Capital of Texas: Austin | Impact of Capitalization

Capital of Texas: Austin | Impact of Capitalization Claudia De La Fuente Austin became the capital of Texas after Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected President of the Republic of Texas. President Lamar moved the capital city from Houston to Waterloo, a city which in 1839 he renamed Austin in honor of Stephen F. â€Å"who, though he has gone into history books with the rather grand title of â€Å"impresario,† was in reality little more than a glorified real estate developer† (Lomax 1). Austin was chosen as the capital of Texas over more thriving cities because of many factors, one of them being its geographical location. Austin is located in the central part of Texas, where President Lamar believed the republic ´s population would eventually expand. Austin ´s central location made it easier for people from all over Texas to move and settle in that area. Another factor that contributed to President Lamar ´s decision to move the capital city was to escape the fevers that plagued residents of the republic ´s coastal areas. Austin ´s mild climate compared to Houston ´s humid climate was another reason why Lamar chose Austin as the capital city of Texas, since its great climate would attract more people to settle there. Another reason why Austin was chosen as the capital of Texas was because no one could have predicted the future of Austin or the significance of Houston ´s economic and cultural contributions to Texas. At the time, both Houston and Austin w ere just beginning to grow, it would have been impossible for the president or anyone to predict the insignificant number of medical and cultural happenings present in Austin compared to Houston’s. After being chosen the capital city of Texas, Austin experienced many changes on its economy, population, and culture. After Austin became the capital of Texas, its population started to increase. As more people from all over Texas started moving and settling in the capital, the cost of living in that area must have increased. As a result of the increase in demand for property started, the prices of those properties began to increase as well. Austin ´s growing population attracted entrepreneurs who started new businesses in the capital. These new businesses helped improve Austin ´s economy by providing more job opportunities. After Austin became the capital of Texas, the government started investing more on Austin ´s education. As evidence of these is the fact that the best university in the state of Texas is located in Austin. The government also started investing more in Austin ´s culture by building museums, theaters, and parks that would attract more people to come and vi sit the capital or even settle there. The fact that Austin is the capital of Texas provides a great amount of profit to the city since it attracts many people from all over Texas and the rest of the country to visit the city and spend their money on the city ´s businesses and attractions. As the city of Austin started to grow and its education and economy started to improve, more and more people from other parts of the country and the world started moving to Austin. This wave of immigrants has helped shape Austin ´s culture, since people who come from other parts of the world or the country and settle in Austin bring with them different traditions that have remained part of Austin ´s culture. As expected after Austin became Texas’ capital its population has increased over the years and Austin ´s culture is very diverse. We are looking forward to a greater development and that at some point Austin can be consider a truly capital with no second thought. The political culture that dominates Austin is a combination of traditionalism and individualism. In my opinion individualism dominates Austin ´s political culture because the majority of Austin ´s citizens are republicans; therefore they believe that the government should limit its intervention in the economy to a minimum and they particularly support private businesses. The city of Austin is mostly full of Republican politicians, appointees, lobbyists, and corporate leaders, who mostly care about their businesses and pursue their self-interests instead of considering the public good. Even though Austin has a political culture that is dominated by individualism, its traditionalistic subculture still remains present. I believe this is because even though as years have passed, and the immigration rates had increased, meaning more people from all over the world have settled in Austin, the Anglo population is still the majority group in Austin. Since most of them are conservative and their voter turnout is greater than any other group, traditionalism is still dominant. In a traditionalistic subculture, politicians come from society ´s elite and politics is mostly a competition between rival factions within the elite, these are all characteristics of Republicans. The traditionalistic aspects of Austin ´s politics are exemplified by the low level of voter turnout among minority groups, and the social and economic conservatism present in Austin. As a result, both a traditionalist and individualist subcultures dominates the state capital, and the state as a whole. If more minority groups would vote and make their opinions be heard, maybe Austin would not be dominated by a traditionalist and individualist subculture, and instead it would be dominated by a moralistic subculture, in which the government is more involved in social issues such as education and health, and corruption is less evident. Austin ´s slogan â€Å"Keep Austin Weird†, tries to convey the idea that Austin is a unique and strange city and that anyone who comes in must keep it that way. It is said that the culture of Austin is a mismatch with the rest of the state, I agree with this statement. Since throughout many years, people from other parts of the