Opinions and Social Pressure Essay - 939 Words

Solomon E. Asch â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure† Salomon E. Asch in his essay â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure† conducted an experiment to determine effects of group pressure towards an individual and concluded that there is a very strong tendency to conformity even when doing so conflicting with their own senses of morality. In the experiment a group of young students have to compare length of lines on two different sheets of paper. On one of them there is a sample single line and on the other one there are three lines only one of which is same size as the sample line from the first sheet. People taking part in this experiment are instructed to point at lines that are the same length. At first, during the experiment the group is†¦show more content†¦Breaking up unanimity of the group in given answers has a significant effect. In the experiment it is also noted that the rate of wrong answers depends to a considerable degree on how wrong the majority is. E ven with significant difference in length of lines there were still individuals who agree with majority error. For those participating in this experiment almost all declare that independence was preferable to conformity. â€Å"Life in society requires consensus as an indispensable conditions. But consensus, to be productive, requires that each individual contribute independently out of his experience and insight. (†¦) We have found that tendency to conformity in our society so strong that reasonably and well- meaning young people are willing to call white black is a matter of concern† (Salomon E. Asch â€Å"Opinion and Social Pressure† pp.730). The experiment has proven that we live in times where opinion become very subjective and can be easily modified. Social techniques are wildly used in marketing and sales or even by lobbyist in governmental decision making process. The uncertainty of people own senses, opinion or knowledge can be easily abused. Asch’s experiment implements how people believe in the obvious lies. It’s shows simple ways of influencing perception, judgment and action. Results of this experiment trigger a number of social and scientifically researches like study of BernsShow MoreRelatedOpinions and Social Pressure Response Essay729 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Asch, Solomon E. â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure.† Scientific America. 193.5 (1995): 31-35. Rpt. in Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen.12th ed. New York: Pearson Inc., 2013. 655-659. Print. McLeod, Saul. â€Å"Asch Experiment.† SimplyPsychology.org. Simply Psychology, 2008. Web. 28 August 2014. Summary: In the article, â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure† by Solomon E. Asch, he states that social pressure from a majority group could influenceRead MoreUnderstanding Social Influence On Online Choice1024 Words   |  5 PagesUnderstanding Social Influence in Online Choice is a study that was focused on the role of social influence in online recommender systems. Haiyi Zhu and Bernardo A. Huberman, the authors of the study, were interested in studying how often peoples’ choices are affected by other individuals’ endorsements. The hypothesis of the study is that individuals â€Å"are more likely to reverse their opinions when the reversion causes less self-inconsistency (the confirmation pressure is weaker) or the opposing social opinionsRead MoreGroup Minds1068 Words   |  5 PagesENG1050 July 9, 2012 Dismissing your own individual opinions to reach group consensus, now that’s negative peer pressure! Peer pressure will always be a problem and can affect anyone. I say that because no matter where you’re from or who you are, peer pressure is lurking about. Anytime you’re pressured to do something and your conscience is telling you not to do it, and you follow through with the task anyway, that is dismissing your opinion just to please other group members. Not wanting to beRead MoreThe Psychology behind Social Pressure Essay1108 Words   |  5 Pagesusually brought together through forms of social pressure and preconceived notions of moral obligation. Furthermore, these groups are often characterized by the absence of individualism and a sense of obliviousness towards how their unspoken rules influences their view of the world as a whole. Moreover, group minds also involve social pressures, often enticing some to forsake their opinions to fit the given status q uo of the group. Indeed, humans are social creatures that want to feel as if their participationRead MoreDangers of Authority and Social Pressures Essay1298 Words   |  6 PagesHitler and Mussolini were both individuals that used social influences throughout history . Each of these evil villains