Monday, December 23, 2019

Sustainability And Csr Project Sp17 Ba 342 - 1062 Words

Sustainability/CSR Project – SP17 BA 342 Wai Yi Karen Lam Introduction: Discover Financial Services, Inc. (DFS) is an American direct banking and electronic payment services company which was founded in 1985. It provides financial and banking services, such as credit cards, student loans, and home equity loans to businesses and individuals around the globe. DFS issues the Discover card, which is the third largest credit card brand in the United States. It also operates PULSE, Discover Network, and Diners Club International with acceptance in more than 185 countries. Regarding its latest annual report, DFS had a network sales volume of $312 billion, including $118 billion from Discover card sales and a net income of $2.3 billion in 2015.†¦show more content†¦Besides, DFS aims to minimize its impact on natural resources by purchasing paper from suppliers which practice sustainable forestry and are close to DFS’s facilities so as to reduce carbon emission in delivery. Plus, it encourages clients to switch to paperless statements and replaced about 1,400 printers and fax machines with multifunctional devices. The above projects have led DFS to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver status. LEED is a rating system to assess the environmental performance of a company. URL: https://www.discover.com/company/corporate-responsibility/Discover_Corporate_Responsibility.pdf Community Engagement: DFS strongly believes that giving back to the communities makes the communities and the company stronger. This is the major initiative that strives DFS to continuously contribute to the society. DFS aims to create a brighter financial future, drive success in schools, and show commitments to the community. It supports local communities by adopting a school in every community where it does business. It provides resources and financial aid to fund academic programs. It also encourages its employees to tutor, mentor, and implement interior and exterior beautification projects at those adopted schools. Other than that, DFS donated $115,000 to National Council on Agricultural Life which provides loans for affordable housing, $380,000 to support new established small

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Historical Report on Race Free Essays

They were sold into slavery where they were considered property, had o rights, past down to the next generation, and etc. (Schaefer p. 177). We will write a custom essay sample on Historical Report on Race or any similar topic only for you Order Now Slaves had to follow many different codes and it shows how badly African Americans have suffered over the years. Slaves were controlled by fear and intimidation. When slaves did not follow the codes they were punished in many different ways. For example: whipped, beaten, imprisoned, hung, or etc. On top of that women also had to deal with rape and there was nothing they could do about it. In 1865 slavery was dismissed throughout the United States (Schaefer p. 180). Since then African Americans have experienced many other hardships. For example: discrimination, segregation, hatred, racism, and etc. It has not by any means been an easy going ride for African Americans. There have been many different political, social, and cultural issues or concerns throughout America’s history, because of the color of their skin. There has been discrimination towards African Americans and has hindered them from performing the best that they can. There was laws created to help support oppression of African Americans. As time went by laws were passed to help Stop discrimination with the help of African Americans standing up against the discrimination that they were dealing with. For example: â€Å"in 1 955, a black seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus† (History 2014). This brought around a citywide boycott that helped put a stop to segregation. There are many organizations that have come about to help voice ways of preventing discrimination. For example: in 1942, James Farmer organized an organization called Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Core was created and to help end discriminatory policies through direct-action projects (Congress of Racial Equality 2014). These organizations helped start the beginning of the end of coordination, segregation, slavery, De cure segregation, and etc. Legislation meant to constrain race with prejudicial boundaries that enacted. For example: Jim Crow Laws or De cure segregation. Jim Crow laws were created to separate the whites and blacks. They were set in place to supposedly treat blacks as separates but equal (Schaefer p. 180). It separated the whites and blacks in many different ways. Blacks were not allowed to eat in the same restaurant, use the same bathrooms, stay in the same hotels, or go to the same schools. While they were enslaved there were slave codes that they had to follow. For example: they were not allowed to gamble, they had curfews, they could not own property, they could not marry, they could not have a weapon, or etc. (Schaefer p. 177). The united States made it very difficult for African Americans to become who they are in today’s society. African Americans fought legislation in many different ways. They boycotted, ran away, or etc. , just to get away from the laws or to try and end the rules. Although African Americans were beaten or arrested they still continued to stand their grounds to get what they deserved. The government also put into place a restrictive covenant. Racially restrictive covenants played a major role in contributing to residential segregation† (Ramose 1995). This covenant helped keep blacks from living in white neighborhoods. African Americans fought the system to overturn the covenant and to be able to live where ever they wanted. In 1963 President Lincoln put Emancipation Proclamation into effect. â€Å"Emancipation Proclamation freed all people that were held as slaves, but only was meant for the states that were involved in the Confederacy† (Schaefer p. 180). The thirteenth amendment stopped slavery all together, in every state. There have been many laws created to help stop discrimination wrought the United Stated. Not only for African Americans but also for other minorities. How to cite Historical Report on Race, Papers Historical Report on Race Free Essays I am writing to you because you were inquiring about African