Overseas Volunteer Essay Example for Free

Overseas Volunteer Essay The summer of 1996 was a time of great change for me as an individual. This was the summer that I was fortunate enough to get to spend six weeks as part of a traveling abroad program. These six weeks changed the way I viewed different places, people and cultures. I was lucky enough to experience many different things in many different places. I met many people from interesting cultural backgrounds and learned a lot from them. These six weeks prepared me for many new experiences in life. While traveling, I stayed with different families who were kind enough to take me in. Living with people who had different cultures and sometimes even different languages was a challenge for me since I had never even been out of the United States before this trip. I got to learn how to adapt to new situations by finding inventive ways to communicate with other humans. This was invaluable to me because it forced me to really pay attention to other people and learn about their cultural values through observation. This is a skill that has stayed with me. I have learned to slow down and really listen and observe in order to learn new things and gain new perspective. I was also able to visit many historic sites, landmarks and museums during my travels that I had only read about in books. I was able to apply a picture in a book to the real setting and this was an incredible experience. In these visits I was also able to learn a great deal about the culture in which I had immersed myself. This allowed me a deeper understanding of the people around me. These visits also told me about the rich histories of different groups of people and how they shaped the culture as it is today. In addition, I was able to try new and different foods which only added to my cultural experiences. At the same time, as I was experiencing new cultures I was also able to reflect on my own culture and the importance that it holds in my life. My travels have helped shaped the person I am today. I was forced to learn patience as I was immersed in cultures with different values and languages. I learned how to be creative in finding ways to communicate respectfully. I built my self confidence as I began to realize how capable I was of learning about different cultures in ways other than reading books. I got the opportunity to meet interesting people who helped me understand different ways of life and apply those to my own life. I learned how to be flexible in adapting to new ways of doing things, new ways of communicating and even new ways of eating. I experienced a great deal of personal growth in these travels that will prove invaluable to me in my future accomplishments. Changing lives is a great experience. This sentence sums up why I would like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have a deep desire to change the world by changing the lives of people less fortunate than me. I have been fortunate enough to have access to a high quality education. I have always enjoyed learning and experiencing new things and I would like to pass that on to other people. My college education was only a starting point in my life long learning endeavors. I have a passion for knowledge that has allowed me to reach a point in my life where I wish to give 27 months serving as a volunteer and enriching the lives of people around the world. Habitat for Humanity has given me valuable life skills but more importantly gave me the opportunity to help people less fortunate than me. I have been able to build homes for people and at the same time learn about their individual lives. I have taken my passion for helping others and in the process began to realize how one person can make a great difference. I can be that one person that takes the initiative to make small changes that will eventually lead to big changes. I desire to take this realization and travel the world helping others through small changes. Four years in the workforce has also given me valuable experiences that will enable me to be an effective volunteer. Through working, I have gained leadership skills that will serve me well when working with a team of other volunteers. These leadership skills will help me work cooperatively to make positive changes in the world. I have also gained a clear understanding of globalization outside of the United States and I wish to build on that knowledge through my volunteer work and opportunities I wouldn’t be able to have if I continued working in the corporate world. Working as a volunteer will provide me with international experience and new insights about the world around me. I can learn new values and perspectives that will make me a more well rounded and empathetic person. I will gain new understandings of different people and cultures and be able to apply some of that to how I live my own life. At the same time, I will have a great responsibility to show others my values and teach them new and exciting things about my own culture. Twenty-seven months is a short time in my life but those months will mean big changes in my life that will last long after my time serving as a volunteer is over. My life would be greatly enriched by helping others through small changes. I look forward to the chance to start making small changes right away and watching those small changes turn into big changes that have positive impacts on people around the world.

