Writing a Dissertation Proposal

Writing a Dissertation Proposal Writing a Dissertation Proposal Writing a Dissertation Proposal Writing a dissertation proposal is perhaps the most complicated part of dissertation work. Many students feel frustrated when they are assigned this task, and it is not a surprise, as not many of them had an experience of creating a project led by a member of the staff, but now they are assigned to produce a large-scale project by their own. Remember that it is very important to get the highest possible mark for your proposal. Still, the experience of writing a dissertation proposal will be very useful for your future work as you will acquire some new skills and improve your skills of analyzing and synthesizing data. Well, a dissertation proposal is something like your future dissertation in brief. It usually consists of the following parts: Topic and title. It is not very easy to find an appropriate dissertation topic; you will perhaps need to read a lot before you find a trace of your possible topic. Writing a dissertation proposal, remember th at your topic should be new. It is very important that the topic of your dissertation is interesting to you, otherwise your dissertation work will be hard and boring. When you are sure about your topic, then it is just the time to write a title. If later you consider it not suitable, the title can be changed. Research question It is the core question of your dissertation. Make it precise and laconic. When you start writing your dissertation, keep the research question in the forefront of your mind. It will help you to not lose the tread of your thought and keep to the subject of your dissertation. Preliminary literature review. Working on a literature review, try to be laconic. Writing a dissertation proposal, remember that this literature review is only supposed to give s starting point of your dissertation, but not to develop it. Proposed methodology. In this part you should present the methods that you will use for collecting and analyzing your data. This part is not very difficult as the methods are usually suggested by the topic. Provisional schedule. Write a timetable of your dissertation work. Do not exaggerate your physical abilities; creating this schedule, consider your university timetable, part-time job, sports etc. We hope you have found a useful piece of advice in this paper, and writing a dissertation proposal will be an interesting and useful experience for you.

Marriage, the Motherhood Penalty and the Gender Wage Gap

Marriage, the Motherhood Penalty and the Gender Wage Gap The gender wage  gap is well-established in societies around the world. Social scientists have documented through research spanning decades that the gender wage  gap- wherein women, all else being equal, earn less than men for the same work- cannot be explained away by differences in education, type of job or role within an organization, or by the number of hours worked in a week or weeks worked in a year. Pew Research Center reports that in 2015- the year for which most recent data are available- the gender wage  gap in the United States as measured by median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers was 17 percent. This means that women earned roughly 83 cents to the mans dollar. This is actually good news, in terms of historical trends, because it means that the  gap has shrunk considerably over time. Back in 1979, women earned just 61 cents to the mans dollar in terms of median weekly earnings, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics  (BLS) reported by sociologist Michelle J. Budig. Yet, social scientists are cautious about this overall improvement because the rate at which the gap is shrinking has declined significantly in recent years. The encouraging nature of the overall shrinking gender wage  gap also eclipses the continuing harmful effect of racism on a persons earnings. When Pew Research Center looked at historical trends by race and gender, they found that, in 2015, while white women earned 82 cents to the white mans dollar, Black women earned just 65 cents relative to white men, and Hispanic women, just 58. These data also show that the increase in earnings of Black and Hispanic women relative to white men has been far less than that for white women. Between 1980 and 2015, the gap for Black women shrunk by just 9 percentage points and that for Hispanic women by just 5. Meanwhile, the gap for white women shrunk by 22 points. This means that the closing of the gender wage gap over recent decades has primarily benefitted white women. There are other hidden but important aspects of the gender wage  gap. Research shows that the gap is tiny to non-existent when people start their working careers around age 25 but it widens quickly and steeply during the next five to ten years. Social scientists argue that research proves that much of the widening of the gap is attributable to the wage penalty suffered by married women and by those who have children- what they call the motherhood penalty. The Lifecycle Effect and the Gender Wage  Gap Many social scientists have documented that the gender wage  gap widens with age. Budig, taking a sociological view on the problem, has demonstrated using BLS data that the wage  gap in 2012 as measured by median weekly earnings was just 10 percent for those aged 25 to 34 but was more than double that for those aged 35 to 44. Economists, using different data, have found the same result. Analyzing a combination of quantitative data from the  Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) database and the 2000 Census  long-form survey, a team of economists led by Claudia Goldin, a professor of economics at Harvard University, found that the gender wage gap widens considerably during the first decade and a half after schooling ends. In conducting their analysis, Goldins team used statistical methods to rule out the possibility that the gap widens over time due to an increase in discrimination. They found, conclusively, that the gender wage gap increases with age- especially among the college educated who work in higher-earning jobs than those not requiring a college degree. In fact, among the college educated, the economists found that 80 percent of the increase in the gap occurs between the ages of 26 and 32. Put differently, the wage gap between college-educated men and women is just 10 percent when they are 25 years old but has widened