...Elitism in American Politics Elitism is the belief or philosophy that a particular group of persons with exceptional abilities, specialized training or experience, wealth, or other unique characteristics, are the people whose interpretations on different matters are to be taken most seriously. More simply, some believe these people are best fit to administer or whose understandings or actions are mostly likely to be beneficial and profitable. Otherwise, the term elitism could be used to pronounce a condition in which power is in fact focused in the hands of an elite, whether rightly or wrong. Pluralism, in a rather general sense, is the acceptance and approval of diversity. The concept is used in a wide variety of issues and sometimes in many different ways. In politics, the support of diversity in the benefits and beliefs of the community is one of the most imperative aspects of today’s democracy. In science, this idea defines many different philosophies, approaches and points of view that can be deemed legitimate and/or credible. This outlook may perhaps be the central element to major scientific advancements. It is believed that elitism best describes modern American politics. American politics can best be agreed that a large amount of political power is held by a relatively small, yet wealthy group of people that share similar interests and views, and more than likely coming from fairly comparable fortunate families and upbringings. Most of this country’s top leaders in...
Words: 1874 - Pages: 8
...Running Head: POLITICS Politics: Howards Government [Victoria University] Table of Contents Thesis Statement 1 Introduction 1 Discussion 1 Political Culture 3 Economic Rationalism 4 Social Conservatism 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Annotated Bibliography 11 Politics: Howards Government Thesis Statement The changes brought by he Howard’s government in social, political, and economical landscape are substantially different from previous regimes and tend to move away from welfare state to free market system. Introduction This paper discusses the changes that have been brought by the 11 year era of 25th Prime minister of Australia, Mr John Winston Howard. This era saw economic expansion that is characterized as longest in the history of Australia. Howard’s policies, practices, philosophies, and decisions have been widely debated specially over the issue of abolishing welfare system, treatment of asylum seeker after the 9-11, and such. This paper discusses the changes in the era of Howard and its consequences. Discussion The 25th Prime minister of Australia, Mr John Winston Howard, was born on July 26th; 1939.he is the longest serving prime minister of Australia after Sir Robert Menzies. His era of Prime Ministership started March 11th, 1996 and ended in December the 3rd 2007. After 1980, it was the first Federal victory of coalition of the National Parties and liberals. The first terms was 1996 to 1998, the...
Words: 2949 - Pages: 12
...-Quentin Bell: Virginia Woolf A Biography, Harcourt Books, 1972, Pp. 314- Virginia Woolf: The Scrutiny of Her Depiction The nephew of Virginia Woolf, Quentin Bell, does his best to define and reveal whom his aunt was, but I did not get what I wanted from Bell’s book. In my accounts of reading Virginia Woolf’s writings like “To the Lighthouse” and “Mrs. Dalloway”, I found myself captivated by Woolf’s observant and insightful mind that seemed to clearly see into itself and the minds of others including those in her family. Many of Woolf’s works alluded to views of distributive justice, socioeconomic processes, social exclusion, and assessments of patriarchy, but what I found in this biography was a person who appeared to be self-centered, and difficult to understand. Although Bell saw her as an elegant women with a brilliant mind that at times sporadically had nervous breakdowns it seemed that too often her brilliance didn’t come through to me because Bell failed to do what Woolf did in her writings, which was to create an image of a character that revealed her [Woolf’s] nature without constantly having to remind me. Both Bell and Woolf had great minds and an excellent sense of artistry, so it is unfair to compare Quentin Bell to Virginia Woolf. So my critique is not of Quentin Bell as a person, but his ideas of who Virginia Woolf was. And in this case Bell has plenty of insight on Woolf but tends to focus on details and journals in her life that do not help to truly resonate...
