Sociology & Ireland Essay Example for Free

Sociology Ireland Essay In Ireland, ones position in the social class hierarchy tremendously affects their life chances. The probability of one being able to access opportunities that would increase their quality of life is determined by their social status. The opportunities which are required for one to improve their quality of life include food, healthcare, a good education; shelter and clothing all require one to be in a good financial position in order for them to be accessed. Ones quality of life however does not just mean having access to the mentioned societal resources, it also involves one having the ability to purchase and goods or procures them, having a stable income through employments where employment refers to one having a career of their choice that gives them satisfaction (Bilton et al, 2002). Good quality of life implies that one is able to satisfy all their needs and those of their families comfortably. Other aspects of quality life are not being vulnerable to crime, being mentally and physically healthy and elimination chances of poverty in ones life. In Ireland and the world as a whole, life chances of individual’s are basically affected by their position in the social class hierarchy. The social hierarchies can either be in terms of politics or wealth. Either way the effect on one to get access to the mentioned opportunities that improve quality of life is the same. Individuals at the top of these hierarchies have the capability of getting a good education and access to good healthcare services. This implies that they are able to remain healthy and pursue their careers as they have all the required resources at their deposit. Ireland is characterized by high levels of youth unemployment (Tovey Share, 2003). Individuals ranked high in the social hierarchy however have no problems with unemployment cases. This is attributed to the fact that they always have influence that is either political or financial. They use this influence to get jobs for themselves or for their f families in almost any field of profession they choose to. The high rates of unemployment worldwide and especially in third world countries are sometimes due to lack of adequate education, individuals ranked high in social class hierarchy however do not experience such problems as they have access and can afford all the education they would wish to have. Ireland is also characterized by cases of psychological distress among most of the middle and low class individuals as they find it hard to get employment in spite of their education (Tovey Share, 2003). Employment in Ireland has been greatly politicised making it possible only for those who have influence to be able to get employment for themselves or family. The lack of control over employment by those ranked low in the social hierarchy has caused them to develop stress as they are not able to meet their needs. This has increased levels of poverty in the country amongst individuals occupying the middle and low positions of the social hierarchy. In Ireland, ones chance of life depend ion the connections they have with those ranked high in the social hierarchy, their family wealth, land or business, and if one is employed. In the event that one has none of the above then they have no chances of improving their quality of life. Ones position in the social hierarchy also affects chances of life globally. This is evident from the status of citizens in different countries. Countries that are wealthy are more developed and have their citizens leading better quality of life as they access to education, healthcare, shelter and food (Bilton et al. , 2002). There also are more employment opportunities in these countries as compared to the poor ones. Third world countries which are not as wealthy as the developed countries however are characterized by their citizens living low quality of life. Evidence is from the fact that individuals from these countries have no access to good education and healthcare. These countries are also characterized by cases of starvation, lack of employment opportunities, poor shelter and high rates of crime. The fact that they are low in the global social hierarchy does make it impossible for their citizens to improve their quality of life. It can therefore be concluded that one’s position in the social hierarchy heavily determines their life chances as the probability of them accessing the opportunities that improve the quality of life if they is greatly affected by their social status. The higher their position in the hierarchy the easier it is to access the opportunities. Word count: 750 References Bilton, T. et al (2002). Introductory Sociology, 4th edition. London: Palgrave

