Treatment of Transgender People in India

Treatment of Transgender People in India Summary Transgender people are people who have a gender identity that is different from the one which is assigned to them by birth. The cultures of India include transgenders as a third gender, referred to as Hijra in Hindi. Ancient Vedic texts referred to transgenders as napumsaka to denote the lack of reproductive ability, and believed them to have the power to confer blessings on people on auspicious occasions. Hijras were highly respected in the Mughal period where they were considered as guardians of the harem, but after the onset of British Raj, they were criminalized and denied civil rights to an extent that long after the Independence of India, local laws still reflect the prejudicial attitudes against them. They are still treated as social outcasts in modern India, and hence the most common livelihoods for a modern-day Hijra mainly includes begging and prostitution besides their ceremonial task of blessing auspicious events. After almost half a century after Independence, the govern ment of India granted Hijras the basic civil rights of every citizen but not yet fully accommodated to vote. Welfare policies were also introduced by the state governments, and transgenders were finally declared as a socially and economically backward class entitled to reservation, and also prohibited discrimination against them. Ironically, homosexual intercourse is still a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The transgenders are being empowered steadily by the rise of various famous personalities like Kalki Subramanian, the first transgender woman to star in a motion picture; Padmini Prakash, India’s first transgender to anchor a daily national and Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the first transgender to become a college principal, amongst countless others who still struggle to rise from the social stigma society has weighed upon them. 1. Background Transgender, in definition, is a term used to define people who may act, feel, think or look different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Actually, transgender is an umbrella term, since it covers a wide variety of people including from anatomically bisexuals (intersex) to cross-dressers (heterosexual men who occasionally wear clothes, make-up and accessories that are associated with women in that culture). In India, the word transgender has been loosely associated with the hijras a term particularly used to describe people who are born physically male, but live as women, including dressing and socializing as female, and also go by the terms Aravani, Aruvani or Jagappa. According to the 2011 census, in which the third gender was recognized for the first time, the total population of the third gender was reported to be 4.88 lakhs, with Uttar Pradesh having almost 28.1% of them. Fig 1. Statistics of the population of transgenders in various states Often, transgenders and eunuchs are used interchangeably whereas the meaning of both the terms is very different.   2. History In Ancient India, the section of third sex loosely included infertile ladies, eunuchs, impotent men and bisexuals/intersex, which is affirmed by the recorded confirmation in the compositions of ancient India. The expression napumsaka has been instituted by the early Vedic literary works to denote the nonattendance of procreative capability, introduced by implying physical distinction from the masculine and feminine. In the Mughal period, Hijras occupied some of the most acclaimed positions such as generals, administrators, political advisors and also had the additional responsibility of guarding the harems. They were considered trustworthy, quick-witted and fiercely loyal to their rulers, and hence had free access to all spaces and sections of population. Hijras were also the occupants of high positions in the Islamic religious institutes, and were responsible of guarding Mecca and Medina, the holy places of the Muslims. In the start of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent, Hijras were secured by some Indian provinces and were granted privileges in the form of land, nourishment and a small amount of cash from agricultural households in exact areas. Be that as it may, these benefits were finally eliminated through British legislation since the inheritance of the ancestral land was commanded to the blood relations whereas Hijras were physically unequipped for mating and creating posterity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Hijra community was eventually criminalized and denied social equality by the British colonial administration in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 incorporated the Hijras who were involved in hijacking, castrating and mutilating children and dressed like females to dance in public places. They were subject to an abundant amount of scrutinization from the Europeans since records of early European explorers demonstrated that they were repelled by the sight of Hijras and couldnt comprehend as to why they were given such a great amount of regard in the royal courts and other institutions. The Criminal Tribes Act, however was revoked in 1952, a couple of years after India announced autonomy from the British, yet tragically, the legacy of the act proceeded and numerous local laws mirrored the biased states of mind against specific tribes, including against Hijras. 3. Religious background 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hinduism Transgenders were periodically acknowledged in the ancient sacred texts in Sanskrit and the religious works of the rishis. The erotic sculptures on ancient Hindu temples at Khajuraho and Konarak, and the sacred texts in Sanskrit constitute irrefutable evidence that a whole range of sexual behaviour was not an alien concept for the ancient Hindus. The tradition of representing same-sex desire in literature and art continued in medieval Hinduism. Lord Rama, in the epic Ramayana, was embarking for the forest after being expelled from Ayodhya for fourteen years, addresses to his devotees and asks all men and ladies to retreat to the city. Among his devotees, the hijras alone did not feel bound by this course and choose to remain with him. Inspired with their faithfulness, Rama granted them the ability to confer blessings on individuals on propitious events like child birth and marriage, and furthermore at inaugural functions which, it was supposed to set the phase for the custom of badhai in which hijras sing, dance and bless. Aravan, the progeny of Arjuna and Nagakanya in the epic Mahabharata, offered to renounce his life to Goddess Kali to guarantee the triumph of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war, on the sole condition that he was to spend the last night of his life in marriage. Since no lady was ready to wed the one for just one night, Krishna assumes the form of a beautiful lady called Mohini and married him. The Hijras of Tamil Nadu considered Aravan their begetter and call themselves Aravanis. 3.2  Ã‚  Ã‚   Islam The Islamic society fundamentally took for granted that everyone was either male or female, and for occasionally children whose anomalies in sexual physiology made it impossible to determine whether the person was male or female, they were assigned to the sex whichever could explain their sexual physiology better. Jurists believed that the seminal fluid of the dominant sex resulted in the offspring having the dominant sex, and in case of a tie, the child would be a hermaphrodite (khuntha). But the khuntha was still monitored for any signs which would firmly tie it to one of the sexes until puberty was achieved. Finally, if puberty failed to assign khuntha mushkil into the sexes, Islamic jurists had the final call to declare the gender, which was irreversible and permanent. 