Americans within the U. S. history. We will write a custom essay sample on Historical Report on Race or any similar topic only for you Order Now African Americans have a long history in America which I will be glad to discuss here to better inform you. A major part of their life was slavery in the beginning of their time in the United States. African American had problems with civil rights in the early creation and even in the current times. This has cause major cultural, political and social concerns throughout American history. Legislation and different important people have taken action to change the way African Americans are treated in society. African Americans have been through many things during the history of the United States. Since early is American history, African Americans have been considered colored. Slavery and slave labor was formed and in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought 20 legally contracted servants or slaves to the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia (African American World, 2012). The problem with slavery is that are bought as slaves and some of the slave owners would beat, rape, or even kill female and male slaves alike. Raping of an African slave was not only legal, but it also was a normal thing to do for owners of slaves (Scholastic, 2012). The harsh treatment of slaves was not right in any sense, no matter how people explained the treatment of. It is inhumane and takes the rights of people away, and this is not the way to treat anyone or anything that is one of God’s creatures. In 1861, during the spring, northern and southern states thoughts about state and federal laws, westward expansion, and opinions on slavery led to the American Civil War (American Civil War, 1996-2012). In 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and granted African Americans â€Å"separate but equal† treatment that was recognized by many states. Jim Crow laws were passed to spate Blacks and Whites from everything from transportation to stopping African Americans from voting (Jim Crow laws denied blacks dignity, vote, 2003). In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against school segregation, overturning its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. The next year, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a White person. Malcolm X became known as a minister of Islam in 1962 and rejected the nonviolent movement for civil rights and integration of blacks into Society. Malcolm X even stated at one point the equal rights should be secured by â€Å"any means necessary† that he later decided against. Later that same year, more than 200,000 people marched to see Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech, which was the largest civil rights demonstration in history. Later in 1964, not only does Martin Luther King Jr. got awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act provided the federal government powers to prosecute discrimination in employment, voting, and education. In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated by Nation of Islam member after he decided to separate from the organization. Race riots broke out that same year from the arrest of a young African American man that was charged with reckless driving as well as additional causes of mass unemployment, poor living conditions among L. A. ’s African Americans with cause of widespread racism. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 which caused a week of rioting across the nation. Reverend Jesse Jackson founded Operation People United to Serve Humanity which is a movement that stressed African American economic growth and education (African American World, 2012). The various groups mentioned tried to fight the legislation with assassinations, murders, and the still ever-present lowering of respect of the African American people. The legislation was passed by public outcry and heavy criticism of the way that the United States was handling the segregation of African American people. It is easier to understand the present outlook of the nation if you understand that African Americans are still looked down on and that there are still changes that need to be made to make African Americans equal to other races that may be considered better  than them. NO race is better than another and we should fight for equality of all people and races. The reality of this is that no one will really be considered equal. There will always be hate because there will always be differences of people, beliefs, and upbringing. People have opinions about things and this will always be the way it is going to be until the end of time. I hope this letter answers some of your questions and I look forward to hearing back from you and hearing about your vacation to Mexico. How to cite Historical Report on Race, Papers Historical Report on Race Free Essays Good morning readers, today’s blog will be about the African American racial group. Through this reading we will answer many questions. Like, what have been the experiences of this racial group throughout history? What have been political, social, and cultural issues and concerns throughout American history? What legislation meant to constrain race within prejudicial boundaries? How did the group fight this legislation? Finally, what legislation meant to alleviate prejudicial boundaries has been enacted? How did the group promote this legislation? Most African Americans are descendants of slaves. We will write a custom essay sample on Historical Report on Race or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many of these slaves were sold into slavery as P. O. W. s by other African states. The others were kidnapped by their own people or many others like European or American slave traders. This was due in part to the ever growing need of free labor in the â€Å"New World†. The first of Africans were brought to Jamestown, VA in 1619. They were not brought over as slaves, but as indentured servants and were released after so many years. By the 1700s there were 25,000 black slaves in the American colonies, which was about 10% of the population. By the late 1700s many people were noting the apparent hypocrisies of slavery and demanded freedom for slaves. Through the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ideas of freedom and equality were set forth, but still provided the continuation of the institution of slavery. The rights of free blacks were also restricted