massively to 55 percent by the time they reach the age of 45. This means that college-educated women lose out on the most earnings, relative to men with the same degrees and qualifications. Budig argues that the widening of the gender wage gap as people age is due to what sociologists call the lifecycle effect. Within sociology, life cycle is used to refer to the different stages of development that a person moves through during their life, which includes reproduction, and are normatively synced with key social institutions of  family and education. Per Budig, the lifecycle effect on the gender wage gap is the effect that certain events and processes that are part of the life cycle have on a persons earnings: namely, marriage and childbirth. Research Shows that Marriage Hurts the Earnings of Women Budig and other social scientists see a link between marriage, motherhood and the gender wage gap because there is clear evidence that both life events correspond to a greater gap. Using BLS data for 2012, Budig shows that women who have never been married experience the smallest gender wage gap relative to never-married men- they earn 96 cents to the mans dollar. Married women, on the other hand, earn just 77 cents to the married mans dollar, which represents a gap that is nearly six times greater than that among never-married people. The effect of marriage on a womans earnings is made even more clear when looking at the gender wage gap for formerly married men and women. Women in this category earn just 83 percent of what formerly married men earn. So, even when a woman isnt currently married, if she has been, she will see her earnings reduced by 17 percent as compared with men in the same situation. The same team of economists cited above used the same pairing of LEHD data with long-form Census data to show exactly how marriage impacts the earnings of women in a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economics Research  (with Erling Barth, prolific Norwegian economist and a fellow at Harvard Law School,  as the first author, and without Claudia Goldin). First, they establish that much of the gender wage gap, or what they call the earnings gap, is created within organizations. Between 25 and 45 years of age, mens earnings within an organization climb more sharply than do those of women. This is true among both the college-educated and non-college educated populations, however, the effect is much more extreme among those with a college degree. Men with a college degree enjoy vast earnings growth within organizations while women with college degrees enjoy far less. In fact, their rate of earnings growth is less than that for men  without  college degrees, and by age 45 is slightly less than that of women without college degrees too. (Keep in mind that were talking about a rate of earnings growth here, not earnings themselves. College-educated women earn far more than women who do not have college degrees, but the rate at which earnings grow over the course of ones career is about the same for each group, regardless of education.) Because women earn less than men within organizations, when they change jobs and move to another organization, they do not see the same degree of salary bump- what Barth and his colleagues call an earnings premium- when taking the new job. This is especially true for married women and serves to further exacerbate the gender wage gap among this population. As it turns out, the rate of growth in the earnings premium is about the same for both married and never-married men as well as never-married women through the first five years of a persons career (The rate of growth for never-married women slows after that point.). However, compared to these groups, married women see very little growth in earnings premium over the span of two decades. In fact, it is not until married women are 45 years old that the rate of growth for their earnings premium matches what it was for all others between the ages of 27 and 28. This means that married women have to wait nearly two decades to see the same kind of earnings premium growth that other workers enjoy throughout their working career. Because of this, married women lose out on a significant amount of earnings relative to other workers. The Motherhood Penalty is the Real Driver of the Gender Wage Gap While marriage is bad for a womans earnings, research shows that it is childbirth that really exacerbates the gender wage gap and puts a significant dent in womens lifetime earnings relative to other workers. Married women who are also mothers are hardest hit by the gender wage gap, earning just 76 percent of what married fathers earn, according to Budig. Single mothers earn 86 to the single (custodial) fathers dollar; a fact which is in keeping with what Barth and his research team revealed about the negative impact of marriage on a womans earnings. In her research, Budig found that women on average suffer a wage penalty of four percent per childbirth during their careers. Budig found this after controlling for the effect on wages of differences in human capital, family structure, and family-friendly job characteristics. Troublingly, Budig also found that low-income women suffer a greater motherhood penalty of six percent per child. Backing up the sociological findings, Barth and his colleagues, because they were able to match long-form Census data to earnings data, concluded that most of the loss in earnings growth for married women (relative to married men) occurs concurrently with the arrival of children.† Yet, while women, especially married and low-income women suffer a motherhood penalty, most men who become fathers receive a fatherhood bonus. Budig, with her colleague Melissa Hodges, that men on average receive a six percent pay bump after becoming fathers. (They found this by analyzing data from the 1979-2006 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.) They also found that, just as the motherhood penalty disproportionately impact low-income women (therefore negatively targeting racial minorities), the fatherhood bonus disproportionately benefits white men- especially those with college degrees. Not only do these dual phenomena- the motherhood penalty and the fatherhood bonus- maintain and for many, widen the gender wage gap, they also work together to reproduce and worsen already existing structural inequalities that function on the basis of gender,  race, and level of education.