3.3  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christianity Christianity bundles together a variety of views on transgenderism and issues of gender identity, ranging from considering transgender acts as sinful to seeing it as morally acceptable, and these views are also different for each individual within a denomination. An individual is also not bound to support their church’s views on transgenderism as their own. Although the Old Catholic Church accepts transgender members and the LGBT community in general, but it also considers sex-change procedures as superficial and external in the sense it does not change the personality and the essence of a person’s soul and hence does not change a person’s gender in the eyes of the Church. The New Testament presents eunuchs as acceptable candidates for evangelism, absolution and also eligible to be the members of the clergy but they are not considered valid candidates to marry. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socio Economic Status Hijras are treated as social outcasts in modern India despite the fact that they formed an ancient social group which has been recognized for roughly four thousand years and depicted in India’s epic literature and temple sculptures due to degradation of the status of the Hijras during the colonial period, when several laws criminalizing them were enforced. Little has changed since the post-independence era, since the most common livelihoods for a modern-day Hijra include begging, dancing and engaging in prostitution although they still are regarded as harbingers of good luck at auspicious events such as a marriage or the birth of a child. The major foundation of social structure among the Hijras is the relation between a guru and their chelas, which is modeled both on the Hindu joint family and on the relationship of spiritual leader and disciple in Hinduism. The guru is synonymous to both a teacher and an elder in a family, who is expected to take care of the chela’s material needs, whereas the chela is expected to show deference and obedience to the guru and offer the guru her earnings. An effective measure of social control prevalent in the Hijra community over its members is mainly through the rigorous monopoly over the opportunities of work by the Hijra elders. Hijra members are required to pay compensation to the particular guru in whose territory she wants to earn her living in, and they have to forfeit this right to earn when they are thrown out of the particular territory. An outcast Hijra has virtually no source of income since she will neither be able to perform in any auspicious event or ritual, since all Hijra performances are mandated by a guru, nor be able to beg in another guru’s territory. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Politics Hijras have been perceived by the legislatures of both India (1994) and Pakistan (2009) as a new gender section, the third sex. Consequently, the government has conceding them the essential social equality of each native. They can now distinguish themselves as a eunuch on official government documents and passports, but contesting in elections is still an impediment for Hijras since candidates contesting for elections have to clearly identify themselves as either of the two genders accommodated by the redundant governmental laws. The Election Committee of India denied the candidature of three Hijras in the 2009 general elections on the basis of non-identification of the candidates into the binary genders. The first transgender to be elected in public office is Shabnam Mausi Bano, an elected member of the Madhya Pradesh State Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2003. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transgender Rights After the official recognition of transgenders as a â€Å"third sex†, welfare policies were introduced first in the states Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where transgender people could access free sex reassignment surgery, free housing, admission in government colleges with full scholarship and alternative sources of livelihood through formation of self-help groups. On 15th April 2014, the Supreme Court of India declared transgender people as a socially and economically backward class entitled to reservations in Education and Job, and also directed union and state governments to frame welfare schemes for them, On 24 April 2015, the Rajya Sabha passed the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 guaranteeing rights and entitlements, reservations in education and jobs (2% reservation in government jobs), legal aid, pensions, unemployment allowances and skill development for transgender people. It also contains provisions to prohibit discrimination in employment, prevent abuse, violence and exploitation of transgender people. Sadly, Homosexual intercourse was made a criminal offense under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. This made it an offence for a person to voluntarily have carnal intercourse against the order of nature. The Ministry of Home Affairs also stated its opposition against the decriminalization of homosexual activity, stating that in India, homosexuality is seen as being immoral. 7. Famous Transgender Personalities 7.1  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kalki Subramanian Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, artist, actor, writer and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. In 2011, she starred in the Tamil film, Narthagi. She is the first transgender woman in India to do a lead role in a motion picture. In 2008, she founded the Sahodari Foundation, an organization that advocates for transgender people in India. She has postgraduate degrees in mass communication and in international relations. Subramaniam founded Sahaj International school in 2017, which is dedicated to serving transgender students ages 25 through 50 who have not been supported in mainstream schools. It is the first school specifically designated for transgender students in India and is located in Kochi, Kerala. 7.2  Ã‚  Ã‚   Padmini Prakash Padmini Prakash is India’s first transgender to anchor a daily television news show, emerging as a prominent voice for the neglected community. She is an avid Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancer and acted in a television serial. She has also been awarded Miss Transgender of India. She has been a vocal activist for transgender rights, and has been protesting against the discrimination, harassment and stigma that the sexual minority faces in India. 7.3  Ã‚  Ã‚   Manabi Bandyopadhyay Manabi Bandyopadhyay is the professor and first transgender person in India who has completed Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Bandyopadhyay was associate professor in Bengali at Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya and took charge as principal of Krishnagar Womens College on 7 June 2015. She is Indias first openly transgender college principal, and began work as such in 2015 at the Krishnagar Womens College in Nadia district. Manabi is a devotee of Sarada Devi and she was initiated in spiritual life by Swami Atmasthananda. 8. Conclusion The report analyzes the history and the present situation of the transgenders in India. From being revered and respected in ancient times, they became social outcasts in modern times. In spite of the government implementing numerous welfare programs and declaring reservations in government jobs and services, a huge percentage of the Hijras are still trapped in slums on the margins of the cities, engaging in prostitution and begging, bereft of these benefits. A better implementation of the welfare schemes and strict criminal action against people who exploit, discriminate and alienate transgenders is sorely required for the social and economic upliftment of the Hijras. 9. Bibliography https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgenderhttp://www.lawctopus.com/academike/case-studies-statistics-survey-hijras/http://www.census2011.co.in/transgender.phphttps://controversycourse.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/sanders-ungendered.pdfhttp://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/hijras_transgender_in_india_hiv_human_rights_and_social_exclusion.pdfhttp://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/islam/islam/hijrahttp://www.trp.