used authority and social pressure to persuade and manipulate people into performing acts that they wouldn’t normally do . Hitler and Mussolini legitimized their authority through immoral actions and fear and abused their authority. This is important because authority and social pressures are one of the most dangerous combinations there are. The use of these two socially acceptedRead MorePeer Pressure Essay693 Words   |  3 Pagesclear point of view on a specific contemporary issue and argue how it has and will continue to have an impact on your generation. Peer Pressure. We have all at one stage in our lives, experienced it. We all know what it feels like to be pressured by a peer. Peer pressure today impacts on kids of my generation in a huge aspect. Teenagers feel social pressure in numerous ways such as clothing, music and entertainment choices, to unsafe areas such as drugs, alcohol and smoking. During adolescenceRead MoreTo What Extent Do Pressure Groups Undermine Democracy in the Us?796 Words   |  4 Pageswhat Extent do Pressure Groups undermine Democracy in the US? For some, pressure groups are a fundamental part of democracy. To others, pressure groups undermine the whole principle of democracy. Democracy is a system of government where decisions are arrived at by majoritarian principles with representatives elected at periodic elections where political equality and political freedom allow the voter an effective choice between competing candidates in a secret ballot. How do pressure groups fit inRead MoreDiscrimination In Society In Small Town Boy1204 Words   |  5 Pagesit talks about who the author’s mother feels are real women. City women are repeatedly belittled in the poem, despite their appearance is a result of the pressure put on them by society. Meanwhile, the city women ignore the troubles that the Aboriginal community was put through to set their own standards. The poem refers to the different opinions from the lack of understanding and existing preconceptions in the communities. People are constantly being pressured to cha nge to fit with society’s standardsRead MoreLeadership Style And Its Affect On Teams981 Words   |  4 Pagesrelieve possible pressure of fitting in to a group or team. In the 1930’s Kurt Lewin argued three major styles of leadership Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-fair (Manktelow, n.d.). Kurt’s simple but effective categorized leadership models provided a foundation to many different leadership theories. An Autocratic leader is one who makes decisions without the help or input of others. Because this leader doesn’t consult with the team, team members may feel as though their opinion doesn’t matterRead MoreI Am A Citizen Of A Free Society914 Words   |  4 PagesThese days in our country we like to believe that we have the power to do as we please. Lessing makes a remarkable suggestion about our minds under social pressure. â€Å"I am a citizen of a free society, and that mean I am an individual, making individual choices. My mind is my own, my opinions are chosen by me, I am free to do as I will.(Pg.595)† is bad because indeed we do not want to be individuals, we all want to be a part of something and the h onest truth is we can’t stand being alone for a long

World War I - 1396 Words

Lets return to the earth shattering occasions from 1939 to 1945 that reshaped the world. It may well be that this recognition will prompt rediscoveries and new gratefulness — the way the Bicentennial provoked prominent and scholarly rediscovery of American convention going back to the Revolution and the Constitution. The Great War — World War I — has now blurred in the aggregate memory of Americans. Yet, to the degree that World War I is all around refered to by history specialists to clarify the causes of World War II, it is fitting — in fact vital — that investigation of World War II incorporate some gratefulness for American experience amid the First World War. Something else, the thanks may be shallow or fragmented; more†¦show more content†¦Be that as it may, Germany in World War I didn t represent a security danger to the United States — not even verifiably. Besides, American association in the war denoted the first express dismissal of George Washington s and Thomas Jefferson s recommendation — and consequent American remote approach — not to participate in debate that were absolutely European in nature. World War I is likewise the first American war to depend fundamentally upon recruits, three million of whom filled seventy-two per cent of wartime Army positions. In spite of the fact that not bound by catching unions, the United States entered the war at any rate to make the world safe for majority rule government. American passage into the war is all the more amazing following Woodrow Wilson was reelected president in November 1916 on the trademark (broken five months after the fact): He kept us out of war. Wilson had demanded exchanging with the belligerents majority, however France and England kept on upholding a bar of Germany. The English likewise mined the North Sea. The greater part of this abused nonpartisan rights, yet the United States kept on exchanging — hypothetically with both sides. After some time, then again, it turned out to be clear that the United States exchanged exclusively with the Allies. For all intents and purposes, American lack of bias had turned out to be

