What Can I Do to Make This Country a Better Place to Live in?

As A National Discipline Awardee, What Can I Do To Make This Country A Better Place To Live In? Is our nation still a superior spot to live in? On the off chance that we will to break down the circumstances now, there were numerous occurrences that occurred in our nation. Our nation experiences addictions, destitution, debasement, shameful acts, murders, prostitutions, psychological oppression, ecological maltreatment and others. In the midst of the apparent issues, we are as yet idealistic for our nation. We despite everything trust in the best.I am exceptionally lucky to be one of the candidates for the National Discipline Award. I am acknowledging the demands to be a model for everybody, to be brave and devoted to the lessons of God. I despite everything accepted that there is consistently daylight after the downpour. I need to be the bearers of truth and light to my individual Louiseans. To make our nation a superior spot to live in is hard for a young person like me. Be that as it may, I can in my straightforward ways like urging my kindred youth to be agreeable, to be liberal in sharing their abilities, time and possessions.I will likewise be mindful with my obligations, being a decent steward of God's creation and I will rouse others to esteem training and urge them to support their neighbors. I think and I genuinely accept that: â€Å"A excursion of a thousand mile must start with a solitary advance. † Let's hold hands to make our nation a superior spot to live in. In the event that everybody participates in a straightforward demonstration, enormous marvels can occur! Also, more along these lines, Philippines would be a superior spot to live in. Presently, in this way, before we can change the world, it will start first with our deepest being. Rachelle Marian B. Barrios