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ARSS-Vol.4-No.1-Jan-June-2015-pp.17-19.pdfhttp://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/175/what-does-hinduism-say-about-third-gendered-peoplehttps://thetech.com/2016/08/25/hijra-communityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Yaroslav Gromov In present time, the question about sustainable use of natural resources has become very important all over the world. People start to realize that nature cannot provide more resources that it has, and that the natural resources consumed a lot. Therefore, there should be found a way how to solve this particular problem energy crisis. Consequently, we should answer the question if the widespread of renewable energy is as serious alternative to the use of fossil fuels or not. There is no correct answer to this question, but if we definitely want to say ‘yes or ‘no, it will be better to weighting up the pro at contra. So let us find out the causes why renewable energy is a serious alternative to the fossil fuels. First of all, fossil fuels are non-renewable. Natural gas, coal and oil are the most common example of fossil fuels, and they are the three main types of fuel that people mostly use and depend on. Seitz (2008) states that ‘according to many analysts the world would not run out of oil, but in a few decades shortages will become prevalent. According to the Energy Information Agency, approximately 93% of the worlds energy sources are fossil fuels, and renewable energy is just about 7%. (2, 2008) Also burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, which is the greenhouse gas that leads to global warming and seriously damages our planet. Secondly, renewable energy sources, such as hydropower energy, solar energy and wind energy are renewable, efficient and non-polluting or causing little pollution. They are simple: all you need is sunlight, running water and blowing wind. Lastly, expanding the use of renewable energy will have a positive impact on employment, according to more than a dozen independent studies analyzing the impact of clean energy on the economy. Greater reliance on renewable energy would have large, positive impacts on economy, creating significant numbers of new jobs, driving major capital investment, stabilizing energy prices, and reducing consumer costs. (Flavin C. 2006, p.10). By contrast, employment in the fossil fuel industries has been in steady decline for decades, in large measure due to growing automation of coal mining and other processes. (Flavin C. 2006, p.10). As these three types of renewable energy were mentioned let us discuss them more specific. Hydropower energy is the most developed technology for renewable energy. The main potential that this type of energy has is that it can be used in multipurpose area. For example, benefits of hydropower are flooding control, irrigation and public water supplies. (6) Hydropower energy is usually generated form falling water, causing little pollution and it is a type of clean energy. Hydropower resources are usually divided into two main categories. As it is mentioned, the first category is resources that require man-made dam structure with high hydraulic heads; the second one is a â€Å"run-of-river† system that require minimum dam structure and with low hydraulic heads. (4, 2000, p.44-45). Similarly, World Bank (2004) believes that hydropower can play significant role ‘in poverty reduction in developing countries. In addition, World Bank (2004) also claims that ‘currently about 19 percent of the worlds electricity is produced from hydropower and that the greenhouse gas emissions ‘from most hydropower plants are relatively low. It is also important to weight the facts about advantages and disadvantages of hydropower energy. On the one hand, hydropower is a clean energy source. It does not pollute the air like fossil fuels do. (6) Hydropower plays a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The maintain cost is relatively low. It is renewable. The technology is reliable and proven over time. (7). On the other hand, if water is not available, the hydropower plants will not produce electricity. (6) USGS (7) reports that hydropower energy is not perfect and has some disadvantages. For example, ‘high investment cost, inundation of land and wildlife habitat, changes in reservoir and stream water quality, displacement of local populations. Solar energy is the second type of renewable energy that was mentioned in this essay. Solar energy is the second most common type of renewable energy. Basically solar energy is the energy of sun. It helps us to survive on our planet, it heats us, it makes threes grow up, and, mostly everything on our planet depends on solar energy. It is possible that ‘our current life cannot continue if we remain economically dependent on fossil fuels, as Hermanns (2004, p.4) claims, but as for me, we cannot predict the future and we do not know what will happen tomorrow. So Hermann claims that something is unlikely to happen./p> It is not so easy to talk about advantages and disadvantages of solar energy. Speaking about advantages of solar energy it is necessary to mention some of them. Firstly, solar cells can be used almost any place around the world. Secondly, solar cells silent and non-polluting. In addition, they require little maintenance and have log lifetime. Finally, solar cells can be easily used in places where there is no main electricity. Now let us move on to the disadvantages of solar energy. The main and most important disadvantage is initial cost. Lastly, solar cells are totally depends on weather, and can be used just during daytime and sun hours. It is because the only time when cells can generate electricity. (9) The last and possibly most interesting type of renewable energy is wind energy. There is an interesting point about wind energy. Wind is a form of solar energy; it is ‘caused by the heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the rotation of the earth, and the earths surface irregularities (11). Seitz (2008, 141) reports that wind as an energy source was generally used for power as well as for the cooling houses, adding that wind energy source started to gain respect all around the world. In recent years the widespread of wind energy has been extremely rapid, but, for example, ‘despite that rapid growth, wind energy amounted to less than 1% of U.S. electricity generation (10, p.15). But as any other type of energy wind energy also has advantages and disadvantages. According to the Committee on Environmental Impacts one of the advantages is that ‘wind energy has the potential to reduce environmental impacts, because it does not result in the generation of atmospheric contaminants or thermal pollution (10, p.15). Another good point about wind energy is that it is ‘one of lowest-priced renewable energy available today (11). In conclusion there is a very serious question if the widespread of renewable energy is as serious alternative to the use of fossil fuels or not. Three main types of renewable energy were considered. So there is a chance in the nearest future that renewable energy sources will fully displace fossil fuels. It may happen, but not very soon and probably just when there is nothing to extract or mine. Now both renewable and non-renewable energy will be used simultaneously. People are not ready yet to abandon fossil fuels, and are not ready for spending huge amount of money for renewable energy. References Christopher Flavin. (2006, September). American Energy. The Renewable Path to Energy Security. Worldwatch Institute. Energy information administration. Renewable Energy Consumption and Electricity Preliminary Statistics 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/alternate/page/renew_energy_consump/rea_prereport.html John L. Seitz. (2008). Global issues: an introduction. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Committee on Programmatic Review of the U. S. Department of Energys Office of Power Technologies. (2000). Renewable Power Pathways : A Review of the U. S. Department of Energys Renewable Energy Programs. National Academic Press. World Bank Staff. (2004). Water Resources Sector Strategy: Strategic Directions for World Bank Engagement. World Bank Publications. U.S. Department Of Energy. Energy efficiency and renewable energy. Advantages and disadvantages of Hydropower. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_ad.html USGS (U.S. Geological Survey). Water use: hydro electronic power. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html Scheer, Hermann. (2004). Solar Economy: Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Global Future. Earthscan Publications Ltd. Bristol University. Advantages of solar energy. http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/ledlie/advantages_of_solar_energy.htm Committee on Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects. National Research Council. (2007). National Academies Press U.S. Department Of Energy. Energy efficiency and renewable energy. Advantages and disadvantages of Wind Energy. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_ad.html

NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body Essay -- Theology

There is NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body of Comfort or Pleasure I. Doctrine There is a great falsehood that is perpetuated by the modern church, and it is one that threatens the very mission assigned to every believer in Matthew 28:18-20. Before one can address this falsehood, one must understand the duty of God's people in this life. It is the believer's task to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them as God ordained, and teaching them how to obey the teachings of Jesus. What then are the teachings of Jesus? As believers, we hold as doctrine that God the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Son created all that is. He gave Man, God's special creation made in His own image, dominion over the physical creation, directing Man to "fill the earth and subdue it". Scriptures outline in Genesis 1:28-30 this natural stewardship of Man over the fish of the sea, all living creatures on the ground, and the birds of the air. In addition, God gave to Man the use of "every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit w ith seed in it" (Genesis 1:29b). God, after reviewing all that He had created noted in Genesis 1:31 that it was "very good". Man's charmed life lasted until the Fall, by which sin and sin nature entered the world. Pain in childbirth, difficulty in agriculture, and, most importantly, death are all results of Man's disobedience (Genesis 3:16-19). Death, despite its negative connotations was given to Man as a gift, for only in death could the separation between God and Man be bridged. The practice of offering firstborn livestock to God began with Abel's first sacrifice. This offering pointed to God's ultimate resolution for sin's breach, first promis... ...s idolatry is the fundamental problem of this world, and drug-related idolatry is no different than any other flavor in God's eyes. Rejecting Christ is this world's flaw, and is the sin against which believers wage war. Teaching a drug idolater that the drugs are evil in and of themselves denies the basic truth that placing anything higher than God is sinful (Exodus 20:3-6). Programs like the 'Twelve Steps' teach blasphemy. They teach drug and alcohol idolaters to remain just that, although the idolaters no longer permit themselves to indulge in that which they worship. It is only through recognizing that God's creation is good and that Man commits evil that one can come to true freedom in Christ. It is with respect that this author pleads for such a tactic for those who seek healing in areas of addiction. After all, His grace and only His grace are sufficient.

Comparing To Kill a Mockingbird with The Man Without a Face :: comparison compare contrast essays

"Fighting Fear and Tradition† Michael Jordan can't single-handedly win a basketball game. Wayne Gretzky can't win hockey games by himself either. It takes a team effort to be successful. That was exactly the case in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and The Man Without a Face. Even though the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird (1930s) and The Man Without a Face (1960s) were vastly different, everyone needed help, no matter how dangerous. It is no easy task and takes a lot of courage, but it is not impossible, it is achievable.   Although Jem Finch and Charles Norstadt both matured over time, Jem had no real goal except to be a better all-around person, while Charles' goal was to make it to the military school. In Jem's situation, he believed one of the steps to success was to escort his little sister, Scout, back home. He did, but he paid a sacrificial price. A complete surprise attack would have left Jem lifeless like a fish on dry land if Boo Radley, the outcast, had not saved Jem's life. Jem even took the humiliation of apologizing after destroying the garden of Mrs. Dubose because of his lack of self control. Charles Norstadt matured a lot as well and was rewarded with entry to a top military school. He learned to accept the fact that people were no longer supporting him. For example, when McLeod ordered Charles to dig a 3x3x3 hole, he refused to do it. He later learned that this was his geometry lesson. Also, when Charles attempted to shortcut through his essay assignment, he was caught and acco!   rding to McLeod "a high class cheat now". Perhaps, Charles' biggest maturity step was his ability to see the person behind the burnt face of Justin McLeod. The news was biased, and McLeod would not answer, so he was forced to take facts from his personal experiences and interpret them "I didn't teach you the whole summer so you could cheat on this question!" yelled Justin McLeod. Even though both Jem and Charles fought against society's perspective, they both blossomed admirably and were later able to take a stand against a community with large prejudices. Despite the prejudices that both communities had, the community in To Kill a Mockingbird was racist towards Tom Robinson while the media portrayed the negative image of Justin McLeod in The Man Without a Face. Because of Tom Robinson's racial disadvantage in court, Atticus Finch became his lawyer. Atticus felt that everyone, including people of all colors, should be equal. "^ our courts are the great levelers,

JoAnn Marshall - The Roles of Southern Women, Black and White, in Society :: Essays Papers

JoAnn Marshall - The Roles of Southern Women, Black and White, in Society Lillian Smith provides a description of the typical black woman and the typical white woman "of the pre-1960's American South" (Gladney 1) in her autobiographical critique of southern culture, Killers of the Dream. The typical black woman in the South is a cook, housekeeper, nursemaid, or all three wrapped up in one for at least one white family. Therefore, she is the double matriarch of the South, raising her own family and the families of her white employers: "It was not a rare sight in my generation to see a black woman with a dark baby at one breast and a white one at the other, rocking them both in her wide lap" (Smith 130). The southern black woman's duties extend far beyond rearing children, as she also serves as a family counselor, confidant, and nurse for the entire white family (Smith 129) and her own if time permits. She can do all this and more because she is strong, wise, and insightful in all areas of life (Smith 119). In short, the southern black woman is the cornersto ne of the southern, domestic life. The white woman in the South has an equally important role. The southern white woman is responsible for maintaining southern social order, better known as Southern Tradition. She establishes "the 'do' and the 'don't' of behavior" (Smith 132) in her children and believes, "If you could just keep from them all the things that must never be mentioned, all would be well!" (Smith 142). At the same time, the southern white woman sits atop the pedestal of Sacred Womanhood that her husband and his ancestors built for her (Smith 141). She meekly sits there, a symbol of southern society used to benefit men's ideals, feeling empty and powerless against everything going on around her (Smith 141-2). The whispers in her children's ears and her presence on that pedestal fulfill the white woman's role as protectress of Southern Tradition, but does not fulfill the southern white woman. In fact, the roles of the southern black woman and the southern white woman are equally important and equally oppressive: "In a culture where marriage and motherhood were women's primary roles, neither black nor white women were free to be fully wives or mothers, and neither were able to sh ield their children from the physical and psychic destruction of the racist society in which they lived" (Gladney 6).