in many places, and many of them were denied the right to vote and were excluded from public school. Then in 1790 there were more than 59,000 free blacks in America and by 1810 the number had risen to 186,446. By the 1830s there were more than 319,000 free Blacks in America. With the Supreme Court’s â€Å"Dred Scott† decision blacks were not considered citizens nor could they ever be citizens. With the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation slaves were free in the southern states. It was the 13th Amendment that outlawed slavery in America, and the 14th Amendment that granted full U. S. citizenship to African-Americans. The 15th Amendment extended the right to vote to black males. With the Jim Crow laws state and local laws mandated De Jure segregation in all public facilities through 1965. For black throughout history we see many political, social, and cultural issues and concerns. We see that there were many laws that were set in place to discriminate against black slave and later on free black slaves. Even when they were freed, slaves found it hard to live a normal social life in America. The rest of white America still saw them as slaves and unequal to the rest of the citizens of America, because they were yet to be citizens themselves. They also mainly faced cultural issues when they were first brought to American. This is because they were faced to learn English, get English names, and some were not allowed to practice their own religion. Legislation was also made to constrain race and enforce prejudicial boundaries. State and local laws known as Jim Crow laws were enacted between 1876 and 1965. They made de jure racial segregation in all public facilities of Southern states. It started in 1890 with â€Å"separate but equal† status for African Americans. Separate but equal led to conditions for blacks that tended to be inferior to the ones provided for whites. These De jure segregations were mainly in the Southern states. In 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Do to this action she was arrested and charged with civil disobedience. This action and the many other demonstrations which it started would lead to a series of legislative decisions that contributed to undoing the Jim Crow system. Blacks also took part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. earlier demonstrations like the one led by K. Leroy Irvis of Pittsburgh’s Urban League in 1947, was against employment discrimination by Pittsburgh’s department stores. Finally, there was legislation made to alleviate prejudicial boundaries that had been enacted. In 1964 President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act outlawed discrimination in public places. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended the legally sanctioned state barriers of voting in all federal, state, and local elections. This was promoted by blacks that would go out and vote in federal, state, and local polls. How to cite Historical Report on Race, Essay examples Historical Report on Race Free Essays Krista Hanna Eth/125 Mr. Lew 18 February 2013 Historical Report on Race *I am writing as a Native American, a letter to my friend of a different culture. Dear Molly, I am writing in response to the letter you sent me, to answer questions and expand your knowledge about the Native American culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Historical Report on Race or any similar topic only for you Order Now First off let me start by saying that life wasn’t always grand for me. As a Native American, we learned to adopt our own way of live. We lived off reservations, and lived a more traditional way of life. A life that we thought was best for us and our kids to grow up in. We produced our own food, shelter and weapons and provided for ourselves in the most natural way possible. It wasn’t always easy though, and others seen more value out of our land and resources than us. I was forced off my land and had to adapt to the new peoples way of life. That in which they called a white society; this society created many acts in my life time in order to weaken our society such as those of the Allotment Act and the Reorganization Act (Schaefer, p. 47, 2012). People of my cultural lived on reservations, we had learned to separate ourselves and adopt our own way of life and government. Native Americans had created their own nation and it caused and has caused a lot of tension between us and the U. S. culture. As a Native American, we were all about live the traditional way of life. There was value to our land and the resources that we used and the white people wanted and did take it from us. It seemed as if we were constantly at war with the white people so that we could protect what we thought was rightfully ours. They had created an act known as the Indian Removal Act, which was passed in 1830 (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). This opened more land for settlement and allowed people to come in and take over our reservations (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). In 1946, Congress had created the Indian Claims Commission (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). This was a good thing for us, or so we thought. It meant that finally our voice was going to be heard. There were three members apart of the commission, and they were given a five year deadline, but there kept getting extension after extension, until; in 1978 the whole thing was abolished (Schaefer p. 155, 2012). At times, it seemed as if maybe the government was trying to help us, that or they were trying to use us. In 1952, the BIA began programs, so that they could relocate young Native Americans to Urban areas and by 1962 they had created what was called the Employment Assistance program; also known as the EAP (Schaefer, p 157, 2012). Basically there primary goal was to relocate us by offering us better jobs opportunities that, that of the reservation could not offer. But this plan had soon backfired on them. By 1965, one-fourth to one third of the people in the EAP had returned home to their reservations (Schaefer p. 157, 2012). Today, most of our land has been taken from us and no longer exist. Native Americans themselves are not being treated as badly as we were back then, but it’s the culture and our name that continues to be insulted. Schools have such a thing as mascots, and they create names for them. They use those such as the â€Å"Braves† or â€Å"Redskins. † Those names have