...which they are able to determine their relationship to and how it affects them. In narrating or privileging a child's perspective in a novel, the language the reader is presented with is simplistic and the viewpoint of the narrator is often minimalistic as it is based upon the experiences which the narrator has encountered. Shyam Selvadurair's Funny Boy is narrated from an adolescent’s perspective, where the presumed innocence and naivety of the child offers an alternative view to the political, cultural, social and historical tensions in India and Sri Lanka and the effect that it has on the developing child in terms of identity. The child narrator in each text is an outsider as they do not merge with the cultural norms imposed upon by society. Arjie, the product of an upper-class Tamil family in Funny Boy, crosses borders in his awakening as a homosexual, falling in love with a Sinhalese, despite his parents attempt to create a masculine identity for him, in order that he may abide by the boundaries and social order that has been imposed upon him. The need to understand identity determines the characters individual relationship to the tensions surrounding them. Although children might not understand what is going on, they offer a new angle in which the readers may make sense of what they are being told and how it is important to the work as a whole. In Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy, the child narrator draws readers into the characters and problems that we...
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... Sociology "The art of life lies in taking pleasures as they pass, and the keenest pleasures are not intellectual, nor are they always moral", this quote was once said by a Greek secular artist, by reading this quote one can presume that most philosophers and thinkers alike look for a deeper meaning within their lives and throughout society. Previous to this course my viewpoint and attitude were based on the people of which I surround myself with, the life experiences I have encountered and the way in which we make our decisions and why. Following my studies I have found this foundation of my knowledge to be valid and rather accurate although there are numerous factors which make up our decisions and how we end up where we are, studying sociology has assisted me in becoming more aware of different factors which I may have not considered to make up a society and how in turn this has enhanced my sense of identity. In relation to individuality and where I am in society I have found there are a number of entities which define me within the social order, that being of where I have lived in the world, the people I surround myself with, the cultures I have endured and seen, the values I was taught as a child and to this day as an adult and the way in which I come to make my decisions. Attending 13 schools and living in 3 continents over 7 major cities all over the world up until the age...
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...three phrases that make possible writing about the world of not-yet[…]and they are simple phrases: What if…? If only…? If this goes on…" (Gaiman xi). Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 utilizes the latter of these three phrases. Bradbury pictures that if our society continues to substitute knowledge with instant, mindless gratification, the product would be similar to that of Guy Montag's world. Likewise, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is created around the phrase, "What if...?" Vonnegut's story was developed while thinking about how the world would be if people were handicapped based on their strengths and weaknesses. The genre of science fiction conveys an author's feelings towards our community, and typically towards our community's future. Both of these texts demonstrate a strong theme, while simultaneously allowing these themes to reveal truths about our society. Firstly, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury demonstrates a theme of how one must be aware and knowledgeable to...
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...Talib (1124846) International Islamic University Malaysia Abstract Essentially, community service has demonstrated numerous benefits for both the volunteers and the societies as well. However, there still people who do not aware and realize the importance of community service. Thus, the purpose of this research is to study the awareness of community services among IIUM students. This study used quantitative methodological approach and questionnaires that were distributed among a sample population of 30 IIUM students consisted of 15 male and 15 females students were used as the instrument. The questionnaire was used to examine the level of awareness among IIUM students on community services, the differences between male and female students’ awareness and the impact of the involvement of students in community services on their academic performances. The results have shown that most of IIUM students were aware of community services and more female students were involved in community services compared to male students. However, most of the students disagreed that the involvement in community services caused bad impacts on their academic performances. Keywords: awareness, community services, IIUM students Participation in community services or volunteering in this day and age is very crucial to help the society. It is part of social responsibility of the citizens. Community services help people to possess the attributes of being ethically, morally and intellectually responsive...
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... Blind to Wastefulness Our Society, today, seems to think that if something is broken then it should be thrown out. People become lazy and don’t feel the need to try and fix things when they are broken. They just throw whatever the object is in the trash and buy something new. Basically, our society takes many things for granted without even thinking before they act. People whom aren’t as fortunate as others would never just throw away something if it is “somewhat” broken, they would try and fix it. People, today, are becoming more and more wasteful every year without even realizing it. To eliminate wastefulness in our society today, people should recycle more, finish or save uneaten food, and donate clothes or toys that are no longer in use. It seems as if high class citizens are more wasteful then the citizens of the low class. This may be because of the wealth of the high class citizens and that they can just buy a new object instead of just fixing it. In contrast, low class citizens don’t have the wealth to just buy a new object, they have to fix it or they no longer can use it. People of high class don’t take concern to the environment as most people do because they usually are running companies or usually very busy. This then results in not recycling which can be very wasteful as well. Yobbi 2 People as a whole seem to be wasteful in our society today. It may not be because of ignorance or selfishness, but it may...
