responsibility and desirability contributing to property values development. The authors strived to underline the fact that shopping centers are considered to be not only the places providing physical living requirements for the suburbanites, but also serving the social, cultural, and civic needs of the community. The concept is presented as a valuable contribution to modern life enrichment.

References

Gruen, V. and Smith, L. The Mall as the Civic.