Defining the Concepts of Class, Race, Gender Essay Example for Free

Defining the Concepts of Class, Race, Gender Essay Every society known to man has used either race, class, ethnicity, gender or all of the above to determine placement in civilization. Sometimes one or more of these categories comingle and we characterize this as: intersectionality. Finding the words, however, to define class, race, gender, or intersectionality is not an easy feat. Throughout the past few weeks we have read many articles that allowed us many clear descriptions. Prior to this course I would have described class as being a way in which society groups individuals based on economic positions or social status. In my opinion, sometimes political beliefs can attribute towards class placement as well. However, since reading the required texts and watching films based on class, we now know that there are other factors associated with class divisions. For example, we read in Brenda J. Allen’s â€Å"Social Class Matters† article that not only are these two viewpoints large contributors (economic political alliances) towards classes, but also geographic locations. This can be seen when visiting a typical trailer park, where many of its residents are presumably called â€Å"white trash†, or as depicted with lower income families who live in the projects or ghetto. Their locale most likely reflects their social status or class. Moreover, we have learned that these factors also define what class is to the general public: education, occupational position, and power. â€Å"Women without class† by Julie Bettie examines class theory by understanding the ways in which class identity is constructed. It has many illustrations of social class by way of education and occupational positions. The upper crust students of Waretown were typically children of white collar employees. The preps generally outperformed the las chicas, hard living, and often settled living students of this documentary, as exemplified in the titles placed on the over and under achievers. For example, â€Å"preps† is an abbreviation for â€Å"college preparatoryà ¢â‚¬  which was the type of advanced class the children of white collar workers of Waretown enrolled in to prepare for life after high school. While these courses allowed some students endless opportunities, other students in the exact same school attended seminars with lowered educational expectations. Instead these students were encouraged to attend expensive certification courses that upon graduation held them captive in low paying positions with debt remaining after completion. â€Å"The Death of the Social Class† by Pakulsky and Waters believes social class is no longer relevant in the United States. A principal reason for this message states that because slavery is now obsolete, we have the legal upholding of the United States Constitution, and we expect education to be attained by all races. As a result resources have become more prevalent among all races. Race, in the past, was a word that I identified as being someone’s skin color, however as I matured (both mentally and physically) and met individuals from other cultures I soon realized that race is a culmination of many things. Culture and ethnicity are quite influential in determining a person’s race as well. For example, not everyone with dark skin is African American, just as not ever fair skinned person is Caucasian. As exhibited in Cruz-Janzen’s For example in the article Racial formation in the United States written by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, we learn of the Louisiana law that states that if a person has 1/32nd â€Å"Negro blood, they are automatically considered Black or African American. Although Susie Guillory Phipps tells us she is majority Caucasian this law still classifies her as being Black and she unsuccessfully attempted to sue the state to change her vital records. There are many reasons why the government still requires race on legal paperwork. Some argue that some sort of racial classification system is required. One reason may be the government funded subsidies some companies receive as a result of employing a minimum amount of minorities. From a personal viewpoint, race matters because it is a way that people identify culturally with one another. Another reason may be from a biological perspective some diseases and/or illnesses may be common amongst certain races, therefore it would be beneficial medically to be aware of such traits. Women Without Class (Bettie) also identifies various races for the sake of case studies that were researched by the author. The female students identified culturally with one another but sometimes overlapped identities to interact with one another. As in the example of the student Starr who was from a working class background, however she identified with the cultures of the Mexican American â€Å"cholas† after moving to Waretown. This is an example of an extreme case in which the person felt the need to choose one particular group to socialize with because she did not feel as though she had much in common with the other non-Hispanic working class students she chose to interact with this social hierarchy. She gave in to conformity from her past actions to better fit the desires and social realities of her newly acquired friends. Gender is another social aspect that many people use to classify each other. It has been said that had it not been for ourselves questioning or labeling gender, it would not exist at all. â€Å"The Social Construction of Gender† written by Judith Lorber argues gender construction begins being cataloged after viewing the child’s genitals after delivery. Upon birth babies are treated differently based on sex and/or gender. An unintentional yet major classification occurs as soon as the baby is placed in his or her incubator. Nurses and other medical staff wrap the tiny babies in one of two colors – pink or blue. It has even been researched that our speech and tone changes according to the babies sex as well. If we see a baby boy, for example, we quickly begin to daydream of tossing the old pigskin around in the yard or rough housing the baby. For the baby girl, however, we speak in softer high pitched tones and fantasize about planning make believe tea parties with baby dolls as guests. In essence, Lorber believes that gender behavior is learned and is being taught – not necessarily an expression of how we see ourselves. Another gender specific study was examined in R.W. Connell’s â€Å"Gender Relations†. In this article we learned of 2 separate studies