An Exploration into the Representation of Families in Sitcoms Essay

The motivation behind my investigation is to examine whether family generalizations inside the media are simply distortions, or whether they are precise perceptions. I have concentrated for the most part on sitcoms as they are known for their silly circumstances and characters, however they have a trace of truth to them simultaneously. I limited this investigation down to three well known British sitcoms: Outnumbered, Only Fools and Horses and The Royle Family. I fundamentally needed to challenge the perspective that all sitcom characters are made for humor, as opposed to for being like our own relatives. Roy Stafford characterized sitcoms as ‘a setting and a gathering of characters giving the chance to a comic narrative’ (Stafford, 2004). Most British sitcoms depend on the idea of families, and expand on these characters all through arrangement and scenes. Normal relatives may incorporate a grouchy Grandad or uproarious sibling for instance. In Only Fools and Horses, they base the early scenes on two siblings and a Grandad, later turning out to be two siblings, their spouses and their war veteran Uncle. The primary generalization from the show was that the siblings were extremely factious towards one another yet stayed close all through, and the Grandad †or Uncle †was a careless and dopey, yet loveable man. They were often placed into dubious †apparently unreasonable †circumstances yet the principle result was a harmony whereby they were every one of the a healthy family, regardless of how awful the prior clash was. This is something extremely normal among TV programs and goes under Todorov’s account hypothesis of a business as usual toward the beginning followed by an interruption however at long last closure with a similar harmony as found at the outset, which is fairly ridiculous in genuine family lives. The show may begin from the mid 80s, however shares numerous regular components to those 30 years on and stays as important as could be. In the wake of watching a scene of Outnumbered, I saw how extraordinary the stories were nevertheless how comparable the general message and good was to Only Fools and Horses. The sitcom depends on a lot of guardians with a youthful child and little girl, and an adolescent child living in a semi-separated house in the south of London; a genuinely ordinary setting and one that the crowd can identify with. The character Ben is a productive liar, while his sister Karen is a savvy and factious young lady and Jake is a normal, state of mind swinging youngster. The mother and her sister contend as often as possible; the Grandad is doing combating early indications of dementia †which is utilized humorously however thoughtfully simultaneously †and the terrible father’s guardians are isolated and have a gigantic disdain for each other. These distinctions in character and their circumstances make a â€Å"dysfunctional family recovered by love† in the expressions of Ben (Dowell, 2008). Erving Goffman expressed that ‘life itself is a significantly sanctioned thing’ from now on the performances highlighted in the show are fundamentally the same as our own families and their mentalities and jobs (Goffman, 2009). These characters are for the most part noteworthy for crowds that are in, or have been in, comparable circumstances inside their families, with their folks being ‘outnumbered’ by their kids and the tumultuous family unit showing signs of improvement of them. Ben Dowell said in an article in the Guardian: ‘These are the sort of parental vignettes that are persuading numerous that British satire has at long last prevailing with regards to telling the humiliating, ludicrous and baffling truth about present day, serious youngster rearing’ (Dowell, 2008). This citation repeats the point that British sitcoms are getting progressively exact over the long haul, and the commonplace, downplayed humor is successful in demonstrating how spot-on comedies can be. The Royle Family is a satire sitcom from the mid 1990s dependent on a family from Manchester and is predominantly set in the family’s house †and for the most part their front room. The house is every now and again in the mid-phase of beautification because of the lethargy of Jim, and most of the family’s time is spent in the parlor lounged around their TV, which is representative of the possibility that cutting edge family life is commanded by innovation and that we avoid exercises and exercise. The irascible, snide dad Jim infrequently moves from his rocker and takes the ‘man of the house’ job into extraordinary impact, with his persevering spouse Barbara playing an all the more family-orientated job and taking care of her children and husband reliably. Denise is their girl and takes on the normal blonde style character, and stays unequipped for taking care of her children while her