Red bull Essay

Motivated by mainstream drinks from the Far East, Dietrich Mateschitz created Red Bull in the mid 1980’s. He produced the recipe of Red Bull Energy Drink and established the distinctive marketing idea of Red Bull. Red Bull Energy Drink was sold for the first time on 1st April 1987, in its home market Austria. This was not only the introduction of an entirely fresh and different product, in fact it was the birth of a completely new product type. Today Red Bull exists in more than 166 countries and about 40 billion cans of Red Bull have been consumed so far. By the end of 2013, Red Bull has employed 9,694 people in 166 countries with the company turnover exceeding the five billion euro mark for the first time. SWOT Analysis Strengths †¢Market Leadership – within the energy drinks market Red Bull is the energy drink pioneer all over the world. †¢Marketing Efforts – Well designed promotions, targeted campaigns and sponsorships for example: Formula 1, Red Bull revolution of sound and Red Bull music academy. Weakness †¢High prices. †¢No new innovation in all these years to compete with new comers. Opportunities †¢Extension of product line to help retain market share. †¢Consumer recognition through more sporting events. †¢New ventures like main stream sports sponsorships to target all demographics and partnership with social media sites. Threats †¢Competition from other health focused organic drinks which boost energy. †¢Change of rules from government health departments (especially first world countries) on high caffeine products. †¢Low acceptance in the market due to cheaper options available. †¢Health and fitness awareness in customers. †¢Another big threat to energy drink industry in general including Red Bull is the growing industry of specialty coffee in Australia. Competitor Analysis  In many surveys it is said that people use energy drinks for various reasons, but main reason being energized instantly. In Australia the main competitive threat to Red Bull is from energy drink brands such as Monster, Mother, Rockstar and v. Other market competition includes sports drinks and soft drinks. Coca-Cola’s sales in energy and sports drinks led in Australia in 2012. The company runs two products, Mother and Powerade. Powerade was the top brand in sports drinks in 2012, accounting for 50% of off-trade volume, while Mother was the third leading competitor in energy drinks, accounting for 22% of off-trade volume. Target Market †¢Core target market segments for Red Bull consists of the core age group of 15 – 40. †¢Young people feel more need of energy drinks due to work pressure, extended energy levels, multiple jobs and work and personal life balance. †¢Consumers are inclined towards Red Bull because the shear name and position of the brand, and the brands association with some well-known athletes, extreme sports such as motorsports, bike, surfing, skateboarding and more. Red Bull’s association with exclusive music scene all over the globe provides young people with another reason to be a part of the brand. References Armstrong, G. Adam, S. Denize, S. and Kotler, P. Principles of Marketing, 5th edition., Pearson, Australia Red Bull. Company and Product Overview. 2014 Available: http://energydrink.redbull.com (accessed 25 March 2014).