conducted. Barry Thorne’s research in which teaching roles in American elementary schools were mostly comprised of females and playgrounds were divided based on gender. The second study was performed by Dunbar Moodies, who researched South African mines that were, not surprisingly, dominated by the male workforce. Another theory learned in Connell’s article was that of trailblazing British feminist – Juliet Mitchell- who taught that there were four elements of gender that subjugate women. Those four facets were believed to be: production, reproduction, socialization, and sexuality. It is also demonstrated in more current literary findings unrelated to gender. For example, Black Picket Fences addresses racial stereotypes, but it also depicts women’s roles separately from male gender roles. Each story that is told from first person shares a journey that taken either from reformed bad boys or girls that have strayed along the beaten path and hooked up with the guy from the wrong side of the track. The males were sometimes peer pressured into joining gangs from lack of responsible male figures and as a result may have performed illegal acts. This clearly represents gender assignments. Intersectionality involves both social and cultural relationships that overlap between race, class, and gender. Perhaps the most obvious portrayal of this theme is Section 2: Biology and Families In Conley’s article â€Å"The Starting Gate† regarding the correlation between low birth weight babies and race it was determined that social standings in society is not based solely on genetics and biology. Instead we learn that other factors may influence our place in society as well. Things like our educational backgrounds and what occupations we choose to support ourselves combine with aspects that are outside of our control, like birth order and race, to decide the social class we will inherent. Women Without Class discusses the concept of some students becoming â€Å"upwardly mobile†. This concept is important because it shows how race and parental occupations sometimes do not decide what social class a person will be invited into. The â€Å"upwardly mobile† students were not necessarily white, and had parents who were blue collar workers as opposed to being a lawyer, doctor, etc†¦yet despite all of this; they were still able to join the social cliques of the elite. These girls were also able to develop a strong sense of class awareness. In fact, Lareau’s â€Å"Invisible Inequality† even states that race has very little to do with class social standings. The data collected from this investigation examines parenting styles all socioeconomic backgrounds from either Black or White families perspective. The researchers were able to map the connections between parent’s resources and their children’s daily activities. Middle class families, regardless of race, tended to take a more traditional approach to child rearing in comparison with lower class families who relied heavily on outside play and extended families for activities. Middle class parents also stressed language development and use of reasoning skills. These parents enroll their children in various age appropriate organized activities that govern family life and create massive effort for mothers. The parents view these activities as passing on important life skil ls to children. They asked leading open-ended questions that required insight and thought provoking answers. Whereas, working class and poor families believe that if they give a child love, food, and a safe environment they will grow to become responsible adults. They also participate in little organized sports or other activities and have much more free time. Working-class and poor parents issue many more directives to their children and some place a great deal of stress on physical punishment. A great example of this is the research of Harold McAllister, a 10 year old from a lower class black family. Harold’s mother asks very little questions of authority figures (such as the family doctor) and does not encourage Harold to be cognizant of his body and any health related questions he may have. He plays outdoors with his older cousins and occasionally attends church. For the most part â€Å"Invisible Inequality† is full of descriptions of race versus class status. However, with regard to birth order and geographic locations determining social status, it is also briefly mentioned in â€Å"Invisible Inequality†. For instance, when we are introduced to another research subject’s family, upper middle class black family – Alexander Williams, we learn that both of Alex’s parents are from small Southern towns and come from large families. This slight mention is yet another example of intersectionality as well. A more extreme example, genetically speaking Ms Phipps (mentioned previously) was considered legally Black; however her social status did not classify her by her race. Phipps identifies with the White race. The case illustrated the inadequacies that claim that race is merely skin color. We have all witnessed or been aware of racial conditioning at one point or another. We make assumptions based on race and classify a person’s race immediately according to their physical appearance. Biologically speaking, there are many factors that influential in determining a persons birth weight. Low income families have less medical care and are exposed to certain agents that prohibit normal growth of the fetus. Also contact with second hand smoke and lead based paints, etc. have been attributed towards low birth weight. Another factor involving biology is the responsibility many women from different racial backgrounds face. White women, for example, have long been expected to remain wholesome and keep the family bloodlines pure. Pressure to remain a virgin until marriage and pre-marital sex were heavily stressed among white women. This forced racial conformity as a means of biological deterioration for the white race. In conclusion, all of the articles and readings discussed previously support Conley’s summation that both genetic and biological starting points do not fully determine our social standings in class. Rather, they work cohesively with other reasons to establish these relationships. Section 3: Working Class Middle Class Identities Although class is especially important I would agree that other issues are becoming increasingly just as important if not more. Factors such as race and or gender influence personal outcomes. Both Women Without Class and Black Picket Fences provided various examples to support this theory.