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... What ordinary people are directly aware of and what they try to do are bounded by the private orbits in which they live; their visions and their powers are limited to the close-up scenes of job, family, neighborhood; in other milieux, they move vicariously and remain spectators. And the more aware they become, however vaguely, of ambitions and of threats which transcend their immediate locales, the more trapped they seem to feel. Underlying this sense of being trapped are seemingly impersonal changes in the very structure of continent-wide societies. The facts of contemporary history are also facts about the success and the failure of individual men and women. When a society is industrialized, a peasant becomes a worker; a feudal lord is liquidated or becomes a businessman. When classes rise or fall, a person is employed or unemployed; when the rate of investment goes up or down, a person takes new heart or goes broke. When wars happen, an insurance salesperson becomes a rocket launcher; a store clerk, a radar operator; a wife or husband lives alone; a child grows up without a parent. Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both. Yet people do not usually define the troubles they endure in terms of historical change and institutional contradiction. The well-being they enjoy, they do not usually impute to the big ups and downs of the societies in which they live. Seldom aware of the intricate connection between...
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...They still wish to be considered respectable. To be fair, we must go further. They are often decent people and being aware of what facing up to the full facts would mean they try to find ways around them. They are aware that other people know that morals are important (although they may not know why) and would not look favorable on a theory that rejected morals altogether. I have never met anyone who was not aware of the difference between right and wrong as a concept in its own right. It only makes it a convenient accident (some people who want to ignore their conscience would argue that it was an inconvenient accident, the consequences of which they are escaping). It give morality no authority. People do live as though morality does not matter for quite some of the time, but there always comes a time when they are aware of feeling guilty, and knowing why they are feeling guilty, when they become aware that what they have been doing is wrong. The fact is that we cannot make a list of things, which are ‘absolutely’ right which all men would agree with, does not negate this position. Moral decisions are complicate, as we all know. But all societies have looked on murder within their own society as wrong, unless there was some specific reason to justify it. All men are aware that the interests...
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...correct. What ordinary people are directly aware of and what they try to do are bounded by the private orbits in which they live; their visions and their powers are limited to the close-up scenes of job, family, neighborhood; in other milieux, they move vicariously and remain spectators. And the more aware they become, however vaguely, of ambitions and of threats which transcend their immediate locales, the more trapped they seem to feel. Underlying this sense of being trapped are seemingly impersonal changes in the very structure of continent-wide societies. The facts of contemporary history are also facts about the success and the failure of individual men and women. When a society is industrialized, a peasant becomes a worker; a feudal lord is liquidated or becomes a businessman. When classes rise or fall, a person is employed or unemployed; when the rate of investment goes up or down, a person takes new heart or goes broke. When wars happen, an insurance salesperson becomes a rocket launcher; a store clerk, a radar operator; a wife or husband lives alone; a child grows up without a parent. Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both. Yet people do not usually define the troubles they endure in terms of historical change and institutional contradiction. The well-being they enjoy, they do not usually impute to the big ups and downs of the societies in which they live. Seldom aware of the intricate connection between the...
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...helps the staff to work together as a whole toward common goals, but it also allows the organization to operate more smoothly. If staff members cannot work together, then they cannot communicate efficiently and effectively and not only does the work environment suffer but the organization also suffers as a whole. Donors/Fundraisers: Are the donors aware and informed of all of the different ways that their contributions, or money, is helping the organization? Donors like it when the results of their donations are visible. Donors also like to see that they are helping the organization that they donate to. Donors should know, and like to know, what changes, improvements, or any other positive results have been made or completed because of their donations. They like to see how their money is being spent as well. Showing donors how much they have helped and made a difference will also make them want to continue to donate and contribute to the organization. Clients/Customers: Do the customers and clients know their rights as well as responsibilities as customers and clients? Customers and clients should not only be aware of their rights, but their responsibilities as customers and...
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...The law plays a major role in society and businesses, without laws and regulations there would be chaos and quality of life would suffer. Laws are set in place to protect all of the citizens and breaking the law can have major consequences both as an individual and businesses. Laws are set in place to protect and make sure that as a society there is accountability and due process. Accountability for actions that are not in the best interest of society has to be addressed and having laws in place is a way to ensure that policies and procedures are followed. Having laws for the business world will hold companies responsible for protecting investors, shareholders and employees. Laws are set of guidelines to help set standards and requirements to create a safe environment. Though hard number data is used in determining credit ratings, assumptions on central bank behavior also factor in making the data qualitative as well as quantitative. Maybe not so much now but there was a time when companies had a lot more freedom and less accountability for some of their actions. For example the tobacco industry for a long time had little to no responsibility in the health consequences of smoking; the freedom to advertise has changed in recent years due to the increase is illnesses due to smoking. Now companies have more stringent guidelines in how they do business. According to Melvin (2011), Business managers and owners should be aware of the impact of constitutional law and...
