My Future Faculty Mentor Essay Example for Free

My Future Faculty Mentor Essay Having the field experience is something that I myself am looking forward. I know that there will be lots of things that I would be encountering as I take my field experience, but one thing that I am looking forward to is working with my future faculty mentor. As I come close to having my field experience I have expectations about working with my faculty mentor, and the one thing that I expect to learn and attain through the help of my mentor is to become independent. Faculty mentors will be assigned to us to help and guide us in our field experience, but it is not necessary for us to be always dependent on our mentors, we too should learn how to become independent while working with them. I believe that I will be learning a lot from my faculty mentor as I enter my field experience and one thing that I have to learn as I enter my field experience is to work independently. Though our mentors will help us, I must possess the necessary skills in order for me to work independently. Before going into a field experience, one must first know self-management where one would set goals, consider alternatives and evaluate them according to ones specific knowledge and skills (Academic innovations: secretarys commission on achieving necessary skills (scans), 1991). Another very important thing as I work with my mentor is that I should be responsible and must know how to manage my time well. Working independently means working by yourself; even though the mentors are there, one should be responsible to perform tasks and finish them in the time given (Academic innovations: secretarys commission on achieving necessary skills (scans), 1991). These I believe are the two most important factors that I should consider as I work independently with my faculty mentor. From strategies to guidelines, I believe with the help of my faculty mentor that I would be able to learn these things and many more, but I know that I too should know how to work independently because this is a challenge for me to become a better person. Reference Academic innovations: secretarys commission on achieving necessary skills (scans). (1991). Retrieved from http://www. academicinnovations. com/report. html#manage

Dog Food Essay Example for Free

Dog Food Essay Dogs are probably the most common and numerous pet in World, and Mexico is not the exception for this rule. The purpose of this work is to analyze the characteristics of the demand for the dog food business in Mexico. This business has shown a CAGR of 3% during the last six years. Dog Food business is divided in three categories based on food type: Dry Dog Food, Wet Dog Food and Treats / Mixers. The most important category is Dry Dog Food with 89% far followed by Wet Dog Food with the 6%. There is another category division based on price: Super Premium, Premium and Standard. In terms of Market players there are 13 competitors in this category: The most important producers are EFFEM with 48% of market share and Nestle with 21%. Regarding brands, the most important are: Pedigree: 33%, Dog Chow 7%, Perfect Fit 5% and Eukanuba with the 5%. DogFood Brand Shares % 2008 DogFoodCompanyShares % 2008 Methodology For the analysis of the dog food market, it was necessary to do a research for the market trends (increase/decrease of dog population, education of the dog owners about benefits of dog food); the view of the dog owners about the dog food and its presentations, prices and quality. As well as the willingness of the dog owners to continue buying the dog food in the changing circumstances of the market (price raising, economic crisis, market substitutes, etc. ). The steps followed to achieve this objective are: 1. Bibliographic investigation of the market size for dog food in the Mexican market, the view of the dog owners, the companies producing dog food, price, substitutes. 2. Comparison of the indicated characteristics through and between years 3. Interpretation of the collected data to observe the market behavior for this particular industry, when faces changes in the dog owner view of the market, crisis or rising of prices. 4. Determination of the challenges faced by the industry. 