Methods Of Waste Management And Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay

Methods Of Waste Management And Recycling Environmental Sciences Essay Waste management means collecting, transporting, processing, recycling and monitoring of the waste materials. The term waste management generally relates to those materials which are produced by human activity and is usually undertaken to reduce the effect of these activities on their health and environment. Waste management is also useful to recover useful resources from the waste. Waste management involves all solid, liquid and gaseous or radioactive substances which are managed with different methods and expertise is required for each of them. Waste management practices are different for different countries of the world be it developed or developing nations. The management is different for urban and rural areas, for residential and industrial waste producers. Management of residential and institutional waste in cities and metros is done by the local government authorities or what we call as Municipal Corporation, while management of non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is done by the generator of such waste. Solid waste Management Plasma gasification Plasma is a highly ionized or electrically charged gas. An example in nature is lightning, capable of producing temperatures exceeding 12,600  Ã‚ °F (6,980  Ã‚ °C). A gasifier vessel utilizes proprietary plasma torches operating at +10,000  Ã‚ °F (5,540  Ã‚ °C) (the surface temperature of the Sun) in order to create a gasification zone of up to 3,000  Ã‚ °F (1,650  Ã‚ °C) to convert solid or liquid wastes into a sun gas. When municipal solid waste is subjected to this intense heat within the vessel, the wastes molecular bonds break down into elemental components. The process results in elemental destruction of waste and hazardous materials According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. generated 250 million tons of waste in 2008 alone, and this number continues to rise. About 54% of this trash (135,000,000  short tons (122,000,000 t)) ends up in landfills and is consuming land at a rate of nearly 3,500  acres (1,400 ha) per year. In fact, landfilling is currently the number one method of waste disposal in the US. Some states no longer have capacity at permitted landfills and export their waste to other states. Plasma gasification offers states new opportunities for waste disposal, and more importantly for renewable power generation in an environmentally sustainable manner. Landfill Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits. A properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials. Older, poorly designed or poorly managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of liquid leach ate. Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of methane and carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down anaerobic ally. This gas can create odour problems, kill surface vegetation, and is a greenhouse gas. Design characteristics of a modern landfill include methods to contain leachate such as clay or plastic lining material. Deposited waste is normally compacted to increase its density and stability, and covered to prevent attr acting vermin (such as mice or rats). Many landfills also have landfill gas extraction systems installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is pumped out of the landfill using perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in a gas engine to generate electricity. Water Treatment Water treatment means all those processes which are used to make water acceptable for a desired end-use. These include use of water for drinking, medical, industrial processes and many other uses. The goal of all such water treatment is to remove the contaminants present in the water or reduce the concentration of contaminants so that the water becomes fit for consumption. One meaning to it is returning water to its natural environment without adversely impacting the ecology. The processes for treating water for drinking purpose can be solids separation by using physical processes such as settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation and Biological processes if required. In general the process includes: Pre-chlorination for algae control and arresting any biological growth Aeration along with pre-chlorination for removal of dissolved iron and manganese Coagulation for flocculation Coagulant aids, also known as polyelectrolyte to improve coagulation and for thicker floc formation Sedimentation for solids separation, that is, removal of suspended solids trapped in the floc Filtration removing particles from water Desalination Process of removing salt from the water Disinfection for killing bacteria. There is no unique solution for any type of water. Also, it is difficult to standardize the solution in the form of processes for water from different sources. Treatability studies for each source of water in different seasons need to be carried out to arrive at most appropriate processes. Sewage treatment is the process which removes the majority of the contamination from wastewater or sewage and produces both a liquid effluent suitable for disposal to the natural environment. To be effective, sewage must be conveyed to a treatment plant by appropriate pipes and infrastructure and the process itself must be subject to regulation and controls. E-waste management Electronic waste is defined as all the secondary computers, entertainment devices, mobile phones, all other items like television, refrigerators, whether they are sold or donated or discarded by their original owners or users. In simple terms all those items mentioned above which are either dumped or disposed or discarded by their buyers rather than recycling and reusing them is called E-Waste. A major portion of this waste is generated through products like personal computers, laptops etc. According to recent estimates about 50 million tons of E-waste is produced each year around the globe. The USA alone discards 30 million computers each year and nearly 100 million phones are discarded in Europe each year. The reasons for these huge figures are that there are the rapid changes in technology, low cost of the product initially which encourages people to buy new instead of repairing and reusing and also the cost of modifying the features is much more than the original cost. Moreover t he electronic goods today are made in such a way that they follow something called as planned obsolescence which means they get obsolete with the passage of time. Electronic waste processing first involves dismantling the equipment or the electronic item into various parts i.e. metal frames, circuit boards, power supplies, plastics etc. and this is often done manually. The advantage of this process is that humans have the ability to recognize and save those parts which are working and are repairable which includes chips, RAM, transistors etc. The disadvantage of this process is that the labour might often be expensive in those countries which have high health and safety standards. An alternative to this is called bulk system; wherein a hopper conveys material meant for shredding into a very sophisticated mechanical separator which has screening and grinding machines to separate the constituents of metal and plastic fractions. These plastic fractions are then sold to plastics recycle rs or smelters. Emissions are caught by the scrubbers and screens. To separate glass, plastic, harmful and unharmful metals; magnets and eddy currents are used. Copper, gold silver, tin etc. valuable metals are sold to smelters for recycling purpose. Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, and then treated to remove the environmental threat. An ideal electronic waste recycling plant is one which combines dismantling for recovery of its components with increased cost-effectiveness of processing of bulk electronic waste. Reuse is an alternative option to recycling because it extends the life of the device. Recycling Reduce, Reuse, Recycle are known as the 3R of the waste hierarchy. Recycling involves processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for conventional waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste such as food or garden waste is not typically considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. Recycling Saves money, energy, trees the planet Earth. In a strict sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material-for example; used office paper would be converted into new office paper, or used foamed polystyrene into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so recycling of many products or materials involve their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature. Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs, and suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics argue that the costs and energy used in collection and transportation detract from (and outweig h) the costs and energy saved in the production process; also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining, and other industries associated with virgin production; and that materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling dispute each of these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides has led to enduring controversy Recent developments: Jamshedpur Utilities Services Company (Jusco), which is a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, recently bagged the Municipal Solid Waste management contract for Mysore city from the Mysore City Corporation and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management contract under the Kolkata metropolitan area for six municipalities. Under the project Jusco will construct 5transfer stations and 6 compost plants in the municipalities of Champdani, Baidyabati, Serampore, Rishra, Konnagar and Uttarapara-Kotrung which fall under Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The Rs 39 crore projects will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Jusco offers integrated solutions to municipal waste management which comprises of waste transfer, transfer station management, composting, engineered structured landfills, integrated waste recycling and reclamation, recycling of municipal and specialized wastes, etc. The utilities major also bagged the TPM Excellence A ward -2008 instituted by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) and has several other national and international awards like National Urban Water Awards (NUWA) in the citizen services governance category for 2009.

Divine Comedy Essay -- essays research papers

The Divine Comedy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri is considered by many to be one of the greatest literary masterpieces of not just Latin literature, but of all poetry. Little is known of Dante Alighieri, mainly what we know if from what he tells us of himself in his poetry. In The Divine Comedy, Dante comes across as a resentful, yet passionate man who used this poem to alert Florentines of the tribulations that awaited them for their sins and for the corruption of their government. Like many great literary masterpieces, The Divine Comedy has a central character, Dante, who goes on a journey - through the nice circles of Inferno, to the top of the mountain Purgatory, and finally Beatrice takes him to Paradiso. The Divine Comedy is the story o...

Elements that make up Winning Teams Essay -- essays research papers

Every person within any team wants to feel they are part of a winning team, and that they are contributing to its success and the success of the company. For teams to able to do this, personnel must be able to work together, be committed to the team's goal, to encourage formal and informal interactions and instill that winning attitude. For teams to be able to achieve this, certain attributes must be instilled within any team. As defined in the Oxford Dictionary loyalty is, ?steadfast in ones allegiance to a person.? This can come in many forms, whether it?s loyalty to your partner, your favourite sporting team or as in this case the Company. Managers must be able to trust their employees. Giving responsibilities and passing on relevant information pertinent to any goal can instil trust and confidence and commitment from your employees. Without the fundamental tools, they will possibly feel that they are not contributing to the success of the team or company. If this happens then they may feel the Manager is not dependable and therefore loyalty will be eroded. The manager should never feel challenged about his authority, but should openly answer relevant questions regarding the Teams goal. Discussion should be encouraged, as by working through or discussing the situation in hand as it leads to the development of the person and an increase in their loyalty, as opposed to a person who keeps quiet an d does not question anything. Being honest and upfront to your workforce will help build up any trust. Being forthright with any news pertinent to the workforce can only bolster your loyalty from them. They would rather have the bad news from you, than hear it from an unknown senior manager who just sees them as a number... ...ed, the two Complete Finisher are on hand to ensure deadlines are met. The weakness of this team is:  · Lack of a team worker.  · Insufficient specialists (Minimum of two required)  · Insufficient Implementers  · If the Resource Investigator or Plant are away who will bring in ideas and make contacts from outside the team. The strength of this team is:  · Strong personalities  · Discipline  · Respect  · Commitment  · Loyalty to fellow team members In conclusion every person within the team has an additional role as indicated within the table. With these additional roles and the combination of experience developed with long careers, combined with a wealth of knowledge and completion of successful management courses, this team has a successful and winning formula, which can only lead to a better performance thus giving better customer satisfaction.