significant other Dave is a sort hearted yet has an indifferent mentality †of which Denise misuses. Antony is abused by his folks because of his ordinary high school shenanigans and mentalities, and Norma is a sweet old woman that Jim detests. There is absolutely assorted variety between the characters, and contentions happen every now and again, however there is a shrouded bond between the individuals who may appear to loathe one another. This is by and by a fine case of the broken family that shockingly functions admirably, and obviously they have shared recollections that make this bond more grounded and this uses the clichã © of ‘you don’t recognize what you’ve got until it’s gone’. This style of show might be generally sensible to close families who sit in front of the TV strictly and were raised in a lower class foundation. All in all, I accept that the previously mentioned sitcoms are exact in depicting family life though in a comedic way. The excusal of a giggling track in each of the three of the demonstrates add to this authenticity, and the utilization of one setting in most of the scenes make the possibility that cutting edge families in certainty get to know one another as opposed to out mingling. The effortlessness of the three shows likewise adds to this, and means that our concept of fun in present day times is being with each other sitting in front of the TV. The jobs of the characters are additionally extremely precise as I accept in any event one of the jobs is effectively unmistakable for the crowd; for example the mocking way of Jim from Royle Family or the factious yet sharp nature of Karen from Outnumbered. Somehow, these sitcoms can be identified with by their crowd and is a generally excellent, albeit periodically misrepresented, method of demonstrating exactly how straightforward our lives are. Works Cited Dowell, B. (2008, December 6). In their own words: sitcom allows children to ad lib. Recovered 2 10, 2012, from Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/06/TV bbc Goffman, E. (2009, June 9). The Presentation of Self in Everday Life. Recovered February 10, 2012, from Slide Share: http://www.slideshare.net/Wellingtonisgreat/goffman Stafford, R. (2004, February 1). Television Sitcoms and Gender. Recovered February 10, 2012, from Media Culture: http://www.mediaculture-online.de/fileadmin/bibliothek/stafford_sitcoms/stafford_sitcoms.pdf

Healthy Food Helps Students to Study Better

Healthy Food Helps Students to Study Better Healthy Food Helps Students to Study Better Home›Education Posts›Healthy Food Helps Students to Study Better Education PostsEating is an inevitable part of our daily life. All people know that human body cannot live without food but only a few realize that healthy food can stimulate our brain activity. Eating so-called “brain foods” can make students perform better and receive higher grades. However, it is strongly recommended to balance healthy diet with regular physical activities. You may wonder how food can help me while studying? What should I eat to perform well? How can eating lead to higher grades? All answers to these questions you may find on qualitycustomessays.com.Breakfast is essential.It is a well-known fact that nowadays many students do not have breakfast. Some of them think that it is unnecessary, others say that they simply have no time for it. But students should pay close attention to such fact as eating breakfast has a strong influence on their performan ce.   Students who do not skip healthy breakfast have higher energy levels and perform better while studying. It was also found that healthy breakfast can positively influence behavioral and emotional state, thus leading to higher grades.Vitamins are crucial for proper body functioning.Every student should note that meeting daily intake of vitamins and minerals will guarantee a good functioning of the organism. Please note that vitamin B and iron are vital sources of energy, they maintain your physical and mental state in good condition resulting in good learning ability. To receive vitamin B, you should eat nuts, whole-grains, eggs, etc. Foods that contain iron are spinach, red meat, and cereals. Also it is necessary to eat fish. You may ask “why?” Because it contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for proper functioning of brain, helping us be more attentive and focused.Fruit and dark chocolate are “brain foods”.Fruits are very healthy food for your brain. Many f ruits contain antioxidants and different essential nutrients, therefore, whenever you go to classes or library, pack your bag with bananas, apples, oranges, and clementines. Students may not know but dark chocolate can improve your memory and raise blood flow to the brain, increasing clarity.Sticking to these recommendations will keep your brain and body in good condition. That is why eating right can help students to study better.