Marketing Strategy for DHL Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marketing Strategy for DHL - Case Study Example DHL is a global company involved in postal services finance and express. In DHL, a fundamental innovation represents a break with the past and fulfills a need that was not previously met. Air conditioners and television sets are examples of fundamental innovations -- both meet previously unfulfilled needs. Their introduction requires considerable change in consumer purchase-and-use habits. A functional innovation requires some change in consumer habits but meets a need previously fulfilled. However, it meets the need in a superior manner. Automatic washers and dryers are examples. It is the least complex of all changes in the innovation spectrum. Minor product changes, color style, and package alterations fall into this category. To become an innovation, an invention or new idea must gain consumer acceptance. Innovation is inextricably intertwined with, and governed by, buyer behavior. Innovation focuses on such behavioral problems as acceptance of new products, brands, services, and processes, the diffusion of marketing information, resistance to change, informal leadership, and acceptance of risk. As a business strategy, innovation greatly affects corporate growth, survival, and profitability. It reflects the changing market wants and needs of customers. Innovation is stimulated by competition. Whenever new products or services are launched, business becomes concerned as to whether customers will accept them, and if they do, how long it will take for innovations to be profitable. Innovation as the M

Natural Hazards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Natural Hazards - Essay Example The natural hazards highlight how man has been able to study the different technological inventions which have been done and how it has fallen short of the remaining expectations which are needed to correct things within the discussion of natural hazards. This means that natural hazards are something that has to be properly forecasted before they could be studied and hence research basis is being drafted all over the world. The role of the meteorological department is of importance here because it points out how these natural hazards are going to be tackled and what efforts need to be made in order to make sure that the people living in close proximity of a natural hazard are dealt with, the sooner the better. This paper discusses natural hazards and the solutions to these problems. It is important to define what a natural hazard is. This is one event or activity which has a very negative effect on the people or the environment under which these people live. Research has proven that many natural hazards are related with one another, and occur on a frequent basis, one after the other. Earthquakes can lead to tsunamis and drought can produce famines. The difference between a natural hazard and a disaster is that a natural hazard is a calamity that is caused due to nature while a disaster is because of the changes that man has brought about on the face of the earth upon which natural hazard has been struck, and which has led to a lot of destruction. What is most important to know is the fact that natural hazards usually produce deaths, loss of property, migration of the people from the place where the natural hazard has struck, and a number of other consequences. Before moving ahead further, it is significant to understand what natural hazards really are (Wisner 2003). The avalanches are natural hazards which come under the geophysical hazards. These avalanches consist of a slide of a large snow rock down from a mountainside which is caused due to a buildup of sno w when it released from a slope. This usually happens within winters when mountains become very dangerous for the inhabitants living on them as well as the climbers who are trekking on them. On the other hand, an earthquake is a natural hazard which is a phenomenon that comes about due to quick release of stored energy and which radiates seismic waves. Earthquakes shake and thus displace grounds which lead into tsunamis. Most of these earthquakes happen every day, where only few of them are big enough to cause serious damage. Lahars are natural hazards which are very closely tied in with volcanic eruptions and result in the emission of mud, rock, ash and other materials to slide down the volcano at a swift speed. These lahars can destroy entire cities and kill thousands of people within a matter of seconds. The sinkholes are localized depressions within the surface topography which happen due to the collapse of a subterranean structure which might include a cave (Smith 2004). Sinkho les are rare though the large sinkholes can develop at a fast pace in areas where there is a lot of population and can result in the collapse of buildings as well as structures which are strongly built. Volcanic eruptions do arise when a volcano is active and is able to release its power. This is apparent through the different forms of eruptions which can come about in the form of lava

Study On The Life Of Hijras In India Sociology Essay

Study On The Life Of Hijras In India Sociology Essay This dissertation explores the lives of eunuchs, the third gender, in contemporary India. It aims to bring out the several misconceptions harboured about this community and suggest measures to improve their living conditions. One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings. Anonymous Over the years, the hijra or eunuch community has occupied an extremely marginalized position in Indian society. By and large, their presence has provoked mixed feelings of fear, awe and contempt from the general public. Over the last two decades, the community has captured the western scholarly imagination as an idyllic case in the transnational system of alternative gender sexuality. When it comes to these type of analyses, as Rosalind Morris states, the hijra becomes either, an interstitial gender occupying a liminal pace between male and female or a drag queen who is a hero(ine) in a global sexual resistance Yet there exists a very different reality from that suggested by these theorists a reality based on rejection by family, cultural and societal isolation as well as neglect. Their identification as a uniquely positioned third sex becomes a lot more complicated when the hijra lifestyle is discussed with respect to this contemporary reality, instead of historical or mythical representation. The community has been subjected to vicious abuse or a lack of empathy, on a mental or physical level from different sections of society at various levels. These sections include the lay person, law enforcers and worse, their own biological parents and relatives. Lying at stake is the fundamental human right to be different, the right to recognition and choice of different pathways of sexuality, in other words a right to sexual orientation, a right to immunity from the oppressive and repressive derogatory labelling of despised sexuality. Expressed in the form of narratives that were penned down after listening to a number of Hijras, this piece of work, at a very primary level, captures the lives of a few of the people from the community that we all choose to shun, despise or simply not bother about. It brings out and analyzes the many stereotypes and superstitions associated with this community. The testimonials of the Hijras and Kothis with whom I interacted bring alive the unimaginable and gruesome violence