5. Conclusions. Determinants of Demand: 1. -Price As up year 2008, the demand felt down 21% in comparison to previous year. Among the main reasons for this fall are: The row material cost of producers increased due to the Mexican currency devaluation. This fact â€Å"forced† the manufacturers to transfer the cost increase to the consumers. Since this market is considered an Oligopoly, the demand is elastic to the price changes. In addition, it is easy to find substitutes products; such as: Human food leftovers. The outcome of the described situation pushed the demand down. The â€Å"Mon and Pop† distribution channel leveraged the circumstances and offered the market Dog food in bulk. This strategy allowed them to maintain their sales in spite of the reduced total market. As a result, the producers decided to launch smaller size presentations, which in the long run stopped the sales fall, reducing the sales fall from 21% in 2008, down to only 3% in 2009. . -Marketing Initiatives -Dog owner emotional engagement fuels potential market growth Manufactures realized that the ratio of dog per household was still low, making evidence that there was still a significant growth potential. As a consequence, dog food producers encouraged diverse nonprofit associations to promote emotional engagement to the dog wellness. Dog owners started to care more about: Nutrition, health care and dog pampering. Therefore, the manufacturers found new market niches for new products, such as super premium brands focused on health enhancement or treats to pamper the dog. The current dog owning households ratio in Mexico has grown from 38. 3% in 2004 up to 40. 5% into to 2009. In order to exploit this booming market, different efforts have been done by producers, launching marketing campaigns such as: â€Å"Adopta un perro†. Awareness of Dog Food benefits In addition, manufacturers realized that the ratio of dog food prepared vs. none prepared was too low in Mexico. Therefore, manufacturers began to develop marketing strategies in order to create a higher awareness of dog food benefits. These strategies were mainly implemented through: ) TV advertising campaigns Emotional situations between owner and pet were exploited by producers to encourage pet care i. e. EFFEMS Perfect fit showing a situation suggesting that the dog wants a balance life, such as the owner enjoys. b) Point of Purchase material. Additional exhibition at key seller â€Å"hot spots† were implemented to promote the different products benefits i. e. Hill Pet Nutrition, w hich sells only through veterinary sale points, spread out brochures in the veterinary clinics and pet stores. c) Consumer Promotions Producers decided to increase sales volume in the short term by encourage the consumer through give away attractive items for each product bough i. e. Dog Chow promotion in which a dog bed was gave away when customer purchased a package of four kg and above; in a similar promotion, premium brand Beneful offered a free dog bowl. d) Sponsorships Producers developed different sponsorship programs to increment brand awareness i. e. â€Å"Incredible dog challenge†. e) Product Innovation In order to maintain, and even increase profit margin, producers improved the food formulations and packages. I-e. (Nestle’s effort to re-launch Campeon brand with a different formula using the slogan of â€Å"looking similar to human food†. All these efforts helped to reduce the shortfall of 8 pps showed between 2007 and 2008 down to only 1 pps between 2008 and 2009. Conclusions The market of dog food has changed in last few years, due of the changes in the perception of the pets inside families, mostly in developed countries. Dogs are the most common and numerous pets, and nowadays are treated as another member inside the family. Dog owners pamper their dogs, and care about the nutrition and general wellbeing of their animals. One of the findings about this market is that it has an elastic demand, strongly dependent of the income of the families in Mexico; as income decreases, the demand for dog food decreases as well. Besides, the dog food in Mexican market has one mayor (and almost free) substitute: the human food leftovers. Commonly, the families, mostly the low income ones, feed their dogs with the food they don’t use, or the parts of the meat markets that is not sold for human consumption. Because of that elastic demand, the industry had the need to change the ways producers do business. First, market players need ongoing innovation to adapt themselves to the changing needs of the market, such as: New and smaller size presentations, sales and marketing promotions, effective campaigns of education on how to feeding dogs with specialized and prepared food. These initiatives, along with dog adoption programs were key elements to increase market penetration. Currently, the industry of dog food is facing new challenges as low recovery of world economy, need of new formulation and customized and specialized products (aged dogs, puppies, small breeds, active dogs and sedentary dogs) demand from producers more effective sales promotions to change the mindset of the Mexican consumer about feeding dogs with the â€Å"leftovers†.

