Diversity Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Diversity Worksheet Essay 1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity means different. This can be a difference in cultures, goals, values, lifestyles, and ideas. There is not two people that will think or live alike. We need to learn to accept that others will do things and think different then we do. It is important to value our diversity in order to be able to work together. 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Ethnocentrism is where people believe that they are better than others in an ethnic group, but it can also develop from racial or religious differences. This can cause problem by leading to false opinions about different cultures, maybe causing communication problems. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is where people are exported from a country whether it is voluntary or not. Immigration is where people are coming into a new country to live as a permanent resident. Reasons that people might leave a country for one to another is that there may not be jobs there and even war can make people want to leave. 4. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? There are four ways that groups are identified and they are race, religion, gender, and ethnicity. Racial group refers to minorities that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. Some examples would be the color of skin, the color of hair and maybe even the amount hair on the body. Religion groups vary worldwide. People should not be judged on the religion that they believe in. With gender it is said that males are the social majority and the women are the social minority. Ethnic groups are different because of the way cultural differences such as the food that they eat, the way that they raise their children, the language that they speak ,and even the way that they look at being married to somebody. 5. Why do people label and group other people? I would think that the reasons why people put others down would be that they want to make themselves look better and feel better about themselves. This can have a positive or negative effect on the person and the one that it is directed at. If it is positive it can help lead to the person or the group getting more confidence. If it is negative then it can lead to the group or individual becoming withdrawn from shame or bullying. 6. Define culture. Is culture limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds? Explain. The definition of culture is the characteristics of a certain group of people defined by everything such as the language they speak, the types of music that they listen to, the type of food that they eat, and the religion that they practice and believe in. I do not believe that it is limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds because every group is different in the way that they live and there is not right way or wrong way to live.

Pearls Life Without Shame in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter

Pearl's Life Without Shame in The Scarlet Letter Neither Hester's love for Authur Dimmesdale nor her need for atonement of her sins were the primary reasons why Hester remained in Boston. However, Hester mainly lived out her punishment to set an example for Pearl of what she should not become. Hester Prynne's life had been a continuous series of disappointments and shame. Because she cared for her daughter, Pearl, Hester treated her punishment more as a means of teaching Pearl a respectable lifestyle than a means of confronting her vices. Hester experienced on three occasions of heart shaking blows, which most would only encounter once in a lifetime. Marrying Roger Chillingworth was Hester Prynne's first documented mistake. She even went as far to call it her most significant sin, despite the array she had to choose from. Not only had Hester married Roger Chillingworth when she did not even love him, she also was partly responsible for bring so much pain on her true love, Authur Dimmesdale. When Chillingworth derived that the Reverend Dimmesdale was Hester's partner in shattering the purity of their marriage, he made it his duty to obtain revenge by torturing Dimmesdale: This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analyzed and gloated over. The scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne's bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her. (116) Hester could not escape her evil husband nor her liability in augmenting Authur's anguish. Secondly, Hester's adultery was the most prominent sin in the eyes of ... ...er. Hester proved, like she had before, that she was fallible. She momentarily lost sight of Pearl's lesson. However, Reverend Dimmesdale was a martyr, losing his life at the time when Hester's desires for a new setting were at their peak and thus bringing back her primitive motive. The conclusion in Chapter Twenty-four proved that Hester's decision was the best for Pearl, which was all she had wanted. "Pearl was not only alive, but married, and happy, and mindful of her mother" (177). Pearl was successful after her outcast childhood, free from the mistakes Hester had made and able to be true to everyone around her. Pearl was a better person because her mother was brave enough to keep them there in the fire and teach her daughter how to lead a life without shame. Works Cited: Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Bill to Law at Malaysia