Features of Intercultural Communication

Features of Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is about how people from different cultures communicate. It is a face to face communication between people from different cultures and backgrounds (Lewis, Slade 2000). In University, the mixing of different cultures is a good example of intercultural communications. Every day, we learn different things about different cultures. This is important as it allows the world to grow and become closer allowing countries to have relations with each other and to learn and respect the different beliefs of other cultures. There will be problems faced along the way to achieving these goals nevertheless there are always ways to overcome these problems. Problems such as language barriers, traditionalbeliefs , Gender with regards religion are the main issues which present difficulties towards learning about different cultures. One of the problems that can affect the movement of intercultural communications is traditional beliefs. For example, Koreans traditionally as a sign of acknowledgement and respect, greet one another with a bow. If a westerner goes to Korea and greets a Korean with a wave, it may be disrespectful towards the Korean. This can be overcome by education and the acceptance of multiculturalism within each country. A country cannot expand if it does not except multiculturalism. Storey Douglas said in his article that international communications including the flow of popular culture and news, as well as educational, economic, and professional exchange, are shown to have profound influences on how people develop images of other nations and how perceptions and misperceptions affect interaction at the national level (Douglas 1988). Language is the key to a person’s self-identity. It enables the person to express emotions,  share feelings, tell stories, and convey complex messages and knowledge. Language is our  greatest mediator that allows us to relate and understand each other (Imberti, 2007). It can be defined as a system of conceptual symbols that allows us to communicate. It also provides us with a significant frame of reference and a relational context that sustains our identities (Imberti, 2007). An example of how language can be a barrier towards intercultural communication is when a Chinese man is unable to communicate to a Western man because of his lack of knowledge of the English language vice versa. Aki Uchida mentioned in her article about understanding the need to learn English, she saw it as an important means of relating to people of different cultures and constructing shared knowledge and understanding (Uchida 1997). Understanding the need to learn another language is important for overcoming the language barrier to enable communications between cultures helping us relate to different cultures and sharing our knowledge and understanding of our cultures to them. Some cultures believe that women are inferior to men. It is a barrier preventing us to achieve intercultural communication. For example if a successful Australian woman goes to the middle east where women are permitted to work and their job were to simply stay at home and look after the kids, Middle eastern men may find that very intimidating and offensive therefore avoiding any form of communication with the Australian woman. Aki Uchida suggested in her article that emphasizing the possibility that the beliefs and practices that constitute gender are salient cultural resources and attributes that participants may reject, accept, or integrate in the course of cultural building (Uchida 1997). To build obtain intercultural communications; people have to learn to accept and respect their dogmata of another culture for communication to transpire. In respects to the example I gave, Middle eastern men should accept and respect the culture of Australian society and not be afraid to approach the Australian woman with respect and benevolence. Like-wise the Australian woman should realize their culture and be more respectful towards the men not in an inferior way but a restrained manner (not coming across as too aggressive). These are ways that we can form bridges to further improve our drive towards obtaining intercultural communication with different cultures. However there are still people in the world who are ethnocentric. Ethnocentric is having the idea that your particular belief or culture is better than other cultures and beliefs. Having this mind set will only set us back in hopes of obtaining multiculturalism and cross cultural communication. Ethnocentrism is divided into three stages, denial, defence and minimization are the three ways to define an ethnocentric person (Chu 2014). The person is in denial which means he or she is completely not interested in dealing with people of different cultures (Chu 2014). They are comfortable in their culture and usually do not want to step out and accept a different culture. Some are in Defence and take action towards people of different cultures (Chu 2014). Their actions are usually caused by fear of an unknown belief or action and therefore in defence, they retaliate against the person in other words categorising them as â€Å"minorities†. Minimization is when they recognise a different culture but at a very superficial and minimal kind of level (Chu 2014). Our aim should be to try and help those who are ethnocentric to slowly move towards being ethnorelative. Naomi Ludemen Smith described in her article that to be ethnorelative is to adopt a position that dismantles any notion that there is a set of universal standards by which we can rightfully judge or confront the good and the bad of how a people group, religion, and society lives (Smith 2013). ethno relativism is divided into three stages, acceptance, adaptation and integration. Acceptance is to tolerate different cultures, Adaptation is to experience emphathy towards a different culture and integration is not regarding that there is a dominant culture (Chu 2014). To move from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, according to Deardorff, the attitudes move from top to bottom. Firstly, when dealing with another culture, the ethnocentric