a meaning to the Native American culture, it tends to bring up the past for us, and though there intentions may not be that of insulting us, some of us don’t like it too much. It hasn’t always been easy for us, and at times I wanted to give up. But everything seems to turn out for the better. I’ve learned that every culture and person has their own way of living and when someone sees a greater value of that person’s living then they have to have it. Things don’t always have to be that way; people can come up with their own greater value of living. Remember, you don’t always have to have someone else’s greater value to have a greater value of your own. Make an even better living for yourself than trying to take someone else’s. I hope you learned well from this letter and I wish you the best. Your Friend! Resources: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. How to cite Historical Report on Race, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Adrienne Rich Twenty One Love Poem free essay sample

Adrienne was known to be one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century,and was credited with bringing the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse. Richs poetics depends on a readers experience of her poetry. It is an event of cultural engagement in which the poems, resonating with and against each other, urges the reader to test various hermeneutic and ideological stances, and it requires the dialogic interaction among poet, poem, reader, and cultural context. For these reasons, the reader is indispensable to Richs feminist poetics. I believe the readers are the ones to perceive the personification in her poetry. Through his/her perception the images can be understood or retranslated into several different possibilities. Such freedom conceded to the reader can be interpreted as a demonstration of the persona’s disengagement from a given ideology. The publication of Twenty-One Love Poems in 1976 in effect marked Richs coming out as a lesbian. The rules break like a thermometer,/ quicksilver spills across the charted systems/ were out in a country that has no language/ whatever we do together is pure invention/ the maps they gave us were out of date/ by years , were all things she wrote that pronounced that she was coming out. In 1970 Rich separated from her husband, with whom she had three children. He was subsequently ruled to have killed himself. She was with her partner, the writer Michelle Cliff ,for more than 30 years. (http://www. guardian. co. uk/March292012) The Dream of a Common Language is a collection of poetry that was written by a woman, about women, for women. This book was the first book published after Rich decided to come out about her sexuality in 1976 and the book was first published in 1978. The Dream of a Common Language was poetry for community, poetry meant to exploit purpose, poetry meant to be marked up in the margins, poetry meant sung to someone of significance. The collection is divided into three sections. The first, â€Å"Power,† is about the accomplishments of individual women. The second portion of the book, â€Å"Twenty-one Love Poems,† is the open proclamation of Rich’s sexual preference and Not Somewhere Else, but Here,† where Adrienne Rich is believed to continue her exploration of female relationships. Twenty one love poem is a quatrain, with various stanzas of fourteen or sixteen lines. Its in a sonnet form which was originated in Europe. A sonnet is a signified poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Adrienne Rich is known for poetry about social and political commentarty, feminism, social commentary, etc. A collection of Love Poems should certainly be taken in context with lesbian sexuality. In her Twenty-One Love Poems, Adrienne Rich classifies a series of nature images in order to examine the relationship between self and city, self and lover. On all accounts this collection of poems, nature serves as a symbol of psychic life and shock, and it can be difficult to describe the various natural metaphors which Rich uses. One can, however, group these images into categories. To me, the poem is about choice, actions, and how we define love ourselves rather than through destiny, meeting of souls, etc. The poem has some classic existential themes; the opening line: no ones fated or doomed to love anyone says our choices in love are our own. It has an existential theme to it. Looking at the section beginning â€Å"No one has imagined us,† I didn’t identify the â€Å"us† necessarily as female but more generally just as humanity struggling and that their the only one who notice how rough things are, which, incidentally, I think is more powerful left unnamed because it allows the reader to take on the poem for him or herself. Then I read â€Å"live like trees,† which i get the sense it means they want to live naturally, free from the patriarchal oppression, and be able to branch out, take up space in this city. The poet makes reference to the opera Tristand und Isolde (a story about lovers that do confuse death and love, due to a love potion) and makes a point to say that the opera is NOT the story that fate, magic, love potions, etc. , have nothing to do with it. The existential theme is continued when the poet mentions a tape recorder a device that can only record sound, what is actually said and done. In a sense, she is saying that actions are what are important thoughts and intentions are meaningless in death, what remains after we are gone is how we were are seen by others. If our actions define who we are or how we tried to love, the recorded may have caught some ghost of us that recordable actions are what will be remembered after death. She is saying that love is what we say and do, what we choose to act upon by ourselves despite the forces that rage within us and against. I think its also interesting that the poem is directed mainly toward women, not men (especially given the poets background and other poems about sexuality and lesbianism) None the less the poem signifies how homosexuality may have been viewed in the late 1970’s and how homosexuals may have felt during this period, basically hiding in the shadows so they would not be judged. The increasing visibility of gay people generated a backlash during the 1970s. It is perhaps the most discussed anti-gay rights campaign of the decade. Poetry is used to offers a way of distinguishing our need, not for rejecting needs, or even for achieving them.