Social Class Is Form Of Social Stratification Sociology Essay

Social Class Is Form Of Social Stratification Sociology Essay Introduction: Social class is a form of social stratification which impacts on peoples lives either negatively or positively. It refers to wealth, education level, occupation and prestige of a particular group of people. Factors which are inter-connected include the gender, sexuality, race and abilities (McDowell et al., 2013). It is important that social class be understood in the context from which it originates, primarily due to factors which occur inter-connectedly as mentioned above. There are many concepts relating to social stratification, but for the purpose of this essay I will focus mainly on Karl Marxs conflict theory, supplemented by Max Webbers functionalist ideology. Similarly factors such as education and employment will be central in this essay. I believe that the acquisition of knowledge and prestige via employment plays an important role in defining an individuals lifestyle and subsequently their life chances. Body: It must be noted that most of the research done by Karl Marx was based on westernized capitalist societies and it is primarily due to this fact that his concept of conflict theory exists in an economic realm or context (Lenski, 2008). Marx demarcated class of people in terms of either lower, middle or upper class. In Manifesto of the Communist Party Marx refers to lower-class societies as the proletariat and the upper-class as the bourgeoisie. The proletariat are a class of people who do manual labour which requires no specific skill, or simply put, they are the working (blue-collar) section of society. The bourgeoisie employ the working class society in order to increase their capital (Mohandesi, 2013). It is interesting to note that the position an individual finds himself or herself relative to the above category, impacts on their life chances and thus their social class. According to Max Weber (Davidson, 2009) social class and a persons life chances are interdependent. In this se nse, the higher an individual is positioned in the social hierarchy (class) the better his or her life will be; the opposite occurs for those who are in a poorer position. Factors include becoming wealthier, increasing ones prestige, the acquisition of knowledge and the improvement of an individuals living conditions. These are known as social advancements or improvements. According to a research study by Jean Anyon (1980) educational opportunities vastly improved as the socio-economic conditions of a particular social group increased. Anyon (1980) in Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work found that schools were organised in a manner which reflects the social class of the families. Her results were derived from five schools which were broken down into working-class, middle-class, affluent professional and executive elite schools. Furthermore Anyon (1980) concludes that skills and knowledge which moves toward social power or prestige are obtainable to children from higher social groups but are inaccessible to the working class which are offered a practical curriculum. This study shows that the curriculum grooms children to fill an employment role suited to their social class or better put, so that the more challenging professions are occupied by the most skilled and talented individuals. In this sense, lower class schools educated individuals i n a manner which requires them to follow orders rather than use their own initiative and understanding of the work. The emphasis on individualism increases as the social class of the school increases. In my experience I concur with what Anyon has found because there exists numerous types of schools or institutions ranging from technical to managerial and professional. Examples are the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town College and The University of the Western Cape. Marx also suggests that institutions are used to oppress the subordinates of a society, this statement coupled with Anyons research, displays a rather frightful image. Institutionally people are being transformed and socialized, from a young age, to follow the layers of strata found in society. Education ultimately leads to employment which in turn culminates in the acquisition of wealth or material property. According to Max Weber, the ownership of physical assets, which is obtained by means of production, creates unique characteristics in terms of the individuals life chances (Shortell, 2012). Furthermore, Weber believes that the ownership of property is central to class differences and in this case there will always be a relationship between employee and employer or property renter and property owner. In our modernized capitalist society empowered by neoliberalism, emphasis is placed on the acquisition of wealth thereby stratifying society into upper-class rich and the lower-class poor inhabitants. In this sense one can improve ones social class by increasing wealth and also the ownership of property-making this an open societal system (opposed to the system of slavery). Employment is therefore an opportunity to achieve wealth and increase status, however, inequalities o ccur whereby a bread baker (regardless of his skill) has less chances to improve his conditions than the owner of the bakery. Functionalists (Marxism) would argue that economic disparity benefits the majority of society and is also an essential element for the operation of society as a whole (Lenski, 2008). Conclusion: In my opinion, I see employment as the second phase in a three phase process in light of an individuals life chances. The first phase being education and the last being a successful business owner or CEO. As mentioned above, the level of education provided to individuals varies according to their socio-economic standing. This is the crux of my argument mainly due to the manner in which institutions shape society in preparation for their pre-planned future i.e. external forces of which they have no control over. A false consciousness thus exists in the open capitalist society whereby the proletariat is made to believe that they have equal opportunities to improve their life chances, when in actual fact their original social class serves as a key which only opens a limited number of doorways to success. Those who are endowed with a higher social class are granted unlimited opportunities to all elements of success, prestige, wealth, knowledge and ultimately advantages to better their li fes chances.