individual will have to show respect, openness and curiosity discovery (Chu 2014). This is the basic requirement before moving on to the next stage of gaining knowledge and skills to adaptation. Individual has to show cultural self-awareness which is acknowledging that his or her culture is not perfect. After realising this, you will accept another culture and gain an understanding of it and slowly being open o listen, observe and show respect to a different culture (Chu 2014). After which, a desired internal outcome will be obtained. The individual will gain an ethnorelative mindset and will be able to empathise with other cultures. Lastly, the individual will obtain the desired external outcome being able to behave and communicate affectively and appropriately to achieve his or her goals to some degree with another culture (Chu 2014). Our ultimate goal is to achieve intercultural competence in todays globalised society. All these technical tools on how to become more ethnorelative will be completely useless if the individual does not possess the correct ethics. we need to have ethics when it comes to competence of intercultural communication. In order to address ethics in communication, we must recognise them as an extension of personal convictions or we condemn ourselves to study them as idealistic, theoractical constructs (Casmir 2013). We have to gain these ethics ourselves, gaining knowledge of the norms within other cultures and show respect towards these norms, show hospitality to people from other cultures for others to display respect to our culture therefore displaying the awareness of different cultures ethical responses (Chu 2014). At the end of the day, it is people who communicate with each other and not cultures that communicate with each other. If we look at the differences between cultures from our perspective, there are many differences however if you look at it from a individual human to human perspective, There is not much difference in the way people react to things (Chu 2014). We have to put ourselves into unknown territory for us to change and appreciate different cultures and to display ethics. The learning process or acculturation which is the process of the meeting of cultures and the changes which result from such meetings (Chu 2014). How we acculturate is the same as how we learn about things in our daily lives such as university or our work place, we expose ourselves to unknown situations and learn from it by excepting it. Intercultural empathy is shown when we place ourselves in the shoes of someone from a different cultures perspective and try to understand what it is like from their eyes (Chu 2014). It is like setting a goal for ourselves in the future and working backwards from that goal that way guide us and sets a focus into attaining our goal. Intercultural competence is important to communications because it helps us bridge cultural differences within and among nations (Chu 2014). Multiculturalism is spreading around the world due to globali zation with counties helping each other expand through trades and multi national operations. Therefore, migration is high and individuals from different cultures are made to interact with one another which is why it is necessary for us to have an ethical response to the social reality of cultural tension. Why not get along to help make the world a better place to live in.

Right to Free Movement in the European Market

Right to Free Movement in the European Market The philosophy The right to move freely represents one of the fundemental freedoms of the European internal market. This general rule on free movement rights under EC law continues to be developed,[1] either due to member state progression or economic and social demands. Although one of the most panoramic in it’s ideals, the free movement of workers has seen several central legal issues arise on various occassions. But exploration of these central issues must be seen through a consideration of the tensions and interplay between both economic and social aspects of the free movement of people from both inside and outside of the European Union. The free movement of a citizen of the European Unon is seen to contribute to the economic progression of the Community as a whole. In the single market the worker is also a human being exercising their right to live in another state and to take up employment without the risk of discrimination and to improve the standards of living for themsleves, and possibly, their families. But for nationals of a third party cases such as Chen (2004), Baumbast (2002) and Carpenter (2002) have meant that as the spouse or realtive of an EU citizen their entry into the Community is a secure one. Further, gaining the same rights of an EU citizen under Regulation 1612/68 EEC. But this idea of border controls and unfettered freedom of movement within the Community is closely interlinked with the posiiton of the non-EC national, whose right to movement and residence under EC law is limited,[2] as well as the contribtuing effect that the members states’ attitude has upon their admission.[3] â€Å"Fortress Europe† Although EC legislation had intended that internal barriers to the four freedoms be eliminated and that only an external barrier (at the borders of the Community) remain, academics have argued that this may not always be so:[4] â€Å"[how] these proposals have been watered down through discussion in member states, in particular in relation to employment, which is an important requisite for the integration of migrants.†[5] Whilst the freedom of the EC worker is guaranteed through Treaty rules and secondary legislation, this does not mean that member states may no longer exercise control over population movements, into and within their territories.[6] But some ECJ case law on Directive 68/360 expressly recognised that member states may have legitimate reasons for wishing to keep account of the population within their terrrtories.