they are subjected to, especially, at the hands of the police. This dissertation also aims to bring out and deride the atrocities the hijras are subjected to, the injustice that has been meted out to them in various spheres of life and suggest developmental measures in this regard. Above all, this piece of work is dedicated towards creating a little more sensitivity and empathy for this community, that so far does not enjoy most of the basic human rights that we, the normal people, take for granted. THE HIJRAS: WHO WE ARE The hijras are generally considered to constitute a third gender, neither male nor female. Even in their own narratives, the hijras view themselves not simply as neither man nor woman, as the title of Nandas(1990) ethnography on the hijras suggests, but also as deficient in terms of masculinity and not completely feminine. Instead of taking a place outside the female-male binary, the Hijras have created a life somewhere in between, one that is restricted by deep-rooted cultural constructions of femininity and masculinity. Largely, the community expresses a feminine gender identity, coming closest experientially to what would be referred to in the West as a transsexual, that is, a female trapped in a male body. It is a socio-religious construct marked by extreme gender nonconformity in the sense that there is no correlation between their anatomical sex and gender identity. In India, there is a widespread belief that hijras often pick up or kidnap infants and castrate them in order to increase the population of the community, but there are no statistics or factual evidences to support the same. Most hijras in India live in groups that are organised into seven houses, known as gharanas, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad being the more populous centres. Each house is headed by a nayak. This persons job is to appoint spiritual leaders or gurus who train their chelas ( wards who are lower in rank) in badhai- the well known singing, dancing and blessing ritual. The gurus responsibility is furthered to act as a protector of his chelas, both from within as well as outside the community. Any quarrels amongst hijras are decided within the community by the nayak and senior gurus acting as law makers, the punishment ranging from imposing fines and expulsion from the community, if the offences were of a higher degree. According to popular religious practice, they are believed to be endowed with special powers to confer fertility on newlyweds or new born children. According to tradition, they are expected to sing and dance at weddings as well as childbirth functions, and in lieu of their services they are rewarded with money, clothes, jewellery etc. Singing and dancing has a respectable status in the Hijra community; it gives them a sense of power as it reaffirms the fact that the people who asked them to sing and dance during the childbirth or any other functions, believe in their powers. The custom of hijras being called for dancing in weddings and childbirth is more prominent in the north, and therefore, sadly, the number of Hijras in the south who take to prostitution to earn money are much more than those in the northern parts of the country. One of the more common Hijra complaints in the form of public appeals to the government is the non availability of decent jobs for them, hence they do not have any choice but to take to prostitution to earn their livelihood. The Kothis Kothis like hijras are transgender persons who identify themselves with the feminine gender. The kep difference lies in the fact that hijras usually settle into a fixed gender role after the castration process, whereas kothis display an ambiguous dual gender identity that swings between the masculine role of the husband demanded in the marriage relationship and the feminine role in the same-sex relationship outside. In simpler words, a kothi can be described as a male homosexual who takes a feminine role in sex with other men. They, largely and essentially belong to a non-English speaking lower middle-class background and feel marginalized in all contexts, whether in terms of economic status, language, education, or sexuality. Due to the pressure extended by family as well as society to conform to normal norms like marriage and reproducing, many kothis marry and raise families , but continue to have same-sex relationships outside, often under hidden and covert circumstances. Economic problems within families as well as non acceptance of this abnormal member within the family drives many other kothis to sex work. Sadly, even when they do make an effort to seek employment in more decent professions, both hijras and kothis are very often subject to sexual harassment at the workplace which makes it impossible for them to continue working there. There exists a visible, symbiotic relationship between hijras and kothis that is strengthened in the face of oppression, due to the lack of support systems for kothis in cities and towns. This has led kothis to depend upon hijra subcultures for both assistance and support emotional as well as otherwise. Hence due to the existence of such a relationship, there is a constant, perpetual exchange of languages, behaviour, mythologies between the hijra and the other homosexual subcultures. The early years, the young transgender confused; and the attitude of parents: Typically, when they are young and born into so called normal families, initially the parents humour the boy child if he behaves like a girl. But as he grows up, once he turns eleven or twelve, the parents start getting irritated at the childs behaviour. By the time he is in his teens, the father typically starts abusing and beating the child. Such an attitude displayed by the parent is more pronounced in villages and small towns since here awareness is less. The transgender child himself does not realize the reasons behind his behaviour; he cannot understand why he feels like a female inside, and gets more frustrated with the constant chastising by the parents. Soon he runs away, usually with the aid of a sympathetic elder in the village, who directs him to a hijra community in some other village. The hijra community and the first signs of awareness by the individual about his own biology: When he reaches there, the hijra community welcomes him and explains to him the reasons behind his so called queer behaviour. They give him the option of becoming a part of their community after the conversion process into a transsexual, castration followed by surgical regeneration of the vagina, or to remain as he is and explore the world by himself. In most instances, the individual at that moment decides to stay as he is, and goes into the village to seek employment opportunities. As most hijras testify, very soon the transgender individual is then raped, in most cases by policemen who arrest them on the supposed grounds that they are homosexual. It is tragic to know that the law enforcers are usually the ones who sexually violate these individuals first. After being abused multiple times, sexually as well as physically, the broken individual returns to the hijra community and asks for acceptance into their family. The castration process is never smooth in nature, usually carried out without the aid of modern anaesthesia or antibiotics. The operation costs for the surgical reconstruction of the female biological organs (such as the vagina) range from a minimum of seven thousand rupees (no anaesthesia) to a high of fifty thousand rupees. Since most of