world, have come to Austin either to study or live there, Austin has a very diverse culture. People who come from other parts of the world and settle in Austin, bring with them different traditions from their countries of origin that have remained in Austin, therefore the city of Austin has been forced to adapt to those cultures and live with them. As a result, Austin ´s culture is not representative of the state of Texas and instead it is a combination of the culture of many different countries. â€Å"Capital cities should be something of a synthesis of the places they represent, but Austin is to Texas what Saint Petersburg was to Imperial Russia: a deplorable conduit for foreign ideas and fashions† (Lomax 3). The fact that Austin is a city full of people from different parts of the world with different political opinions and social status influences Austin ´s political subculture. Even though most of the population of Austin is white, there are still many people of different races with different points of views regarding politics. As a consequence, we find that there are several political subcultures present in Austin making influence on every aspect, which means they have an impact in politics, social and economic matters. For example, most white and wealthy people are most likely to favor an individualistic subculture because in an individualistic subculture the government ´s role in the economy is limited and corruption is tolerated, while members of minority groups are most likely to favor a moralistic subculture because in a moralistic subculture politics revolves around solving social issues and the public good. The state capital should be the most important city in the state of Texas; the city that has an impact, not only within the state but in the whole country. That city should serve as an example for the rest of the cities to follow. I believe that city is Houston, not Austin. Houston ´s medical, economic, and cultural contributions to Texas and the rest of the country, make it the best contender to become the capital city. One of the best hospitals in the state of Texas and the country are located in Houston. â€Å"For nine of the past eleven years, U.S. News World Report has named MD Anderson the top cancer hospital in the country†(Lomax 2). Houston ´s contributions to the American economy through its energy industry have earned Houston worldwide recognition; this is something that the city of Austin cannot claim. â€Å"Houston, the broad-shouldered city of refined oil and crude people, with its leviathan port and behemoth of a petrochemical complex, propels the American economy more vitally than all the stocky bald bankers on Wall Street† (Lomax 2). Houston ´s energy industry- particularly oil and natural gas- are essential to keeping the American economy progressing, which proves the importance of the city of Houston to Texas and the rest of the country. The capital city should be a strange city with a culture that represents the rest of the state and that attracts people from all over the country. Even though Austin claims to be weird and representative of the state of Texas, in reality Austin ´s culture has been shaped by foreign ideas and fashions. In contrast, Houston ´s cultural combination of the traditional, the modern, and bizarre, makes Houston weird and unique. In addition, Houston ´s cultural institutions, every year attract millions of people from all over the country. â€Å"More than two million people avail themselves yearly of ballet, Broadway shows, opera, plays, and symphonic music at the nine arts venues downtown† (Lomax 2). These are several reasons why I believe Houston should be the capital of Texas, instead of Austin. Works Cited Lomax, John Nova. February 2013. Texas Monthly. http://www.texasmonthly.com.

Identity Theft :: Essays Papers

Identity Theft It has become a new tradition in my immediate family to take cruises to different places in July. This year was going to be the best for me since we were heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin and Nassau. We had all our excursions picked out and for once everybody was going to do something that only I wanted to do. We were going to take a walking tour of Old San Juan and see all the forts and cathedrals that were built when San Juan came about, but a problem that would occur that day could keep me from enjoying the day I had been looking forward to my whole summer. Sunday July 22, 2004, my family and I were getting ready to head down to Florida to get on our cruise ship, â€Å"The Explorer of the Seas.† We got up at 6 in the morning and already I was having problems. I broke my sunglasses the night before and was not able to get another pair. We got to the airport, stood in the lines, where I had to be searched because I set off the alarm and then I got on the plane. A two hour ride from Baltimore would take us to our destination Miami, Florida were we would stand in line again to go through all the checkpoints and retrieve our room key that would enable us to go to the club, play at the casinos, travel on and off the ship and let the people who want to drink, drink. It was Tuesday, Steph, my cousin, was in and out that night bringing random guys into our room. See we share a room together so then we don’t have to deal with the grownups and can go to sleep whenever we want. By six she was ready to go to sleep but complained she was hungry. She woke me up just so then she had someone to go with her while she ate. I really did not want to move but knew that if I didn’t, I would never hear the end of it. So I told her to hold on while I got up and got ready. I went got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth and walked out of the bathroom just to find her passed out on her bed asleep. I became very upset because I only had four hours of sleep, she woke me because she wanted to have someone to go eat with and now she was passed out.