[7] The European Union, by using border controls to it’s extremities, has managed ot create a border-free, intra-EU site creating what has been dubbed as â€Å"Communierisation† of its geographical position. Although the EU has been successful in its pursuit of removing internal barriers to the four freedoms, it’s imposition of external barriers (namely, the â€Å"fortress Europe† tendany) are imposing upon those nationals of third parties from stepping into Europe unless they are related to a citizen of the EU who excerts their right to free movement. The EU has long been attacked as an exclusionary organisation concerned solely with the citizens of its own member states at the cost of non-EU citizens residing in the EU, even though many of the latter form part of ethnic or religious minorities and suffer social exclusion.[8] So, it seems that the principles governing the borders of the Community are failing those third party nationals.[9] The â€Å"Outsiders† A vivid example of how â€Å"fortress Europe† had imposed this restriction can be noted prior to the accession in 2004 of many, now, Central and Eastern European countries. Lavenex[10] argues that prior to, and with suggestions of accession for Central and Eastern European countries the, then, current members of Europe had feared large-scale immigration from these countries into their own territories. The EU’s already heavily regiinented rules of external border barriers on trade and migration from â€Å"outsiders† (those countries not members of the EU) where to form part of the accession policies. Meaning that the acceeding Central and Eastern European countries encountered stringent preventative stances to their entrance into the EU on beahlf of the Community. But during a time when security at an intergovernmemtal level is already on red alert due to heightened tensions caused by the threat of terrorism,[11] it appears that migration has become a security rather than economic issue. So risking mmigrants and asylum-seekers being portrayed as a challenge to the protection of national identity and welfare provisions. Moreover, supporting the political construction of migration as a security rather than economic issue.[12] Getting in or staying out? The treatment of third country nationals (besides those who have derived rights through Community family members) can be understood through external and internal dimensions. The external element, namely the issue of â€Å"getting into the EU† focuses on the member staes and the institutions emphasis of immigration and border controls. Yet, according to the case of Wijsenbeck[13], the member states are still able to perfomr checks at their own borders, be them external or not. But this policing of movement draws attention to the vulnerablity of the third country national.[14] But progression has been felt. Through Artcles such as K.1 to K.9 of the TEU governing policies such as asylum, immigration and third country nationals which have now been intergrated into the EC Treaty (as Title IV) , as well as Regulations have now inacted the uniform format for visas.[15] Regulations also cover the listings of third countries whose nationals must be on possession of visas when crossing external borders.[16] Importanly, the area of immigartion and the member states’ stance on the matter of border control is liable to change in accordance with their political climate. The emphasis post-September 11th has fallen squarely on matters of security.[17] Various member states have also expressed concern at the numbers of third country nationals seeking asylum in their territory, so reinforcing their diffculties in gaining access into the EU. The internal dimension of the matter is one which concentrates on the rights of third country nationals already residing within the Community. As there is no stringent source as to their status upon this; such limiteed rights are based on various possible provisions. This can include their capacity as a family member of an EU citizen (as aforementioned) or as employees of EC service providers or as subject to one of the Community’s Assocaition, Co-operation or other International Agreements with third countries.[18] Even though their residence in the EU may be legitimate the general range of EC rights and freedoms, however, do not apply to them. With speculation increasing as to the possible imposition of ID cards within the UK has also been backed by the controversial possible introduction of the staus of European citizenship. This citizenship, which would be conditional upon the possession of member state nationality, may only serve to emphasise the differences in treatment between EU nationals, who possess such nationality, and those who do not. But from an economic standpoint, countries potentially out of the line of terrorist fire have welcomed the idea of third country nationals, especially those intending to work, as being a potential boost to their economy. Yet the richer member states argue that the heightened security risks and â€Å"flood gate† effects that recent accession has had is already having an adverse effect on their economies. Concluding Staying stationaery or moving through the times? But Peers[19] argues that change may soon be on the horizon with the implementation of Directive 2003/109 on the status of long-term resident third-country nationals within the European Union. This Directive was an opportunity to address the long-standing criticism that the EU gives insufficient protection to its resident third country nationals. Already being reported as limited and disappointing in a number of respects. Yet, if consequential jurisprudence reflects its interpretation as being in line with the context and objectives of the Directive, it could make a positive contribution to the status of third country nationals in the EU. This especially as in regards to movement between member states.[20] By common accord, the unity the EU claims for itselff when constituting itself as an â€Å"area of freedomn, secrutiy and justice† has become troublesome. Critics are quick to point out that the area in which freedom, security and justice are to reign is a â€Å"spurious geographical unity†.[21] Yet, even if it were to be accepted that Europe is a geographical union, the fact remains that the EU has agreements with countries outside of this territory (such as the 1963 Ankara Agreement with Turkey), meaning that EU extends its reach outside of this area.