these individuals are poor, they settle for the operation that requires lesser costs. Depending upon the money, the expertise, and the success of the operation, the surgical reconstruction varies from being partially to fully complete. In many cases, if the surgery goes wrong, it might lead to blockage in the urinary passage and this could be terribly painful for the individual. The hijra family: A hijra family comprises daughters, sisters and mothers no males. After being rejected by their own biological families, the hijra family becomes the first and only source of emotional support. They are strong, close knit and provide safety and security for the abandoned people. However, due to poverty, discrimination, lack of education and skills, many of them have no means of earning money. So, they engage in commercial sex work and begging. Most hijras do not think twice about joining the sex trade, what with being abused physically and mentally multiple times. Transgender, Transsexual and Intersexual: At the most basic level, we take a look at the meanings of terms, transgender, transsexual, intersexual and androgyne. A Transgender is a person who is assigned a gender at birth based on his/her genitals, but feels that the assigned gender is a false representation of himself/ herself. Such a persons identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these roles. Gender-queer, third gender are also names given to transgender individuals. According to The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health (ICD), Trans-sexuality is a need that certain individuals have to live and be acknowledged as a member of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by a sense of discomfort with ones ones current sex, and a desire to have hormonal and surgical treatment to make ones body conform as much as possible with ones preferred sex. On the removal of the sexual organs he/she was born with, a transgender becomes a transsexual. In simpler words, Transsexual men and women desire to establish themselves permanently as a member of the gender with which they identify, often using medical help for the same. One out of every two thousand births is an intersex child, and usually the birth leaves the parents of the child frustrated, confused and depressed. It also leaves them with a dilemma as to which gender the child belongs. Intersexed individuals do not have all the regular combinations of physical features; they have some chromosomal, genital anomalies. In simpler terms, such individuals may have biological characteristics of both males and females, i.e, these individuals have some parts of males and some of females. In some cases, an intersex person might look unambiguous sexually, but internally the sex anatomy is mixed, i.e he may have AIS complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and therefore, even though he has a Y chromosome and testes, the individual is otherwise completely female on the outside. Thus the fundamental difference between an intersex individual and a transgender is that unlike an intersex individual, a transgendered person is born with the conventional male or fe male anatomy. All the same, unlike other normal humans, he feels himself/herself to be a gender different from the one he/she born as. Discrimination against hijras: Education, health, employment The highly populated country that India is, with several different castes, religions, languages, the hijra community becomes an almost invisible minority. Biases against hijras are prevalent in our society in all walks of life. They are not granted education in schools, colleges or universities. Over ninety percent of the hijras have not even completed their secondary education. Hence, they do not get jobs, and in the rare occurrence that they do get employed, the salaries they receive are minimal. Due to the harsh economic conditions, they resort to sex work and begging. Hygienic activities are not practiced by those who are in the flesh trade. Even though the usage of condoms is insisted by them to protect themselves as well as their clients from HIV/STD, the people involved in this trade are still prone to getting other diseases like skin diseases due to lack of hygienic and safe practices. Even in hospitals and clinics, many transgender and transsexual people are discriminated ag ainst, and not given the respect or dignity that every human being deserves. Most of the transgender and transsexual people live in slums. Even if they have the monetary power to rent a house, due to the misconceptions about their lifestyle, most people refuse to give them a house on rent. Contempt, hatred and fear form a major part of the general impression about this unfortunate third gender. Even in public places like bus stations, railways stations, theatres, temples, offices, malls, even in public toilets, hijras are abused. A LOOK THROUGH HISTORY: Most hijras believe their origins to date back to the period of the Mahabharata. In it, Arjuna has to hide himself for a year. He decides to dress up as a woman as this is completely opposite to his till then great warrior status. During this period when he is a drag, he is a dancer in the kings court, and also a wedding singer. Then later, during the Kaurava Pandava war, the pandavas want to make a human sacrifice, believing that it would ensure victory in the war. No one is ready to volunteer, till finally, Aravan, the son of Arjun comes forward and offers himself for sacrifice. He has only one condition, that, he should enjoy one night of marital bliss before the sacrifice. This proves to be a difficult situation since no king is willing to marry his daughter to Aravan, knowing fully well that she would be widowed the next day. Finally, Lord Krishna takes a female form and spends one night of marital bliss with Aravan. Aravan is duly sacrificed the next day. The story has become more and more popular through the ages and now, every year, in the village of Koovagam in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, there is a temple festival and thousands of hijras travel through the breadth of the country to attend it. Aravan is the temples main deity and thousands of hijras pay homage, or in a mock ceremony get marri ed to his idol, and in the process become Aravanis. One night before the festival ends, the hijras enjoy a night of marital bliss with their lovers and the next day, a massive effigy of Aravan is taken through the streets of Koovagam and then the body is set to flames. There is a passage in Zia Jaffreys book, The Invisibles: a tale of eunuchs in India, that talks about the Ramayana. According to legend, when Rama went to the forest, many people followed him. Rama then asks all the men and women to go back. The hijras, being neither men nor women stay put and wait for Rama to return for fourteen years. On Ramas return, he is touched by their devotion and blesses them for their loyalty by sanctioning them the power to grant blessings on auspicious occasions like childbirth, marriage, and other functions hence the custom of badhai, in which hijras sing, dance and confer blessings. The hijras also worship Bahuchara mata. As legend goes, a woman, Bahuchara was travelling through a forest in Gujarat. She is accosted by some dacoits who threaten to rape her. She cuts off her breast and offers it to them, in exchange asking them not to touch her. She then dies and becomes an earth goddess. During the conversion process, i.e, the castration process, a hijra midwife cuts a coconut to see if the process