3. Explain the process how a Bill becomes Law. Malaysia was a former British colony and prior to its independence a commission was appointed to draft the Federal Constitution based on the system of parliamentary democracy practiced in the Great Britain. Similar to the Westminster System, Malaysia’s Federal Constitution divides the structure of government into three branches – Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. Under the doctrine of separation of powers, the Legislature is the body which has the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. There are two legislative assemblies under the Westminster system, an upper house (In Malaysia, it is called the Dewan Negara) and a lower house (Dewan Rakyat). Before an Act becomes a law, it is called a Bill. There are two types of Bills, a Public Bill and a Private Bill. Under the Public Bills, there are Government Bills and Private Members Bills, where Government Bill is normally introduced by a Minister and Private Member Bill is initiated by a Member of Parliament. A Private Bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or a group of individuals, or corporate entity. A Bill will have to go through several stages before it becomes a law. When a Bill is introduced to MPs in the parliament, it is called the First Reading. The title of the Bill is read out and copies of it are copied out, no debate takes place, but there will be a vote on whether the House wishes to consider the Bill further. During the Second Reading, the general principles contained in the Bill are debated by the MPs. Frequently, during this stage; public attention will be drawn to the proposal and the debate between the MPs who support and against the bill begins. At the end of the debate a vote is taken – a majority of MPs must be in favor of the Bill in order for it to progress any further. If the Bill passes the Second Reading, it will come to the Committee Stage. At this stage, a detailed examination of each clause of the Bill is undertaken by a committee and the committee will subject the Bill to line-by-line examination and make amendments. The membership of the committee will usually be those MPs with special knowledge, or interest, in the subject of the Bill. Next, the amended Bill goes to the Report Stage – the Bill will be reviewed by the House where it started. The amendments will be debated in the House. The Third Reading is the final vote and debate on the Bill. It is almost a formality, since a Bill which passed through all the stages is very unlikely to fail at this late stage. Another vote will be taken and if passed, then it goes through a similar process in another House. Finally, a Royal Assent by the King is needed in order for the Bill to formally become a law. Under the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1983, the King cannot refuse to sign the bill if it has been passed by both of the Houses in the parliament. Thereafter, the Act is gazetted and becomes an Act of Parliament.