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...Summary Arthur Kleinman’s, “A Window on Mental Health in China” discusses the medicalization process of mental illness in a culturally dominant society. China believed that mental illness was not a mental a disease but rather a politically wrong way of thinking and did not acknowledge the existence of mental hospitals. They believed the development and approaches of Western society were too liberal and unacceptable in China. Chinese society refused to accept that mental illness was in part caused by societal and environmental factors. Even though over the decades, mental illness has become a huge health problem in China, there are limited resources to treat their patients. Kathryn Schulz’s, “Did Antidepressants Depress Japan?” discusses the introduction of antidepressants and the effect it had on its society. Unlike America, Japan is a society who acknowledges that not everything in life is happiness, that there at times when individuals feel sad. Since feeling melancholy is acceptable, mental illness was not classified as a disease. Mild depression became popular in Japan after celebrities admitted they suffered from depression and were on antidepressants. The pharmaceutical companies started partnering with doctors, which they eventually prescribed patients antidepressants. Thomas J. Csordas’, “Elements of Charismatic Persuasion and Healing” discusses the charismatic healing of Father Felix, two cases in particular. Charismatic healing is performed to eliminate the presence...
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..."The Promise of Sociology" by C. Wright Mills According to C. Wright Mills, what occurs in any one individual's life is interrelated with society as a whole. The sociological imagination gives us the ability to understand the correlation of one's biography, history, and traditions along with the knowledge of the social and historical impact and/or influence society may have on that person or group of people. Mills' notion compels us to investigate into an individual's biography and lifestyles, and place their findings within the surrounding circumstances in which events occur in order to perceive the whole picture of the society in which the individual lives. Mills says to understand this "imagination" would be to see the connection between personal troubles and public issues. Personal troubles meaning, problems that are felt personally which are caused by occurrences or feelings in an individual's life; and public issues meaning, issues that affect a group or mass of people with their roots interwoven within an organization or institution and history of a society. A person can become homeless for many reasons: a family member throws them out of their home because they do not contribute financially, or they become incapable of caring for themselves due to mental illness, or they become addicted to drugs and lose their home trying to support their habit. These are a few examples of personal troubles which most would think are brought about by the individual alone and...
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...Alyssa Standridge Section 014 M. Silva March 27, 2016 The Humane Society as a Discourse Community According to the Linguist John Swales, a discourse community is “a group that has goals or purposes, and uses communication to achieve these goals.” One example of a discourse community is the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County is a non-profit organization that cares for over 6,000 animals each year. The Humane Society has numerous goals and ambitions, but one strong mission. The mission is to assure a better life for companion animals by providing shelter, finding loving homes and promoting respect for their place in our lives. The discourse community of the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County uses both written text and graphics to communicate between its rhetors and readers. The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County has been living out its mission and goals since it was founded in 1933. One of its main goals, which is continuously being fulfilled by the members in its discourse community, is to place adoptable animals in “forever homes.” Their goals are to serve the people and animals of Memphis and surrounding areas by providing several services, such as low cost spay and neuter programs, humane sheltering for lost, abandoned and neglected pets, return of lost pets to families, humane education, pet therapy services, strengthening the human-animal bond, providing disaster preparedness, and...
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...the struggles to do what is right through Mary Warren and John Proctor, I will also evaluate other factors causing struggle such as relationships both old and young and other characters that affect struggle. Throughout the play Miller presents Proctor as a character who is constantly guilty for his sins, the most prominent sin being his affair with Abigail. The audience is made aware of Proctor’s lingering feelings when he admits “I may have looked”, the use of the hedging “may” amplifies how Proctor’s guilt does not only come from the destruction of his marriage with Elizabeth but also because of his constant feelings for Abigail. These feelings are further reinforced from Abigail’s “and you must”, the use of the stronger, more imposing word “must” then enforces how Abigail is willing to give herself to Proctor no matter what the consequences. The ever so slight “and you must” likewise presents to the audience that Abigail has taken hold of her sexual prowess in order to use it to manipulate people, such as John, to comply with what she personally wants which is power in a restrictive society. This is further presented towards the audience when Abigail states that John “sweated like a stallion” for her, the use of the simile “sweated like a stallion”, the use of the word “stallion” portrays Proctor as being much more majestic and powerful, it also adds to the...
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...Rights and Duties are like to two sides of a coin, absolutely inseparable. Whenever and wherever we have any rights, we must have corresponding duties. Whether it be the home, the society or the country, in every sphere of life we have rights and duties t. We have rights in the same measure as we have duties. Let us be very clear that there can be no rights without an equal measure of corresponding duties or responsibilities. Part III of the Indian Constitution enumerates the Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens, including the right to equality, speech, expression etc. However, originally the Indian Constitution did not include a chapter on fundamental duties of citizens. In 1976 only this has been incorporated in order to restrict and balance rights and duties. However, sufficient attention has not been given to duties of the citizens and this neglect is here for all of us to see and bear. All Indians are very well aware of their rights but none yes, none of us to be equally aware of duties. We continue to ask for this right and that right but, do we ever wait to ponder if we are doing our duties also? Not only the Indian Constitution even most of the Western countries have ignored the inclusion of fundamental duties in their books. However, there it did not ever lead to chaos similar to what we see here in India. This is because, most of these advanced countries of the West are imbued with a high sense of patriotism as a result of education and training in their elementary...
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