Characterization in “Charles” Free Essays

Laurie’s lies In the story â€Å"Charles† , Shirley Jackson vividly creates an entertaining main character, Laurie, through a description of his own looks, clothing, his own words, and actions. Shirley Jackson shows Laurie as having three main personality traits. Laurie can be best described as rude, impish, and disruptive. We will write a custom essay sample on Characterization in â€Å"Charles† or any similar topic only for you Order Now Early on in this story Laurie shows us his rude behavior when he starts kindergarten. Laurie is rude to everyone. He is rude to his teacher, his dad, and his mom. He says to his dad â€Å"hey pop you old dust mop†. That’s rude most dads would have slapped him. Laurie shows another trait later on in the story â€Å"impish†. He got in trouble and the whole class stayed to watch what would happen. He also makes up this character Charles he tells his mom that â€Å"Charles does whatever he really does at school. † That is just some really impish attitude. Laurie also has a third trait disruptive. Laurie disrupts the whole class a lot in this story. He tells a little girl in his class to say a bad word. † The little girl did and got in trouble. Then Laurie goes ahead and says the word himself and gets in trouble. That shows disruptive behavior. In our world today kids are the same. They all do stuff to get attention. This story will bring to parents attention how their kids act when they are not around. All kids today can have the same characteristics as Laurie does rude, impish, and disruptive. How to cite Characterization in â€Å"Charles†, Essay examples

Economic structure of the mafi Essay Example For Students

Economic structure of the mafi Essay The Mafia is viewed by many people as a bunch of gangsters like those that they might see on movies such as Goodfellas, The Godfather, or Donnie Brascoe. In all actuality the Mafia represents much more than that, it is an entity within itself. The original Sicilian Mafia was just a group of families controlling certain territories in which they each laid claim to. These families were headed by a dominant male and were usually in competition with other families. The members of these families would engage into various illegal and legal businesses with each other and outsiders (Fiorienti and Peltzman 38). In the introduction to The Economics of Organized Crime, Fiorentini and Peltzman claim that between the years of 1860and maybe ranging all the way to 1957, the Mafia was not a membership organization but a natural outgrowth of culture, politics and law enforcement (Peltzman 38). Many have tried to eliminate the Mafia from its’ control of the underworld and its’ strangleho ld on politicians and government. Under the fascist movement in the late 20’s and 30’s of Cesare Mori, Mori tried to eliminate the Mafia in any way in which he could. This attempt at elimination was quite unsuccessful since the Mafia’s base was so far ranging.Arlachhi (1986 44-5) concluded in 1983 there does not exist a centralized criminal organized called the Mafia†¦ The cosca mafiosa is a simple organism but a solid one, without formalism or bureaucracy. Within it are neither statutory ordinances, initiation rites nor courts of judgment (Fiorienti and Peltzman 38).This is in contrast as to what others recognize as organized crime. In direct retrospect to his earlier writings, Arlacchi claims that, through interviews with Mafia members, there is a more formal organization within the Mafia and that the Mafia does have initiations. The United States Mafia definitely was different than the Sicilian Mafia when trying to generalize them. The American Mafia con sisted of only around 24 families whereas the Sicilian Mafia consisted of hundreds of families. These families were much larger than their Sicilian counterparts and that the families were most definitely organized and formal. A detailed case-study of one of these families and its legal and illegal activities as of 1970 (Anderson, 1979) found that the Mafia family itself was not a firm; rather, its members entered into various businesses on their own account (Fiorentini and Peltzman 39). The European Mafia was founded on a sense of loyalty and respect for culture, family and the Sicilian heritage. The Mafia was in existence in order to protect its’ member interests and grant them freedom in business in exchange for absolute loyalty and submission to the family as a whole. The Sicilian Mafia based their existence upon their strong beliefs that justice and honor are for oneself to take care of not for the government to control. Antithetical to this honor that is represented by the European Mafia, the American Mafia consists of more cold-hearted thieves and criminals. Although they based their organizational beginning around the model of the Sicilian Mafia, their actual actions do not coincide with the Sicilians. It seems as though the American Mafia sole purpose is to make money by whatever means possible. When beginning to analyze the Mafia from and economic standpoint one can see that the Mafia came into existent as almost a capitalistic counterpart to what th e government and society were providing.The Mafia members see themselves as alternative providers of public services. Robert Claiborne states in his book Climate, Man and History (266-7) that (t)he distinction between robber and cop, between extortion and taxation, has been blurred at many times in human history. A quote from the economists sums up the Mafia from an economic standpointPalermo’s chief prosecutor, Giancarlo Caselli, describes the Mafia†¦as a state within the state, ‘with its own territory, population and laws’†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢The Mafia’s determination to establish itself as a state within the state is what makes it unique’ says Roberto Scapinato, one of 13 prosecutors committed full-time to Mafia enquiries. And the would be state not only imposes its own laws-at gunpoint-but levies its own taxes (21-2). Herchel I Grossman in The Economics of Organized Crime analyzes the Mafia from this same economic standpoint as an alternative pro vider. He claims that the Mafia is not only trying to represent themselves as an alternative provider but to provide competition to the state on the allocation of resources and distribution of income (Fiorentini and Peltzmam 154). The Mafia’s competition with the state keeps prices good, because as long as the state’s resources are a viable commodity for a consumer , he Mafia’s competition with the state increases the provision of public services that are available and increases the income of whoever the consumer chooses to be his representative producer (Fiorentini and Peltzman 154)._Some scholars of The Mafia consider it to not only be an underworld government so-to-say, but a business enterprise. Ralph Salermo, a former police officer ho published a study of organized crime in the late 1960’s stated that the Mafia was highly organized and he also went on to say that the Mafia modeled a criminal confederation whose structure parallels that of a major co rporation (Salermo and Tompkins 85). This idea that the Mafia is modeled after a corporation is based on many different aspects that involve the Mafia’s internal structure. First it assumes that the Mafia is like a corporation in that all its activities are planned and coordinated from a single power center (Clark 1986). The (b)oss preside(s) over and organization characterized by staff and line positions devoted to a rational search for profit. The Boss, then, was roughly like the CEO of a business corporation (Rush 53). This is what makes up modern corporations. The decisions that are made by certain companies come from the hierarchy of the company. It is this way in the Mafia as well according to Cressy: (d)esicion making (in the Mafia) is concentrated at the top of the hierarchy†¦ a low-status member is expected to surrender his own will and authority to the authority of his superiors (and) place (himself) almost completely at the disposal of the rulers to be used as the latter see fit (Cressey 125). Cressey also delves further into the matter claiming that just as every small aspect of a big business is coordinated with other small aspects, the same holds true for the Mafia (Rush 77). Advocates of the corporate model of the Mafia also claim that just as their are divisions of labor in any bureaucratic corporation, their is also a high degree of functional specialization and division of labor (Parsons 330) in the Mafia. This view though might be slightly incorrect. Ex-members of the Mafia claim that they had to make their living the way in which they wanted to. One author even quotes a newly-made Mafia member as saying that after he was initiated, older members would constantly ask him if he wanted to join in burglaries and armed robberies and it was okay that he declined. His only duties were to be loyal and to bring money into the family in whatever way he could.