I.T. System for a Newsagents

As in went into the first newsagents they said that they had no Information technology Equipment such as computers in their shop so I went into the next newsagent and explained to them I was in year 10 and was in the middle of doing a GCSE Coursework and was to update a system. I then said to them I would like to help them and update their system, they said they would be more than happy if I would do that for them because they did not know how much profit they were making or even loss. I then went into an off-licence that was near to where I lived on Cranbrook road. I told them what I was doing and explained that I was doing an Information technology Project, I then asked them if they would let me update their system so it would save them time and money on their business. They said, † yes ok, as it would help me as well†. Now that I had one choice I had then started to make my way to the Gants hill library, they said that their system was already up to date but said thank you for the offer. I still had 2 offers but unfortunately had to choose. I decided by thinking of who would have the most benefit of the system and I thought in the end that a newsagent would not really need a system as much as an off licence, as an off-license has a lot more stock and is much bigger than newsagents, I also thought it would be more challenging than a newsagents and hope to find out the profit/loss made by my clients and also hope they benefit from me. This was my final decision. Description of Problem: An off-licence called Cranbrook Food & wines situated on Cranbrook road sells stock of food, drinks and sweets and other grocery items. The problem is that my client knows if he is making a profit or loss but he doesn't know how to work it out on a P.C. As for the last5 years he has been doing it manually and Manual systems cannot keep up and they are much slower than P.C.'s. So he has I asked me to help him using the information he provides me with such as Income and Expenditure. They have a system but were not using it for Microsoft Excel, they told me they have hardly any idea how to use Microsoft Excel, and said they used their computer only to write letters on Microsoft Word and use the Internet for e-mail. Now it is up to me to show them how to work Microsoft Excel and update their system by making profit and loss account and a cash flow showing them their rates of profit so they now how much profit they will make when they see there closing balance. I will also be using formulas and teaching them to use Microsoft Excel and will also help them by showing them some strategies which will help them run their business better. One of their incomes is selling the stock and Expenditure is buying the stock. These will go into their profit and loss account using the figures that they supply me with and there will also be more such as, Electricity bill, Gas bill, Water bill etc for Expenditure, and Photocopier etc for Income. I will use formulas to total each of them up and use formulas to find out the closing balance. I will set-up a cash flow for them, as it is very easy to use, as they are new users. I will also put in formulas so if they wished to change anything such as change the price of the photocopier it will also change all the incomes and outcomes as well as the closing balance. To find a bit more about my client, I asked some questions so I could know how much knowledge he had about computers. 1) How long have you run a business? A) I have run a business for 5 years now. 2) What do you do in your business? A) In my business I have to stand behind the counter-serving people for about 11 1/2 Monday-Saturday, I also have to send my wife or sister to the cash and carry to buy our stock then I have to set-up all the stock and label the price on all the stock. 3) Do you use you system for any record of your business or financial work? A) No, I only use the computer for my e-mail and to write letters to people. 4) Have you employed any staff? A) No, my family and me run our business. 5) What do you now anything about computers, do you have any knowledge? A) Yes I know how to work on the Microsoft word processor and the Internet. 6) Would any of your business partners have trouble using the computer, and are they all familiar with Microsoft excel? A) My business partners are my family and they have no knowledge of Excel but as soon as I learn I will be able to teach them it won't be a problem. General Specification: My client has a very good knowledge of Personal computers but does not have a good knowledge when it comes to Microsoft excel. I had checked his computer and I could see he has windows 2000 and this is good, as it is the latest out. As he has very little knowledge of Microsoft Excel I will have to make this system very easy to use and I will also be installing a help wizard, which he does not have so if I'm not there he can rely on the help wizard to help him. The system I will input will also be flexible and quick so he won't waste any time. I am very sure that the software I will install will be fully compatible with my client Computer as I checked all the system files in their CPU. I have to also install Microsoft excels on his computer as his computer only came with Microsoft word, works, money and autoroute. My targets are benefit both of us, me by being successful and getting a good grade and my client, by helping his business by making it easier for him and much more efficient . When my system is finished it will be time saving, which will allow my client to either do personal things or expand on his business more. So my targets are to help my client have a better and more efficient business. By creating spreadsheets, which will show him the profit, he is making and will allow him to see what to decrease on, e.g. if Electricity bills are à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 then he will know to turn of light and save electricity. This will also save a lot of his time. The new system I will be installing must be able to automatically change the corrections as my client is unfamiliar with excel. It must also be very easy to use, and must have a help wizard to guide my client. The information that he would want to store, would need to be stored in an organised way-I could do this by using tables to present the information in a more clearer way to my client I.e. A spread sheet. The system would also have to be user friendly as I was saying before and needs to be able to follow simple instructions so that everyone could use it easily and effectively. Specific Specification: After I had discussed some things with my client, we had both decided to include: * Profit and Loss- To show if he is making enough profit or not. * Formula's- so if he changed one of the outcomes e.g. water bill is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½200 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 the total outcome will also change which will save quite a lot of time. * Validation checks- to check a computer to carry out when data is input. * Security- to make sure no one can tamper with the information, which is inputed with the exception of my client, and people who he wishes to share his password with. * The system is easy to use- to make sure my client can use the system with no trouble so he can change information and input it easily and so he can understand the system. We has also acknowledged that my client does not know much about spread sheets so he would like me to make it an easy system. The information I am going to use should be put under suitable heading; I have made some up for my client; – Stock – Photocopier – Selling Price – Retail price – Expenses The system must allow the information to be organised into certain orders e.g. the Stock could be put in numbers and the quantity sold could be put into alphabets. The system must also be able to save the information. As my client is going to need to store a lot of information on his system it will need to be stored efficiently. The new system must also be able to perform accurately so the system will need to be able to do many important calculations by using formulas if needed. The system must perform rapidly- the system must be able to calculate all the different prices when the quantity sold is changed. This will prevent my Client of having to waste time and tired of it. My client has not just started his business in fact he has been running it for 10 years now. He has also asked me to put a password on all the systems as it will save him