[22] One of the main arguments behind the impact Europe is having by â€Å"sealing off† its border lies closer to home. Given that accession into the Community is based upon adaptation of national policies, be them economic, political or social, to those already established within the EU, many countries faced closing their borders to the outside for upholding the principles of preventing illegal immigration. But, in contrast to this member states are also expected to uphold the humanitarian standards of refugee protection[23] and the principles of the European Human Rights Act. With the EU being a figure-head in the creation and implementation of human rights agendas, this contradiction will only serve to weaken the EU’s leading political status. Where member states face penalties for failing to uphold either of these policies, many are at a loss as to which one prevails. These conflicting ideals have obviously affected the manner in which those member states with borders to the â€Å"outside† have integrated the principles into their immigration and refugee procedures. Further to Lavenex’s idea of fear of mass migration by the West, Huysmans alleged that the question of migration from countries external to the EU is a security problem rather than just one of immigration and asylum. As Huysmans states: â€Å"Since the 1980s, the political construction of migration increasingly referred to the destabilizing effects of migration on domestic integration and to the dangers for public order it implied.†[24] Huysmans also alleged that due to such developments as the Schengen Agreements and the Dublin Convention â€Å"†¦visibly indicate that the European integration process is implicated in the development of a restrictive migration policy and the social construction of migration into a security question.† This meaning that access for third country nationals is now even tougher maybe the member states would prefer for the barriers surronding â€Å"fortress Europe† to reamin? The Schengen Convention completely removed border controls and placed stricter contorls at the external barrier of the EU. This resulting in a stronger emphasis on external restrictions and lifting all restirtcions between member states. The Schengen scheme had been directly accredited to concerns over the increase of organised crime within the Coimmunity. But with conerns inceasing still as to the problems of human and drugs trafficking into the EU from third countries and its threat to internal security only serves to push the issue of external border control into the spotlight once again. Ultimately, academic writing[25] has contemplated the responsibility of the EU to uphold it’s policy on human rights and it’s prevention of internal barriers to freedom of movement. But as inportant as thiese priniples may be in maintaining structure and authority the Community should also reconsider it’s position on a global scale when encountering the needs of asylum seekers at their external borders as well as those already residing with them without the claim of derived rights. Footnotes [1] Carrerra, S. (2005) [2] Peers, S. Towards Equality: Actual and Potential Rights of Third Country Nationals in the Euroepan Union. (1996) [3] Craig, P and De Bà ºrca, G. EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials. [4] Binkman, G (2004) [5] op cit [6] I bid 3 [7] Case 321/87 Commission v Belgium (1989) ECR 997 [8] Peers, S. (2004) [9] ECRE (2004) [10] Lavenex, S. Safe Third Countries: Extending the Eu Asylum and Immigration Policies to Central and Eastern Europe [11] Levy (2005) [12] Huysmans (2000) [13] (1999) [14] I bid 3 [15] Reg. 334/2002 [16] Reg. 359/2001 [17] I bid 11 [18] I bid 2 [19] I bid 8 [20] op cit [21] Lindahl, H. Finding a Place for Freedom, Security and Justice: The European Union’s claim to Territorial Unity. (2004) [22] ibid 8 [23] I bid 10 [24] Huysmans (2002) [25] I bid 21

Easy Steps to Beautiful Hairstyles :: Free Expository Process Essays

Easy steps to Beautiful Hairstyles A Japanese proverb says, "Hair is women's life." It did not matter how ugly women's faces were; those who had shiny, long, straight black hair were considered beauties in Japan in ancient times. This standard doesn't exist any more, but such beautiful, healthy hair is still highly regarded. As well as the hair, certain hairdos - French twist, piggy tail, pony tail and bun - have been the charming accents of women's fashion until now. Braids, my favorite hairstyle, are the most beautiful of all. When I was little, my mom used to comb and braid my long hair, which extended below my shoulders, while I was having breakfast in the dining room. After I bought a book called 365 Ways to Do Your Hair, I spent some time in front of a mirror in the bathroom doing fascinating, different braids and creating my own hairdos every day during my high school years. Following the proper procedure of the Japanese technique of hair braiding, people can braid their hair easily and quickly and even do complicated, beautiful braids. Mitsuami means braid or plait in English. This is the basis of the braiding techniques or A of the ABCs. If you have ten fingers and medium long hair, you can master it. Struggling with stubborn hair takes one third of your hair setting time. To handle your hair, water-spray and comb your entangled hair well at first. Using the edge of a comb brush, part your hair down the middle. On the right side, split your hair in three equal parts, I am going to call these bundles 3 (left, toward the back of the head), 2 (center), and 1 (right, toward the forehead). To begin, put bundle 3 onto bundle 2. Next put bundle 1 onto bundle 3. Then put bundle 2 onto bundle, and repeat this process. See, it is not hard. Don't forget to do the other side too. It takes an average of three minutes to complete this job. You can also apply mitsuami to advanced but easy hairdos: The Braid Hairband gives an impression of innocence and sweetness. This style fits fine long hair, length at least below the shoulders. Start making mitsuami from above your ears on both sides. Next, lift and cross mitsuami on top of the head. Last, tuck the fringes under with two hair pins. This style takes only five minutes.