vietnam conflict :: essays research papers

The Vietnam conflict Part of French Indochina, Vietnam was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Ironically, America's first involvement in the region was in support of a Vietnamese patriot named Ho Chi Minh, the leader of a small nationalist movement which had been waging a campaign against the Japanese since 1941. At the end of the War, Ho and his "Viet Minh" movement actively resisted France's attempt to regain control of Vietnam, and turned to the Soviet Union and Communist China for assistance. While the United States did not initially support French return to power, the collapse of the Chinese Nationalist government in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in June, 1950 solidified American resolve to contain communism and prevent worldwide aggression. As a result, President Truman stepped up assistance to France and stationed a small assistance and advisory group in Saigon in September 1950. Successive military defeats over the next four years eroded the French will to carry on the war, even though by 1954 the United States was bearing about 75% of its financial cost. The Viet Minh ultimately defeated the French in May of that year, but were denied their goal of a united, communist Vietnam. An international conference in Geneva partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel and the Eisenhower administration agreed to provide direct U.S. military assistance to the South. American military commitment to South Vietnam was expanded by President's Kennedy and Johnson, as their war with North Vietnam intensified. In August 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked U.S. Navy ships in international waters off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress responded by passing a joint resolution which "Americanized" the war by authorizing the President to "take all necessary measures† to safeguard the troops and prevent aggression. The Illinois National Guard became involved in the Vietnam Conflict in April 1968, when the 126th Supply and Service Company was called to support the build up of United States forces. The Quincy, Illinois unit which consisted of 200 members was capable of operating a supply and service facility in direct support of approximately 8,000 soldiers. In May, the 126th left Illinois to begin its training at Fort Carson, Colorado. It deployed to Vietnam in September and was assigned to the 23rd Supply and Transportation Battalion, with responsibility for providing logistical support to soldiers near Chu Lai and Da Nang. It supported 111 units, processing an average of 1500 requests for supplies and food per week.

Ethics and Religion

ABSTRACT. Although it seems that ethics and religion should be related, past research suggests mixed conclusions on the relationship. We argue that such mixed results are mostly due to methodological and conceptual limitations. We develop hypotheses linking Cornwall et al.
s (1986, Review of Religious Research, 27(3): 266–244) religious components to individuals
willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviors. Using data on 63,087 individuals from 44 countries, we find support for three hypotheses: the cognitive, one affective, and the behavioral component of religion are negatively related to thics. Surprisingly, one aspect of the cognitive component (i. e. , belief in religion) shows no relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed. KEY WORDS: religion, ethics, cross-national study Introduction The link between religion and ethics seems obvious (Tittle and Wlech, 1983; Weaver and Agle, 2002). Religions, through the values they embody, often build th e basis for what is considered right and wrong (Turner, 1997). Religion produces both formal and informal norms and provides people with a freedom/constraint duality by prescribing behaviors ithin some acceptable boundaries (Fararo and Skvoretz, 1986). Such norms, values, and beliefs are often codified into a religious code such as the Bible or the Koran. In Christian religions, for instance, the Ten Commandments provide a broad basis of codified ethical rules that believing Christians must K. Praveen Parboteeah (Ph. D. Washington State University) is an Associate Professor of International Management in the Department of Management, University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Parboteeah
s research interests include international management, ethics, religion and technology and nnovation management. He has published articles in numerous academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Decision Sciences, Small Group Research, Journal of Business Ethics , Journal of World Business, Management International Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, R&D Management and Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Martin Hoegl (Ph. D. University of Karlsruhe, Germany) is Professor at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, where he holds the Chair of Leadership and Human Resource Management. Before joining WHU, he served on the faculties of Washington State University and Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). His research interests include leadership and collaboration in organizations, management of R&D personnel, knowledge creation in innovation processes, and the management of geographically dispersed collaboration. He has published in leading international journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, the Journal of Management, Decision Sciences, and others. John B. Cullen is Professor of Management at Washington State University. He has also served on the faculties of the University of Nebraska, the University of Rhode Island, Waseda and Keio Universities in Japan (as a Fulbright lecturer), and the Catholic University of Lille in France. Professor Cullen is the past president of the Western Academy of Management. Professor Cullen is the author or co-author of four books and over 60 journal articles. His publications have appeared in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Organizational Studies, Management International Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, American Journal of Sociology, Organizational Dynamics, and the Journal of World Business. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal and Advances in International Comparative Management Journal. Journal of Business Ethics (2008) 80:387–398
Springer 2007 DOI 10. 1007/s10551-007-9439-8 follow in order to actualize what they believe in (e. g. , salvation). In turn, through daily exposure to orms, customs, laws, scripts, and practices, religions impart societal members with values and produce expectational bonds or ‘‘reciprocal expectations of predictability’’ (Field, 1979) that eventually become taken for granted. Such values often provide guides for what are considered ethical behaviors for most of the world
s religions (Fisher, 2001). Furthermore, in societies where one or few rel igions are dominant, the overarching core values of these religions are likely to be mirrored in secular values of society (codified law or non-codified social norms), which regulate everyday activity and thical behavior. However, despite the above conceptual tie between religions and ethics, research has provided mixed conclusions on the relationship (Tittle and Welch, 1983; Weaver and Agle, 2002). For instance, some studies have found no difference between religious and non-religious individuals on unethical behaviors such as dishonesty and cheating (e. g. , Hood et al. , 1996; Smith et al. , 1975), while a negative relationship was found between use of illegal substances and individual religiousness (Khavari and Harmon, 1982). The results are no more definitive for studies linking religions to usiness ethics. For instance, Kidwell et al. (1987) found no relationship between religiosity and ethical judgments of managers while Agle and Van Buren (1999) found a small positive relati onship between religious beliefs and corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, even studies linking marketing ethics with religiousness have found insignificant results (Vitell and Paolillo, 2003), whereby religiosity was found unrelated to consumer ethics. Taken together, the above supports Hood et al.