Shakespeares Hamlet - The Character of Ophelia Essays -- GCSE Englis

Hamlet: The Character of Ophelia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Concerning the Ophelia of Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet, is she an innocent type or not? Is she a victim or not? This essay will explore these and other questions related to this character.    Rebecca West in â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption† viciously, and perhaps unfoundedly, attacks the virginity of Ophelia:    There is no more bizarre aspect of the misreading of Hamlet’s character than the assumption that his relations with Ophelia were innocent and that Ophelia was a correct and timid virgin of exquisite sensibilities. . . . She was not a chaste young woman. That is shown by her tolerance of Hamlet’s obscene conversations, which cannot be explained as consistent with the custom of the time. If that were the reason for it, all the men and women in Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice and Benedict, Miranda and Ferdinand, Antony and Cleopatra, would have talked obscenely together, which is not the case (107).    West’s interpretation of Ophelia’s character is not a consensus feeling among critics, so her innocence is challenged but not overturned. Beginning now with the play, the reader/viewer sees that the protagonist of the tragedy, Prince Hamlet, initially appears dressed in solemn black. He is mourning the death of his father, supposedly by snakebite, while he was away at Wittenberg as a student. Hamlet laments the hasty remarriage of his mother to his father’s brother, an incestuous act; thus in his first soliloquy he cries out, â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman!† Ophelia enters the play with her brother Laertes, who, in parting for school, bids her farewell and gives her advice regarding her relationship with Hamlet. Op... ...Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.            

“Macbeth” and “Brave New World” Comparison Essay Essay

Freedom and individualism are a significant component of contemporary society, however there are many parts of the world where these basic human rights are not granted. The lack of these basic rights are clearly demonstrated in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The leaders of many societies are willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order for society to function according to their visions. Many leaders are willing to sacrifice the freedom of the people in order for society to run the way they want. Furthermore, even the individuals making up the society are quite willing to sacrifice their souls in order to live in an imaginary world. As long as they perceive happiness to be present they are very content to live there. To live in the utopian imaginary worlds of Brave New World and Macbeth, freedom and individuality are often sacrificed. Sacrifice is often a necessity when attempting to create utopian societies. However, these sacrifices are not enough to convince every individual within the society. One of these individuals is Bernard, who was going to be exiled to Iceland by the director, because he does not believe in the society that individuals after Ford believed in. Even though Bernard was conditioned when he was a child, he could not accept what all the other individuals believed. Unlike the other individuals, Bernard has stunted growth and often felt isolated from the rest of society. Further alienating Bernard from the rest of society is his rejection of the promiscuous nature present in his society. He also exhibits the various characteristics of men who existed before Ford. Bernard Marx did not believe in the everyone belonged to everyone theme that was the norm in Fords society. The director wanted to exile Bernard Marx because he did not believe in the society that the director was enforcing. However, Bernard felt strong enough to meet and overcome affliction, strong enough to face even Iceland. (Huxley 106). This mentality was one of the many factors which set Bernard apart from the rest of society. Another man who sets himself apart from society is Macbeth. He plots and succeeds in killing King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies.  