from his files being deleted or being viewed by any other person which he doesn't want to no. Design of Solution: I have now got to choose which software my client would want to use; and which is most suitable for this assignment, we can choose any of the following choices: – Data base package (Microsoft Access & Microsoft Pinpoint) – Word Processing package (Microsoft Word & Microsoft Word perfect) – Microsoft Desktop Publishing (DTP)(Microsoft Publisher & Adobe PageMaker) – Presentational package (Microsoft PowerPoint) – Spreadsheet Packages (Microsoft Excel & Lotus 1-2-3) – Graphics Package (Corel draw & Microsoft paint) – Computer aided design (CAD) (Auto CAD) After thinking about the problem, I decided we could definitely not use all of this software so I have narrowed it down by choosing to use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. I did not choose The Data base packaging as my client had no access to it as he did not have the software installed on his computer, but this did not matter as Microsoft access is one of the programs we could do without. We did not use the Presentational or Graphics Project as this is a GCSE project and we will not need a lot of presentation in our work. We also did not use it as the presentational package is not very confidential and all the information I will be storing for my client will have to be confidential so no one can change it without him knowing. These are also the same reasons why we did not use Microsoft Desktop Publishing. I chose the word processor as it can be used in letters, essays, projects, CV's etc. In my list I wrote Projects and as I'm doing one right now I thought it would be a good idea to use word. I also chose word as there is a very big advantage to it, it can be edited if mistakes have been made and can also be formatted in many ways such as, Letters can be Bolded, made Italic, and underlined. The word processor also gives you the advantage of making a word art, as you can see I have used this a number of times, and you can also choose between a ranges of clipart. I will mainly use this program to write out my GCSE coursework project and say what how and when I did to help my clients business. Microsoft excel is a spreadsheet made up of a grid into where numbers are entered. The program it self is used for mathematic calculations, statistical and financial calculations. I mainly chose it for the financial calculations as I am going to help my clients business. Even though my client does not have access to Microsoft excel, instead he has Microsoft works spreadsheet, I fell that Excel is better so I have a disk, which has Excel on it, and I will be happy to install it for him. I will use excel to put all of the Income and expenditure (PROFIT & LOSS) into a table, this will show how Much profits my client gets and how much of it he spends. FIELD NAME DATA TYPE REQUIRED DATA ENTRY REASON Opening Balance The opening balance of cash flow Formula No Opening balance is brought over from the closing balance at the end of the month the number is produced by formula so you do not need to type it manually Revenue This is the sales that the company receives when selling their products Number Yes This is a figure and changes from month to month so it needs to be typed in manually Overheads The utilities in this are the Electricity, gas and water bills. Another overhead is the raw materials, this is when they buy the products that they are selling Number Yes This also varies from month to month so it will need to be typed in Manually. Total Overheads Formula No The Total Overheads are brought from the overheads so at the end of the month if the overheads were changed the total overheads would also change automatically. Systems Flowchart: . RESOURCES: I have now installed the help wizard on his computer, which should be able to help him, whenever I am not there to assist him. I have also installed Microsoft excel. I am now going to show you the hardware and software I am going or not going to use. Hardware: The hardware that I am using to create this system are Intel powered Pentium machines which have PII 266 systems, containing 2 GB of hard Drive, 32 Megs of RAM and a 8 Meg Video Card. The server that windows use is NT. My client Pc is very different it is a Gateway PC, Intel inside Pentium 3 PC with Windows 98. It contains 32 Megs of RAM, 20 GB of Hard drive, DVD and 20 Meg video drives. Software: The software packages that I am going to use are Word Processing, Desktop Publishing and Spreadsheet. A Word Processor can be used to write letters, reports, essays, projects, memos, curriculum vitae, theses and basically any form of written work. When text is entered at the keyboard, the characters and words are displayed on the screen and held in the computer's memory. This work can be saved to hard drive or disk and can also be printed out. The advantage of using a Word Processor is that the text can be changed or edited onscreen and reprinted if mistakes are made. I will be mainly using Word Processor to do my project, which is listed above. A Desktop Publishing Program allows users to look at the page of he document as a whole and design the layout by marking areas for text and graphics. Text can be typed directly into the Desktop Publisher package or it can be imported from a word processing package. The text can be arranged in columns with large titles or headlines heading the columns. Images can be imported from graphics packages, scanned or taken from clipart. I will mainly be using this program to do my user documentation. A Spreadsheet is a computer program which is designed to display and process numbers. It is made up of a grid to which numbers are entered. The program contains many mathematical, statistical and financial calculations, which can be applied to the numbers. Many Spreadsheets can also show the numbers in the form of graphs. I will be using this program to show my profit and loss and cash flow for my client. The software packages I am not going to use are Presentation, Database and Graphic packages. A Presentation Package allows users to prepare and give presentation to using the computer. The information being presented is made into a set of slides. Each slide can contain text, clipart, graphics, video, sound and animation. A salesman might use the program to demonstrate a new product; a teacher, to give a lesson or lecture; a pupil might use the software to prepare a talk or a school assembly. A Database is a collection of related data items, which are linked and structures so that the data can be accessed in a number of ways. A simple database consists of only one set of data. This is called a flat file. An example of a flat file is pinpoint or Microsoft works. A relational database is more complex. Relational Databases are very powerful as they allow the data to be accessed in many different ways. An example of a relational database is Microsoft Access. I am now going to show you the advantages and disadvantages of a manual system (File base system) and see which one I chose and why? ADVANTAGES: * Do not have to waste electricity when using CPU * The financial cost for a file base system is not around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1000 where as it does to buy computer * If the electricity goes out you wont have to worry about your business, as you would have it all on paper. * The computer may crash and you could loose all your data if not saved. DISADVANTAGES: * Computer saves time as writing takes to long * It is easier to work out profits more easily * If you need to change something, the computer will adjust the changes to everything else it affects automatically * If you make a mistake the computer would detect it and notify you by underlining it or correct it automatically. * You can produce graphs and charts by using the Popular Microsoft Excel whereas you would have to spend time calculating and drawing it if you had no computer * You can store up to hundreds of pages on one simple disk. The above argument tells you that you would benefit more from having a P.C Computer system than you would with a manual system. I will go with the results of this argument and use a computer to do my project. I am going to use a spreadsheet over a database because for this particular coursework, a spreadsheet is more appropriate than a database. This is because the information I will be inputting is not relational or linked e.g. Library books are linked in some way therefore it maybe put into a database. A spreadsheet is also good for financial