s (1996: 341) view of research between religion and ethics as ‘‘something f a roller coaster ride’’ and the difficulty to reach definitive conclusions about the relationship (Weaver and Agle, 2002). We, however, believe that the mixed results are mostly due to the following conceptual and methodological issues. First, most studies tend to consider only unidimensional conceptualizations of religion, such as church attendance or religious affiliations (e. g. , Agle and Van Buren, 1999; Schwartz and Huisman, 1995). However, De Jong et al.
s (1976) empirical test of the multidimensional view of religion clearly shows that ‘‘religion seems far t oo complex an arena of human behavior – as iverse and heterogeneous as human behavior – not to include many different and unrelated types of variables’’ (Dittes, 1969: 618). Therefore, it seems important to consider more multidimensional measures of religiosity to get a richer understanding of the relationship between ethics and religiosity. Second, even those studies that have considered multiple dimensions have done so without regard for conceptual support for the choice of their dimensions (e. g. , Agle and Van Buren, 1999). In addition, some studies have even included numerous dimensions and chosen those dimensions hat fit their results (e. g. , Conroy and Emerson, 2004). We believe that it is crucial to consider theoretical models that guide the choice of dimensions. Third, most studies have considered only one religion (e. g. , Angelidis and Ibrahim, 2004; Conroy and Emerson, 2004). Given the similarities of what is considered ethical behavior by th e major world religions (Fisher, 2001), we suggest considering cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of religiosity (rather than specific religious denominations) as predictors of ethics. Fourth, Weaver and Agle (2002) argue that many f the ethical measures have been attitudinal and may thus suffer from social desirability biases. It is therefore important to consider measures that do not elicit socially desirable responses. Finally, many studies have emphasized narrow, and for this subject matter, peculiar samples of undergraduate and MBA students (e. g. , Angelidis and Ibrahim, 2004; Conroy and Emerson, 2004; Kidwell et al. , 1987). Thus, in addition to issues of generalizability to wider populations, Tittle and Welch (1983) have also warned that student samples should be viewed with skepticism given the role of eligion at such ages. Research is needed using more comprehensive samples that target representative populations in terms of age and culture. Given the above, we investigate the relationships between multiple dimensions of religion and ethics. We use data from the World Values Survey (WVS) (2000) to examine how specific dimensions of religion (Weaver and Agle, 2002) are related to ethics and thus incorporate multiple religious denominations and multiple facets of the Kidwell, J. M. , R. E. Stevens and A. L. Bethke: 1987, Differences in the Ethical Perceptions Between Male

Peculiar Institution

lervns CH APT ER 8 The † Peculiar Institution', : Slaves Tell Their Own Story ii THE PROBLEM With the establishment of its nelw government in 1789, ihe United States became a r. irtual rnagaet for foieign traveiers, perhaps never more so than during the three Cecades immediately preceding our Civil lVar. N{iddle to up_ per class, interesied in everything from politics to prison reform to botanical specimens to the position of women in American society, these cu_ rious travelers fanrred out across the United States, and almost all wrote about their observ-ations in ieLters, pamphlets, anci books widej-v read orr both sides of rhe ocean.Regardlcss of their special interests, ho*. ever, ferv travelers f. itled to notice-an. d comment on-the â€Å"peciiliar instrtution', of' -frican Anre, rican slal,e,-v. As rl'ere narl-v nineteenth-cenlurr. 'onterr writers, English author Har_ i*t inter_ riet Martineau was especiaily tc exploit female siaves sexually, a practice that often produc ed mulatto children born into slavery. The young Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville came to study the Ameri_ can penitentiary system and stayed to investigate politics and society.In his book Democracy in America (1g42), Tocqueville expressed his belief that American slaves had completelr. lost their . drican cuiture-their custorns. lariguages, religions, ancl even ihe memories of their countries. An Eng_ ]ish novelist rvho 4/as enor. moLr_. lv poprrlar in the ! p;1†³6 Srrtr. -.. : t-,. ested in those aspects of American so_ ciety that affected women and chil_ dren. She was appalled by the slave system, believing ii deg::adcd mar_ riage by aliowing southern white rnen [1791 – ,ll {. (:ul,lAIt 3ftr1'loN†: .rrls 1'lll,l, ,tElR O'N .