Macbeths reasons for killing King Duncan are numerous but most striking are greed and an unrelenting desire to become King. He also wants to make sure that he runs the country as he saw fit. Macbeth allows the prophecies to control him and his internal struggle is demonstrated by: This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill why hath it given me earnest of success (Shakespeare 27). Despite his initial reluctance, he quiets his conscience leading to the brutal murder of King Duncan. I have done the deed (Shakespeare 70). Both stories show similarity between the Director and Macbeth, who are willing to sacrifice innocent lives to obtain the society they want. Wanting and achieving the society that is envisioned is always paralleled with loss and some sort of sacrifice. Bernard Marx sacrifices the little respect that he has by bringing John Savage back to the utopian society. Bernard and John both want the society to be more independent. Fortunately for Bernard and unfortunately for the director, society accepts John and questions their own lifestyle. Bernard believes that life should be exactly the same as John wants it to be I dont want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin.(Huxley 237) Bernard took a huge risk in bringing John back to his society because he was risking definite exile to Iceland had society rejected John. Macbeth sacrifices his peace of mind and self-respect by killing Banquo and trying to kill Banquos son Fleance. At the feast Macbeth makes a fool of himself by talking to the imaginary ghost of Banquo. Blood hath been shed now, I the olden time, Ere human statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, muders have been performed Too terrible for the ear: the time has been, That when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end: but now, they rise again, With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, And push us from our stools: this is more strange Than such a murder is.(Shakespeare 145)Many individuals take note of Macbeths strange behavior leading them to suspect him of some foul deed. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Macduff realizes that Macbeth is the true murderer. This realization leads to the eventual killing of Macbeth. This illustrates Macbeths sacrifice of his self respect and his life in order to fulfill his  prophecy. Many individuals are willing to sacrifice their souls in order to become part of the imaginary world where only happiness exists. John Savages mother, Linda, sacrifices her life by taking too much of a drug referred to as soma. Linda wants to get away from the real world and enter a world of happiness. Ever since she had a child with the Director her life changed for the worse. So the best people were quite determined not to see Linda. And Linda, for her part, had no desire to see them. The return to civilization was for her the return to soma, was the possibility of lying in bed and taking holiday after holiday, without ever having to come back to a headache or a fit of vomiting, without ever being made to feel as you always felt after peyotl, as though you’d done something so shamefully anti-social that you could never hold up your head again. Soma played none of these unpleasant tricks. The holiday it gave was perfect and, if the morning after was disagreeable, it was so, not intrinsically, but only by comparison with the joys of the holiday. The remedy was to make the holiday continuous. Greedily she clamoured for ever larger, ever more frequent doses. Dr. Shaw at first demurred; then let her have what she wanted. She took as much as twenty grammes a day (Huxley 107)Lenina introduces the drug to Linda as soon as Linda enters the world after Ford. Linda looses her life and dies at the hospital because of an overdose of soma, the drug that is supposed to provide happiness. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her peace of mind and eventually her life so that Macbeth could be King. Lady Macbeth sets up the killing of King Duncan at the beginning of the novel. Throughout the novel, Lady Macbeth becomes involved in many of the murders committed by Macbeth. Unfortunately Lady Macbeth experiences a sleepwalking illness with recurring nightmares of the murder of King Duncan that could not be resolved. This disease is beyond my practice: yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep who have died holily in their beds.(Shakespeare 213). The lives of Linda and Lady Macbeth can also be viewed as victims of the utopian societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. Freedom and individuality are sacrificed throughout Brave New World and  Macbeth in order to achieve the societies envisioned by the director and Macbeth. The director tried to exile Bernard just because Bernard did not accept the norm of the utopian society. Macbeth kills King Duncan after hearing the witchs prophecies of him being King so that he can run society the way he wants. Bernard sacrifices his respect by bringing John Savage back home. Macbeth also sacrifices his respect when he talks to the ghost of Banquo. Linda puts her soul on the line with an overdose of a drug called soma. Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her life in order for Macbeth to be King of Scotland. Many individuals throughout Brave New World and Macbeth sacrifice their freedom and individualism for the society that they believed in, even if it was not the society that was accepted by the majority of people. Bibliography Shakespeare, William, Date Modified: 1999, MacbethHuxley, Aldous, Date Modified: 1979, Brave New World