Words: 1933 - Pages: 8
...Sorority-- a group of girls or women associated for a common purpose. It can be also a social organization of female students at a college or university, usually identified by Greek Letters. A sorority can be a great way to build friendships, build a small community within a university setting, and find opportunities for leadership and service. But people also associate sororities with elitism, racism, alcohol abuse, eating disorders and promiscuity. So, what is life in a sorority really like? When you think of a sorority, you're probably thinking of a national sorority. A national sorority has chapters all over the country that answer to a governing body. A local sorority, on the other hand, has no ties to a national affiliate organization. When sororities were founded, college campuses were dominated by men. Many female students felt isolated, not just because the male students outnumbered them, but because this was a time when women were largely considered unsuited to higher education. Sororities began as a way for women to find intellectual and social companionship with one another. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Sorority has not been all about glory and service. It has its own negative effects on people too. this tradition may be more than just a rite of passage for many college women, it holds that rushing sororities may have profoundly negative effects on body image and self esteem, as optimistic pledges are often evaluated predominantly on their outward appearance, putting a great...
Words: 327 - Pages: 2
...I. INTRODUCTION Singapore has always taken pride in being a meritocracy and its embrace of meritocracy has been the cornerstone of the nation’s success story. Over the years, Singapore’s meritocracy has emphasised on “equality of opportunity” over “equality of outcomes”; shaping a relatively level playing field where the most capable and hardworking individuals regardless of ethnicity or social classes have an equal opportunity to rise to the top. While the State has always heralded the success of meritocracy, the systemic flaws and failures that were once side-lined in the public eye are becoming increasingly prevalent and visible today. This paper on “Examining Meritocracy and Elitism in Singapore” serves to explore the inherent contradictions within the concept of meritocracy and investigate the systemic failures arising from the dissonance caused by how meritocracy is practised in Singapore where the inevitable social and income inequalities results in an elitist system which perpetuates itself. The central research question is how meritocracy shapes the Singapore elite and in turn how the elite shapes meritocracy in the country. In this paper, the elite is defined as the class of English-educated Singaporeans who subsequently rises to the top as the political and bureaucratic elite, unless otherwise specified. This paper will discuss how the elite accumulates an increasing degree and concentration of influence which allows them to consolidate...
Words: 5135 - Pages: 21
...There are many important key issues that affect international development such as ethnic conflicts, democracy, health, etc. However, this policy brief will focus on the issue of poverty in international development. It will define poverty and the causes of poverty such as unemployment, political instability and rapid urbanization. As well as, the impact these causes have on international development. Lastly, this policy brief will offer suggestions to eliminate poverty. Poverty is defined as the condition of having insufficient resources to live and is one of the largest problems in developing countries. In the poorest of developing countries, almost eighty percent of the population lives in absolute poverty; which has a variety of serious consequences on human lives (Handelman, 2011). With the rising rates of poverty, many face problems of famine and lack of lodging. Over half of the population of developing countries, live in urban slums. Urban slums are generally self-made homes of brick and tin close together where there is no access to clean drinking water, sanitation or urban services including health care. Sanitation is poor, if there is any at all, and the water is contaminated because of the sewage running through it. The immediate danger with this type of environment is the risk to the people’s health. This degree of poverty and lack of clean water leads to poor personal hygiene resulting in the proliferation of various harmful bacteria which results in...
Words: 1259 - Pages: 6
...LITERATURE REVIEW ON AN INVESTIGATION UNTO THE EFFECT OF STREAMING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SLOW LEARNERS. This chapter is a reflection of what other researchers have come up with pertaining to the problem of streaming. It will help to gain understanding of the current state of knowledge about this problem. It will also help to stimulate and derive an initial list of pertinent questions to ask or behaviors to observe (Johnson and Christensen, 2012). Additionally it will show the originality and relevance of the research problem owing to the fact that, knowing what others have done makes researchers to be better prepared to understand with deeper insight, the problem under study (Leedey, 1985). One of the most controversial aspects of teaching is dealing with the many differences between students in the classroom (Reynolds, 2011), then (West and Muijs, 2009) observes that there is a need for personalization in order to offer education that is tailored to the learner, within systems responsive to learners’ needs rather than expecting the learner to adapt to the existing systems within the school. In order to address the differences in learning abilities teachers find themselves using the term streaming. There are a number of definitions of streaming. To begin with the Oxford English dictionary defines streaming as the policy of dividing school students into groups of the same level of ability. Daniel Muijs (2011), also defines streaming as a procedure where by students are...
