Affirmative Action Is Not the Solution Essays -- Affirmative Action Es

One of the arguments against affirmative action is that it injures white men and violates their rights. If were to take a closer look at the affirmative action laws, we can see why this would be true. For example, let’s take a hypothetical situation of two males, one white and another individual who happens to be a minority, both sending in college applications to Harvard to compete for admission. Unfortunately, the university only has one available spot and must decide between the white individual and the minority. The white male has slightly better grades and quite a few more volunteer hours, while both of them excelled in sports and completed two foreign languages. Under the current affirmative action policies, the minority would probably get the final position because of the perceived need for ethnic diversity in the college atmosphere, despite the fact that he did not have the stronger academic credentials. Would this be considered just? In this case not only would affirm ative action be serving an injustice to the white individual, but it would also help create a loophole by indirectly establishing a legal form of discrimination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The counterpoint to this argument is that although affirmative action creates a larger obstacle for white men to achieve, such measures are necessary in order to break the cycle of de facto employment and school discrimination. However, this does not seem to be a valid counterpoint. If we take a look at another hypothetical situation we can see why it is not † However, this argument is not compelling, as the best way to increase productivity and improve the economy is to hire on merit. Hiring based on something other than objective merit may result in economic inefficiency and a less qualified staff. If minorities have a qualified resume and are available, they will meet the criteria of the employer. Once again, it is more effective to treat the disease itself, rather than to stoop down to the same level and discriminate to treat the symptoms. In athletics, for example, in spite of past discrimination blacks have excelled, not because standards were lowered but because barriers were eliminated. Now more than ever blacks comprise the largest ethnic group in professional sports and have come to dominate some of the most lucrative sports such as football and basketball, and are now using their earned social capital to give back to their communities to help others along the way. This is a prime example of how minorities can be helped without lowering the standard by which others are also measured by. To improve our standards as a whole, we must remove the ball and chain on minorities, rather than adding a heavier ball and chain on whites.

Nothing in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nothing in Much Ado About Nothing - Essay Example This is why his plays have made it into college classrooms and their popularity has endured through the centuries. He was a master at making almost universal commentaries about human organization and behavior in a way that also served to entertain. It's important to remember, though, that the original context for Shakespeare’s plays was the same context in which plays are performed today. They were originally intended to provide a simple evening's worth of entertainment for the price of a ticket with the hope that the audience would continue to come back for more. â€Å"Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed to an audience from different social classes and of varying levels of intellect. Thus they contain down-to-earth characters who appeal to the working classes, side-by-side with complexities of plot which would satisfy the appetites of the aristocrats among the audience† (Geraghty). One of his more popular romantic comedies is the play Much Ado About Nothing in which the word 'nothing' takes on numerous meanings and has an effect on characters actions throughout the play. The play takes place at the home of Leonato, a nobleman of Messina and centers around the stories of two young couples. The female half of these couples are residents of Leonato's house, his daughter Hero and his niece Beatrice. The action begins with the expected arrival of the prince Don Pedro and his party including the male halves of these romantic couples. Claudio is a young nobleman and Benedick is a clever man who has proven himself valuable. An unwelcome part of the crowd is Don John, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother who expresses all the typical bitterness and resentment expressed in characters placed in this life role. Benedick and Beatrice are already acquainted with each other and quickly resume their years long banter back and forth. As they compete with each other over which one can get the most words in, Claudio and Hero are quietly falling in l ove with each other. They decide to marry with the wedding planned in a week. To help pass the time until the wedding day, Hero and Claudio agree with the others to play a game on Beatrice and Benedick designed to force them to finally admit their love for each other. The trick works, but it isn't the only one in the works. Don John, jealous and anxious to cause trouble, convinces one of his men to make love to Hero's maid Margaret at Hero's window one night. As Borachio is busy doing this, Don John brings Don Pedro and Claudio to the garden outside Hero's window where they believe they are seeing Hero being unfaithful to her betrothed. Naturally filled with rage, Claudio calls off the wedding, but does so in a very humiliating way at the ceremony in front of the gathering. The family, finally convinced she might be telling the truth that it wasn't her, decide to pretend she died of her shock and grief in the hope that the truth would come out. It nearly comes to a fight between Cla udio and almost everyone else until the night watchman hears Borachio talking about what he'd done. Claudio, in his grief and to amend for his error, agrees to marry another one of Hero's cousins. It isn't until they are before the altar that Claudio finally realizes the veiled woman standing with him is really Hero. The play ends with Beatrice and Benedick getting married and everyone joining in a celebratory dance. One of the major motifs that runs through this play, giving it

Methodology Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Methodology - Dissertation Example I will use the gatekeeping theory from mass communication in this dissertation. The news, articles and editorials published during the period of February 14 till March 16, 2011 in the above two Saudi news papers will be searched out, read and analyzed to see how the Bahrain news was handled by the Saudi press. Thorough interviews will be conducted with the news handlers at each of the newspapers, with pertinent questions including the criteria for selecting the news, the sources from which they collect it, what kind of news they prefer to publish and whether or not the selection criteria have changed over the years.It will be important to establish whether outside influences, such as the government, alter the decision of whether or not to publish certain news items such as the Bahrain protest. These two newspapers will be compared against each other, making it easier to establish how appropriate the reported news is. All of the contents in the selected newspapers will be compared wit h those of the print media, electronic media or both. This process will help in checking the relevance of the news media in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, both of the newspapers’ operations will be investigated from the starting point to the finished product, as it is important to know exactly what happens to the raw data obtained by the news gatherers before it is finally published as a piece of information for readers. These observations will focus on each procedure undertaken in order to modify the news, from identifying the original source from which the news was obtained to how the news is presented to its readers. Finally, the factors that influence whether a piece of news is published or not must be highlighted. Working through this methodology will make it easier to see how the news is shaped in Saudi Arabia, and whether any fabrication exists. It will also provide insights into whether the news selection criteria has changed over the years, and if being a Muslim country changes the views of those responsible for selecting news and presenting it to readers. In addition, the problematic areas will be highlighted to enable the presentation of suitable and practical solutions. It will be important to identify the kinds of problems that can be addressed, and those that cannot be eradicated from the news selection procedure. In short, two research methodologies will be used in the study namely, interviews with the Saudi media journalists and the content analysis of the Saudi press that will include Alriyadh and Alyoum newspapers. Moreover, the theory of gatekeeping will be adopted as an analytical approach to study this process. 1.1. Interview Procedure Questions were developed in order to acquire a critical analysis, from the participants, of the coverage of the Bahrain events by the Saudi press. The questions were formulated with the objective to draw on the participants’ observation of the major Saudi institutions from politics, police, militar y and press. The important questions to be asked in the interview are provided below: 1. Please, rate the job done by the Saudi Press in covering the Bahraini events, particularly at the time of occurrence of the conflict? (Please select only one): (a) Excellent ---------( ) (b) Good ------------- ( ) (c) Fair --------------- ( ) (d) Not good ---------( ) 2. Please, justify your above selection: 3. Which media in Saudi