Create and Customize Buttons With the DBNavigator

Ok, the DBNavigator does its job of navigating data and managing records. Unfortunately, my customers want more user-friendly experience, like custom button graphics and captions, ... This inquiry came from a Delphi developer searching for a way to enhance the power of the DBNavigator component.   The DBNavigator is a great component—it provides a VCR-like interface for navigating data and managing records in database applications. Record navigation is provided by the First, Next, Prior, and Last buttons. Record management is provided by the Edit, Post, Cancel, Delete, Insert, and Refresh buttons. In one component Delphi provides everything you need, to operate on your data. However, as the author of the e-mail inquiry also stated, the DBNavigator lacks some features like custom glyphs, button captions, and others. A More Powerful DBNavigator Many Delphi components have useful properties and methods that are marked invisible (protected) to a Delphi developer. Hopefully, to access such protected members of a component, a simple technique called the protected hack can be used. First, youll add a caption to every DBNavigator button, then youll add custom graphics, and finally, youll OnMouseUp-enable each button.   From the boring DBNavigator to either of: Standard graphics and custom captionsOnly captionsCustom graphics and custom captions Lets Rock n Roll The DBNavigator has a protected Buttons property. This member is an array of TNavButton, a descendant of TSpeedButton.   Since each button in this protected property inherits from TSpeedButton, if you get our hands on it, youll be able to work with standard TSpeedButton properties like: Caption (a string that identifies the control to the user), Glyph (the bitmap that appears on the button), Layout (determines where the image or text appears on the button)... From the DBCtrls unit (where DBNavigator is defined) you read that the protected Buttons property is declared as: Buttons: array[TNavigateBtn] of TNavButton; Where TNavButton inherits from TSpeedButton and TNavigateBtn is an enumeration, defined as : TNavigateBtn (nbFirst, nbPrior, nbNext, nbLast, nbInsert, nbDelete, nbEdit, nbPost, nbCancel, nbRefresh); Note that TNavigateBtn holds 10 values, each identifying different button on a TDBNavigator object. Now, lets see how to hack a DBNavigator: Enhanced DBNavigator​ First, set up a simple data editing Delphi form by placing at least a DBNavigator, a DBGrid, a DataSoure and a Dataset object of your choice (ADO, BDE, dbExpres, ...). Make sure all components are connected. Second, hack a DBNavigator by defining an inherited dummy class, above the Form declaration, like: type THackDBNavigator class(TDBNavigator); type TForm1 class(TForm) ... Next, to be able to display custom captions and graphics on each DBNavigator button, youll need to set up some glyphs. You can use the TImageList component and assign 10 pictures (.bmp or .ico), each representing an action of a particular button of a DBNavigator. Third, in the OnCreate event for the Form1, add a call like: procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); SetupHackedNavigator(DBNavigator1, ImageList1);end; Make sure you add the declaration of this procedure in the private part of the form declaration, like: type TForm1 class(TForm) ... privateprocedure SetupHackedNavigator(const Navigator : TDBNavigator; const Glyphs : TImageList); ... Fourth, add the SetupHackedNavigator procedure. The SetupHackedNavigator procedure adds custom graphics to each button and assigns a custom caption to each button. uses Buttons; //!!! dont forgetprocedure TForm1.SetupHackedNavigator (const Navigator : TDBNavigator; const Glyphs : TImageList);const Captions : array[TNavigateBtn] of string (Initial, Previous, Later, Final, Add, Erase, Correct, Send, Withdraw, Revive);(* Captions : array[TNavigateBtn] of string (First, Prior, Next, Last, Insert, Delete, Edit, Post, Cancel, Refresh); in Croatia (localized): Captions : array[TNavigateBtn] of string (Prvi, Prethodni, Slijedeci, Zadnji, Dodaj, Obrisi, Promjeni, Spremi, Odustani, Osvjezi);*)var btn : TNavigateBtn;beginfor btn : Low(TNavigateBtn) to High(TNavigateBtn) dowith THackDBNavigator(Navigator).Buttons[btn] dobegin//from the