The Types And Definitions Of Stigma

The Types And Definitions Of Stigma Stigma is a Greek word meaning mark, cut or burn into the skin, to identify criminal slaves as polluted and shunned in public. However, in a simple term stigma are classed as being represented for persons who are usually excluded from society due to a condition they themselves did not choose or over which they may have little control over, thus suffer from existential stigma; such as sexual identity, mental retardation or even in such cases, marital status. Moreover, there are other cases whereby a person may experience some sort of achieved stigma to which he or she have somehow contributed to their inclusion in a stigmatized group. Such form of stigma could range from homelessness, immigration, achievement or prostitution. Unsurprisingly, many of us fall into at least one of any categories (some not mentioned) yet no one seems to be accepted from association of some stigmatized group. In sociology term Erving Guffman described stigma as an attribute, behaviour or reputation which is socially discrediting in a particular way. Guffman also defined the meaning of the word stigma as a special gap between vital social identity and actual social identity. Guffmans meaning on vital social identity relates to the way we represent ourselves with people we dont see and for is take on actual social identity he explains it as the way we deal with people in real life. Social Stigma Guffman named abomination of the body (physical deformities) as a character (dishonesty, mental disorder, and homosexuality) tribal (race, sex, religion) as the three types of stigma. In the case of abomination of the body people living with the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) are venerable to stigmatisation; this is because our society has built up our perception to live in fear and to regard such virus as a fatal sin. Unsurprisingly, in this modern day people live in the fear that being around someone living with HIV virus enhances the chances of them being contaminated by them. Some have the belief that the virus is contagious by being around or sharing a cup from the person affected with the virus will virus. Generally the forms of stigmatization usually associated with HIV are groups of people such as homosexuals, ethnic minority such as Black people and drug users, as they believe such groups are the ones who carry the virus around due to the kinds of activities they pursue or the way they live their lives. Possibly in some case you may find that are person within this group requiring medical assistance for whatever reason leads to negative impacts towards their care and health. In some cases you may find that individuals that are infected with the virus are more often shun by families and friends, forcing them to move from their home and sometimes suffer from physical violence or in some extreme cases are even murdered. Unfortunately this is quite evident in third world countries, whereby HIV patients may encounter difficulties and are denied health care, employment and the ability to move from one country to another. In such situation, this fear of stigma causes those affected to ignore sickness test to determine whether they are affected and require treatments, consequently deciding to remain silent about the virus, leading to them being denied the essential treatment and social care. In the long run they eventually deteriorate painfully. Mental Stigma Drug addiction, alcoholism impressments are mental illnesses that relates to all part of the character of being stigmatised. This is down to the individual being dishonest. Personally I believe the media plays a vital role in people suffering from mental illness in to being stigmatized, as I am lead to believe they allow it to happen through the negative views they air out to the public. For people that suffer this mental illness really goes out of their way to commit gruesome crime, whilst a majority of mental illness patients live a quiet and peaceful life others experience something of an unimaginable life, which merely cause them to their death. We learn about this disease in rare cases when a person may decide to discuses their experiences with others. Within some families this is kept as a taboo, as to not allowing other families to discover that a member of a family suffers from mental illness whether it be alcoholic or any other forms of mental difficulty. Such situations are avoided due to what is said or written in the media that becomes their perception of what mental illness means. Whenever we hear about gruesome crimes being linked to mental illness we tend to gain a stronger stigma surroundings mental illness. It is also common for people with this disease to be an easy target for criminals as mental illness interferes with the sufferer ability to socialise with people, thus leaving them unaware, vulnerable and careless of their surroundings; not forgetting homeless. At times such stigmatised group may experience difficulties of having no access to jobs, education and sometimes even a home. As