McDonald’s Environmental Issues

McDonald’s Environmental Issues Introduction There is evidence of corporate sustainability, which is a balance of economic, social, and environment as a necessity for business (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002). Additionally, companies caring about their environmental issue will not only benefit the environment but also the company itself. Consumers show preferences for green products and are willing to pay a premium price thus improve revenues (Peattie, 2001). While dealing with environmental impacts, corporates may find ways to reduce their costs and waste. Reputation could be earned at the same time (Bansal and Roth, 2000). As one of the worlds largest fast food chains, McDonald’s is criticized by environmentalists with many problems. It is vital for McDonald’s to identify its key issues and provide solutions. In this essay, McDonald’s impact on global warming and packaging waste as well as it responses will be discussed. Then, recommendations are drawn. McDonald’s environmental issues The main issue of McDonald’s negative impact on the environment is global warming resulting from greenhouse gas emissions from cows as well as damaging the rainforest for raising beef cattle and grains. For one thing, methane emitted from cattle is a major contributor of global warming. McDonald’s, as one of the world’s largest buyer of beef, is using 350000 cattle a year. With so many cows farting all day, they could produce a considerable amount of greenhouse gas. In the UK for example, 4% of the carbon emissions are the gas emitted by livestock (Day, 2010). For another, McDonald’s is causing the deforestation in the rain forest. McDonald’s often buys meats for its burgers from privatized farms. These privatized farms, however, are being blamed for not environmentally because the farmland they used to rear the cattle used to be a lush rainforest (Ecologist, 2010). In addition, trees in the rainforest are cut down for agricultural to grow grain for the livestock and poultry (Chew, 2001). According to Greenpeace, McDonald’s feed the chickens with the soybeans grown in the Amazon rainforest because those soybeans are cheaper (Astor, 2006). Therefore, McDonald’s is not only responsible for greenhouse gas emissions but destroying forests, which could help to address global warming. Global warming is an important issue for business as it could have negative impact on economies. McDonald’s should care about this because global warming would influence food supply and transportation, which are two main sectors for fast food industry. Regarding food, global warming may affect production of seafood and agricultural. The rising water temperature has damage the coral reef ecosystems, which are homes to many marine species. Loss of shelters is threatening the survival of coral reef fish. Crop production may also decline. For instance, in parts of Africa, growing season for crops is shortening due to the warmer and dryer weather (Grossman, 2013). Farmers may have to abandon their land that are too warm or too dry and invest in new areas. This causes problems of decreasing revenue as well as food productivity. Furthermore, transportations may face an increase in fuel cost because of climate-related policies. Since carbon dioxide emitted from burning oil contributes largely to global warming, governments are imposing taxes to fossil fuel and result in the price to rise (Grossman, 2013). Prices of biofuels are increasing as well due to the decline of crop production. For the society, global warming not only brings about economic impacts but social problems. People would have a greater chance of suffering from drought, floods, and other climate-related disasters (Stern, N., 2008). Thus, may lead to an increasing number of environmental refugees. The mass migrant is likely to trigger conflict with indigenous resident and even conflicts between countries (Hartmann, 2010). Packaging waste is another environmental problem McDonald’s should tackle with. Considering how much waste is created when getting a meal from McDonald’s: a wrapper for burger, a box for fries, a cup for drinks with a lid and a straw, napkins, and a bag for individual use. McDonald’s use tons of unnecessary packing everyday, which end up littering on the street and buried in landfills. Convenience and portability are the main reason for the packaging waste for fast food industry. As people now in busy modern lifestyle prefer easy and quick food, the amount of waste that fast food industry created therefore increased (Aarnio and Hamalainen, 2008). According to a survey in England, 29% of the litter on streets is the wrappers and cups from McDonald’s (Gray, 2009). McDonald’s should take action to reduce its packaging waste since waste generation could cause serious environmental pollution and put human health at rick. Within Europe, 50 million tons of packaging wastes are produce every year. To burn these huge amounts of waste may release some harmful chemicals into the air, which is harmful to people’s health. Landfilling, likewise, could lead to land pollution and kill underground animals that live there. Wastes may also flow to the ocean and become marine debris, harming marine life (Golub, 1996). Additionally, waste generation represents human’s â€Å"inefficient use of natural resources† (Scortar, 2013). 