should continue. If Bahuchara mata agrees, the coconut will slice into two clean halves. The hijra who is undergoing the castration process, mutters mata mata mata until the process is complete. As legend goes, Bahuchara mata appears in front of impotent men and orders them to cut off their genitals and become her slaves. If they do not agree, they would become impotent for the next seven generations. According to another popular legend, a king in Gujarat fell madly in love with Bahucharimatha, a beautiful goddess who rode a peacock. The king wanted to marry her, but she was not ready to have a sexual relationship. When he continued to persist in his endeavours, she relented but told him to first have a bath in a pond. On coming out of the pond, he was aghast to discover that he was emasculated, and would not be able to consummate his union with the goddess. The goddess pacified him by saying that he would soon find a community of people who would voluntarily castrate themselves in his honour. Around the world Eunuchs were a part of the Egyptian court, during the time when the Assyrian empire was ruling the country. In Rome, Emperor Constantine had a number of eunuchs tending to him for haircuts, baths, dressing and other functions. In the Byzantine royal court too, there were a number of eunuchs employed to handle domestic and administrative work. The Ottoman Empire had two categories of eunuchs taking care of the harem. The black eunuchs served the officers with maids of lower ranks, whereas the white eunuchs (those brought from the Balkan states) served those who were recruited in the Palace school. In India, eunuchs were employed by kings to take care of the ladies palaces, serve as guards and messengers for the royal ladies. LITERATURE REVIEW After getting a general understanding of the hijras, the categories, their lives, their history, I would now proceed to examine the literature that has been devoted to them. The Invisibles: A tale of Eunuchs in India is a bold, beautifully written, thought provoking book about the hijras of India by Zia Jaffrey. In the book, Anita, a hermaphrodite is handed over to the hijra community by her parents when she is just four years old because they cannot accept the fact that they do not have a normal child and are crushed by what they see. Another character, Kamal, born as a male, believes herself to be a female and castrates herself, while a third character Jagoman is kidnapped in Delhi, drugged and then castrated against his will. In the book, Jaffrey takes us on a journey throughout the country to find out who the hijras really are, why the subject has not been researched on much and why is it taboo, and why their history was never recorded. The book gives a detailed description of the lives, practices, culture and history of this unfortunate gender; raises pertinent questions about societys attitude and in many ways illuminates not just the grim world of the eunuchs but also that of India, itself. Neither Man, nor Woman: The hijras of India is an astounding piece of writing by Serena Nanda. Initially, it aims at correcting the common misconception that all hijras are men who undergo a ritual castration, thereby removing their genitals and becoming hijras. The book informs us that the hijras might have come from various sexual ambiguous backgrounds some may have been born as intersex, while others would have been born as male or female but failed to develop at puberty, or males who continued living as hijras without ever getting castrated. Nanda goes on to make comparisons of Indian hijras with other alternative gender roles belonging to other cultures, such as the transsexuals living in many Western societies and also with the Berdache of native North America. What is intriguing but all the same extremely interesting to note is that although most societies, especially the Asian, accept the ambiguity of gender by creating a third gender role, Western society seems extremely ad amant on the theory that a person can be either male or female only. In fact, even the homosexuals and transsexuals in these societies are considered to be a member of either of the two above genders. Transgender Rights, as the title suggests, is a book on the transgender rights movement that started in the United States of America thirty years back and is still going strong. The book assesses the victories and failures of the movement, the future challenges as well as opportunities. The movement fought for the rights of transgenders and transsexuals. The book is, in essence, a collection of articles that covered the rights movement, offering new perspectives and it examines important topics like employment opportunities, public health, economics, and grassroots organizing. This path breaking book is an essential resource in the fight for the freedom and equality of those who cross gender boundaries Changing Sex and Bending Gender, edited by Alison Shaw and Shirley Ardener is a compilation of nine essays about the cultural and historical construction and deconstruction of sex and gender. The initial chapters speak about the definitions of sex and gender; and that even though sex is based on biological characteristics and gender on social classifications, the definitions do not stand fixed across cultures. The next two chapters discuss the cultural pressures in the sex classification when a child is born. With 1.6 percent of children all over the world being born with ambiguous genitalia, the book offers several examples of the response to this, across cultures. As expected, the reactions do not vary much across cultures. The final three chapters deal with the lay mans interpretations and misconceptions about other alternative genders. The objective of the book is to bring out the fact that sex and gender are not fixed concepts and what happens when individuals push these two con cepts beyond the point that society has defined as permissible. The book is an excellent read, especially for people who want to pursue anthropology or gender studies. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer is one of the most popular and widely read books on feminism. Published in 1970, it became an international bestseller and was translated in over ten languages. It is a passionate, almost furious, hard hitting book on the present standing of women as compared to men, in the world. The book, at that time, served as a wakeup call to all women. It contends that sexual freedom is the key to womens liberation. It compares the psychological differences resulting from years of social conditioning, with the biological differences that are present between men and women. A section has been attributed to society, of its origins, its development over the years and where it currently stands. Through this book, Greer exposes the nature of inequalities that exist when it comes to gender rights and issues, and suggests strategies that could help improve the situation, if anyone chose to do so. The Autobiography of a Sex Worker by Nalini Jameela is an extremely personal, honest account of the life of Nalini. The book gives deep insights about the life of sex workers, and the circumstances in which they make their choices. Brought up in an Ezhava family, in her early years, Nalini works in the clay mines. Through the course of the book, we notice the slow yet gradual changes in society. Being extremely poor, and having children to support, she decides to resort to commercial sex work to earn money. The story goes back to the dark days of