Personal Narrative- Life as a Journey Essay example -- Personal Narrat

Personal Narrative- Life as a Journey The journey of life follows a predetermined pattern; we evolve from needing influence and guidance to finally reaching that point where our lives are up to us. I consider myself very lucky up to this point in my journey. Some people become sidetracked and wind up on a far different course than initially planned, but the detours I made have only assisted in embellishing the individual instead of devouring it. According to Freud a person's most important period to grow personality ranges from birth to six years. In that span my biggest influences came from my family. When I think of that time before kindergarten, the single most important person to my development was my grandmother Carmen. She didn't graduate from college or sell wheat futures in the stock market, but she had wisdom and tenderness so few possess. My parents worked, so each morning my mother would drop me off at Grandma's house. I didn't realize it then but in retrospect, this woman has led a remarkable. She birthed three sons all by Caesarian section, lost a husband in middle age, and then all but raised a grandson for half a decade. She taught me how to walk and gave me my first piano lessons. She remains close to all her grandchildren yet her and I both know she holds a special place for the first one. When I began school, friends began to shape path for this journey. In the beginning we hardly know these classmates. Common interests and experiences bond or repel certain people to others. I didn't understand what friendship meant until August 16, 1997 though. That morning, I fell asleep at the wheel of my car and ran into two utility poles and a tree while going 40 miles per hour. An ambulance rushed me to Memorial... ...will become the ultimate test between temptation and my inner-strength and the morals I have placed for my own behavior. Possibly the biggest choice of any person's life remains what vocation to go into. Even areas people have skills in may not give enough satisfaction to turn into a career, whether that satisfaction stays financial or otherwise. Whatever occupation I choose, I sincerely hope that the trek will remain on its uncertain and awesome course. Throughout this journey of life many outside forces manipulate whom all of us become. Who created my personal connotation? Through every relative, friend, and composition it boils down to me. I have taken all these beliefs and crammed them into a 6 feet, 2 inch frame. The real journey lays ahead, the journey from young adulthood to old age. I only pray this journey includes many travels and few destinations.

Homosexuality vs Society

Homosexuality in today’s society In today's society, there exists a mixture of issues which tend to raise arguments with people all over. There are a handful of topics that always seem to escalate these differences between people to the point where one who participates in debate and argument can direct their anger towards their feelings on the person themselves. An issue that has in recent years, begun to increase arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo.If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seem that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the ‘closet' has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception. Homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of and we should all come to realize this. The United States is denying good peop le a better life based on sexual orientation. Acceptance of homosexual marriage is a major issue in today’s society.This is a civil. issue, and the United States needs to start realizing that they are denying marriage rights to homosexuals because of moral reasons. What ever happened to separation of church and state? Opponents of homosexual marriage feel that by allowing gay and lesbians the right to marriage undermines the traditional definition of marriage. However, as society changes and the demands of the American citizens change, there needs to be changes that comply with not only the traditional society but also with modern needs of the United States people.Not only are homosexual couples being denied marriage rights but also adoption rights in several states. There would be no harm to society by allowing homosexuals the right to marriage or to legally adopt; the positive impacts it would have on society are far greater then the negative effects. Homosexuals should get the same rights as any other United States citizen. For the United States to have a functional society, allowing all citizens, regardless of sexual preference, would be in everyone’s best interest to allow homosexuals the right to arry. Looking back at history, it was not that long ago that black and white marriages were not accepted in society. Accepting black and white marriages has made the United States a stronger society. Gay and lesbian marriages would not harm anyone; however, it would improve and enhance the lives of those couples involved. Allowing gay marriage would have positive effects on children to gay couples; in addition, allowing homosexuals to marry and adopt would help place some children, who may never be placed into a family, find families through adoption.Homosexuals can be found in every race, religion, age group, country, state, and social group. Discrimination toward homosexuals persecute their choice of lifestyle. The issues of military employment, legal rights for couples, and acceptance within society need to resolved. Some ways to help put an end to this discrimination is to put the military services on a legislative plan prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals, allow for couples to be legally married. People need to realize that homosexuals are just like them.Homosexuals are found everywhere and are good people and need to be recognized not for their sexuality, but for who they are. The problem lies with the heterosexuals, those who establish firm opinions against gays, based solely off of stereotypical thinking, or their own feelings, rather than rational or factual information. One of these stereotypes tends to be that lesbians want to act and look like men, and vice versa. Although this may be the case in some homosexuals, it is not true for every single individual, thus a biased stereotype is formed.A stereotype such as this may cause an extreme hostile attitude, as well as discrimination, against a homosexual i ndividual. Also, homosexual jokes are constantly made every day. As funny as this may be to a heterosexual, imagine how this single joke could damage a gay man's self-esteem or even his social acceptance. A straight male or female could easily laugh at this joke, as many have, while a gay man hears this joke and takes it to heart. He could easily feel inferior to a straight male, or just as easily be offended by the use of the word fag.Society doesn't realize when certain words are used, they can offend a variety of people. Not to mention, the words gay, fag and queer have found their way into our everyday vocabulary, all of which can cause different emotions to different people. For instance, when someone says â€Å"That's so gay† a heterosexual would view the word gay as meaning strange or different, which completely changes the meaning of the word and associates homosexuals with being weird. ?Many Heterosexuals believe we must not pass any laws regarding discrimination of homosexuals.If we didnt pass the law about discrimination, the homosexual man and his lover would have to continue searching because they were denied equal treatment as a straight man. This unequal treatment is the reason homosexuals are trying so hard to gain a law against discrimination. There is also no justification to deny a specific occupation to a homosexual, because of their sexual orientation, unless there is a threat to an individual. For instance a homosexual man wants to become an accountant. What is keeping him from accomplishing this goal?A major hindrance-a state licensing law. The same goes if another homosexual would like to become a hairdresser, or perhaps even a used-car dealer. This same Law prevents people with certain sexual orientations from achieving their goals in life. This is not the American dream so many have heard about. America is supposedly the land of the free, a land of equal opportunity. There isn't any equality found between a straight man and a g ay man. ? â€Å"Queerbashing† is one of the most extreme forms of discrimination to homosexuals, and seems to be taken very lightly in court.A district of Columbia judge had listened to the story of a young homosexual male who had been stalked, beaten, stripped at knifepoint, slashed, kicked and urinated on by a couple of young queerbashers. The judge believed these queerbashers were â€Å"good boys† at heart because they attended a religious prep school, and suspended their sentences. These young men were obviously guilty for beating up another person and various other reasons, but were set free with virtually no penalty because they went to a certain ‘good' school.This is completely unjust in the fact these boys got off the hook without paying a penalty for the physical, emotional and mental abuse they put this homosexual boy through. â€Å"Police and juries often will simply discount testimony from gays; they frequently construe assaults on and murders of gay s as â€Å"justified† self-defense. ?Discrimination against homosexuals has been in existence since before our time and can be found all over our planet, yet it has only just recently become an active fight, between heterosexuals and homosexuals, over the fact that it shouldn't even exist in the first place.Alliances between gay and straight men and women have been formed over the years and continue to grow in population. These men and women, of any sexual-orientation, joined these groups for support and help to aid in the process of becoming equal united states citizens. Together they can recruit new members and maybe one day even get rid of discrimination completely. In order to achieve equality in our nation, we must keep our mind open to new ideas and events and give homosexuals a chance to become human beings.