Captions const array Caption : Captions[btn]; //the number of images in the Glyph property NumGlyphs : 1; // Remove the old glyph. Glyph : nil; // Assign the custom one Glyphs.GetBitmap(Integer(btn),Glyph); // gylph above text Layout : blGlyphTop; // explained later OnMouseUp : HackNavMouseUp; end;end; (*SetupHackedNav igator*) Ok, lets explain. You iterate through all the buttons in the DBNavigator. Recall that each button is accessible from the protected Buttons array property—therefore the need for the THackDBNavigator class. Since the type of the Buttons array is TNavigateBtn, you go from the first (using the  Low  function) button to the last (using the  High  function) one. For each button, you simply remove the old glyph, assign the new one (from the Glyphs parameter), add the caption from the Captions array and mark the layout of the glyph. Note that you can control which buttons are displayed by a DBNavigator (not the hacked one) through its VisibleButtons property. Another property whose default value you may want to change is Hints—use it to supply Help Hints of your choosing for the individual navigator button. You can control the display of the Hints by editing the ShowHints property. Thats it. This is why youve picked Delphi! Gimme More! Why stop here? You know that when you click the nbNext button the datasets current position is advanced to the next record. What if you want to move, lets say, 5 records ahead if the user is holding the CTRL key while pressing the button? How about that?   The standard DBNavigator does not have the OnMouseUp event—the one that carries the Shift parameter of the TShiftState—enabling you to test for the state of the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys. The DBNavigator only provides the OnClick event for you to handle.   However, the THackDBNavigator can simply expose the OnMouseUp event and enable you to see the state of the control keys and even the position of the cursor above the particular button when clicked! Ctrl Click : 5 Rows Ahead To expose the OnMouseUp you simply assign your custom event handling procedure to the OnMouseUp event for the button of the hacked DBNavigator. This exactly is already done in the SetupHackedNavigator procedure:OnMouseUp : HackNavMouseUp; Now, the HackNavMouseUp procedure could look like: procedure TForm1.HackNavMouseUp (Sender:TObject; Button: TMouseButton; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);const MoveBy : integer 5;beginif NOT (Sender is TNavButton) then Exit; case TNavButton(Sender).Index of nbPrior: if (ssCtrl in Shift) then TDBNavigator(TNavButton(Sender).Parent). DataSource.DataSet.MoveBy(-MoveBy); nbNext: if (ssCtrl in Shift) then TDBNavigator(TNavButton(Sender).Parent). DataSource.DataSet.MoveBy(MoveBy); end; end;(*HackNavMouseUp*) Note that you need to add the signature of the HackNavMouseUp procedure inside the private part of the form declaration (near the declaration of the SetupHackedNavigator procedure): type TForm1 class(TForm) ... privateprocedure SetupHackedNavigator(const Navigator : TDBNavigator; const Glyphs : TImageList); procedure HackNavMouseUp(Sender:TObject; Button: TMouseButton; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer); ... Ok, lets explain, one more time. The HackNavMouseUp procedure handles the OnMouseUp event for each DBNavigator button. If the user is holding the CTRL key while clicking the nbNext button, the current record for the linked dataset is moved MoveBy (defined as constant with the value of 5) records ahead. What? Overcomplicated? Yep. You do not need to mess with all this if you only need to check the state of the control keys when the button was clicked. Heres how to do the same in the ordinary OnClick event of the ordinary DBNavigator: procedure TForm1.DBNavigator1Click(Sender: TObject; Button: TNavigateBtn); function CtrlDown : Boolean; var State : TKeyboardState; begin GetKeyboardState(State); Result : ((State[vk_Control] And 128) 0); end;const MoveBy : integer 5;begincase Button of nbPrior: if CtrlDown then DBNavigator1.DataSource.DataSet.MoveBy(-MoveBy); nbNext: if CtrlDown then DBNavigator1.DataSource.DataSet.MoveBy(MoveBy); end; //caseend;(*DBNavigator2Click*) Thats All Folks And finally, the project is done.  Or you can keep going.  Heres a scenario/task/idea for you:   Lets say you want only one button to replace the nbFirst, nbPrevious, nbNext, and nbLast buttons. You can use the X, and Y parameters inside the HackNavMouseUp procedure to find the position of the cursor when the button was released. Now, to this one button (to rule them all) you can attach a picture that has 4 areas, each area is suppose to mimic one of the buttons you are replacing ... got the point?