Words: 1231 - Pages: 5
...Law and Ethics “Pro Utilitarianism” Student: Mentor: Besnik Mustafa Bejtullah Demiri Content Introduction…………………………………………………………………3 Branches……………………………………………………………………...4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………9 References…………………………………………………………………..10 Introduction Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Though not fully articulated until the 19th century, proto-utilitarian positions can be discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good. The Classical Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure, so, like Epicurus, were hedonists about value. They also held that we ought to maximize the good, that is, bring about ‘the greatest amount of...
Words: 2705 - Pages: 11
...unfettered. What a contrast today when the university finds itself defined as a key economic, political, social, and cultural institution as the result of extraordinary transformations occurring throughout our nation and the world. We are rapidly evolving into a new post-industrial society in which the key strategic resource necessary for prosperity and social well-being has become knowledge itself. Indeed, we are entering what might be called "an age of knowledge" in which educated people and their ideas play the role that in the past was played by natural resources or geographic location or labor pools. In the pluralistic, knowledge-intensive, global future that is our destiny it is clear that the quality of and access to education in general, higher education in particular, and the research university most specifically of all are rapidly becoming the key factors in determining the strength and prosperity of our state. The strategic marketing plan: 1 the increasingly critical role assigned to universities has not brought with it increased prestige, public confidence, or respect. Instead, like so many other institutions in our society, we find ourselves roundly criticized from right, left, and center and even from within by many faculty, students, and staff for flaws large and small, fundamental and trivial. The private university is clearly under attack: attacked by parents and students for the uncontrolled escalation of tuition, criticized by governors for financial irresponsibility...
Words: 1269 - Pages: 6
...Introduction Critical thinking is a rational disciplined procedure of conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness (Critical Thinking, 2009). According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results (Critical Thinking, 2009). This paper will offer insight into the benefit and importance of critical thinking in the workplace. The Importance of Critical Thinking A manager is expected to make numerous decisions that to some degree will have future repercussions on her department; perhaps the entire organization. A manager needs to ‘Act’, not ‘React’...
Words: 1022 - Pages: 5
...WHAT IS A GLOBAL CITIZEN AND HOW CAN OUR SYSTEMS OF EDUCATION CREATE GLOBAL CITIZENS? Title of Essay: Unlocking the civic sense of young minds Full Name: Karthik Shankar Date of Birth: 26 July 1989 Current Occupation: Student Course: Journalism and Mass Communication University: SRM University, Chennai Email Address: karthik.psshankar@gmail.com Country: India UNLOCKING THE CIVIC SENSE OF YOUNG MINDS Karthik Shankar Patrick Geddes, the Scottish city planner said “Think globally, act locally”. That is a very apt statement with regards to the philosophy of global citizenship. Today with globalization, there is a deeper understanding that the daunting challenges of poverty eradication, sustainable development and religious extremism, among...
Words: 1854 - Pages: 8
...certain gene for one thing could also turn off genes which control other important factors, but become aware only after the being born (Dawkins, 1989). Unfortunately, they could suffer from a variety of problems that are associated with damage inflicted by the process of DNA transfer. For instance, after inserting NR2B gene, evidences show that mice not only have better learning and memory, but also more dubious desirability like greater sensitivity to pain (Saenz, 2009). On the other hand, inarguably, there are plenty of persuasive evidences to prove that genetic determinism view of development has been displaced by the modern theory that both genetic and environmental factors have equally significant impacts on shaping our characteristics via a complex interaction of genes and environment (Agar, 2006). As human beings, we are far more than the products of genes themselves, therefore the achievements of “Designer Baby” with enhancement genes turn out to be much weaker than what those advocates predict. Instead, surveys have proven that excellences can be acquired alternately from parental nurturing by instilling virtues like generosity, creativity, integrity and compassion (Steinbock, 2008). Additionally, parents are free to choose schools, religious instruction, preschool education, etc. in a liberal environment. Via postnatal methods, parents are able to improve or enhance their kids far more efficiently rather than beating their brains to create designer babies. Secondly, creating...