3. McDonald’s responses McDonald’s is alert of these issues and has announced several environmental initiatives to prove that it is trying to solve its environmental impacts. Concerning global warming, McDonald’s make efforts to reducing its impact on deforestation and carbon emission. Firstly McDonald’s promise not to buy soya grown in Amazon rainforest (Greenpeace, 2006). Deforestation for soya farming and cattle ranching in Amazon is one major driver for global warming. Studies have shown the relationship between soya production and deforestation rate in Amazon (Nepstad, Stickler and Almeida, 2006). McDonald’s approach to stop using soya from Amazon could reduce rainforest destruction and help mitigate global warming. To reduce carbon footprint, McDonald’s improves carbon efficiency by using energy-efficient equipment and low-energy lights in its restaurants (McDonald’s, 2013). According to Stern (2008), the mitigation in energy use is important as it has equal effect as agriculture and deforestation in contributing greenhouse gas emission. Moreover, McDonald’s had team up with E-CO2 project, a consultancy and energy auditing company, to measure cattle’s methane emission of its farms. E-CO2 project not only provide carbon assessment tool but also help farms to reduce emissions by using new technology on the farm (Day, 2010). Livestock account for 14.5% of human-caused global greenhouse gas emission. Hence it is critical to cut emission from livestock production. McDonald’s solution to this issue, which is changing farming techniques can be considered appropriate. According to UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the adoption of better techniques can cut as much as 30% of global warming gases (FAO, 2013). In 2014, the fast-food chain took another step to reduce carbon emission, announcing it would start purchase verified sustainable beef. Nevertheless, McDonald’s is criticized for not giving definition for sustainable and not providing what percentage will its meat come from those sources (Picchi, 2014). A more specific standard should be set up on selecting its meat suppliers. To deal with packaging waste issue, McDonald’s redesigned it’s packaging with sustainable materials and to be recyclable. In 2011, McDonald’s claimed that 82% of its packaging are made from renewable materials (Farmer, 2011). In the US restaurants, McDonald’s stop using polystyrene famed coffee cup and replace it with paper-based cups (Environment News Service, 2013). This approach could have positive effect on the marine environment. Foamed polystyrene is frequently used for fast food packaging. This foamed plastic, however, is non-sustainable and is not widely recycled. After littered, they may easily travel through gutters and end up in the ocean. It is the most common components of marine debris. When the polystyrene breaks down into small indigestible pellets, marine animals or birds may mistake them as food and eat them, which would lead to their death (Owens, Zhang, and Mihelcic, 2011). Although paper cups still have its own problems such as energy waste and the chemicals uses during the production, it is a recyclable recourse and will not exist in the environment for such long time as polystyrene does. Besides redesigning packaging, recycling programs are introduced. For example, 11 McDonald’s restaurants in the UK are recycling waste to turn them into electricity instead of sending them to landfills (Eccleston, 2008). Working with the Environmental Defense Fund help McDonald’s find ways to reuse and recycle packaging (Farmer, 2011). However, to reduce waste may be the may be a better solution than simply recycling. Despite that recycling reduces landfill use and conserves natural recourses, the process of recycling could generate other negative effects on the environment. Wastes needed to be sorted, collected and processed and this consumes a lot of energy. During the recycling, harmful chemicals may also release into the air (Berkin, Carrigan and Szmigin, 2007). Recycling may help ease the pollution of waste but mass consumption of unnecessary packaging is the key problem to packaging waste issue. McDonald’s should focus more on reducing the amount of waste i t produce. 4. Recommendations To make sure that it purchases meat from a sustainable resource, McDonald’s could create a code of conduct on how it selecting suppliers. The rules could be not buying beef that are raised on deforested land or acquire its suppliers to agree that they would improve and apply new methods of raising cattle and poultry which could be beneficial in reducing carbon emissions. Take IKEA for example, it set up an IKEA Way of Purchasing Home Furnishing Products (IWAY) which lists many requirements for its suppliers’ environmental behavior such as purchasing wood from forests that are managed in a sustainable way. Choosing suppliers following the IWAY enables IKEA to successfully obtain a sustainable supply chain (IKEA, 2011). By making a code of conduct, McDonald’s could have a clear standard on the requirements its suppliers should meet. Being stricter on choosing suppliers that contribute less to greenhouse gases and deforestation would help McDonald’s lowering its impact on global warming. McDonald’s should also invest in research and support its supplier to adopt other practices that are useful in cutting emission from livestock and pasture since the suppliers have limited financial resource in developing new techniques. Apart from using new technology, carbon sequestration in rangeland, change in cattle’s diet and agroforestry could have long-term benefits in reducing agriculture and livestock’s contribution to global warming. First of all, carbon sequestration in rangeland has great potential in mitigation of the impact of livestock production. This method can be done by planting deep-rooted pasture such as Brachiaria. It is estimated that Brachiaria can capture and store 29.5 t/ha more carbon than other pasture (Thornton and Herrero, 2009). Preventing overgrazing and adding nutrients from manure or fertilizer can also have positive effect on carbon storage (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2011). Diet improvement may further help to mitigate cows ’ methane emission. Reducing methane could be beneficial to the environment because methane is 23 times as powerful as CO2 at causing global warming (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2011). For instance, Beauchemin and McGinn (2005) suggest that a corn-based diet would decrease cattle’s greenhouse gas emission. In addition, adaptation of agroforestry could provide positive to the environment. The increasing of trees enables greater carbon sequestration. Agroforestry can also produce more digestible and nutritive crop and forage for cattle, which decrease methane production digestion (Thornton and Herrero, 2009). If McDonald’s could assist its suppliers in implementing new methods such as carbon sequestration, changing cow’s diet and turning into agroforestry system, it is likely to reduce carbon emissions more efficiently. In order to reduce packaging waste, using reusable containers and giving incentive to customer to provide their own cups may be two options for McDonald’s. McDonald’s can replace some of its packaging such as salad containers and coffee cups with reusable ones because recycling packaging including glass and paper are proved to be less environmental than reusable packaging (Van Dam, 1996). KFC has started using eco-friendly container in its US restaurants since 2010 and plans to replace paper boxes with reusable plastic plates (Environmental Leader, 2010). McDonald’s could also offer discounts to encourage customers to provide their own beverage bottle or coffee cups. For instance, consumers buying coffee in Starbucks will have a ten-cent discount if they bring their own cup. Moreover, Aydinliyim and Pangburn (2012) indicate that such campaign could help companies to increase profit. With the introduction of reusable containers and promotion, McDonald’s is possible to earn more while reducing waste at the same time. 5. Conclusion McDonald’s has been criticized for having bad influences on the environment. To provide meat for its food, McDonald’s indirectly causing deforestation in rainforest and greenhouse gas emission. In addition, McDonald’s use too much unnecessary packaging and many of them are non-recyclable and non-renewable. Thus, it can be concluded that the main environmental issues for McDonald’s are global warming and packaging waste generation. McDonald’s itself is aware of these issues and has made several strategies to solve the problem. By stop purchasing soybean in Amazon, improving carbon efficiency and using new farming techniques, McDonald’s could successfully reduce its impact on global warming. However, McDonald’s still cannot guarantee that its meat all come from sustainable recourse. With regard to packaging waste, McDonald’s redesign packaging with sustainable materials and start recycling programs while neglecting the importance of reducing waste generation. To better tackle with these issues, it is recommended that McDonald’s draw up a code of conduct for its supplier selection to work with farms and ranches that is not harming the forest. Furthermore, McDonald’s should monitor and support supplier to reduce impacts on carbon and methane emission. Practices including carbon sequestration, changing cattle’s diet and agroforestry may be useful. It is also important for McDonald’s to use reusable container and promote customers to bring their own containers by offering them discount to reduce packaging consumption. By doing so, McDonald’s could lower its negative effects on global warming and packaging waste.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt FDR :: Biography Biographies Bio

Franklin Delano Roosevelt In March 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32nd president of the United States. During his presidency he was the only president in America's history to hold office for four terms. He led America during the Great Depression and World War II. Franklin Roosevelt was head of the powerful Democratic Party which controlled American politics for thirty years. Roosevelt was a controversial leader in his time, some people admired him and others despised him, but today he is considered to be one of the greatest American presidents. Franklin Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. Franklin's father, James Roosevelt, married Sara Delano (Franklin's mother) in 1880 several years after his first wife had died. Sara had been only 26 at the time of the marriage while James had been 52. They had a happy marriage until James died in 1900. Franklin was treated as an only child when he was born because his half brother was an adult by then. His parents sheltered and spoiled young Franklin. His parents kept him in dresses and long curls until he was five years old. During the summers Franklin went with his parents to Europe, the seaside of New England, or to the Campobello Island off the Coast of New Brunswick. Since he spent many summers by the sea Franklin Roosevelt developed an interest in sailing. Franklin Roosevelt was home schooled by governesses and tutors until he was fourteen years old. He then attended Groton School in Massachusetts between 1896 and 1900. Franklin's academic record was average and he did not excel at sports either. Some of his class mates called him the "feather duster" because he seemed priggish but that was mostly due to the sheltered life he had led. Franklin then went on to attend Harvard until 1904. His academic record was again average but he finished his B.A. in three years. During his fourth year at Harvard he was editor of the college newspaper, Crimson. Franklin was never very motivated about school. Franklin soon became engaged to Eleanor Roosevelt, a fifth cousin who was once removed. They married on March 17, 1905 despite Sara Delano's objections. They had five children, one girl and four boys. All four of the boys would later serve as officers in World War II. They were all also decorated for bravery. Eleanor Roosevelt discovered in 1918 that Franklin was having an affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer.