Love in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Essay

Love in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Shakespeare is well known for presenting the full repertoire of human emotions, and love is no exception. Much Ado About Nothing is unquestionably a play about love. Shakespeare provides the audience with a whole gamut of lovers from the banal Claudio and Hero to the rebellious Beatrice and Benedick. It is this range which allows Shakespeare to critique the conventions and perceptions within his renaissance society This variance in love and lovers also serves to inform the audience of the many different faces of love, and to further the plot, for example it is Margarets brand of free love that causes the turning point in the play. The†¦show more content†¦At the end of this scene, where Benedick has his second monologue, we see Benedicks dramatic change of heart towards the fairer sex. He retracts his earlier stance, and despite the remnants of wit, that will be broken on me, his attitude is irreversibly inverted, for the less proud, and the more horribly in love. He inve nts a number of humorous excuses for his change of heart, the world must be peopled. When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married. This exhibits that he it is not his deeper, witty self that has changed, but the surface misogyny that he had already admitted in Act 1 Scene 1 was after my custom, hence not entirely serious, and so easy to drop. During the two gulling scenes, namely Act 2 Scene 3 and Act 3 Scene 1, Shakespeare and the characters in on the gulling are effectively playing with the love of two individuals. Benedick and Beatrice suspect nothing, taking all the overheard gossip at face value; strange for a pair of characters that seem to read so much into what is said at most other times. This is an example of love being manipulated for humours sake; there are some amusing comments that Benedick makes, Theres a double meaning in that, he observes about Beatrices curt greeting, a foolish but understandable remark. Beatrice also comes up with some ironic masterpieces, her kindnessShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Love in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare685 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of Love in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare The role of romantic love plays a central part in the plot of Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing. The way in which each character embraces the emotion shows a great deal about who they are, as well as the time in which they lived. Love, as defined by Shakespeares characters, differs greatly from my own definition. 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The two plays that will be compared and contrasted are William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet. As for the characters from each play, Beatrice, Benedict, Don John, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Hero will be assessed from Much Ado About Nothing and from Hamlet, Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia