On The Relative Intelligence Of Women A Review Of Two Essays Essays

On The Relative Intelligence Of Women: A Review Of Two Essays During times in which there is increased social concern over the relative equality of men and women in various areas of study, there is a common desire to determine whether there is an appreciable difference in intelligence in relation to gender. Two essays which document various aspects of the relative intelligence of men and women are ?Women and the Mismeasure of Thought? by Judith Genova, and ?The Variability Hypothesis? by Stephanie Shields. Genova seeks to criticize measuring the difference in intelligence between men and women. Genova was unsuccessful with this article in that the questions she raised were not satisfactorily answered, and there was an overall lack of citation. ?The Variability Hypothesis? is an essay detailing the history and arguments against the purported greater variance in male intelligence. Though the argument of Shields' paper is to some extent banal, her criticism of the variability hypothesis is extensive and satisfactory. The introduction of Genova's essay is a criticism of historically accepted measurements of intelligence. In the past using brain size as a measure of intelligence was not altogether unacceptable. When this practice was discredited by the obvious lack of intellectual superiority of whales and elephants, a new physical measure of intelligence was sought. Other body dimensions were given brief consideration as measures of intelligence until the example of Negroes, Australians, and Eskimos denied that theory. Genova argues that prejudice over which groups are socially allowed to be intelligent leads to bad science in determining measures of intelligence. I agree that the highly stereotypical practice of craniometry has no relevance to modern studies of male and female intelligence, though Genova fails to adequately prove the existence of such stereotypes in modern science. Genova cites the example of hemispheric specialization studies as an area of science affected by this same kind of social prejudice. Though traditionally men are seen as analytical (left-brained) while women hold a more holistic mindset (right-brain), studies have indicated that the exact opposite is true. Genova passes off the results of these studies as due to social influences where she has no right. According to Genova, this disparity in traditional views and modern studies can only be explained by intense prejudice on the part of the writers of such studies. On the assumption that this is true, Genova then seeks to hypothesize about such the computer as a trivial tool threatening to belittle the classically analytical intelligence of men, and explains that the newfound holistic intelligence of men is an attempt to avoid that belittlement. Genova explains the newfound analytical characteristic of women as an ?attack? based on ?keeping them out of the world of science and triviali zing their achievements in any field as routine and studied? (Genova 103). I would argue, however, that the modern stereotype of female intelligence would still place them as the more creative and holistic of the two sexes. Genova's comment on computers has no relevance whatsoever to male intelligence. If computers were a threat to male intelligence and a complement to female intelligence, it would make sense that men would be resistant toward the proliferation of computers, yet this is not at all the case. Conversely, computer science is a field dominated by men. Only 7.8% of computer science and computer engineering faculties are women, and a miserable 2.7% of tenured professors are female (Frenkel 38). Genova invalidates her own argument by professing that modern stereotypes about the role of women have led to views of decreased female intelligence. She is applying a stereotype of her own by implying without evidence that modern studies advocating a difference in male and female intellects are conducted and analyzed by men with overpowering prejudices. Genova's next argument addresses the comparison of brain lateralization to general intelligence. Brain lateralization is the term for the amount of specialization in the two hemispheres of the brain. A more lateral individual will have more specialization within each hemisphere (for instance, the left brain will control verbal skills more exclusively), while a less lateral or ?bilateral? individual will have no specific location of certain skills. Genova proposes that in general there is an accepted concept of greater laterality in male brains leading to greater intelligence.

Biology Essay Questions Essays

Biology Essay Questions Essays Biology Essay Questions Paper Biology Essay Questions Paper In biology there are terms that are often used together and yet are barely understood and made distinct from each other. One such pair of terms are genes and alleles. The main difference between the two may be realized through the topic of inheritance in which genes are considered the basic unit where inheritance is coded; while alleles are merely the variation in genes pertaining to whether a gene is dominant or recessive (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 191). In relation to this, homozygote and heterozygote are terms which are also often misunderstood. To distinguish between the two, it is important to remember that considering the pairing of alleles, a homozygote has a pair that is either both dominant and both recessive while a heterozygote has a pair which contains both dominant and recessive units (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 191). Genenotype and phenotype are terms that also often cause confusion. The genotype is basically the genetic characteristic of an organism, while the phenotype is the physical manifestation of the genotype (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 192). Genes found on one chromosome are considered as linked since such genes are commonly found together at a particular portion of the chromosome (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 210). This affects how such genes are passed on during reproduction. In fact, genes that are considered to be linked are often expected to be passed on to the offspring as a bundle rather than as individual units (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 210). However, there are cases wherein even liked genes are separated during the underlying processes of meiosis. The reason for this is that genetic recombination occurs during meiosis. Specifically, during the middle portions of prophase I, homologs are arranged side by side through the process of synapsis; and later on near the end of prophase I, crossing over occurs in which parts of the homologs may be transferred between one another hence raising the chances of linked genes to be separated (Purves, Sadava, Orians, and Heller 178). In the data analysis exercise, a table is presented comparing the percentages or proportion of college graduates among relatives of people with bipolar disorder as compared to those without bipolar disorder. Striking information which may be derived from the table is that those with bipolar disorders surpass those without in terms of the percentage of fathers with a college degree. In addition, the table also presents the fact that if one has bipolar disorder then it is most possible that his or her brother does have a college degree while his or her grandmother may be generally expected to have the least chances of having obtained a college degree. In this sense, the table is indicative that in a broad sense, individuals with a bipolar disorder are most likely to have immediate relatives that have a college degree, in comparison to those that do not have a bipolar disorder. Hence, in general, the study that aimed to link intelligence with bipolar disorder is basically driven with the main assumption that mood disorders are often present among individuals that are of high levels of intelligence. Work Cited Saddava, David, Craig Heller, Gordon H. Orians, and William K. Purves. Life: the Science of Biology. 7th Edition. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates and W.H. Freeman, 2003.

Body ownership

Body ownership Body Ownership The sense of one’s own body has been a subject of debate among researchers for many years. It is argued to be a very specific type of knowledge, illustrated as being a non-conceptual and somatic (e.g., Kant, 1781/2003; Bermu ´ dezas cited in Lango, et al., 2007). It has been argued that this type of knowledge, often referred to as ‘‘embodiment† (Arzy, Overney, Landis, Legrand, 2006), or ‘‘corporeal awareness† (Berlucchi Critchley, 1979) is compulsory, to experience various types of sensory information (Kant, 1781/2003; Johnson, 1987; Lakoff, 1987; Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1962; Piaget, 1937/1954 as cited in Lango, et al., 2007). In other words, one has to have some sort of knowledge of one’s own body in order to experience emotions and sensations. It has been argued that gaining this type of knowledge is crucial for formation of personal psychological identity (Cassam,1997; Edelman, 2004). Rubber hand illusion allows for the manipulating the brain into perceiving an external object- the rubber hand, as being a representation of the body (Tsakiris &Haggard, 2005). Self awareness has been argued to be mostly represented by the sense of the body ownership. Moseley( et al., 2008) provoked the rubber hand illusion and demonstrated one of rubber hand illusion’s effects- taking ownership of an artificial counterpart- which leads to decrease in the temperature in the real hand. They found that this phenomenon was limb-specific, in other words similar effect have not been found to occur in the not stimulated hand. They argued that this is phenomenon is demonstrating that physical self and the physiological regulation of self are closely linked in the top down manner to an individual’s body awareness. It also seems likely that if body awareness is disrupted by cognitive processes, that might lead to changes in the body temperature regulations, in the rubber hand illusion case, making it de crease. This therefore leads to conclusion that if an individual’s starts perceiving and artificial body part it will have an effect on the rest of the body (Moseley, 2008). Body ownership has been argued to be a sort of knowledge that that your body belongs to you, and is constantly there, is a basis for the aspect of self-awareness. Individuals suffering from for example schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, neuropathic pain, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia have been found to have a disturbance in their body ownership. These disorders have also been found to have a connection to the disruption of the body temperature regulations (Moseley, 2008). Moseley (et al., 2008) has demonstrated that such disruption in the body ownership can be a consequence of a Rubber Hand Illusion. RHI consequences in participant’s perception that the touch they are experiencing is actually an effect of the stimulation given to the rubber hand. That consequence in participant’s taking an o wnership of the rubber hand. Additionally, Moseley (et al., 2008) found that there was a positive correlation between the vividness of the rubber hand illusion experience and the decrease in the skin temperature in the adequate hand. This suggests that the more an individual experiences the RHI the more will the temperature in their hand decrease.

Virgin Group Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Virgin Group Case Study - Assignment Example Some of the aspects of transformational leadership of Branson include inspirational motivation. For instance, he believes in collective responsibility of teams and motivated employees. Another aspect of the transformational leadership of Branson intellectual stimulation since he challenges the existing assumptions and promotes creative ideas. He invented space travel since he believes that the earth is tiny, unlike space, and he is also committed to developing a submarine that can reach ocean floors. He has idealized influence and acts as a role model for his employees. He instills trust and high ethical behavior in his business since he is committed to environmental conservation and charity work. Branson also makes individualized consideration through listening to all employees and showing support for the teams. He understands the needs of customers and employees and this is mainly why he dressed up in and boots a cowboy hat during the opening of regular flights to Dallas to symboli ze the needs of American customers (Daft 425). If Virgin Group was to go public tomorrow, I would be willing to purchase the stock. Richard Branson would be committed to ensuring profitability and high return on the shareholder's investments. I would be assured of positive returns since his diversification and acquisition strategies would ensure positive returns even during harsh business environment. Branson has high-performance expectations thus would pursue aggressive investment strategies in order to meet the expectations of the shareholders.

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling Essay - 1

Capacity Planning and Performance Modeling - Essay Example Various capacity planning or performance measurement software are distributed in the internet. One of this software is the Schedule It, which has been described as the ultimate software for use in the room, people, or resource planning strategies. The software can be applied in the planning and scheduling of any task, which requires detailed filtering or reporting. The software can also be used in the scheduling of reporting, cost analysis of each instance and also as an expense tracker. The software sends automatic emails and reminders and keep everyone informed if there are any changes in schedule. The software can run on different platforms including Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Many organizations will have systems that collect information that is related to capacity as well as systems that are employed to solve problems and implement both the capacity and performance functionality. Nevertheless, many organizations will fail to perform a routine check up on the trending and what if analysis. The what if analysis is one of the processes that may be applied to determine the effect of having a network change. Capacity and performance management helps to create an exception management where potential and existing problems can be identified and rectified before the customers or users call in pointing out the