Why Should People Choose a Healthy Lifestyle Essay -- Healthy Lifestyl

You are driving in your car when suddenly your stomach rumbles. You are hungry. Do you decide to pick up some fast food or go home and spend the time to make yourself a meal? Let us assume we do not have the time to create our own meal. When you get to the restaurant of your choice, do you park in the closest parking spot to the door or do you simply use the drive-through? What do you choose to eat? Is it something processed and frozen or do you choose something made fresh? After eating your food you decide to go to the mall. You pass advertisements of smiling thin happy models. You need to get to the second floor. Do you take the elevator, the escalator, or the stairs? These are choices we face every day that can impact our lives today, tomorrow, and even further into our future. Children follow our examples. If we are faced with these choices daily so are they. How can we make our lifestyle more healthy not only for ourselves, but also future generations? A more healthy lifestyle i s established through balanced priorities, strong mental health, and good role models. Priorities throughout life whether financial, educational, or physical help to create a longer and more balanced lifestyle. With so many false pictures portrayed around the world through the Internet and social media of how a body should look, it is not surprising that many individuals pay more attention to the weight on the scale, than they do to muscle mass and other factors that may more significantly impact their overall health. Photoshopped billboards and fashion models lead to an impossible expectations unrealistic of how a â€Å"normal† human body should appear. As Natasha Turner said, â€Å"It’s not your actual weight on the scale that matters most for overall healt... ... Student Research Center. Web. 9 Nov. 2015. Kane, Anthony. â€Å"A Parent’s Job As A Role Model.† Healthy Place 2011: n.pag. Web. 14 Nov. 2015. â€Å"Nutrition & Weight Control for Longevity.† (2012): 1-46. Student Research Center. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. â€Å"Poverty Kills: Health Depends on Wealth.† Huntsville Forester 26 Sept. 2013: n.pag. Student Research Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Richardson, Vanessa. â€Å"A Fit Body Means A Fit Mind.† Edutopi. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. Small, Gary. â€Å"Can Exercise Cure Depression.† Brain Bootcamp Sept. 2010: n.pag. Psychology Today, 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. Tecco, Armand. â€Å"Why is Exercise Important.† Health Discovery, HealthDiscovery.net, 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. Turner, Natasha. â€Å"Are You Skinny Fat?† Chatelaine 86.10 (Oct. 2013): n. pag. Student Research Center. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Men and Women in Music Essay -- Gender Roles

Gender is a set of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that we typically associate with masculinity and femininity (Brym, 2011, p.76). A lot of times, these differences are socially constructed through various outlets – one of them being music. Often times there is a lot of confusion between the definition of â€Å"sex† and â€Å"gender†. An easy way to understand the two definitions is to remember that â€Å"sex† refers to biological differences between men and women and â€Å"gender† refers to culturally defined ways of being male or female. Through a process of gender socialization, we are enabled to understand how to be more masculine or feminine (Brym, 2011, p.89). Music is definitely a contributor in the process of gender socialization. In a sociology 100 class, on February 3rd 2011, a class discussion suggested that men are often characterized as violent, assertive, strong, and sexual instigators (reinforced by Pruitt, 2007). Since the beginning of time, men have been considered the dominant sex. In the same class discussion it was also suggested that women were emotional, motherly and insecure (again, reinforced by Pruitt, 2007). Unfortunately, women are seen as the weaker sex in society. This simplistic way of categorizing women and men is commonly referred to as gender stereotyping. Gender stereotyping is the â€Å"simplification† of common beliefs about men and women and the traits that they possess (Brym, 2011, p.156). Gender roles are socially constructed expectations on how males and females are required to behave in social settings (Brym, 2011, p.76). The problem with gender roles is that they’re socially constructed – meaning, it’s constantly changing. The term assumes that there are strict differences between men and women and the truth of t... ...be a part of. The women promote concepts like independence and freedom for women and have helped fuel the feminist movement in the world through music. Conversely, rap music is a Black male-dominated genre that promotes aggressiveness, sexuality and dominance over women (Conrad et al., 2009). This genre is notorious for being misogynistic and sexist towards women (Conrad et al., 2009). As the world continues to evolve and grow, hopefully women will get the recognition they deserve in music and in the world in general. This way, there can be equality between the sexes in every aspect of life. However, the only way that this can happen is by allowing space for women in male-dominated genres like rap. Music is a social phenomenon that is constantly bringing people all over the world together. Hopefully in years to come, we can eradicate all inequalities within music.