Graduation Speech: In Memory of Those Who Did Not Make It :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening and welcome parents, family, community members, friends, the School Board, faculty, and seniors to the County High School Class of 2012 commencement ceremony. It is a great honor to be able to welcome you here today. Class of 2012, you have worked hard for 12 years; tonight we celebrate your achievements - this night is yours. Congratulations! I have heard that some faculty members have coined the term "survivors" with reference to our graduating class. Indeed, we are survivors and I cannot think of a better term to describe us. Throughout the past year, our class has been subjected to several devastating tragedies. The deaths of three of our family members at County High: Joy M., Serik P., and George F. These three members of our family at County High School were each amazing and loving individuals. Their spirit of love lives on and was clearly exhibited by the manner in which the students and faculty pulled together to comfort each other and mourn their deaths. Their families will remain in our thoughts and prayers. As you graduate tonight, I would ask you to remember their love and strive to make it an integral part of your lives. The great Mahatma Gandhi called the love that I believe these three held in their hearts "all embracing ... [a love that] transforms all it touches ... [with] no limit to its power." And, most definitely, their love transformed people's lives. They certainly have inspired me. A wise man simply known to us as Paul wrote of this love as the "most excellent way." Paul wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

What is Socially Believed to be Beautiful

You can never be too thin or too rich, said the Duchess of Windsor. She might have added â€Å"or too pretty. † What psychologists call the â€Å"attractiveness stereotype† is so strong that beauty is literally equated with goodness. Good-looking people are not only preferred for dates, friendships and jobs, they're believed to have more intelligence and integrity. It goes without saying that the beauty bias is even more powerful and universal for women. Beautiful women are thought to be more feminine, and femininity is associated with being emotional, passive and nurturing (Heilman). There's not much bad news about being beautiful. Helena Maria Viramonte†s â€Å"Miss Clairol† focuses on this point. She uses the characters of mother and daughter, Arlene and Champ, to emphasis the vanity of our culture and the reliance on the products required for a transformation into what is socially believed to be beautiful. Recently in history, women, who were far from being pawns and victims, used makeup to declare their freedom, identity, and sexual allure as they flocked to enter public life. The first social history of American beauty culture: a richly textured account of how women created the cosmetics industry and how cosmetics created the modern woman. You don't need the latest census to tell you that America is, more than ever, a rainbow of faces with worldwide roots. More and more women of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American heritage are celebrating their own personal beauty, and the cosmetics industry is responding. Viramonte uses the character of Champ to show the changing mood in America towards the need to fall in line for men and the cultures expectations. Arlene is from an older generation that requires a man for survival. This was a time of women's rights and freedom of expression. The women are entering the workplace side by side of men and the rules would change towards the believe of beauty is required to succeed in life (Heilman). It is very unfortunate, but very beautiful women are patronized in professional situations, sexually harassed in private and hassled on the street in greater numbers than their less stunning sisters. A breathtaking beauty can be isolated by both the jealousy of other women and men's fear of rejection. Extremely beautiful women can also fall into their own snares. Some never challenge themselves beyond their looks, and end up in considerable fear of losing them. (In middle age, exceptional beauties have been found to be less happy than average-looking women. ) But, considering all the advantages, â€Å"Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful† can sound like a ridiculous whine. Most of us would take the gamble. Because what is beautiful is sex-typed, attractive men are thought more competent, and attractive women less competent (Heilman). â€Å"Attractive women have a significant edge landing management positions because they are more able to step out of sex roles in the job market,†says psychologist Barry Gillen. The implication is that it pays to appear as unattractive and masculine as possible to succeed in traditional organizations. If all other factors being equal, the â€Å"good-looking† earn 10% more than the â€Å"homely,† and that the situation was worse for men than women (Wall Street Journal). Overall the attractive earn higher salaries, but a breakdown revealed that the advantage applied to men, older subjects and people in â€Å"male† jobs, but was not true for women, younger subjects and â€Å"female† jobs (Heilman). â€Å"The only aspect of corporate success that other executives don't associate in some way with either gender or appearance,† says Madeline Heilman of New York