Transnational Organized Crime And Crime - 1995 Words

Transnational Organized crime is crime that is coordinated across national borders, involving groups or networks of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. In order to achieve their goals, these criminal groups utilize systematic violence and corruption. Crime that these groups commit range from human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, environmental crime, the counterfeiting of goods, arms trading, and drug trafficking. Because of the advances of globalization each year transnational organized crime generates an estimated $870 billion, threatening peace and human security, leading to human rights being violated, and the undermining of economic, social, cultural, and political development of societies around the world has been growing each year. One of the most appalling crimes that many of these organized crime rings run is human trafficking. Human trafficking is a problem that has spread all across the globe and it affects millions of lives from people all around the world by taking family members and taking their humanity and dignity. Women are not the only ones swindled into this ring but also men and children that are taken from anywhere in the world to be hurled into a life of hardship. Human trafficking is mostly known for the sexual manipulation but many of these victims that are trafficked are to be used for forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging, or even the removal of organs. Human Trafficking is theShow MoreRelatedTransnational Organized Crime2346 Words   |  10 PagesAccording to Jay Albanese organized crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that is rationally working to produce profit through illicit activities based on demand, where its existence is kept through force, threats, and corruption (Al banese 2004). When looking at transnational organized crime, we are looking at crimes that involve crossing national borders and individuals who work within more than one country to complete illicit business endeavors. I argue that political and systemic issuesRead MoreChallenges Of Transnational Organized Crime1260 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay will discuss some threats transnational organised crime have to Southeast Asian states. By comparing to traditional security paradigm threats, this essay will argue that in order for states to combat transnational organised crime, they must consider and use traditional and non-traditional means. First, this essay will present the security paradigm of traditional security. In this section, this essay will discuss the points of, the focus traditional security has on the protection of theRead MoreEssay on Fight Aganist Transnational Organized Crimes1930 Words   |  8 Pagesbecame an influential factor in international relations. At the s ame time, transnational crime has showed a significant increase. In this sense, the international community has reacted by establishing strong legal mechanisms and intensifying the preparation process of international agreements for the creation of a more favorable climate. Extradition is regarded as an effective tool in the fight against transnational organized crimes. Inevitable, there are divergences on the inclusion of human rights throughRead MoreTackling The War On Drugs ( Cd ) And Combating Transnational Crime Organizations2286 Words   |  10 PagesINTRODUCTION Tackling the War on Drugs (CD) and Combating Transnational Crime Organizations (TCO) is an important national security problem. While addressing this issue in a scholastic forum, I immersed myself into this problem set using the guidance of assuming the role of Colonel Tim Killian. Utilizing the provided case and the ADIA framework and course concepts, I reviewed and assessed the information presented. The goal of Joint Task Force North (JTFN) J-5 is to develop a â€Å"strategy for militaryRead MoreTransnational Crimes Are The Organization And Implementation Of Unlawful Business Ventures1337 Words   |  6 PagesTransnational crimes are the organization and implementation of unlawful business ventures by a group of individuals working in more than one country. Transnational’s are able to reposition at any time, make choices based on relative global employment and capitalize on new prospects. These inviduals play a major role in the globalization of transnational crimes an d contributes tremendously in organized crimes. Transnational criminals have been one of the largest beneficiaries of globalization. OverRead MoreThe Fight Organized Crime Regime1692 Words   |  7 PagesSince the beginning of the 21st century, organized crime has grown in complexity. With this new era, law enforcement has been made to change and improve the ways in which they try and fight organized crime. With the use of technology, the new organized crime regime have used technology to its advantage and are seen as a very real threat to US law enforcement. Most members of law enforcement, anti-mafia NGOs and academic and journalistic analysts insist upon the fact that from the mid-1990’s on upRead MoreThe Theory of Social Disorganization701 Words   |  3 Pagescontends that a crime happens when the systems of social groups are deliberately weakened. The theory of social disorganization was pioneered Henry W. McKay and Clifford X. Shaw. The two, in their theory, suggest that disorganized groups and communities featured by ethnic heterogeneity, poverty, and residential mobility weaken group stability (Thornberry, 2004). At its center, the theory of social disorganization concentrates on the impacts of location characteristics as they connect to crime. A societyRead MoreThe scene of organized crime has long since changed after the reign of Italian and Sicilian mafia,1600 Words   |  7 PagesThe scene of organized crime has long since changed after the reign of Italian and Sicilian mafia, and has evolved into modern terms. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines organized crime as any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through through illegal activities.. The motive is almost always to gain money, as stated in the definition given by the FBI, or significant power over a region. For such a large feat of gainingRead MoreUnderstanding The Way That Real Life Organized Crime Situations918 Words   |  4 Pageson particular types of crime. Both definitions have some validity, and neither is sufficient to completely describe the glob al reality. Understanding the way that real-life organized crime situations fit these two definitions makes a big difference in the ways we might go about solving these problems. When most people say â€Å"organized crime†, it is often a shorthand way of referring to groups of people, usually â€Å"the mafia† and similar groups. Understood in this way, organized criminal activity is simplyRead MoreHuman Trafficking- The Escalating Global Violation of Human Rights1355 Words   |  6 Pagesof individuals are subjects of Human Trafficking every year; the perpetrators of this crime do not discriminate, targeting men, women, the young and the old all over the world. Human Trafficking is indeed a Global issue, occurring in nearly every country on the planet. Not only does this heinous crime include sexual exploitation and forced labour, it is also a large contributor to the transnational organized crime epidemic. Although there are already measures put in place to put a sto p to this issue

Handmaids Tale - 1171 Words

The central social hierarchy within the novel is the gender hierarchy, placing men in a position of extreme power. This is evident in every aspect of the book, as the entire Gilead society is male dominated. The Commander is at the top of the hierarchy and is involved with designing and establishing the current society taking control of a nation of women, and exploiting their power by controlling what is taught, what they can teach themselves and the words that they can use. Soon all of the women will become brainwashed, simply because it is made nearly impossible to defy the rules The Eye is the next highest up and are used as spies to keep the society the way it is and make sure no one consorts against it. Angels are next because they†¦show more content†¦Its official vocabulary incorporates religious terminology and references to the bible. House servants are Marthas in reference to the woman who helped Jesus in the New Testament; the local police are Guardians of the Fai th, the soldiers are Angels, and the Commanders are officially Commanders of the Faithful. The stores have biblical names like All Flesh, Milk and Honey Loaves and Fishes. Even the cars have biblical names like Behemoth, Whirlwind, and Chariot. Using religious terminology to describe people, ranks, and businesses blinds people and makes their society seem holy. It provides a constant reminder that the founders of Gilead insist they act on the authority of the Bible. If I lived in Gilead my strategy would be depend upon my position in society. If I was the commander my privileges allow me to take greater risks and get away with it. I could expand my power by eliminating other commander with blackmail about them being sterile. Or rally them towards my cause. As a commander the most can be accomplished. As an eye my duties are less clear and I have freedom to roam society. I think the eyes have a good job and I would stay there. As an angel my objective would be to become a eye or commander. To do my job and do it well enough for a upper ranking citizen to notice. Women on the other hand have very few options as stated by the book. Marthas can do the most damageShow MoreRelatedThe Handmaids Tale715 Words   |  3 PagesImagine growing up in a society where all women are useful is to reproduce. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is an excellent novel of what could potentially be the fate of the future one day. The main character, Offred, moves into a new home where she is there to perform â€Å"rituals† with the Commander, head of the house, so she can hopefully reproduce herself. The Commander is a key character for he can get rid of Offred if he does not like her and he has all the power. The two end up havingRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesUpon reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, one notices the tragedy of women losing rights. Imagine the feelings of losing all rights and freedoms; how hard the transition would be from an American society, centered on freedoms, to the society where Offred lives in The Handmaid’s Tale. Thankfully for all Americans, Atwood’s prediction of what society would become in the future was inaccurate. But, not all countries enjoy the same freedoms and luxuries as America does; the treatment of womenRead MoreFeminism In The Handmaids Tale1709 Words   |  7 PagesThe Republic of Gilead, a dystopian world with a patriarcha l society, is displayed in Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale. More specifically, the novel takes place in what used to be considered the United States but is now being called the Republic of Gilead where freedoms and rights have been excluded, especially for women. The society nurtures a â€Å"theocratic, patriarchal, nightmare world created by men, with the complicity of women† (â€Å"Margaret (Eleanor) Atwood†). The separation of the freedoms betweenRead MoreInterpreting the Handmaids Tale657 Words   |  3 PagesInterpreting The Handmaids Tale The Handmaids Tale is distinguished by its various narrative and structural divisions. It contains four different levels of narrative time: the pre-Revolution past, the time of the Revolution itself, the Gileadean period, and the post-Gileadean period (LeBihan 100). In addition, the novel is divided into two frames, both with a first person narrative. Offreds narrative makes up the first frame, while the second frame is provided by the Historical Notes, a transcriptRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale And The Crucible1695 Words   |  7 PagesResistance Futile? What do The Handmaid’s Tale and The Crucible suggest about the nature of resisting and rebelling against social order? Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Arthur Miller’s ,The Crucible, explore the consequences surrounding the nature of resisting and rebelling against social order. Resistance the refusal to accept or comply with something or to actively and passively fight against something. Atwood’s new government of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale enforces unthinkable oppressionRead More The Handmaids Tale Essays1979 Words   |  8 PagesThe Handmaids Tale The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Attwood, goes on to explore the consequences that come to be from the reversal of womens rights in a society called Gilead. It is what one can consider a cautionary tale. In the new world of Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists have taken power, and have turned the sexual revolution upside down. The society of Gilead is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the subjugationRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay1215 Words   |  5 PagesPaula Hawkins, a well-known British author, once said, â€Å"I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.† In Margaret Atwood’s futuristic dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale, a woman named Offred feels she is losing control over everything in her life. Offred lives in the Republic of Gilead. A group of fundamentalists create the Republic of Gilead after they murder the President of the United States and members of Congres s. The fundamentalists use the power to their advantage and restrictRead MoreFeminism in The Handmaids Tale626 Words   |  3 PagesPaper: Feminism in The Handmaid’s Tale In today’s news we see many disruptions and inconsistencies in society, and, according to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, humankind might be headed in that direction. The deterioration of society is a concept often explored biologically in novels, but less common, is the effect on everyday social constructs such as the position of women as a item that can be distributed and traded-in for a ‘better’ product. The Handmaid’s Tale elaborates the conceptRead More The Handmaids Tale Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesThe Handmaids Tale Serena Joy is the most powerful female presence in the hierarchy of Gileadean women; she is the central character in the dystopian novel, signifying the foundation for the Gileadean regime. Atwood uses Serena Joy as a symbol for the present dystopian society, justifying why the society of Gilead arose and how its oppression had infiltrated the lives of unsuspecting people. Atwood individualises the character of Serena Joy, as her high status in the society demands powerRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale Essay1732 Words   |  7 PagesBrenda Guillen Professor XXX Class November 8, 2017 Then vs. Now, the Realities of of Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in Modern Day America The novel quot;The Handmaid#39;s Talequot; written by Margaret Atwood in 1985 is a fictional novel about Gilead, a place ruled by male religious fundamentalists who rape women labeled as handmaids to bear children for infertile wives. The society encourages the enslavement of women to control their reproductive rights. While Atwood’s novel depicts a fictional