If It Ain’t White It Ain’t Right Essay

When evaluating the immortality of slavery, people oftentimes emphasize the abhorrent, physical abuse endured by Afro-Descendants, and diminish the pernicious, psychological effects they suffered. Chief among the psychological effects manifested from slavery are notions of self-hatred and self-denial. Tragically, Blacks were forced, through centuries of conditioning, to believe, accept, and demand their slave master’s mandate that blackness innately implied inferiority. In Juan Francisco Manzano’s Autobiography of a Slave, Manzano explores these themes through his personal experience as a Cuban Creole mulatto slave. In an arduous fight for freedom, Manzano is raised to believe that the only way to liberation is through a rejection of his Black identity and an acceptance of his White identity. The ideas of self-hatred and denial raise intriguing questions. Is it possible for Black people to achieve real liberation, i. e. substantive democracy and citizenship, through the denial of their Black identity? What kind of liberation is achieved through the acceptance of the idea that part of one’s identity is inherently inferior? This paper suggests that true psychological liberation, substantive democracy, and citizenship cannot be achieved through such a process, and that any system that requires such self-denial and self-hatred serves to reinforce or justify the racist system from which Blacks seek to escape. Identity development occurs during one’s childhood. From an early age, children are told who they are and how they relate to others in the world. During the era of slavery, Afro-descendant children were taught that the only way to salvation, both immediately and in the future, was through a sacrifice of their African roots. Perhaps the most vivid recent example of this occurred in the award-winning film â€Å"The Help† in which a Black maid tells a young White child â€Å"You are smart. You are kind. You are important. † During slavery, Black children were given no such messages. Part of the message Black children were taught was that their blackness was in some way responsible for their slavery. In discussing the common desire for Afro-descendant’s to escape their African heritage, Ivan A. Schulman writes in the introduction, â€Å"To make the leap to the â€Å"master† culture was not an uncommon aspiration in the nineteenth century: Among people of color there existed the general wish to whiten one’s descendants insofar as possible, and distance themselves as much as possible from slavery† (Manzano, 11). Through this desire, Blacks sacrificed their own self worth in favor of their domineering White oppressors. As a young boy, Manzano too yearned to identify with the controlling white culture he inhabited. While discussing his relationship with Dona Joaquina, one of the many women who raised him, he writes, â€Å"She would dress me, comb my hair, and take care that I did not mix with the other black children† (Manzano, 55). Dona Joaquina’s insistence to separate Manzano from his Black heritage is credited to the caste system present among slaves in Cuba. Under this system, pure Black slaves were in opposition to Mulattos. Since Mulattos by definition had at least some White blood, they conjectured that they were superior to their full-blood Black counterparts, and therefore justified in trying to escape their Black identity. Consequently, the caste system served as the primary force that caused Manzano to run away from his plantation. As a result of having his family members and friends detached from his life, Manzano found it paramount to escape his present situation as a Mulatto slave amongst full-blood, Afro-descendant slaves, he writes, â€Å"I saw myself at El Molino, without parents or even relatives, and, in a word, a mulatto among blacks† (Manzano, 133). This passage highlights one result of the denial of Black identity, i. e. complete alienation from one part of the community from which one derives. Through this process, Blacks fundamentally lose their self worth. By refusing to accept and acknowledge their heritage, the significance of the Afro-descendant in society has deeply diminished. Juan Francisco Manzano’s experience is one shared by several Afro-descendants in Latin and North America. Chica da Silva, reputedly the most famous and beautiful Black woman in Brazilian history, is one glaring comparison. Chica da Silva’s was a slave, but her master was so attracted to her that he wanted to marry her and thus free her from slavery. They lived in a luxurious house and had several beautiful children. Among Brazilians, Da Silva was considered to be the pinnacle matriarch. However, the ascendency of Da Silva to fame came with a cost. While discussing Da Silva’s eminence in Brazilian society, Henry Louis Gates writes, â€Å"Chica da Silva was black, yet her rise to power within the community was part of a conscious whitening