Content Analysis Of Gender Stereotypes in Magazines Essay

It only takes a second to attach a strong feeling or idea to a character in a movie, advertisement, or video game. Many characterization used are based on the assumed stereotypes, and are usually one-dimensional characters. Typically, these characterizations usually come from inherited family values, education, and the media. While stereotypes existed long before mass media, the media machine certainly helped to accelerate the cultural growth of all kinds of stereotypes. It is beyond this paper to answer why magazines employ these gender stereotypes, instead this research is designed to analyze whether the content (writing, pictures, and advertising) in magazines employs the use of stereotypes in their depiction of gender. Initial Investigation Before conducting the research, I went to library and looked through two different magazines, Sports Illustrated (SI) and Chatelaine, which were both released in November 2011. SI is a sports magazine with a gender-neutral name, but there is one long-held view that women are not equal to men in the realm of sports. I’m not talking about the performance levels of athletes, but the idea that accomplishments of female athletes are not celebrated equally to those made by male athletes. As for Chatelaine, which means a woman who owns or controls a large house, it is a Canadian magazine focused on female interests, and according to the magazine, those interests are fashion, beauty and decor, to current affairs, health and food. The cover of SI shows a male basketball player in mid-air about to score a point, which isn’t anything that is grounds to claim that SI is gender biased. However, the editorial content on the cover provides more interesting tidbits as it promotes a list of the premier college basketball teams in the United States, but the list for women’s college basketball is half of the men’s league. Going through the 112-paged issue, I found there to be only five pages dedicated to female athletes. In fact, the first image of a  female in the magazine is an undressed lady sitting cross-legged on a beach. There is no mention of her interests, thoughts, or even her identity, as her only purpose on the page seems to be showing her body. To my surprise, this wasn’t an ad but an SI article that focused on tips for photographing swimsuit models. While the image can be interpreted as simply showing the end-product of a skill (photography), but it doesn’t remedy the fact that the skill involves using women primarily as sexual objects. Besides that, the ads in the magazine were for products, such as shavers, gadgets, and cars, which both sexes could be equally interested in; however, it is fascinating to note that the advertisements make those products seem to be solely for men. As for the other magazine, Chatelaine, it was actually more extreme in portraying gender stereotypes. One of the first things that I noticed was that it had a lot more advertisement. In fact, I would say that the ratio of ads in the magazine almost compared to the previous magazine would be three to one. Also, all the advertisements were for women products such as make-up or hair products. As for editorial content, I noticed the cover had the headline â€Å"The Most Talked-About Women in 2011.† This would certainly be proof or at least could be seen as hinting that women covet gossiping. For me, the most intriguing aspect for me was that it was a women’s magazine but had plenty of female stereotypes. Lastly, there was no appearance at all of men in the magazine. I did not have time to analyze all the articles but I saw no picture of a man except for one random shaving ad. Units of Analysis and Observation For this research, the unit of analysis or the major entity that will be studied will be magazine content. The portrayal of both sexes and the relations between them will be studied in magazines by examining three features, the pictures, writing and advertisements. Pictures can evoke strong feelings in people and they usually carry implicit and explicit messages, thus I will be tracking the messages that relate to gender stereotypes. Besides that, I will also be looking out for writing in the magazines’ editorial content that suggest gender stereotype. Lastly, ads will be looked as the type of product and lifestyle associated with said product that is being depicted may show gender stereotypes. For this research, the unit of observation are magazines as obviously will be making  my observations in magazines. What are the reasons for choosing this medium? Convenience, easy to secure, and also it is quite easy to analyse compared to other mediums. However, there is one important criterion for magazines, such as they have to be in English language as it will be important in identifying gender stereotyping in the writing. Though, there are criteria that are not important to me such as the genre (men’s and women’s magazine) and also, the magazines will not be filtered in terms of their release date Sample The next step is securing a list of the all unit of observation, the