Thus with a kiss I die Essay Example

Thus with a kiss I die   Paper These were the last words of Romeo before killing himself. The quote itself is very powerful in the way that it links the two main genres together love and death together. Also two very powerful oppositions or maybe they are not opposites at all. Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeares first major tragedy. Then followed the big four (Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear) these were also major tragedies and are all very famous plays. In all of these plays the heroes are doomed from the start. Their foolish acts are blatantly going to have a tragic end! But this all adds to the appeal and love people have for the plays. For example Romeo and Juliet is set over a week, and in that week Romeo meets Juliet, marries Juliet, and then soon after kills Tybalt in the same day as marrying Juliet, gets banished from the city and then kills himself, thinking Juliets dead when she isnt. What a tragic week! Before the action starts you know the plot of the play, or at least that the play will end because they are enemies, it cannot be. This is also mentioned in the Prologue. We will write a custom essay sample on Thus with a kiss I die   specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Thus with a kiss I die   specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Thus with a kiss I die   specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Many different causes contribute to this. One such cause is fate. Was it meant to happen? Did all this happen for a reason? Was the play meant to go this way? Was it just a coincidence that Romeo met Juliet who happened to be the daughter of their rivals the Capulets? Was it really fate? These are all questions people ask about the fate of the play today. Shakespeare wanted his audience to know what happens in the end by giving you huge hints at the start of the play. For example From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life This line means, emerging out of the family loins came Romeo and Juliet who crossed together and took their own lives. Chosen by the stars The cause of death was being born! This shows that Shakespeare wanted us to know the ending of the play. He is telling us that it is going to have a sad and tragic ending. He tried to give a taster so people would come and watch the play to get the whole story on why it had such a tragic ending. Romeo and Juliet have love at first sight, but it just so happens that Romeo is the son of Juliets fathers enemy the Montagues! His name is Romeo, and a Montague, the son of your great enemy. This line is said by the Nurse She gives the line central to the whole play. It sets up the tragic tension! He is the son of the Capulets great enemy. Shakespeare gives Romeo bad fate from the start. He makes Romeo look hasty and foolish. He always seems to fall into traps when it comes to love. He ironically falls in love with Juliet who just happens to be the daughter of his great enemy, out of all the women he could have fallen in love with, he fell in love with the worst possible! Nurse is warning Juliet of the problems that could occur, that could be dangerous. Romeo wants to make his own decisions, instead of fate controlling his life. And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars This is in the last scene. Romeo is talking to the audience. He is saying to get rid of the yoke (head brace) of the stars to set him free. This shows he wants to control his own life, his own destiny. Romeo also tempts fate in a couple of places in the play. Let me be taen let me be put to death Here Romeo is saying basically put me to death! He is challenging fate here by saying it; this is quite ironic as he dies within a few days. Fate is not the only culprit that could have killed the two lovers. What about family pressure? The fathers in Shakespeares day were the boss of the family. They even chose who you married. Capulet wants Juliet to get married to a man of his choice. He talks about when and who. She hath not seen the change of fourteen years: Let two more summers wither in their pride Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride. Capulet basically says that in two more summers they should consider Juliet ready for marriage. When she is sixteen. This puts a lot of pressure on Juliet because what if she isnt ready? What if he isnt right for her? She is being pushed into things, especially when Capulet agrees to Juliet marrying Paris the following week. Capulet meets Paris and tells him about Juliet, hoping they could marry. Juliet doesnt yet know about him. But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart; My will to her consent is but apart: And, she agree, within her scope of choice Here Capulet is talking to Paris. He tells Paris to win her gently, to get Juliets heart. His consent is only a part of the plan for it to work; she will have to agree by her own choice. This is Capulets plan to get Paris and Juliet married; this also puts a lot of pressure on Juliet because she has not got a choice. She is pushed into it, as a fathers word was law. When Juliet told Capulet she didnt want to marry Paris (of whom he chose) he was furious. Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what; get thee to church on Thursday, Or never after look me in the face. Speak not, reply not, do not answer me! This is a very powerful speech given by Capulet to Juliet. Capulet says if Juliet doesnt get to the church on Thursday to marry Paris, he will never talk to her again, and she will be thrown onto the streets! But she has married Romeo already! Thats the problem. This puts a lot of pressure on Juliet. Should she forget about Romeo, marry Paris and stay in the family? Or leave her family have no assets and stay to marry Romeo? These are her two options. Capulet gives Juliet one more chance to redeem herself, by giving her a choice. (If it counts as a choice). He says she can marry Paris or she can beg and die on the streets. Its not really a choice at all but its all she has got. An you be mine, Ill give you my friend; An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets Capulet may not have given Juliet a wide variety of options but he gave her a chance to have what she wanted. He says she can marry his friend Paris and not be put on the streets or she can have exactly that. It is all up to Juliet. What about adolescent passion? Maybe this all happened because of the stupidity of the two lovers. For instance maybe they didnt know if they were in love or not. Did my heart love till now? He says this when he meets Juliet. It is love at first sight. Romeo asks a question that makes you wonder if he truly knows what love is. He thought he loved Rosaline but maybe he didnt. Romeo shows that he is very unstable and doesnt know who he loves. (If any) Maybe the lovers rushed into things to fast. If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow Here Juliet is talking. She says of you mean it send me word tomorrow. They have only just met that night and they are talking about marriage! Is this all a bit too fast? Romeo goes to see the apothecary to get poison to kill himself because he thinks Juliet is dead. There is evidence of this her in A5 S1 L34 Well Juliet I will lie with thee tonight This is what Romeo says to himself, just before he goes to see the apothecary. He thinks Juliet is dead so he buys poison to take himself with her. You could say that he was stupidly in love with her. Again he does things in a passionate haste. Then Romeo kills himself next to Juliet. Heres to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. Romeo killed himself in haste thinking Juliet was dead; he did not wait to check. He was too hasty. Maybe none of the above are right. Maybe it was all down to the feud. Could the lovers deaths have been caused by the hatred between the Montagues and Capulets? There is so much hatred in the air between the two families. They always resolve in sword fights. Draw thy tool; here comes two of thy house of Montagues This shows that the two families hate each other bitterly. This all started because Mercutio took Romeo go to the party, which they were not even meant to be at! The two families see each other as enemies Thou art a villan This is Tybalt to Romeo. Just before Mercutio gets killed he expresses his feelings in anger to the two feuding families. I warrant for this world. A plague oboth your houses! Mercutio is very angry; he thinks the two families are pathetic and he puts a curse on both their houses (not literally). Maybe it was chance. Maybe it was just bad luck that all this happened. Maybe it was luck that Romeo met Juliet in the first place! If it was not for Mercutio to get tickets for the Capulets ball there would be no Romeo and Juliet Romeo was not meant to be at the party so if he did not go he would not have met Juliet in the first place. He chose to change his luck When the Prince banished Romeo from Verona he was forced to leave. Later on Friar Lawrence sends a letter to Romeo updating him on what has happened. Unfortunately this does not arrive. . her body sleeps in Capels monument because he obviously did not know at this point that Juliet was faking her death and thus this wrong message sends Romeo back to Verona and to his tragic end. The letter was of most serious importance that it got to Romeo, but it did not. This letter was not nice but full of charge, Of dear import The letter was very important as it contained the vital information that Romeo needed. I personally think that the tragic ending was caused mostly by adolescent passion because they rushed into things too fast! They were too hasty in their approach. Also in the way that they are too young to know what love is! For example Romeo kept on saying how much he loved Rosaline but then when he met Juliet he forgot all about her! I think all the topics I have covered have some relevance but are not the whole cause. I leave you with a quote which I mentioned earlier, I think it very powerful in the way that an innocent man died because of the hatred between the two families.