use as it is good with mathematical equations this is another reason why I am using it instead of Database. Data Collection, Data Capture and Input: The data that my client wishes me to put into his system are; sales from stock; sales from photocopier; electricity bill; Gas bill and buying stock, other than that my client does not mind what information I input. The information will be given to me by my client which he will get from his Bills and from his invoices that he holds which has a record of his shops sales records and how much he spends to buy the stock. Input Devices: The input devices are will be using are as follows: Keyboard: The most common way of entering data into a computer is through the keyboard. Modern Keyboards often have a support at the front of the keyboard as a rest for the typist's wrist's and some manufacturers have designed keyboards with a more curved key layout in an attempt to make typing faster and more comfortable, even though this maybe, the keyboard is very slow even for today's typing experts. Mouse: The pointer on the screen is called the mouse; you may move the pointer by the user moving the mouse, which will move the pointer. Under the mouse is a ball, which rolls as the mouse is moved. When the screen pointer is over an icon or a menu selection the mouse can be double-clicked to activate the program. This is a standard device like the keyboard. The Input devices I will not be using are; Scanners: Scanners enable both pictures and text to be input to a computer. Scanning text in order to recognise the words and letters requires special software. The most common type of scanner is the flatbed but smaller and cheaper hand-held scanners, which are rolled over the document/picture, are also available. Although the scanner is available to me I have no need to use it. Touch screen: A touch screen is when there are beams of infrared light just in front of the glass on the computer monitors. When a user touches the screen or glass with their finger, the infrared light recognises it and co-ordinates the points. The computer can detect the position of the finger and respond accordingly. I am not using touch-screen because it is not available to me. Processing: Validation and Verification: I will need to have some validation checks as a mistake may happen and this prevents this, a mistake that could happen and is very likely to is writing in the number with text rather than numerical symbols, that is eight instead of 8. The range checks are very liable to read editing with time as the company grows. So they too should be easy to modify. However it is important not to over use the validation only but to only have the item in suitable areas, as people find going error messages very annoying. Verification is the checking of a mistake manually. It involves either printing of your work to look at it or looking at it on the monitor screen, another way is double-checking your work twice or you may make a mistake such as writing the instead of the or in figures such as 394 instead of 934. There are certain types of validation; they are Picture check, Character count, Range check, Presence check and file lookup. Presence check means the cell or field cannot be empty, if there is nothing inside the cell or field it will read error. Character count would make sure there is only a limited amount of characters that can be typed into a cell. Range check, checks the range of numbers that is typed. E.g. the number can be equal to, less than, greater than or between parameters, picture check, checks that the data entered in this field is as expected, i.e. TTTNNTTT (where T=text and N=number) so it would be something like this, GFD77GGG. Finally File Lookup, V PATEL, here the persons code (first three characters) and the subject code, (last three characters) can be checked by opening separate files and ensuring the codes do exist in a valid list. Output Format: Output Devices: The output devices I am going to use are: Monitor: The computer monitor screen or VDU is the most common output device. The most common size of monitor screens are 15 inches, others are 17 and 19 inch, which are much bigger. Computer monitors are similar in many ways to the television. They use a device called cathode ray tubes which contains an electron gun at the back the tube which fires electrons at phosphor dots coating the inside of the screen. Laser Printers: Laser printers work on the same principle as photocopiers. The toner, which is powered in, is transferred to the paper where it is fused by the action of heat and pressure. Lasers are very quiet printers and give high quality print. Laser Printers can print 8-10 pages per minute, which is much faster than other printers. The output devices I will not be using are; Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD's): Liquid Crystal Displays utilise tiny crystals which, when a charge is applied across them, polarise the light passing through them. Used in combination with special filters, this means that light will not pass through when an electrical charge is applied. LCD's are also used in watches and calculators. Thin Film Transistor Screen: A more advanced type of display, giving a full colour and high quality output, is the TFT active matrix screen. Each pixel on the screen is controlled by its own transistor. This provides a higher resolution and more contrast. I am now going to show you how my cash flow works and also show you part of a cash flow. As you can see in he highlighted section is the revenue, the formula I had inputted in the total revenue cell=SUM (B4:B5) pending on which total I wanted. By inputting the formula, certain changes vary; such as now if you change the â€Å"sales from stock in shop† it will automatically change the total revenue, and is also the same if you change the â€Å"sales from photocopier† it will automatically change the total revenue. For example if you higher your price of the photocopier you will make more money, so my client will need to change the figures in the photocopier section. For instance if he changes it from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300.00 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½400.00 the total revenue will automatically change to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.400.00 that would not happen if the total were typed in manually. As you can see, there is a formula to work out the total revenue; it does this by adding the cells B4 and B5 together. I have several formulas and different formulas are used for different things. For instance if I wanted to know the total revenue I would use a formula which looked something like this; =SUM (C3:C4), and then it would give me the total of the two cells. This is the same for total expenditure, but if I wanted to know the net cash flow I would have to minus the total revenue from the total expenditure, it would look something like this; =SUM (C5-C6), then it will give me the total amount left over. The formulas used in the spreadsheet above are as follows: =SUM (B4: B5) This formula adds up the total revenue for the particular month, it does this by adding up all the revenues. This formula varies throughout each month, as business may be better or lower. =SUM (B9: B11) This formula adds up his total expenditure or expenses for the particular month. The expenses vary throughout each month. =SUM (B6-B12) This formula shows the net cash flow by subtracting the total revenue from the Expenditure resulting in the profit/loss. =SUM (B16-B17) This formula works out the closing balance by subtracting the Opening balance from Net cash flow resulting in the closing balance. Introduction: Now that I have finished creating a system I have to test it, to see if there are any problems. Strategy: There are to different ways I could test my system. Test1- I could test it with the current figures. Check if the formula works and see if the validation is accurate. Test2- I could test it with last year's figures, and see if the totals agree. I will then again see if the validation checks are accurate. I have chosen to do test 1 and I will do this by doing it in a Test plan & results table. The results able will consist of three columns the first is â€Å"Test† for what I'm going to test e.g. If the Validation works. The second is â€Å"Prediction† e.g. if I put the validation check in Cell C4 that 9>500, it would print error if there was more than 500. The last column is the â€Å"Results†. It is where you put in he results of your test and to see if your predictions are correct.