Emergency, when the police used to routinely arrest and torture innocent people, most of them who were poor and whose voices could not be heard. She recounts her interactions with the police in a chillingly, honest manner. Over the years, with the advent of organizations that worked for social rights, gender rights etc, the situation improved even though there were still innocent people who were jailed. The account is neither cynical, nor do es it have any traces of self pity. Nalini understood that to take care of her children, she would need to sell her body. The love that she displays for her daughter is heart warming. The book is an important read, one that helps us to understand that society can be exploitive, unforgiving and it has multiple layers, many of which are hidden to the naked, believing eye. KNOWLEDGE GAP: At the most basic level, there exists a lack of knowledge amongst the lay man about hijras. The first step, therefore, should be to create basic awareness in the minds of people, to sensitize them, to reach a stage where hijras can also expect a life of dignity. There are too many misconceptions and stereotypes related to hijras. This has led to a lot of social stigma being attached to this gender. Lack of opportunities, be it education, employment, health. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The objective of my research methodology would be to illustrate the social marginalization of eunuchs by pointing out, statistically and otherwise, their absence in social, legal and political organizations. This will be done through, Analysis of secondary data A review of works on the subject by authors, academic as well as non academic literature, news reports, blogs and websites. Primary Research Taking interviews of hijras, first-hand accounts to verify conclusions derived from the secondary data. Also, conducting interviews of individuals working in social organizations, devoted to improving the conditions of hijras. Empirical Observations EXPECTED CONTRIBUTION: My thesis does not claim to have a tangible and substantial measurable contribution but adds to the domains of human sensitivity, sensibility and conscientization. A postmodern condition, such as the one we claim to have arrived at, cannot be complete unless all its participants have equal access to what constitutes a minimum life of dignity However, the objective of my research, studies and thesis, does comprise suggesting measures that, if implemented, would ensure that the hijras can enjoy a life with certain rights that every human being deserves. These would include sustainable and feasible proposals for employment, education and healthcare opportunities. THE CONTEXT OF MARGINALIZATION: Indian society is deeply divided along the lines of gender, caste, religion, class, language, education, all of which intersect with sexuality to create deeper divides and oppressions. While hijras are despised and treated with contempt in most societies, they are supposed to have a sanctioned place in Hindu society (especially in weddings, births and festivals) as a recognized third gender, accommodating gender variation, ambiguity and contradictions. There is an arguement that says that unlike other sexual minorities such as bisexuals, gays and lesbians all that largely remain closeted, the hijras overall are a visible force , and part of an organized community. Despite this supposedly elevated status amongst the sexual minorities, reality is starkly harsh. All over the country, in any part where the Hijras reside, their lives are physically, mentally and emotionally scarred by experiences of shame, dishonour and gruesome violence. In the contemporary scenario, its not just the ambiguous gender but also the class dimension of the hijra and kothi community that has a severe impact on issues which the upper class so conveniently take for granted, such as access to education, employment etc. The violence that they suffer on a daily basis is something that no other community in this country faces. Imagine yourself in a situation where practically the entire world looks down upon you, a mere look at you is met with contempt, imagine a world where you do not even enjoy basic privileges like education, a job, a life. Imagine a world where not even your parents and siblings can accept you for who you are and choose to hate you for no apparent fault of yours. Imagine being beaten up every day by random men. Imagine being penetrated physically, mentally every day by random men. Imagine crying every day. Welcome to the world of Hijras. In most of South India, the hijras do not even have the cultural role that their counterparts have in the northern parts of the country. Most employers are not ready to hire them for available jobs. Often, they resort to hiding their gender identity but if found out, in most cases, they are thrown out from their positions. Therefore sex work becomes, in most cases, the only form of employment. They usually run bath houses, also known as Hamams. The Hamams are generally visited by working class men and the police. Of course, most of these men are married. It is an extremely dangerous profession, as they are often subjected to the sadistic whims, fancies and atrocities of cruel customers. Narrated below are the testimonies given by some of the hijras I had the privilege of meeting and speaking to. As is clear, kothis and hijras take up sex work for a variety of reasons. One reason involves the pragmatic consideration of supporting the family. There is also the pride which comes from being able to support the family. Another reason has to do with the self-acceptance of being a hijra and with the related discovery of a certain kind of freedom that living in the hijra community can provide. Many hijras and kothis fiercely assert that there is nothing disreputable about being a sex worker and it is as legitimate a piece of work as any other. BIBLIOGRAPHY Journals Publications Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka(2000).Human rights violations against sexuality minorities in India report (first edition).PUCL KARNATAKA. Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka(2007).Human rights violations against sexuality minorities in India report (second edition).PUCL KARNATAKA. Bodies That Dont Matter: The Discursive

Fredrick Frankenstein Essay

Fredrick Frankenstein is a young brain surgeon and medical lecturer trying not to live in the shadow of his infamous grandfather, Victor Von Frankenstein. However, this proves to be difficult when he is taken to his grandfather’s estate in Transylvania to collect his inheritance. He continues to be determined to estrange himself from his grandfather’s legacy as a scientist who created a monster. However, upon discovering a book by Victor entitled â€Å"How I Did It†, he decides that his grandfather’s work was not such idiocy, and decides to try and create his own legacy for the Frankenstein name. He accomplishes this with the help of his two comedic sidekicks – the assistant Igor and the pretty young Inga. However, the world is not ready for such a scientific advancement, particularly after the disastrous results of Victor’s experimentation, and Fredrick and his creature experience much discrimination at the hands of the creature. However, after Fredrick further experiments in the sciences, the creature is made more socially acceptable and allowed to live life with his bride, Elizabeth. Explanation: Young Frankenstein is a challenge to the way both the traditional Frankenstein text is read, as