Charki - The Original Jerky Method of Preserving Meat

Ch'arki - The Original Jerky Method of Preserving Meat The word jerky, referring to a dried, salted and pounded form of all kinds of animal meat, has its origins in the South American Andes, perhaps about the same time as the llama and alpaca were domesticated. Jerky is from charki, a Quechua word for a specific type of dried and deboned camelid (alpaca and llama) meat, perhaps produced by South American cultures for some eight or so thousands of years. Jerky is one of a multitude of meat preservation techniques which were no doubt used by historic and prehistoric peoples, and like many of them, it is a technique for which archaeological evidence must be supplemented by ethnographic studies. Benefits of Jerky Jerky is a form of meat preservation in which fresh meat is dried to prevent it from spoiling. The principal purpose and outcome of the process of drying meat is to reduce water content, which inhibits microbial growth, decreases overall bulk and weight, and causes a proportionate increase in salt, protein, ash and fat content by weight. Salted and fully dried jerky can have an effective shelf life of at least 3-4 months, but under the right conditions can be much longer. The dried product can have over twice the caloric yield of fresh meat, based on weight. For example, the ratio of fresh meat to charki varies between 2:1 and 4:1 by weight, but the protein and nutritive value remain  equivalent. Preserved jerky can be later rehydrated through prolonged water soaking, and in South America, charki is most commonly consumed as reconstituted chips or small pieces in soups and stews. Easily transportable, nutritious and boasting a prolonged shelf life: no wonder charki was an important pre-Columbian Andian subsistence resource. A luxury food to the Incas, charki was made available to the common folk as during ceremonial occasions and military service. Charki was demanded as a tax, and deposited in was used as a form of tax to be deposited in state storehouses along the Inca road system to provision imperial armies. Making Charki Pinning down when charki was first made is tricky. Archaeologists have used historical and ethnographic sources to discover how charki was made, and from that developed a theory about what archaeological remains can be expected from that process. The earliest written record we have comes from the Spanish friar and conquistador Bernabà © Cobo. Writing in 1653, Cobo wrote that Peruvian people prepared charki by cutting it into slices, putting the slices on ice for a time and then pounding it thin. More recent information from modern day butchers in Cuzco support this method. They make strips of deboned meat of uniform thickness, no more than 5 mm (1 inch), to control the consistency and timing of the drying process. These strips are exposed to the elements in high altitudes during the driest and coldest months between May and August. There the strips are hung on lines, specially constructed poles, or simply placed on rooftops to keep them out of reach of scavenging animals. After between 4-5 (or as many as 25 days, recipes vary), the strips are removed from the are pounded between two stones to make them thinner still. Charki is made by different methods in different parts of South America: for example, in Bolivia, what is called charki is dried meat with fragments of foot and skulls left, and in the Ayucucho region, meat simply dried on the bone is called charki. Meat dried at higher elevations can be done with cold temperatures alone; meat dried at lower elevations is done by smoking or salting. Identifying Meat Preservation The primary way that archaeologists identify the likelihood of some form of meat preservation having occurred is by the schlep effect: identifying meat butchering and processing areas by the types of bones left in each type of spot. The schlep effect argues that, especially for larger animals, it is not efficient to lug around the entire animal, but instead, you would butcher the animal at or near the point of kill and take the meat-bearing parts back to camp. The Andean highlands gives an excellent example of that. From ethnographic studies, traditional camelid butchers in Peru slaughtered animals near the pastures high in the Andes, then divided the animal into seven or eight parts. The head and lower limbs were discarded at the slaughter site, and the major meat-bearing portions were then moved to a lower elevation production site where they were further broken down. Finally, the processed meat was brought into market. Since the traditional method of processing charki required that it be done at relatively high elevations during the dry part of the winters, theoretically an archaeologist could identify butchering sites by finding an over-representation of head and distal limb bones, and identify processing site by an over-representation of proximal limb bones at lower-elevation (but not too lower) processing sites. Two problems exist with that (as with traditional schlep effect). First, identifying body parts after the bones have been processed is difficult because bones which are exposed to weathering and animal scavenging are difficult to identify the  body part with confidence. Stahl (1999) among others addressed that by examining