+,r()ltY rusty Charles Dickens, also visited in 1842. He spent very little time in the South but collected (and published) advertisemenis lor runaway slaves that contained gruesome descriptions of their burns, brandings, scars, and iron culfs and collars. As Dickens departed for a steamboat trip to bhe West. he wrote that he left â€Å"with a glateful heart that I was not doomed to live where slavery was, and had never had my s ‘nses blunted to its wrongs and horrors in a slave-rocked cradle. † I mer wrote to her sister that â€Å"they are ugly, but appear for the most part cheerful and well-fed. 2 Her subsequent trips to the plar. lations of the th' gir m( stz backcountry, however, increased her sympalhy for slaves and her distrust of white southerners' assertions that â€Å"slaves are the happiest people in the world. â€Å"l In fact, by the end o. her stay, Bremer was praising ihe slaves' morality, patience, la,cnts, and religior,s practices. to tht m( sla alc ev( gio m3 1850s, Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish novelist, traveled throughoul the United States for two vears and spent considerable time in Soulh Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.After her first encounters with African Americans in Charieston, Bre - In the turbulent These traveiers-and many moreadded their opinions to the growing litei†ature about the nature of American slavery and its effects. But the over- sla dot pr( whelming majority of this literature was written by white people. What did the slaves themselves think? How did they express their feelings about the peculiar institulion of slavery? mi iio; sla (aI' SIn sla inc I it BACKGROUND JI ‘F the wh 3i cilLBy the time of the American Revolution, rvhat haci begrrn in 1619 as a trick-le of Africans intended to supplement the farm labor of inderrtured servants from Engiano had sweiled to a slave population of approrimateiy 500,000 people, the majority concentrated on tobacco, rice. and cotton piantations in the South. Moreover, as the African American population greu', rvhat apparen'uly had been a fairly- ioose and unregimented labor s-r. stem gradually evoived into an increasingly' harsh, rigrd. and complete Charies Dickens. Anteri-can Notes arid Picrr;res ir cn 1lol-y rLcnCon: Oxlold Unrversit. v Press. 1957), p. 3?. system of chattel slavery that tried to control neariy every aspect of the slaves' iives. By 1775, African Ameiican slavery had become a significant (some wouki have said indispensable) part of southern iife. The American Revoiution did nct reverse those trends. Although northern states in which African American slavery was nol so deeply rocted began instituting graduai emancipation, after the Revolution, the slave systemas well as its harshness-increased in the pio the Vir wh wh sec sor_ tha mo his no1 ag( 2. Fredrika Brenrer, ,|'nttri,ctt ol' the Fi. fties: i. Letters of Fredriha Brenier. cd. Adolph B.Benson (Nerv York: â€Å"{melic:rrr ,Scandinavian Foundation, I92-1r. p. 96. : I e 3 ibid , p. 1r. t0 f1801 ITAOKGROUND the South. The invention ofthe cotton gin, which enabled seeds to be removed from the easily grown short stapie cotton, permitted southerners to cultivat,e collon on the uplands, scale, and sell-preservati on other. . . . in the t the Lay, moOUS iftcan ,'er- tire did drd t,he thereby spurring the westward movement of the piantation system anci slavery. As-a result, slaverv expanded along , with settlement into nearly bverv area of the South: the . Gulf region, Tennessee, Kentucky, and uitimately Texas.Simulianeously, the slave population burgeoned, roughly doubling every thirty years (from approximately 700,000 in 1790 to 1. 5 million in 1820 to more'than 3. 2 mitiion in 1850). Because importation of slaves from Africa was banned in 1808 (although there was some iilegal slave smuggiing), most further gains in the By this time, ho*'ever, Jelferson was nearly alone among rvhite southerners. Most did not question the assertion that siaver-i 'as a necessity, that it was gooti for both the slave and the owrlrr, and that it nrusr be preserved at nny cost. Ir of[en has been pointed oul that lhe majority of rvhite southerners did not own slaves.In fact, the proportion of white southern famili es who did own slaves was actualiy declining in the nineteenth century, from one- lnt 1e) rot :han an ef- southern pcpulation, and ihose siaveholders with iarge plantations and But as the sla. re popuiation grew, the fears and anxieties of southern hundreds of slaves were an exceedingiy small group. whites grew correspondingly. Il 1793, How, then, did the pecuiiar institua slave rebellion in the Caribbean tion oi slavery, as one southerner caused tremendous consternation in the white South. Rurrrors of uprisings called it. become so embeddeci in the piotted by slaves were numerous. _nd Old South? Firsr. even though only a the actual rebeilion of Nat Turner in minority of southern whir†es owned Virginia in 1831 (in which fifty-five slaves, nearly all southern whites whites ‘were killed, many of them were somehorv touched by the instit'. rtion of slavery. Fear of black r_iprisings r,r'hile asieep) only increased white inpiorrrp'r†ed many nonsiaveholders to securities and dread. In response, support an increasingly rigrd slave southern states passed a series oflaws that made the system of siavery even system that included night patrols, more restrictive.Toward the end of rvritten passes for slaves arvay fi-om his life, Thomas Jefferson (r. i'ho did plantations. supen'ised religious servnot live to see Nat Turner's uprising) ices for slales, larr,s prohibiting teaching slaves to read or rvrite. and other agonized: measLlres to keep slar'es ignorant, cieP†itdeltt. ttrd a]r',ar': undt' thr ,,J. pi 1,1†³ But as it rs. r, e lrrve :hc rvolf bv rho rr lrit,'s. 1lrny non:lavehuicl,. r. – ;t. 