Words: 1490 - Pages: 6
...perspectives. An education theory is the speculative thought of education and just like any other theory; it explains, guides, and describes the practices of education. The earliest speculation on educational processes began during the times of classical sophists and Greek philosophers. Current education speculations use terms like andragogy, curriculum, learning pedagogy, education organization, leadership, and policy. Education thought is derived from various disciplines like, philosophy, sociology, critical theory, psychology, and history among others. This paper will discuss five topics based on the best education theory to be applied in the classroom setting with focus on two education theories postulated by Lev Vygotsky and John Dewey. This paper will also address information processing by students, behaviors of teachers to promote thinking, implications of language development on learning and teaching, and on the relationship between the emotional and social development on student behavior and learning. Classroom Observation Analysis Education theory can either be descriptive like in the sciences or normative like in philosophy. Education theory postulates what education processes are supposed to consist of; it sets the standards, norms, and goals in carrying out an education process. The scientific education theory gives a set of hypotheses, which have to be experimented and verified. The two approaches have produced two broad categories of education theories...
Words: 3029 - Pages: 13
...Compare Marguerite Duras’ novel Moderato Cantabile, with Peter Brook’s version of the film. Which, in your view, is more successful? Why? Moderato Cantabile tells the story of a bored young wife of a wealthy industrial owner who depends on the only light in her life, her young son. Anne Desbarede the central protagonist rushes to the scene of a crime during one of her son’s piano lesson to find a young woman dead in a neighbouring cafe. This is where she encounters the other main protagonist Chauvin, an ex-worker at her husband’s factory who has also witnessed the murder. The troubled woman increasingly identifies herself with the murder victim and quickly becomes obsessed with Chauvin. The couple are apparently reconstructing the murder story, however really it is their own story, a story of a woman discovering herself and a man desiring to kill his lover. I find it difficult to answer the question of whether the film or the novel was more successful because although there are differences in the film I found the mood and general atmosphere to be almost identical. For this reason I intend to argue for both sides, as I have experienced good and bad points within the two works. When we watch a movie or read a novel we have particular expectations of format. The introduction of characters, plot development and a certain outcome are the usual conventions that permit us a superior perspective on the narrative. However from my reading and viewing of Moderato Cantabile I have...
Words: 1770 - Pages: 8
...Ever since its inception in Ancient Greece, liberal education has afforded its students a truth for new understanding, that makes them well-rounded citizens. In terms of the American education system when it reached its pinnacle in the 1950s, its course was just as quickly reversed in the 1960s. A major culprit in the degradation of higher learning can be shouldered by Students for Democratic Society(SDS).To understand how these events came to be, we must first look at the values/objective of this very organization that came to be at the turn of the decade in 1960 at University of Michigan and Cornell University. Liberal education gives a liberating and freedom that is meant to be worth to educate the person in order to take part in civic life, as a future citizen. The ASEAN the Association of American Colleges and Universities states that a liberal education is that which liberates the mind from ignorance and cultivate social responsibility. Liberal education, unlike vocation is not to train, but to change people. Liberal education allows the student to learn how to think rather than what to think, to have a philosophical understanding wanting to question the reason of being and teaching. A liberal educated person is one that can think outside the box and question the norms of nature. They are free-thinkers.Failure in the closing of the American mind is the failure to have a basic principle of ideas and classic works that contributes to literature, politics etc to educate men...
Words: 6425 - Pages: 26
