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Affirmative action is a two-pronged effort that includes “the right of all persons to be accorded full and equal consideration on the basis of merit” (K.U Medical School) and, concurrently, a policy of actively “hiring and promoting qualified individuals in protected groups such as minorities, disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veterans and women” (U. of South Dakota). It was created to focus on education and jobs, and the policies were put in place to take active measures, under the framework of non-discrimination, to ensure that disadvantaged groups that had prevalently suffered discrimination have the same opportunities as whites. The U.S. Department of Labor describes affirmative action as the “ban[ing of] discrimination and requir[ing of] contractors and subcontractors to take… action to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran.” (Dept. of Labor 2002)
Affirmative action also includes provisions for the monitoring of its compliance by seeking to establish standards of equality using a quantitative system to measure progress towards the goal. Importantly, “the goal-setting process in affirmative action planning is used to target and measure the effectiveness of affirmative action efforts to eradicate and prevent discrimination.” (Dept. of Labor) Whenever an employer is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964, the EEOC has judicial powers aimed at remedying the situation.
The logic of affirmative action dictates that where a “certain criterion of merit”, even if it is not intentionally discriminatory, works to the disproportionate exclusion of minorities, the burden is on the offending organization to defend the policy in proportion to its exclusionary effect (Lovell 1974). The focus on criteria-fixed merit in the United States disregards that all people do not have equal access to private schooling, resume counselors, SAT prep classes, etc. The EEOC may see certain hiring criteria as intentionally or unintentionally excluding protected groups under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the “Commission shall endeavor to eliminate and such alleged unlawful employment practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation or persuasion.” (Civ. Rights Act of 1964)
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Texas A&M University. “Texas A&M Researchers Seek Explanation For Minority Unemployment.” Office of University Relations: September 1997. http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/archive/092997-1.html
The Gallup Poll. “Gender Differences in Views of Job Opportunity.” Princeton: The Gallup Organization, August 2, 2005. http://poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=17614
University of South Dakota. “Equal Opportunity: Definitions.” January 21, 2004.
http://www.usd.edu/equalopp/definitions.cfm
U.S. Census Bureau. “Historical Poverty Tables.” Washington DC: December 14, 2005. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html
U.S. Department of Education. “High School Dropout Rates.” The Consumer Guid Washington DC: March 1996. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/dropout.html
U.S. Department of Labor. “Facts on Executive Order 11246 -- Affirmative Action.” January 4, 2002. Stable URL: http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/ofccp/aa.htm
U.S. State Department, “Civil Rights Act Of 1964”. July 2nd 1964 obtained from
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/majorlaw/civilr19.htm
The problem of free will and determinism is a mystery about what human beings are able to do. The best way to describe it is to think of the alternatives taken into consideration when someone is deciding what to do, as being parts of various “alternative features” (Van-Inwagen). Robert Kane argues for a new version of libertarianism with an indeterminist element. He believes that deeper freedom is not an illusion. Derk Pereboom takes an agnostic approach about causal determinism and sees himself as a hard incompatibilist. I will argue against Kane and for Pereboom, because I believe that Kane struggles to present an argument that is compatible with the latest scientific views of the world.
Dickinson refers to “the Majority” as society, this Majority does not take women’s literature seriously. The vast majority of good literature is composed by men and it is extremely rare for a woman to create a masterpiece. Dickinson’s highly unusually writing style was her self-expression at its finest. Her use of capitalization and hyphens was deemed as unnecessary by many, but to her it was completely necessary to express her emphasis. Unfortunately, she was unable to obtain recognition during her lifetime. When her poetry was first published many changes were made so that it would meet the current standards. Little did anyone know that the true strength of her poetry lied within her unique style. Only when her work was published in it’s original form did Dickinson start to receive recognition as a pioneer. Dickinson writes” Assent – and you are sane- Demur – your straightway dangerous – And handled with a Chain –" (Lines 5-7) If one was to conform to standards then they would be considered normal. However, if one strayed away from norms they would be deemed outcasts. “Much Madness is divinest Sense” (line 1) meant that madness was true free thinking and
Affirmative action is a label for a large range of programs, but all of these methods began for one reason: as a way to fight racism. There were voluntary efforts and mandatory laws enacted in order to accomplish this feat (Wu par 6). It was begun under President Johnson with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was followed by his Executive Order 11246, both of which emphasized the fair treatment and employment of minorities. Two years later, women were added to the list. Today affirmative action benefits women, racial and ethnic groups, and the physically, mentally or emotionally disabled to the detriment of white males (“affirmative action” par 1). Due to affirmative action’s efforts, doors have been opened allowing for the equalizing of opportunity in the United States, seen in the types of people working in places such as police and fire departments, as w...
The progress, justification and contesting of preferential affirmative action has ensued in two ways. The first is administrative and legal systems. Departments of government, courts and legislatures have formulated and implemented guidelines calling for affirmative action. The other is public discussion, where the policy of preferential management has generated many controversies. The two pathways make inadequate interaction, with the public arguments not based in any prevailing lawful practices.
