Higher education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Higher education - Essay Example While university attendance rates increased generally for women, there was significant variance among different segments of the population because of factors such as age, race and ethnicity. This is because especially in this age of globalization we all have multiple identities such as age, race, ethnicity, religion, full or part time student, employment status, recent immigrant or native, etc. Intersectional theory shows that ones’ various identities intersect with each other influencing how we think and act, sometimes in opposite directions. For example, a Muslim woman from a conservative family may want to attend college, but is discouraged from doing so by her strict upbringing stipulating that education is unnecessary for women. Thus while the general trend is for increased female university attendance, the actual increase varies among different population segments because of the intersection of influences prevailing in specific populations which can either encourage or d ampen the trend. Table 5-8 This table in the provided reading analyses the proportion of undergraduate degrees earned in 2004 in the US by gender, race, ethnicity and age. For example, it tells us that 61% of all graduates were â€Å"traditional†, that is full time students under 24 while the remaining 39% were over 25, presumably either part time students possibly employed or full time who may have interrupted their work career in order to upgrade their skills. In the under 24 age group 34% within the 61% were women, and in the older group 24% within the 30% were women, or more than half in each case. However, while the proportion of women exceeded men for all racial/ethnic categories, the margin of difference varied considerably. For example, African Americans of both sexes were 50% of their graduating population for both the under 24 and over 25 age groups. However, for the under 24s 30% within the 50% were women 34% within the over 24 50% were also women, that is in both cases especially in the older group over half of the African American graduates were women. In contrast, for the Asian Americans under 24 33% within the 65% were women, although they constituted 21% within the remaining over 25 proportion. It is also noticeable that for most racial/ethnic groups women are a higher proportion of graduates for the over 25 age group than they are for the younger graduates, although in each case they exceed the male rate. Although the table tells us that there are differences among racial/ethnic groups in the degree to which the proportion of female graduates exceed that of males and the higher proportion is generally even more pronounced for the over 25 age group, it dos not tell us why. Unfortunately, in the social sciences unlike in the physical sciences, one cannot easily manipulate the quantity and quality of variables in a lab experiment to determine the exact effect of each variation. Instead, one must examine different population segments and di fferent hypothesis about what economic and/or social factors are likely driving their behavior, for example, the higher proportion of African American women pursuing higher education compared to females of other races/identities. Is this because they are generally of a lower socio-economic

Business Employment Law (R. Williams Construction Co. v. OSHRC) Assignment

Business Employment Law (R. Williams Construction Co. v. OSHRC) - Assignment Example In September 2002, Jose Aguiniga, an employee of Williams was killed when an underground system he was cleaning caved-in at the Santa Ynez worksite. Subsequently the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) received the information and immediately embarked on the site assessment (Silverstein, 2008). As the consequence of that assessment, the Commission served citations on the construction company claiming violations of the Act. The respondent acted by filing with the Commission, their contest against the findings. In January 2004, the Commission heard the case in Santa Barbara, California. The legal issue in Williams was whether the respondent violated the safety standards under Section 651-678 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1970, which if proven, would be the cause in fact of the injury upon the employees (Walsh, 2012). The regulator alleged that Williams had violated the safety standards leading to the loss of life of one employee and serious injury upon the person of another. First, Williams breached the OSH Act 1970 by digging a narrow and poorly maintained trench measuring 12 feet deep at the construction site. Although the upper walls of the trench were slanting outwards, the deeper, lower part was not properly reinforced to avoid a possible cave-in. Second, Williams failed to remind its employees about the safety measures they should observe while working on the site. The employees who were injured had been regularly doing a clean-up of the submersible pump placed on the floor of trench without any significant protective gear or knowledge (Walsh, 2012). Williams was unsuccessful in its claims that every employee was supposed to observe their own safety in the workplace because its behavior was negligent. The company’s leadership failed to demonstrate the behavior of a reasonable person acting under similar circumstances. Williams was negligent in its deployment of employees in risky working conditions, with clear