University. A woman whose ascent is swift is considered to have risen due to her merit. Maria Viramonte†s â€Å"Miss Clairol† hits on the point of how sex an achievement into adulthood. The characters are shown to be mere objects to men, and sex is only a tool required to transport them to their belief of the American dream: little yellow house with a white picket fence, couple of kids, a dog, and a wonderful hard working husband as shown on television. Young women are warned, â€Å"Men only want one thing! † Older women have been heard to say, â€Å"So where are those sex maniacs? † As comedians know, timing is everything. Psychologists who examine biology to explain the differences between men's and women's attitudes toward sex connect men's greater concern with a partner's appearance to the evolutionary imperative to carry on the species: Men are seeking sex with a woman young enough to bear children. Women, on the other hand, look to a man's status (often indistinguishable in our society from his bank account) to ensure protection while bearing and caring for the next generation. It's a numbers game, say evolutionary psychologists: many sperm, few eggs. Men were programmed to sow as many seed as possible (screw anything that moves). Women were engineered to save their health and energy during the long human gestation period (could easily prefer a nap or a bite to eat). Though it may preserve elements of our evolutionary past, sexual attraction is more influenced by current cultural standards. The problem comes up when the standard is Barbie. Women judge themselves more harshly than men do. The majority of women believe men want them to be thinner, bustier and blonder than they are. Men prefer a larger ideal female figure than women do. Eighty-four percent of women think men prefer blonde hair; the real figure is 35%. Men tend to favor women with the same hair color they have. Men tend to think they're fine just as they are. Women substantially overestimate society's fixation on large breasts (Peacock). Women, who want â€Å"better† bodies aren't just trying to please men, but are motivated by personal ideals. Today, 47% of normal-weight American women who think they are too fat are making themselves unhappy by buying into the improbable supermodel standard. Just as Champ is fixed on collected all the photos of ideal women from magazines. Champ and all women are lost in a void of what they believe are the aesthetics of beauty. What men want is not nearly as extraordinary as women might imagine. Psychologists and their term â€Å"attractiveness stereotype† are so strong that beauty is literally equated with goodness. Good-looking people are always going to have the advantage in our culture. That†s just the way it is, and most likely always will be. The shift is towards truth and not ignorance; smart people are winning more battles. The truth of it all is that in the end the battle of vanity, an undue pride in ourselves and our appearance will always end with us when we are all alone.

Extreme Poverty and the Rights of the Poor Essay

Extreme poverty and the rights of the poor has been a high priority of the UN ever since its creation, yet this dilemma are still happening in many underdeveloped and developing countries. To eliminate this problem, public awareness and a genuine cooperation in the global community is required. Extreme poverty and rights of the poor goes hand in hand, because in many third world and developing nations, poor people have no rights. France encourages nations to genuinely cooperate to increase the awareness of the issue and to abolish habits of â€Å"ignoring poverty and the rights of the poor.† The eradication of poverty must begin by providing help to those most affected by the problem. The poor and uneducated makes up the majority of those without any rights, they lack access to the fastest way of escaping poverty, education; therefore, they rarely ever have a voice in their communities. France is well aware that efforts have been made to fight poverty in many regions simultaneously, including Africa, Central and South America, and the Middle East. France strongly believes that the most essential step the UN should take in order to solve this problem is to encourage all nations to provide free education to everyone. In order to reduce poverty and guarantee rights to the poor, free education must be made available to everyone, especially to those that cannot afford it. If this is achieved, people most definitely are able to have a bigger and better access to economic opportunities, a major factor in escaping poverty. In France, it is required for children from the age of 6-16 to attend school. After ninth grade, students can choose whether or not to pursue a higher education, such as high school and college, if not, they can be admitted to a technical school, then graduate from such school and have a professional career. France believe that based on the high efficiency of this method, the UN should carry out similar actions to a global scale by encouraging nations to adopt the same principle. In conclusion, France strongly believes nations must genuinely cooperate effectively in order to reduce poverty and guarantee rights to the poor. The source of this problem is believed to be the lack of access to education due to poverty. Providing free education must be the first step nations should take in order to bring an end to this problem.