Affirmative action or positive discrimination can be defined as providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. This consists of preferential access to education, employment, health care, or social welfare. In employment, affirmative action may also be known as employment equity. Affirmative action requires that institutions increase hiring and promotion of candidates of mandated groups. (Rubenfeld, 1997, p. 429)
The subject of affirmative action in college admissions has been hotly debated since its inception. Although affirmative action was originally supported by the vast majority, that same majority is now starting to wonder if there is a better way. Commonly asked questions include: “Is affirmative action still working?” and “Is there an alternative?” The answers to each of these questions will provide insurmountable evidence that affirmative action in college admissions no longer fulfills its intended purpose and that the only viable alternative is to focus more attention on primary schooling for the underprivileged.
The outlined goals of affirmative action are what we need for this country. The United States society needs to change the way it sees and treats its citizens. The methods that affirmative action uses, however, are not conducive to ac...
In the poem “Strange Fruit” the author uses many deadly situations to explain the severe pain these human beings were experiencing. “Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck” (Allan 9) is a symbol of even after death African-Americans were still experiencing pain. After one passes away they usually go to peace and God, but these people were left there on the trees lynched for animals like crows to eat them away because no one cared about them. Crows are a symbol of death because they eat rotten, dead, and leftover animals and flesh. Crows can also be symbolic to the Jim Crow Laws that were racial segregation laws targeting a particular race and culture of people. Another symbolic example is “Then the sudden smell of burning flesh” (Allan 8). This quote is so graphic and distasteful to hear people were on purposely being burned to death in gas chambers and in fires. This symbolizes so many different aspects like inhumanity, pain, violence, torment, and misery. Everyone has the right to live and they were killed with no real cause. Similarly, in “We Wear the Mask” the phrase “We wear the mask the grins and lies” (Dunbar 1) embodies the tragic and excruciating truth being covered up with a fake lie. In the mid 1960’s particular people were not allowed to voice or show their emotions, feelings, or ideas because they would be murdered. The mask was used to cover up the painful truth with a happy, positive
The argument on free will has stemmed into different branches of opinions; the two main braches being compatibilism and incompatibilism. Frankfurt argues that free will is compatible with determinism because some humans are predetermined to have his definition of free will. Van Inwagen argues that free will is not compatible with determinism because if nature and the universe determine the future, the only thing that we are free to do is what we actually do and thus we are not free. I pull more to the Van Inwagen side simply because it is more logically sound. If only certain people are free or people are free only under certain conditions, then we are not actually free.
Imagine starting your day and not having a clue of what to do, but you begin to list the different options and routes you can take to eventually get from point A to point B. In choosing from that list, there coins the term “free will”. Free will is our ability to make decisions not caused by external factors or any other impediments that can stop us to do so. Being part of the human species, we would like to believe that we have “freedom from causation” because it is part of our human nature to believe that we are independent entities and our thoughts are produced from inside of us, on our own. At the other end of the spectrum, there is determinism. Determinism explains that all of our actions are already determined by certain external causes
The issue of affirmative action has been a controversial one since its inception. The law was developed during the 1960’s as a result of the civil rights movement and the need to address injustices committed against minorities throughout the United States history. There were multiple attempts to correct the inequities between the majority and the various minorities including the 13, 14 and 15th Amendments. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed for the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to create rules to end discrimination. Affirmative action came into being with the executive order 11246 issued by President Johnson. The Civil Rights Act and President Johnson’s executive order have been updated throughout the years to address gender, disabilities, age and other characteristics that could be considered discriminatory.
The Cold War was a time between 1947 to 1991 in which tensions between two of the largest superpowers of the world were at an all time high: United State of America and the Soviet Union. The war never had a true battlefield between the two, but traces of each the superpowers could be found in many of the wars at the time directly or indirectly like: the Vietnam War, Korean War, and etc. Though the feud didn’t always happen on the battleground. The Soviet Union and United States faced off in expanding their power of their technology and economy at the time, which led to events like the Space Race, Nuclear Arms Race, and even globalization in the countries. Some of the new technologies like computers, space shuffles, and satellites were just some
My love for music has existed for as long as I can remember. When I was a child,
Freedom, or the concept of free will seems to be an elusive theory, yet many of us believe in it implicitly. On the opposite end of the spectrum of philosophical theories regarding freedom is determinism, which poses a direct threat to human free will. If outside forces of which I have no control over influence everything I do throughout my life, I cannot say I am a free agent and the author of my own actions. Since I have neither the power to change the laws of nature, nor to change the past, I am unable to attribute freedom of choice to myself. However, understanding the meaning of free will is necessary in order to decide whether or not it exists (Orloff, 2002).
A good formal theory ought to be at least the equivalent ought of a ton of ethnographies and perhaps half a gross of substantive theories (Strauss 1987, p.248). A substantive grounded theory is a tailor-made theory while a formal grounded theory is a ready-made theory (Kearney 1998). Substantive theory may limit its application to other contexts if a constant comparative method of modifying a theory is neglected. Nevertheless, it may have important general implications and relevance to other areas. It is for this imperative that, the emergent substantive grounded theory generated from data, is moved to a formal theory. Formal theory allows more generalization, and transferability of research results, which may be adapted to other different scenarios.