magazines. The sampling method that I would use is for this research would be random selection. My sampling frame for the research would be British Columbia, because of lack of resources. To acquire a list of magazines, I would first go to libraries and check the archives to get listings for magazines of all genres. As I already mentioned, I would be interested in looking at magazines that are also from the past. For this reason, I would rather go to a library than a store as their supplies will be limited. Thus, I would then choose from the archival listing of magazines in the libraries, and get the size of my list to 250, and then I would randomly select 100 magazines from that list to research. Variables In our research goal, we are analyzing the content of magazines for absence or presence of two variables; the use of male and female stereotypes in magazines. These two variables can be identified and defined by first coming to understand what the term, gender stereotype, means. Firstly, gender stereotypes are a social construct that depict men and women having a set of social and behavioural norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time. Many of our current gender stereotypes, such as men are stoic or women are rumour-mongers, have roots in ancient myths, religious accounts, and archetypes. Thus, these stereotypes have existed with mankind long before the advent of mass media. However as mentioned earlier, mass media has certainly had a significant role in the transmission of these values and thoughts across any society. More importantly, these gender stereotypes are harmful to society when  people often inaccurately categorize individuals according to their group membership because they assume stereotypes to be based on reality. Traditionally, it has been females who have suffered by being pressured to reach a perfect socially-accepted body image, but as media now fixes its gaze on the idealized super fit male bodies, males too are feeling the weight of this social construct. Thus, the use of female or male stereotypes in magazines can be identified by recognizing whether the depiction of either sex uses a set of socially constructed attributes, behavioural patterns, and roles. Thus, in the next section I will show instances or examples of gender stereotyping that will indicate the absence or presence of the two variables. Indicators For the first variable, the use of male stereotypes in magazines, it can be indicated by checking for common male stereotypical beliefs. For instance, men are usually portrayed as stoic and unemotional. Besides that, they are also typically defined by their possessions and their ability to gain these possessions through a successful career. Also, they are thought to be independent and heroic, coming to the rescue of any damsel in distress. Furthermore, they are usually depicted as physically strong and aggressive. Other than that, they are also narrated as having poor domestic skills such as cooking. Lastly, the male is sexualized by being pressured to have a bigger body size that is muscular or sexually potent. For the next variable, the use of female stereotypes in magazines, it can be indicated by identifying female stereotypical beliefs. For example, females are usually thought to be emotional and prone to mood swings. Besides that, they are defined by their beauty or their clothing. Also, they are usually dependant, reliant on others for support, and needs rescuing from males. Other than that, they are also depicted as being submissive, having to please others before they can please themselves. Also, they are usually depicted as limited to playing a domestic role as a housewife and caretaker of the family and household. Besides that, females are also sexualized by being pressured to have a slim and voluptuous figure. Additionally, there is almost a mirroring between the ways each sex is portrayed using stereotype. This is an interesting aspect that also actually makes the research more â€Å"smoother† and faster as it will be explained in the next section. Codes The next step is to codify the indicators that we have established so that they can be measured and quantified to answer the research question. These codes will be able to represent stereotypes for both sexes as we have noted the inverse relationship of the stereotypical attributes and behaviours for each sex. One key issue is that the following codes may embody more than one of the previous indicators. One of the first codes is suggestive body language. Indeed, the way in which the subject’s body is postured can either connote different stereotypes. Although this code will probably be primarily used in analyzing photographs or advertisements in magazines, written articles also may describe the body posing in a way that suggests certain stereotypes. For instance, the stereotype of a female’s submissiveness if the female subject, in the magazine content, has a reserved facial expression or a male’s dominance can be expressed by a male subject, in the magazine content, though a powerful stance. Another stereotype expressed through body language is the emotional state of a subject, as a male with a silent expression can show the stoic stereotype, whereas a female crying can show the overtly-emotional stereotype. Another code to systemize the indicators is idealized appearance. This may sound vague and similar to the previous code, but for our research purposes, this term will represent how the men and women are dressed and their physique as well. Clothes are regarded as a status symbol and one may associate an individual with a higher or lower social class by examining their attire. And when there is a lack of clothes, the focus of the magazine’s reader is drawn to the subject’s physical body. Thus, the stereotype being expressed here would be the objectification of each sex. Magazine content that embody this code frame the reader’s perception of information according to the contour of the model’s body contour, thus certain body sizes are considered idealized because they are shown more. The last code used for the research is stereotypical tasks. To explain, the actions of the male or female that are shown or described to be doing in the content of a magazine can connote several stereotypes. For instance, a female in a magazine may be shown to be working a traditional domestic role and a male may be shown as having a successful life by having a career that is high-paying. Another one would be females may be described as having a set of particular interests such as shopping or gossiping, whereas a male’s interests may be described as working out or professional. Besides that, the stereotypical task will also include what are they saying as as their expression of their thoughts can show any of the indicators. Analysis/Measurement The next step is to outline a way to make sense of the data that is being collected. I will do this by designing a tally sheet that separates unit of analysis from unit of observation while counting the frequency of the codes. The first column is for Magazine ID, each magazine that is randomly picked from the sample size, and each would be assigned its own number. The next three columns would be for the three codes discussed earlier. Then it would be divided into two columns as I want to see the code applied for each of the two variables (the use of male and female stereotypes in magazines). I wanted to account for two variables because I find this useful to see if there is an equal ratio of gender stereotypes or is it always extreme? Suggestive body language Idealized appearance Stereotypical tasks Magazine ID Male Female Male Female Male Female 01 23 7 8 55 40 22 02 40 11 20 17 23 28 03 09 23 18 14 15 17

Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 335 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/04/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Domestic Violence Essay Did you like this example? Introduction In 2017, 90% of the 1,873 domestic violence programs in the United States contributed to a survey conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). In this particular survey, NNEDV collected data over a 24-hour period from the participating organizations on September 17th of that year, compiling together the number and types of calls they received. The study found that over 72,000 victims in the United States were served in a single day (NNEDV, 2017). Coupled with this information is the fact that in a study verified by the United States Humane Society, upwards of 71% of domestic violence victims stated that their abuser lashed out at pets as well (The Humane Society, 2017). Considering that animal cruelty and domestic violence are pressing issues that are often intertwined with one another, there are a few observable links that exist between the two. Some of these links include having the MAOA gene, childhood trauma, heightened levels of testosterone, and societal pressures (I.e. toxic masculinity). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence" essay for you Create order In this paper, these links will be analyzed, and their likelihood as being potential indicators for physical violence will be determined. Given the fact that so many cases of domestic violence and animal cruelty go unreported every year, Link #1: MAOA-L The MAOA gene, colloquially referred to as the Warrior gene, is responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is responsible for motor-function and releasing feel-good chemicals, while serotonin plays a role in regulating mood, sleep, and emotions. In individuals that have the low-activity variant of the MAOA gene, heightened aggression and impulsiveness have been observed (Cohen, 2018). This is due to the fact that the low-activity variant of the MAOA gene does not break down dopamine and serotonin as efficiently as it should. This inefficiency results in the neurotransmitters not being broken as quickly, resulting in irregularities in dopamine and serotonin levels that lead to the previously stated symptoms. That is not to say that everyone with the low-activity variant of the MAOA gene is prone to committing acts of violence, however.