😠® ears, and we can neither hold him, nor rt'ere ah'5id ttat emancipation rvoulci safel-v let hirr go. iustice is in one hling rherrr :nto dilect nc,,n,,n. ,. (. (,nrincrease. slave population were frorn natural â€Å"^rird in 1830 to roughly one-fourth b-v 1860. Moreover, nearly three-fourths of these slaveholders owned fewer than ten slave s. Slaveholders, then, lvere a distinct minorrty of the white f1811 t ,EuLlAll ;fTloN†: TEI,I, ‘S ,IR OWN fr)til' can Americans partly rested on the limitation of rights and freedoms for nally, although large planters repre- southern whites as well. l sented oniy a lraction of the white But how did the sla{‘es reacL to population, they virtuaily controlled irn economic and social system that the econopnic. ocial, and political in- meanL that neither they nor their chilstilutionsftnd were not about to injure dren would ever experience freedom? either thcmselves or their status bv Most while southerners assumed that eliminating. the slave. syslem that es- slaves were happy and content. Northsentiallv supporred thern. , ern abolitionists (a minority of the po defend their peculiar institurion, ivhite population) believed that slaves rvhite southerners constructed a re- continually yearned for I :edom. Both markabiy compleie and ciiverse sel of groups used oceans of in k to justify arguments.Siavery, they maintained, and support their claims. But evidence was actuaily a far more humane svs- of hor+' the slaves felt and thc'ught is tem than northern capitaiism. After woefuliy sparse. Given the restrictiie ail, slaves s/ere fed, clothed, shelrered, nature of the slave syltem (which incared for *'hen they rvere ill, and sup- cluded enforced illiteracy among ported in their old age, rvhereas north- slaves), this pitiful lack of evidence is ern factory workers were paid pitifully hardiy surprising. lorv rvages, used, dnd then discarded IIow, then, cail we learn horv slaves when no longer usefui. I'ur'+. ernrore, feit, and ihought about the pecuiiar inmany . ,r'hite southei'ners maintained stitution? Slave uprisings were few, that slavery was a positive good be- but does that mean most slaves were cause ir had introduced the â€Å"barba- happy with their lot? Runaways were rous† Africans to civilized Americah. common, and some, such as Frederick ways and, rnore importantiy, to Chris- Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, actuaily tianitl'. Other southern rvhites reached the North and wrote about stressei rvhat they believed lvas the their experiences as slaves. Yet how childirke. ciependent nature of African typical were their experiences?Most Americans, insisting that they could slaves were born, lived, and died in neyer cope with iife outside the pater- servitude. did not participate in organnaiistic and â€Å"benevolent† institution ized revoits, and did not run awaS'. oi iiavri-‘. in si_ich zin atmorphere, in Fiow ciid they feel about the system of rvhich many of the white southern in- slavery? tellectr,ral efforts rvent into the defense Aithough most slaves did not read or of slaven. , ciissent anci freedom of wrile, did not participate in organized thought rvere not welcome. Hence revolts, and did not attempt to run those rr'hite southerners rvho dis- away. hey did leave a remarkable agreed anci might have challen ged the amount of evidence thal can help us unScuth's ciependence on siarery re- derstand their thoughts and leeiings. mained siient. *ere hushed up, or de- Yet we must be imagrnative in horl. rve cided rcr lear. e rhe region. In man,r, approach and use that evidence. wa,vs. ihen, the enslavement of Afri- peiition with blacks; who, it was assumed, would drive down wages. Fi- In that birti size, fortf ordir bn t, tion. help who eCOnl the p of th will I and evide sout,l ing r trave often ore Nort the them gand ecdot rich tives r iave Ligat, pecur Histr awar denc, most eight older' thev [182] THFI ilE]'ilol) rl- JM? /†Ii' !i. re tves iolh +iA, ,! r rJi ,ltcc iis iive inong eis ves inere ere ick illv rut nii in a-v. In an earlier chapter, you discovered (about births, deaths, age at marriage, farm size, inheritance, tax . rolls, and so forth) can reveal a great deal about ordinary people, such. as the colonists on the eve of the American Revolution. Such demographic evidence can h elp the. historian form a picture of who these people were and the socioeconomic trends of the time, even if the people themselves . ere not aware of those trends. In this exercise, you will tre using another kind of evidence and asking different questions. Your eviCence will not . come f†om white southerners (rvhose stake in maintaining slavery was enormous), foreiga travelers (wh-ose own cultural biases often influenced ‘,vhai they reported), or even white abolitionists in the North (whcse urgent need to eradicate the â€Å"sin† of slavery sometimes led them to gross exaggerations for propaganda purposes). You will be using anecdotes, stories, and songs froia the rich orai tradition of African American slaves, supplemente