Correction

In my opinion prejudices and discrimination are dangerous for society and the individual. We can’t go on like this. Therefore we must find measures against it. I will discuss this by looking at society first, then the individual and finally the measures.

First, there are the negative effects on society, especially when we look at history. During history of humanity there have been and there still are prejudices and discrimination which have let to violence and riots. For example in the US minorities, especially blacks, have the feeling of injustice and hatred because of prejudices and discrimination during several hundreds of years. Also there are limited freedom and fear. Because of prejudices there are different groups of minorities, but there’s no interaction between nearly each group which leads to mistrust.

Second, the negative effect on individuals is even more obvious. Because of prejudices and discriminations worldwide there is the hopelessness because especially foreigners or minorities can’t escape them. This hopelessness also causes limited freedom and people give up. Also in the movie “Boyz n the Hood” Tre’s friend Ricky tries to rise up in society with sports. He is a good football player who gets admitted to a better college, before he is shot. In Ricky’s community there are many gangs and alcoholics especially caused by discrimination. So I think there are not only disadvantages for the individual, but there can also be a real danger for his life because like in the movie minorities can try to discriminate their own community because of all the anger they keep inside.

Finally, as prejudice and discrimination has such a negative effect, it is crucial that we fight against it. There are various measures we can take. For example people should be informed about prejudices and discrimination and what could happen if others are treated wrong. Also people should be taught about the minorities’ culture to prevent discrimination, prejudices and the negative effects that could be caused. Moreover there have been many people like Martin Luther King or Malcolm X who tried to fight against prejudices and discrimination, but usually without violence. In my opinion this would be the right way to prevent problems. Otherwise violence just leads to more violence and would be like a vicious circle.

To conclude, I hope that prejudices and discrimination can be prevented. To achieve this people should be informed about minorities or other cultures. But I think something already has changed during the past years because in the USA a black man became president and was elected by blacks and whites which is a great leap forward.

Opinion Essay

Why is it important to stay informed? (Newspaper, TV...)

News is a very important part of our daily life, but as important news is, as quickly it changes. Because of this it is very difficult to know the most important and latest news in politics, society, culture… Because of these changes is it really important to stay informed? Yes, it really is and in the following three reasons I want to explain why.

My first reason why it’s important to stay informed is that having conversations is much easier with a good knowledge about what’s going on in our world. When you are up-to-date you can make your own opinion for example about the shutdown of Guantanamo and you are able to discuss this topic with other people. Without this knowledge you couldn’t really join the conversation and the people around you could think that you’ve got no interests in the society or that you are not intelligent. Moreover I would say that staying informed is an advantage in job interviews.

The second advantage is that staying informed can save lives. Last week there was much fresh snow and the danger of avalanches rose up, sometimes even to the highest level. Many skiers and people who love alpine touring like this fresh snow and also like skiing next to the slopes which often causes avalanches. But if the danger of avalanches is reported in the news and the sportsmen stay informed they get to know the level of the danger. Even if there are still too many avalanches I think there would be more if so many sportsmen wouldn’t stay informed.

The third point of why it is so important to stay informed is that we live in a democracy and I would say at least we should be informed about the changes and news in our country. Like adults teenagers should try to know the latest news in our country. Because especially when they are entitled to vote they should know which party they want to support and what this party stands for. Otherwise another shift to the right could be possible as it was after the last elections in Austria.

To conclude, I would say that it isn’t difficult to stay informed because of all the newspapers, TV and especially the internet. You just have to try it. Of course you won’t be able to follow all the news and updates, but you should find out which news are important for you and then you try to stay informed because it can make your life easier during interviews, conversations and it also can save your life.

Graph Description

This graph shows a comparison of the Euro-quotation in October 2008. 22 days of October 2008 are indicated on the x axis, on the quote of the Euro is indicated on the y axis. You can see that there was a downward trend over the period. From October 6th – 8th there’s a steady hold, but from October 9th -11th it drops. Until October 14th the quote climbs up and stabilizes with a downward trend.

Letter of application

Ruth Cupcake
201 Kings Road Arches
Brighton BN1
Great Britain

February 1st, 2009

Archaeologically Headquarters China
XYZ Archaeology
87 Pyramids Road
Xi’an, CA 08065
(909) 555-5555

Dear Sir/Madame,

Application for the archaeological excavations in China

I would like to apply for the job advertised in the magazine "as." . As requested I am enclosing a completed job application, my certification, my resume and four references.
The opportunity presented in this listing. I believe that my strong and early experiences with excavations and the following education and my knowledge of China will make me a very competitive candidate for this position. The key strengths that I possess for success in this position include:

• I have successfully worked at excavations in Vorarlberg for five years.
• With these experiences and the ECDL I have experiences in learning and working with universal surveying instruments.
• I strive for continued excellence and patience.
• I have been four times in China and learned much about their culture and language and I am interested in learning more.
  
  
  Please see my resume for additional information on my experience
  I can be reached Monday - Friday, 07:00am-10:00pm, via my cell phone111-111-1111. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my application with you. I look forward to hearing from you.
  
  Sincerely yours,
  Ruth Cupcake

Encl.: CV, References,...

Boyz n the Hood

Group 3:

Describe the socio-economic situation that those African – Americans live in! What is meant with “Gentrification”? (Styles explains it to his son)

• Poverty is related to drinking and drugs; which is also one reason why there are many unemployed blacks.
• Many people there are uneducated, poor, but not everyone (--> e.g. Furious Styles: he's got money, could move away and live a life like Tre's mother --> but doesn't want to because he wanted to show that he's black and belongs to them)
• Rage: is very common --> like vicious circle (Tre's friend is killed --> his brother kills the murderers --> 2 weeks later he dead too; and so this goes on and never stops); because it's so common no one is really sad when somebody is murdered (except family and friends)
  --> emotional blunting
• Many women become children and don’t know who the father is or have children from different fathers
• In the movie there are different career options --> e.g. sport, crime… (with sport you could rise up in society, but many just want to be good at something, but don't want to learn how to do it)
• Some people live in welfare because of children
• Aspect of crime: crime, violence, guns… are important
• Drugs tent to be everywhere
• Because of guns --> gang wars (gangs are huge and very powerful --> like mafia) --> always black gangs against black gangs or blacks;
  Furious says that the government wants all the guns and liquor in the hood --> that's the way blacks are not able to repoduce themselves.
• Religion: Furious Styles is a Muslim --> everything he is eating, doing, saying is indicated by his religion (he is a Black Muslim; Black Muslims say that blacks don't know how to live in a family because of the slavery)
  
  


• Gentrification:
  1. white, expensive, middle class
  2. black middle class
  3. richer people move out
  When blacks in neighbourhood: less demand on houses --> white people move away, poor people move in --> becomes a place no one wants to live in; blacks kill blacks; area where you get drugs, poor area --> poor education --> neighbourhood becomes horrible.
  Now: rich, white companies “estate developers” move in this area, buy the houses and build expensive houses --> blacks can’t afford it --> back at stage #1
  
  (like in Austria: a house with Turkish people is cheaper because Austrians don’t want to live there)