Bill Clinton once said mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all Physical Stigma Tribal is another form of stigma, which can be in the form of race, sex or religion. A good example of such stigma would be the albino race for instance; a hereditary condition caused by the lack of pigmentation (melanin) which leaves the skin whiter. As like Black (and other ethnic minorities) may experience some form of stigmatisation within their lifetime. Albinos, just like many other races may usually find it difficult, living within society. Sadly, albinism in Africa for instance is widely regarded as a form of deformity, for reasons that are non-explanatory. Living as an albino in such country is horrifying, as such race are treated like outcasts, and are made to feel as an underdogs; unable to find jobs. Undoubtedly they are made to feel unwelcome in such community and are very much rejected by their own people. Living in Africa, in many cases you will mostly find albino women end up being single parents because, as most man in some African countries believe in the perception that albino women will have albino children, and also believe that by sleeping with an albino woman they will end with the HIV virus for some reason or another. Which is why you will most likely find albino women dropping out of school due to the immense discriminated, therefore in many cases they may end up selling fruits in the streets due to the lack of education they may have received. As you can imagine, albino children find it hard adjusting to school life, as they are frequently picked upon, cursed at and most times ends up at home with no education to look forward to. Albinism in Africa is regarded as a curse from God (BBC News), a type of stigmatisation that sometimes leads to an unimaginative future as an individual. Physical stigma Obese individuals face different forms of discrimination and prejudice, one of the mostly commonly known stigmatisation. Men as well as Women are faced with such condition due to the way they look as suppose to an average size body, whereby usually in some cases a diet is regarded as a cure to overcome such physical deformity. People suffering from such stigmatisation would tend experience refusal of being hired on a job, and in extreme cases being told to pay for two (rather than one) seats on an airline in order to travel. Attitudes of obese people have become more stigmatised, so much so that people feel it is one that can be excused, of telling someone they are worthless because of their weight. Stigmatizing on weight has become so common that someone has even commented on the heavier a person is on an airline means that that they require more fuel to take the required weight. Unfortunately most people never seem to realize that a weight of a heavy person is linked to uncontrolled heath problems, but usually have a strong belief that it is due to the persons fault; and the person lacks exercise and eats far too much than required. An obsess individual experiencing stigma would no doubt go through life being referred to as either ugly, unattractive or awkward and that it is the personal responsibility of the individual of not being in such a way . Unknown to most, such stigma leads to the obsess individual of gaining even more weight due to the intense stress such person way go through, and by this I mean; they way find that the lack of courage may enhance such weight to be added on. You would usually find that the higher a persons body mass is then the less respect they may gain from society, some would even go as far as telling you that sitting next to an obsess person is a shame and a sickening though because they are perceived as unclean and smelly people, who are unable to wash and look after themselves. No matter what anyone may think, fat stigma affects everyones health, fat, thin or in between. Recently a story was told of how an overweight teenage girl whose school was going through a wellness campaign. Hallways were plastered with posters saying Prevent teenage obesity. After the posters went up, the girl said, schoolmates began taunting her in the halls, pointing at the obese girl on the posters and saying, Look at the fat girl. The moral to this story is that heavier girls at the school were now made to feel conscious about what they consumed, yet the thinner girls were able to eat there choice of lunch without the aid of some snide nasty and disrespectful comment, even if the lunch were similar to the children deemed to be the heaviest. Stigmatization gave the thinner children permission to think theres something wrong with the larger children, which doesnt help them look at their own health habits either. In Goffmans theory of stigma he distinguishes three categories; the own, the wise and the normal (Guffman 1963). He describes the own as a group that represent stigmatized society. the wise in Guffman term are people who assign stigma and feels that life is better to them with few complains. Whereas the normal are people with empathy towards others and therefore help them fit into society.