Why You Should Avoid These Racial Terms

Ever wonder which term is appropriate when describing a member of an ethnic group? How do you know if you should refer to someone as black, African-American, Afro-American, or something else entirely? How should you proceed when members of an ethnic group have different preferences for what they’d like to be called? Among three Mexican-Americans, one might want to be called Latino, another Hispanic, and the third might prefer Chicano. While some racial terms remain up for debate, others are considered outdated, derogatory, or both. Here are some suggestions for which racial names to avoid when describing people from ethnic backgrounds: Oriental Common complaints about using Oriental to describe individuals of Asian descent include that it should be reserved for objects, such as rugs, and not people and that it’s antiquated, akin to using Negro to describe an African-American. Howard University Law Professor Frank H. Wu made that comparison in a 2009 New York Times piece about the state of New York banning Oriental on government forms and documents. Washington state had passed a similar ban in 2002. â€Å"It’s associated with a time period when Asians had a subordinate status,† Wu told the Times. People link the term to old stereotypes of Asians and an era when the U.S. government passed exclusion acts to keep Asians from entering the country, he said. â€Å"For many Asian-Americans, it’s not just this term: It’s about much more†¦It’s about your legitimacy to be here.† In the same article, historian Mae M. Ngai, author of Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America, explained that while Oriental isn’t a slur, it’s never been widely used by Asians to describe themselves. Regarding the meaning of Oriental—Eastern—she said: â€Å"I think it’s fallen into disfavor because it’s what other people call us. It’s only the East if you’re from somewhere else. It’s a Eurocentric name for us, which is why it’s wrong. You should call people by what (they) call themselves, not how they are situated in relation to yourself.† When in doubt, use the term Asian or Asian-American. However, if you know someone’s ethnicity, refer to them as Korean, Japanese-American, Chinese-Canadian, and so forth. Indian While Oriental is almost universally frowned upon by Asians, the same isn’t true of Indian used to describe Native Americans. Award-winning writer Sherman Alexie, who is of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene ancestry, has no objection to the term. He told a Sadie Magazine interviewer: â€Å"Just think of Native American as the formal version and Indian as the casual one.† Not only does Alexie approve of Indian, he also remarked that â€Å"the only person who’s going to judge you for saying Indian is a non-Indian.† While many Native Americans refer to each other as Indians, some object to the term because it is associated with explorer Christopher Columbus, who mistook the Caribbean islands for those of the Indian Ocean, known as the Indies. Thus, people indigenous to the Americas were dubbed Indians. Many blame Columbus’ arrival in the New World for initiating the subjugation and slaughter of Native Americans, so they don’t appreciate a term he’s credited with popularizing. However, no states have banned the term, and there is a government agency called the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Theres also the National Museum of the American Indian. American Indian is more acceptable than Indian in part because its less confusing. When someone refers to American Indians, everyone knows the people in question don’t hail from Asia. But if you’re concerned about using Indian, consider saying â€Å"indigenous people,† â€Å"native people† or â€Å"First Nation† people instead. If you know a persons tribal background, consider using Choctaw, Navajo, Lumbee, etc., instead of an umbrella term. Spanish In some parts of the country, particularly the Midwest and the  East Coast, it’s commonplace to refer to a person who speaks Spanish and has Latin American roots as Spanish. The term doesn’t carry much negative baggage, but it’s factually inaccurate. Also,  like many similar terms, it lumps diverse groups of people under an umbrella category. Spanish is quite specific: It refers to people from Spain. But over the years, the term has been used to refer to various peoples from  Latin America  whose lands the Spanish colonized and whose people they subjugated. Many people from Latin America have Spanish ancestry, but that’s only part of their racial makeup. Many also have indigenous ancestors and, due to the slave trade, African ancestry as well. To call people from Panama, Ecuador, El Salvador, Cuba, and so on â€Å"Spanish† erases large swaths of racial backgrounds, designating multicultural people as European. It makes as much sense to refer to all Spanish-speakers as Spanish as it does  to refer to all English speakers as English. Colored When  Barack Obama  was elected president in 2008, actress  Lindsay Lohan  expressed her happiness about the event by  remarking  to â€Å"Access Hollywood†: â€Å"It’s an amazing feeling. It’s our first, you know, colored president.† Lohan’s not the only young person in the public eye to use the term. Julie Stoffer, one of the houseguests featured on MTV’s â€Å"The Real World: New Orleans,† raised eyebrows when she  referred  to African-Americans as â€Å"colored.† Jesse James  alleged mistress Michelle Bombshell McGee sought to defuse rumors that shes a white supremacist by  remarking, I make a horrible racist Nazi. I have too many colored friends. Colored never completely exited American society. One of the most prominent African-American advocacy groups uses the term in its name: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. There’s also the more modern (and appropriate) term â€Å"people of color.† Some people might think it’s OK to shorten that phrase to colored, but they’re mistaken. Like Oriental, colored harks back to an era of exclusion, when  Jim Crow  laws were in full force and blacks used water fountains marked â€Å"colored.† In short, the term stirs up painful memories. Today, African-American and black are the most acceptable terms to use for people of African descent. Some of them prefer black over African-American and vice versa. African-American is considered more formal, so if you’re in a professional setting, err on the side of caution and use that term. Of course, you can ask the people in question which term they prefer. Some immigrants of African descent wish to be recognized by their homelands, as Haitian-American, Jamaican-American, Belizean, Trinidadian, or Ugandan. For the 2010 Census, there was a  movement  to ask  black immigrants  to write in their countries of origin rather than be known collectively as â€Å"African-American.† Mulatto Mulatto arguably has the ugliest roots of antiquated ethnic terms. Historically used to describe the child of a black person and a white person, the term originated from the Spanish word mulato, which came from the word mula, or mule, the offspring of a horse and a donkey—clearly an offensive and outdated term. However, people still use it from time to time. Some biracial people use the term to describe themselves and others, such as author Thomas Chatterton Williams, who used it to describe Obama  and rap star Drake, both of whom, like Williams, had white mothers and  black fathers. Due to the word’s troublesome origins, its best to refrain from using it in any situation, with one possible exception:  a literary discussion of the trope  Ã¢â‚¬Å"tragic mulatto myth† referring to interracial American marriages. This myth characterizes mixed-race people as destined to live unfulfilling lives, fitting into neither black nor white society. Those who still buy into it or the period when the myth arose use the term tragic mulatto, but the word should never be used in casual conversation to describe a  biracial person. Terms such as biracial, multiracial, multi-ethnic or mixed are usually deemed non-offensive, with mixed being the most colloquial. Sometimes people use half-black or half-white to describe mixed-race people, but some biracial people believe these terms suggest that their heritage can be literally split down the middle like a pie chart, while they view their ancestry as completely fused. Its safer to ask people what they wish to be called or listen to what they call themselves.