effort. She acted like she was a white woman† (Gates, 34). In order for Chica da Silva to be accepted as a valorized figure in Brazilian society, she had to forego her blackness. Furthermore, Maceo’s story serves the same purpose. A Cuban Creole, Maceo is revered for his courageous efforts as commander of the Cuban army during Cuba’s fight for independence. Through his courageous efforts, Cuba was finally able to break away from centuries of subjugation by Spain and be an independent nation. The fact that a Black man led Cuba to independence is remarkable and noteworthy, especially given that this occurred in 1898, only twelve years after slavery was abolished in Cuba. But was Maceo actually Black? While discussing Maceo’s legacy among Cubans after his death, Gates writes, â€Å"The researchers didn’t try to diminish his legacy, but they sought to valorize the European part of his genetic heritage. They explained that although his bone structure was that of an African, the measurements of his skull affirmed that his brain was that of a white man. If Maceo was a superior man, then he couldn’t be Black† (Gates, 195). The notion of a Black man as a quintessential heroic figure in Cuban history is automatically discredited. Since Blacks were going to be the majority, this stripping of one’s Blackness was paramount in order for Whites to maintain control. Moreover and most importantly, Maceo’s story set a precedent that if wealthy White’s had children who looked Black, they did not have to accept their status as Black Cubans. Thus prioritizing class over race. To this end, Blacks escaped their African roots not only psychologically, but physically as well. Within the social context of the Dominican Republic, the concept of beauty is analogous with Whiteness, particularly in the case of hair. While discussing the intersection of hair and identity in the Dominican Republic, Cassandra Badillo writes, â€Å"†¦a white woman’s hair is described blonder. Whether it is curly or straight, black or brown, it is said that she is blonder. About the â€Å"others,† it is said that they have bad hair and that’s all–bad hair has no color† (Badillo, 36). The bad hair attributed to the â€Å"others† has several catastrophic consequences. Black women in the Dominican Republic habitually straighten their hair so that they can be White. As a result, they contract blisters and burns, permanently damaging the condition of their scalp. Still, even though Blacks go through the physical anguish of straightening their hair, they do not fully whiten themselves. Badillo writes, â€Å"straightening does not whiten a woman, straightening is about self-denial† (Badillo, 37). Through the process of hair straightening, Blacks dismiss their African identity. While discussing the problems of hair straightening, Badillo writes, â€Å"†¦the problem is not changing hair per se, but rather in the power relations it expresses and in the attitudes of domination it reflects† (Badillo, 36). Hair straightening operates in a way that camouflages and normalizes subordination and privilege. In doing this, Black women lose their autonomy and subjectivity, limiting them to formal or procedural forms of democracy and citizenship, thus suspending any chances of substantive salvation. The troublesome notions of self-denial and self-hatred too have plagued me. During high school, from my peers’ point of view, I was perceived as another Carlton Banks, the foil for Will Smith’s character in â€Å"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. † Although on the surface Carlton seems like an admirable Black character—gets good grades, dresses sophisticatedly, and speaks well, further reflection leads one to believe the contrary. Despite the fact that he dresses well and speaks correctly, personality traits that are not in congruence with most depictions of African Americans, at the end of the day, he still seeks the approval of those he perceives in authority (whites), and also has no real sense of self-respect. Now, I can truly say that I have evolved out of this condition. As an active member of the Black Students Alliance, I have recognized that my heritage is nothing to be ashamed of. I now realize that up until this point in my life, I have been lied to. These lies were framed in language that stated everything Black meant ugly, evil, and sinister, and everything White meant pure, high, and clean. This could not be any further from the truth. Now when people say, â€Å"Say it loud! † I reply, â€Å"I’m Black and I’m proud! † I have discerned the importance of not only accepting, but also celebrating one’s Black identity. In order to address the perils of self-denial and self-hatred, there is no other way. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , â€Å"If the Negro is to be free, he must move down into the inner resources of his own soul and sign with a pen and ink of self-assertive manhood his own Emancipation Proclamation. †