Mexico`s Megalopolis` by Jonathan Kandell

Nowadays, the city of Mexico is one of the largest megalopolises, with enourmopus population density and industrialization rates. Jonathan Kandell in his book ‘I Saw a City Invincible’ provides a wonderful historical excurse in terms of urban, technological and social development in the city. The issue of migration was particularly obvious between the 1940s and the 1970s, when the inhabitants of small towns and rural areas suddenly began to move into the city, searching for their fortunes at factories and plants. As Kandell notes, â€Å"Factories, commerce, and service jobs sucked in hordes of rural migrants who swelled Mexico City’s population from 1. 5 million in 1940 to 8. 5 million in 1970† (Kandell, p. 183). Furthermore, the author describes the stuggle between time-honored Latin American values and globalization trends, brought by the country’s nearest neighbor, the United States. The phenomenon of tourist infrastructure also emerged under American influence: the new cafes and traditional cuisine restaurants were being adjusted to ‘American demands’ and standards (p. 184). In sociopolitical meaning, the country in that period was literally obsessed with social radical views: â€Å"Revolutionary slogans continued to exalt the ideals of land for the rural dispossessed, living wages for the proletariat, and a determinant voice for the state of economic affairs† (ibid). The ambitiousness of Mexican politicians enjoyed stable and sustainable growth between the 1940s and the 1970s, parallel to the growth of ordinary Mexicans’ aspirations, as increasingly more citizens sought rapid career and social protection in the capital. In reality, the needs of majorities were satisfied: there was a plenty of work, due to the development of service and mass-communications spheres, in which females, traditionally marginalized as reliable employees, got an opportunity to find themselves. Due to the fact that by the 1960s, the average Mexican urban family contained no unemployed members (except children), household incomes were growing proportionally to the overall economic and political progress. Nevertheless, the metropolis also experienced certain problems, such as housing crisis: â€Å"In the 1940s and 1950s most migrants settled first in the old downtown tenements [the so-called’ vecindadez] abandoned generations before by the middle class† (p. 185). These quarters seemed completely distinct dimension that in the course of time obtained a kind of autonomy, as such miniature settlements had their local factories, shopping malls, saloons and bars and, certainly, their own markets, which appeared the centers of social life, peculiar ‘offspring’ of Ancient Roman forum or Greek agora. Kandall provides a description of the typical vecindad: â€Å"†¦Tepito was now populated mainly by artisans, vendors, factory laborers, unskilled workers, waiters, office clerks, messengers and porters†, who earned about $20 per month (p. 85). Notwithstanding the rapid economic development, the migrants’ well-being had been very limited up to the 1960s: due to the fact that flat rent was unjustifiably high, the families huddled together in small windowless apartments and could afford meet only once a week. Another apparent trend in urban development was the gradual growth of small enterprises, to which local governments de legated their responsibilities for food, health facilities and education. Nevertheless, the main institutions remained bureaucratic and centralized, so private capital hadn’t enjoyed considerable flow until the end of the 1970s. Due to the fact that the factories of Mexico City were controlled by local authorities, so the working-class suffered from poverty and lack of dwelling conveniences: â€Å"[only] In 1977 Jaras’ dwelling [situated in the typical working-class ‘reservation’] was legally connected to the municipal electricity grid and water system† (p. 90). The present-day ecological catastrophe, notable in Mexico City, is rooted in the negligence, demonstrated by government as well as local enterprises: â€Å"The primitive recycling of garbage, often carried out illegally by small businesses that are unsupervised by the municipal authorities, poses serious health hazards to the population at large† (p. 192). The author notes that the ‘garbage problem’ had remained extremely sharp up to the end of the 1980s. In addition, Kandall addresses the progress of charity and human services: affluent urban entrepreneurs contributed to the development of local communities in the best Mexican traditions: ‘He sponsored local soccer teams, supplied the uniforms and built for playing fields, which he named Rafael Sports center† (p. 194). On Gutierez’ example the author shows businessmen’s [caciques] bourgeois ambitions: after the establishment of the enterprise, they normally tried to penetrate into the city’s or national political arena, so their charity was nothing more than well-planned PR. Human services, although popular in Mexican culture, were institutionalized only in the 1970s, since the religious traditions prescribed that urban dwellers helped their neighbors and compatriots on the voluntary basis, Mexican cultural collectivism was extremely noticeable in the working-class quarters. With beginning of the 1980s, the country was paralyzed by environmental accidents like earthquakes, but the government appeared incapable of handling the resulting problems in a proper way: â€Å"The small parties of left and right were unable to claim the loyalty of potential dissidents†, whereas the young volunteers seemed the major rescuers, which means, Mexican urban citizens were always ready to support each other, and in spite of the pessimistic ending of the article: â€Å"Throughout its existence the city has been scourged by war, social upheaval. Plague, flood, earthquake† (p. 201), its overall context shows that social problems and emergencies haven’t managed to separate the city dwellers, but rather have united them and created a powerful humanistic basis for the reinforcement of Mexico City.