bone densities in different bones in the skeleton and applying them to tiny fragments left at sites, but his results were varied. Secondly, even if bone preservation was ideal, you could really only say youve identified butchering patterns, and not necessarily how the meat was processed. Bottom Line: How Old is Jerky? Nevertheless, it would be foolhardy to argue that the meat from animals slaughtered in cold climates and transported to warmer climates was not preserved for the trip in some manner. No doubt some form of jerky was made at least at the time of camelid domestication and perhaps before. The real story might be that all weve traced here is the origins of the word jerky, and making jerky (or pemmican or kavurmeh or some other form of preserved meat) by freezing, salting, smoking or some other method might well have been a skill developed by complex hunter-gatherers everywhere some 12,000 or better years ago. Sources This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Ancient Foods, and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Miller GR, and Burger RL. 2000. Charki at Chavin: Ethnographic Models and Archaeological Data. American Antiquity 65(3):573-576. Madrigal TC, and Holt JZ. 2002. White Tailed Deer Meat and Marrow Return Rates and Their Application to Eastern Woodlands Archaeology. American Antiquity 67(4):745-759. Marshall F, and Pilgram T. 1991. Meat versus within-bone nutrients: Another look at the meaning of body part representation in archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeological Science 18(2):149-163. Speth, John D. D. The Paleoanthropology and Archaeology of Big-Game Hunting: Protein, Fat, or Politics? Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, 2010 edition, Springer, July 24, 2012. Stahl PW. 1999. Structural density of domesticated South American camelid skeletal elements and the archaeological investigation of prehistoric Andean Charki. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:1347-1368.

The contemporary history of United States Essay

The contemporary history of United States - Essay Example Also, they tell us that why don't we know the answer. Besides, their works contains the message that the U.S citizens have to do something urgently to save our two-century old democracy. Both Kinzer and Johnson trace the roots of current crisis back to the much celebrated 'little splendid war': in which America declared war on Spain in the name of liberating the colonialized nations of Latin America. The oppressed nations got liberated from Spanish imperial rule as the result of the Spanish-American war which broke out in 1868, were soon became U.S protectorates in order to protect the interests of American businesspersons in those lands. Kinzer points out that 'the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the culmination of a 110- year period during which Americans overthrew fourteen governments that displeased them for various ideological, political, and economic reasons' (Kinzer, 2007, p.1). In our country, people commonly identify us as citizens of an innocent nation which stands only for virtues. The prevailing attitude is that whatever we do is for good. Behind all this fashionable rhetoric, there lies the ugly side of the truth. The story of American interventions in foreign countries that were supposed to be for prompting democratic culture and liberal values is just farce. The very beginning of America's regime change policy with the overthrow of Hawaiian monarchy was founded on lies. The then governing class in the U.S propagated the view that it is for the sakes of the democratic rights of Hawaiian people. In reality, when the Queen Liliuokalani gave voting rights to all the people without considering ownership of pro perty, the U.S had to intervene to protect the interests of large planters and other riches. Kinzer has an altogether different take on American history from the ideological state apparatus that nourishes the official view at the expense of truth. He convincingly argues that the overthrow of Jose Santos Zelaya, the president of Nicaragua in 1909 was with the direct knowledge of then president of U.S, William Howard Taft.Importantly, Kinzer also notes that 'the United States rose to power at the same time multinational corporations were emerging as a decisive force in world affairs' (Kinzer, 2007, p.4). It is a telling observation. Much of the American interventions was to pave easy way for exploitative activities of the multinational corporations and was simulated by the business elites who penetrated to public offices. Moreover, the democratic movement in our country that is composed of civic movement, trade unions and progressive political parties were not able to become blocs of counterbalance power against the tyrannical corporations. Besides, the hegemony of corporate ideas such as free enterprise, personal growth and crass individualism prevented the American public from being a democratizing force in effect. For the rest of the world, it was impossible even to imagine countering American corporate power. The corporations were 'the vanguard of American power, and defying them has become tantamount to defying the United States' (Kinzer, 2007, p.4). As corporations substantially increased their economic power, they started wielding