well as the whole gothic film genre. It parodies all the aspects that are considered â€Å"traditionally Frankenstein-esque†, such as the mad scientist shouting, â€Å"It’s alive! † and the lumbering, groaning creature. However, as a text, it recognises the value of the classics, and not only satirises, but pays homage to them also. â€Å"It wasn’t about saying ‘how can we make it fun? ‘, but ‘how can we make it real, which will make it more fun? ‘†1. By recognising the artistic value but also the ultimate ridiculousness of traditional Frankenstein films, Brooks allowed Young Frankenstein to not have to resort to continuous slapstick in order to gain its hilarity. The text was written in the context of the early 1970s, where people were more inclined to doubt and question the norms put forward by Hollywood and the media in general. Brooks, as a composer, has recognised this cynicism and used it to extract humour from a great modern classic. Unlike many of the predecessors of the Frankenstein genre, Young Frankenstein questions the original values of Shelley’s text and explores many themes which had traditionally been ignored by previous Frankenstein films, such as the creature’s ability to love and be human. It does not follow the exact storyline of the original text, choosing instead provide commentary on the preceding Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein; to have a grandson who has not learned from his grandfather’s mistakes. Aside from the monster itself, the majority of characters in this text have been changed. However, Fredrick is much like his infamous grandfather – a scientific genius, and engaged to a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth. This pays homage to the protagonist of the original text, which still maintaining its status as a parody. These changes have been made to demonstrate the ultimate ridiculousness of the original Frankenstein, while still being able to examine its many themes through the use of humour. Young Frankenstein is not meant to be a serious appropriation of Shelley’s text. Its main purpose is to challenge the traditional Hollywood interpretation of the Frankenstein monster, and to â€Å"have a little fun in the process†2. However, through its use of humour and satire, it manages to explore the deepest theme of Shelley’s text – what shapes and defines us as humans? This text is valued in a number of contexts. It is considered one of the greatest comedy films of all time, and remains highly popular nearly 30 years after initially being composed. A secret government program called ‘The Initiative’ is capturing demons and other mystical creatures in order to experiment on and neuter them. One of the leading scientists involved in the project, Professor Maggie Walsh, is experimenting with different body parts, of man, machine and demon in order to create a being – Adam. He is intellectually and physically superior to man, and kills his creator, only to reanimate her as a worker. Buffy Summers, a girl chosen from birth to fight supernatural forces, is determined to overcome Adam, despite his superior physical strength. A vampire in alliance with Adam, Spike, works to defeat her by estranging her from what she draws strength from – her friends. However, Buffy overcomes this estrangement, and rebuilds her friendships. They then band together to destroy the source of Adam’s power, succeeding by combining their most human elements – heart, mind, spirit and body. Explanation: There are three central figures to this story arc – the scientist (Maggie Walsh), the experiment (Adam, and to a certain extent, Riley Finn), and the hero (Buffy Summers). Although, like the original text itself, there are a number of other characters, the storyline depends primarily on the actions of these three figures. In many ways, the Adam story is almost entirely true to the original text, in that it focuses on two main issues of Shelley’s text: the nature of isolation, and the effect of man overstepping scientific boundaries. Additionally, it partially examines the nature of behaviour, namely whether evil is intrinsic or circumstantial. The creation’s name – Adam – a direct inter-textual reference, referencing Milton’s Paradise Lost -â€Å"I ought to be thy Adam† (p128) and the Bible story in Genesis, which articulates ‘Adam’ as the first man. Regardless, his name, meaning ‘first born’ is significant because, like Frankenstein’s creature, he is the first of his kind, and remains the only one of his species. Like the original text, he learns of himself through his creator’s diaries. â€Å"I’m a kinematically redundant, biomechanical demonoid. Designed by Maggie Walsh. She called me Adam and I called her Mother . . . Mother wrote things down. Hard data, but also her feelings. That’s how I learned that I have a job here. And that she loved me. † (â€Å"Goodbye Iowa†). The issue of intrinsic evil is potently illuminated here. Unlike Frankenstein’s creation, who is abandoned by his creator and shunned by society, Adam himself says â€Å"she loved me† and was considered his mother, but he kills her regardless. The original plan for his existence had been to create a race of those like himself, to diminish the U. S. A. ‘s military vulnerability. He also offers the demons something humans cannot – full use of their power, thus strengthening the army he is building to bring his ‘new race’ into power. Throughout many of the episodes in which Adam features, it is implied that he was built for the purpose of creating a new, indestructible species. In â€Å"Primeval†, he says to Riley â€Å"This is how [Mother] planned it†¦ Only she thought she’d be alive. † Like Victor in the original text, she is a victim of her own vision, drive and selfish lust for success. â€Å"Maggie Walsh’s vision was great, but ultimately insupportable. † (Primeval) She has altruistic intentions of wiping out death and weakness in the human race, like Victor, claiming, â€Å"This is for the greater good†. (The I in team). However, similar to Victor, she has no real sense of the moral implications this entails. She is different to Victor in that she has some sense of the consequences of her actions. However, both are unable to face those consequences. This represents the idea of the scientist with no idea of the moral implications of playing with the natural order of life. Both in an 18th and 21st century context, the idea of leaving the natural order alone is discussed, implying that although between Shelley’s time and now there have been a great number of scientific advances, some boundaries remain philosophically rigid.

Mobile Apps For A Perfect Operational System And Customer...

More than two billion people worldwide are currently using the internet on their mobile phone, and that number is about to grow in the future. Source If you believe your business ready to join the Pro-Leagues organization (those use the next level mobile apps), then it is also the time that you must contemplate about creating a mobile app for your business. In this technology driven world, companies and corporate houses are using mobile phone applications to harness their operational matters and to reach out to their customers. Many experts say that mobile apps can become the main catalyst for the success of any entity. And, already, many established multinational companies are relying on mobile apps for a flawless operational system and customer convenience. But the question remains, is your company ready for a mobile app? 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