Issues Surrounding Masculinity in United States Essay Example for Free

Issues Surrounding Masculinity in United States Essay Our society today has little tolerance for men and masculinity in general. Masculinity can be defined as having qualities or appearance of male. It includes behaviors typically associated with men. In his book, Ferguson takes us into the world of a sole, municipal elementary school attended by students who have been labeled as troublemakers and potential jail inmates. She identifies how a group of young boys of African American origin aged between 11 to 12 years are identified by their school work force as lovers of jail (14). Over the years black Americans boys have been subjected to a kind of discrimination both in school and outside. There are claims that teachers treat these boys as if they are doomed to fail. Ferguson (26) goes on to criticize the form of punishment given to the boys which according to him does not instill discipline but simply perpetuating troublemakers and creating potential inmates (67). According to equality index carried out by Pascoe (114), black men in America have high chances of being unemployed than white men. The black men are seven times more likely more to be imprisoned with a jail sentence of above ten months over their white counterparts. The report also discloses other disparities ranging from unemployment, school drop out rates and annual income. While there have been some improvements on the gap between the black men and white men in United States of America, black masculinity is still being faced with greater problem. Despite the condemnation given to them, Ferguson argues that Black American boys look seriously at schooling and excelling in life. In addition she identifies how the whole society beliefs in a natural difference of black children from the white children. Most people according to him identify the black men as criminal and it is this view that disproportionately put them in danger of disappointment and punishment. this is a greatly interfere with the black American boys according who in future end up taking the negative behavior as implied by their mentors. Ferguson bases her argument on a fundamental theory of learning, drawn from two sources: Marxist Bowles speculation view of society which gives school the task of reproducing the existing communal pecking order, and Foucault’s post-structural theory of disciplinary authority that views punishment as an instrument of social segregation (82). He contrasts this speculative frame to the commonly held liberal idea that schools are meritocratic (112). But the black American boys are hyper aware of their individuality pattern. According to Fergusson (123), they act upon their masculinity through impressive performances and disruptions in class work and they achieve their self worth for themselves by using hostility behavior strategy to regain their sense of self. Â  To identify themselves as resourceful, authoritative and knowledgeable in the face of the humiliation they encounter in school. By masculinity, Malin (36) seems to mean men who not only reveal the physical qualities of toughness but also who also possesses some noble principle. In his book, Malin claimed that Clinton has been shown as a conflicted and sensitive, yet strong man (42). It is these characters according to Malin (43) that helped him win presidential elections. Clintons personality remained a package of conflicts that variously embraced and overthrown different stereotypes of masculinity hence he was able to remain a strong man. Malin 2005 (78). Sonenstein associates masculinity with culture, and socialization and encourages men to try to live up to cultural standards of masculinity (342). According to Malin, men fraternity face pressures and dilemmas around race- and gender-based individuality structure is always a flagrant force that works against these students maintaining an obligation to schooling. This is why schools across the nation for example in US observe a continual attrition of schoolboys as they link the ranks of troublemakers (67). According to Ferguson (112), molding our boys viewing them as Bad Boys is a powerful challenge to current views on the setback of the black males in school. Currently black males are severely constrained by the society and culture of their high school and of American society in general. This form of treatment world neither favor girl child who is always more vulnerable to several situations. Due to this unhealthy treatment the black American Male end up performing poorly in their education which lead them to drug abuse and criminal activities which in future lead them to be on the wrong side of the law. Ferguson 2000 (P 139) Both black and white men have their roles to play as men in America. Ferguson advocates for need to change the social organization and the culture of the society so as to enhance a suitable learning environment of the African American males in particular and all children in general. Solutions begin from an assurance that slight inputs, short-term interventions and person prescriptions into schools are greatly sufficient to cure an organization that is mainly flawed. The organization should aim for metropolitan black kid who seems to be the formation of a community which will basically obey the rules of civilization. A reform of the whole educational system is what is urgently necessary according to Ferguson (234). Overhauling the whole school system is the only way according to Ferguson (113) for eliminating all kind of institutionalized discrimination. She states that significant changes may take position by altering the curriculum and establishing lesser classes whereby student gets enough attention from their trainers. In addition, antiracist education for student teachers and reciprocated respect among adults and youth will also form a very good base to eliminate society and cultural constrain. Schools that are reorganized in this way would help in bringing new meaning to the Black masculinity (235).

Story Of An Hour :: essays research papers

The Story of an Hour depicts a single hour in Mrs. Mallard life, in which the lady who has a weak heart experiences the momentary joy of freedom after hearing that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. Mrs. Mallard initial reaction, upon hearing of her husband death, is not far from what readers expect: she is deeply grieved, weeps and wants to be left alone. However, during the hour she spends alone in her room, her state of mind changes dramatically. Sitting in the armchair motionlessly, she sees spring trees from the open window, smells pure air after the gentle rain, hears a faint but pleasant song, even the patched clouds outside seem to be dispersing decently in the warm and powerful sunshine eventually. All these features imply that an unconscious wish in her heart is quietly but quickly expanding. At first, she feels something is approaching her, something almost tangible, which she is not sure about: t was too subtle and elusive to name. 71) However, from that moment on, her weeping ith sudden, wild abandonment disappears, he storm of grief goes away, she is turning to the situation where she has longed for. ree, free, free! 71) The first voice of protest breaks out after those tedious, miserable years. Now she realizes the feeling approaching her and possessing her occupies her entire soul and body: his possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being. Free! Body and soul free! 72) These unbelievably radical words show her enormous hunger for freedom, her strong wish to be herself again. Her husband sudden death has made her lifetime emotional torment come to an end, and she can be as free as a man now. On the other hand, Mrs. Mallard may cry again for the loss of her oving husband not only because of her gender role in the society, but for he still loves her and she herself had loved him as well. Moreover, the story does not tell us whether Mr. Mallard is an abusive or irresponsible husband, but this couple certainly strives for maintaining their unsatisfactory marriage. Besides, no love or security can compensate for a lack of control over her own existence (Skaggs, 53), let alone the fact that there is hardly any love in that fragile relationship.