Mixed Economy

This paper is to be submitted to Mr. Booker as an assignment. It essentially focuses on two questions: a) How does the free market deal with the fundamental question of micro-economics? b) What problems are posed by merit, demerit and public goods? Fundamental question of micro-economics So, first, what is economics? According to Paul A. Samuelson, economics is â€Å"the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable commodities and distribute them among different people. † Very briefly, we may summarise that economics is the study of how people choose to use resources. The economic problem is said to arise when we have scare resources to satisfy our unlimited wants. As a result of this problem, which is sometimes called the problem of scarcity, choices have to be made over the following points: 1. What to produce? A classic question here that we often heard of is â€Å"Butter or cannon? † Should an economy produce more consumer goods, e. g. TVs, which can immediately raise people’s living standards, or put more resources into produce more machinery that would enhance the economy’s production capability in the long run? How to strike a balance over the quantities of diffident goods are going to be produced is well worth considering for the decision-makers. 2. How to produce? Generally, what we expect the market going to do is to obtain maximum use out of resources available. This is obvious, but some other issues besides purely economic concerns also should be considered. For example, even though we could produce more goods by forcing labours to accept longer working-hours; this is not something we should do, since there exists moral objections. So, the decision to maximise output and satisfy more wants would need to consider the full impact on the environment and any potential long-term health risks. 3. For whom to produce Though, on the surface, almost all the countries agree that the wealth allocating system in an economy should be â€Å"fair† for both the poor and the better off; in fact, there are some attempts to create a more egalitarian society through policies that re-distribute wealth and income society from the rich to the poor in some capitalism countries, but they are merely self-deceiving, from my point of view. The reason is quite straightforward: the powerful capitalists are the very people who actually operate the political machine in capitalism countries; never would they enact laws which may deprive them of their wealth, would they? (Pardon me for holding such an â€Å"extreme† opinion, Mr. Booker, but I have to be honest! ) Factors of production Now, in the next two pages, let’s sort out four types of resources involved in a production process, known as factors of production: i) Land. In economics, land refers to all natural resources, which can either be renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources are replaced automatically by nature and so can be used on a continual basis, e. g. rivers; non-renewable resources, in contrast, are not automatically replaced, e. g. fossil fuels. Land is probably the most occupationally mobile of economic resources. However, land is absolutely geographically mobile- we can never move land from Suzhou to Suzhou! ii) Labour Labours are th e people who actually working in a production process. Labours are often not occupationally and geographically mobile due to a series of reasons, e. g. lack of skills or reluctance to accept a higher house price in another place. iii) Enterprise or entrepreneurship An entrepreneur is someone who put the other three resources together into production. Two functions that this factor carries out: a) To organise the other economic resources. b) To take risks involved in the production. Some risks, including fire, theft and flood, can be insured against but others, like costs of production rising, tastes changing, cannot. The entrepreneur is considered as the most mobile of economic resources. They are usually versatile. For example, an entrepreneur who is organising the production of a shoes manufacturing factory is very like to have the ability to run a clothes-making firm; they are also often willing to move from one area to another, since they are always seeking the place where they can make the most profit! iv) Capital goods Capital goods which may be also called producer goods are any man-made aids to production, e. g. ffices, warehouses or a printer. Most machines, equipment and processed raw materials are geographically mobile, even there may involve extra transportation cost, but goods such as factories, offices are not. Many specialised machines e. g. sausage machines are occupationally immobile; while others which are of general use, like a printer, can be occupationally mobile. Economic systems There mainly exist three kinds of economies, the command economy, the free market economy and th e mixed economy. 1. The free market economy In a free market economy decisions on how resources are to be allocated are taken by households and firms. The key point is that they interact as buyers and sellers in the market for goods and services. Prices act to indicate the likely market value of particular resources. Figure 1: A Circular Flow Diagram of a Free Market Economy Many economists believe that in a free market economy, the price system is an â€Å"invisible hand†, which brings together private and social interests in a harmonious way and the government is of no need to intervene the conomic activities; this is the fundamental philosophy underpinning the workings of the market economy. However, in my opinion, even though the markets can play a very important role to a great extent, the government need to intervene in order to obtain a sustainable, continuous economic growth. A best example could be U. S. , which was proud of having the most characters of the free market economy, is now in a great hurry to natio nalise AIG and many other banks in the economic crisis.

What Is Müllerian Mimicry

In the insect world, it sometimes takes a little evolutionary teamwork to fend off all those hungry predators. Mà ¼llerian mimicry is a defensive strategy employed by a group of insects. If you pay attention, you might even be able to see it in your own backyard. The Theory of  Mà ¼llerian Mimicry In 1861, English naturalist Henry W. Bates (1825-1892) first offered a theory that insects use mimicry to fool predators. He noticed that some edible insects shared the same coloration as other unpalatable species. Predators quickly learned to avoid insects with certain color patterns. Bates argued that the mimics gained protection by displaying the same warning colors. This form of mimicry came to be called Batesian mimicry. Almost 20 years later in 1878, German naturalist Fritz Mà ¼ller (1821-1897) offered a different example of insects using mimicry. He observed communities of similarly colored insects and all of them were unpalatable to predators. Mà ¼ller theorized that all of these insects gained protection by displaying the same warning colors. Should a predator eat one insect with a certain coloration and find it inedible, it would learn to avoid catching any insects with similar coloration. Mà ¼llerian mimicry rings may arise over time. These rings include multiple insect species from different families or orders that share common warning colors. When a mimicry ring includes many species, the probability of a predator catching one of the mimics increases. While this may seem disadvantageous, its actually quite the opposite. The sooner a predator samples one of the unpalatable insects, the sooner it will learn to associate the colors of that insect with a bad experience. Mimicry occurs in insects as well as amphibians and other animals that are vulnerable to predators. For example, a non-poisonous frog in a tropical climate may mimic the color or patterns of a poisonous species. In this case, the predator does not have just a negative experience with the warning patterns, but a lethal one. Examples of Mà ¼llerian Mimicry At least a dozen Heliconius  (or longwing) butterflies in South America share similar colors and wing patterns. Each member of this longwing mimicry ring benefits because predators learn to avoid the group as a whole. If youve grown milkweed plants in your garden to attract butterflies, you might have noticed the surprising number of insects  that share the same red-orange and black colors. These beetles and true bugs represent another Mà ¼llerian mimicry ring. It includes the caterpillar of the milkweed  tiger moth, milkweed bugs, and the very popular monarch butterfly.