Texting and Driving Free Essays

In Citra, Florida, 13 year old, Margay Schee was hit by a semi-truck traveling at 60 miles per hour1 . The truck driver claimed to have not seen Mrs. Schee. We will write a custom essay sample on Texting and Driving or any similar topic only for you Order Now In Rudolph, Wisconsin, 58 year old, Julie Davis was killed instantly when she was hit while walking alongside a road with a friend1. Mrs. Davis was hit by a 19 year old going 70 miles per hour with no attempt at hitting the brakes1. Ashley Johnson of Asheville, North Carolina was 16 years old when she died from distracted driving1. She was driving to help tutor a student when she veered into another lane, crashing into an oncoming vehicle1. At the scene, her phone was found with a received text message at the time of the crash1. â€Å"Just in 2010, 3,092 people were killed in crashes [like the incidents above] involving a distracted driver†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Distracted driving has become the number one killer of Americans in the past few years, having alcohol related accidents drop to the number two slot. Though these two issues stack up differently, studies show that they are nearly the same thing. Studies done at the University of Utah show those drivers on mobile phones are actually more impaired than drivers at a . 8 Blood Alcohol Level. In New York in 1910, jurisdiction adopted laws against drunk driving and since then this issue has been heavily enforced. With this new form of distracted driving, which compares greatly to drunken driving, laws should be set and enforced. Not only should laws dealing with this issue be made and met, these laws should be heavily enforced until all drivers and passengers understand the r isks and consequences of such an act. Distracted driving can be broken down into three different types of distractions: visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual is the distraction that takes the driver’s eyes off the road. Manual is the distraction of taking the driver’s hands off of the wheel. Cognitive is the distraction that occurs when the driver starts thinking of things other than the road ahead. Texting while driving is the most alarming distraction because it involves all three types of distractions at once. With many diverse distractions falling under each of these three categories, Congressman Eliot L. Engel from New York eagerly joined the U. S. Department of Transportation’s â€Å"efforts in curbing distracted driving. The bill, H. R. 1772 Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011, â€Å"directs the Secretary of Transportation to make distracted driving prevention incentive grants for each fiscal year to states that enact laws that prohibit and establish fines for texting and/or handheld cellphone use while driving6. † This Act came about when the President, Barrack Obama, signed a law having t o deal with â€Å"Moving Ahead in the 21st century†. This action trickles down from the federal government and onto the state and local governments. The federal governments provide the grants, and in return, the state and local governments provide the enforcement of the federal guidelines prohibiting distracted driving. Representative Engel also agrees with Secretary Ray Lahood, United States Secretary of Transportation, when he says, â€Å"distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic6†. With an 11% increase in distracted driving deaths for the year of 2011, Representative Engel is accurate in agreeing that distracted driving is a deadly epidemic. â€Å"This grant program will provide approximately $17. million to states that have laws banning distracted driving in the fiscal year 2013†¦an additional $5 million to develop paid advertising to support state enforcement of laws against distracted driving2. † Engel and Lahood see these grants as large investments in the future through education on texting and driving. With the technology of smart phones and phones in general, Global Positioning Systems, advanced radios, and passengers, new drivers are not getting properly educated and disciplined on the consequences of distracted driving because these advancements are all they know when it comes time for them to drive. Lahood says, â€Å"This new grant program will provide states that have distracted driving laws with important resources to help save lives and prevent injuries2. † During the National Distracted Driving Summit, it was announced that remarkable statistics have shown baring texting and driving has raised positive outcome with more than 550 companies vowing to implement rules against distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pilot programs in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York indicate that enforcing restrictions on cell phone use is yielding positive results8. Also during this Summit, those who oppose this law were able to relay their thoughts. The overall effectiveness of anti-distracted driving laws were brought up. The number one disapprover of this Act, Adrian Lund, president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, says, after studies, â€Å"Texting bans haven’t reduced crashes at all†¦crashes have actually increased8. † Lahood fired back, calling the study â€Å"completely misleading† and that Lund’s research did not include all information8. Other than the few, Highway Loss Data Institute and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who do not approve of the distracted driving laws, the Act of 2011 has many strong supporters8. With celebrities such as the talk host Oprah Winfrey encouraging viewers to sign a document saying they will not text and drive, and the Jonas Brothers asking fans to join them in their pledge against the practice; the word is being spread about the dangers8. Though the publicity is able to reach a certain percentage of drivers; that percentage and the remaining percent should not be neglected and should be reached through other means of knowledge. With facts and persuasion, thirty states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have all banned texting and driving, along with eight states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands banning the use of any hand held devices. Law enforcement has been able to go through with these laws by defining driving, personal wireless communications, primary offense, public road, and texting: â€Å"‘Driving’ means operating a motor vehicle on a public road, including operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic. Personal Wireless Communications Device’ means a device through which personal wireless services are transmitted. ‘Texting’ means reading from or manually entering data into a personal wireless communications device, including doing so for the purpose of SMS texting, emailing, and instant messaging. ‘Primary Offense’ means an offense for which a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle solely for the purpose of issuing a c itation in absence of evidence of another offense5. â€Å"‘Driving’ means operating a motor vehicle on a public road, including operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic. ‘Personal Wireless Communications Device’ means a device through which personal wireless services are transmitted. ‘Texting’ means reading from or manually entering data into a personal wireless communications device, including doing so for the purpose of SMS texting, emailing, and instant messaging. Primary Offense’ means an offense for which a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle solely for the purpose of issuing a citation in absence of evidence of another offense5. † With these definitions laid out for all drivers, there leaves little room to argue the law. With rules and guidelines set for drivers, the states also have guidelines to follow in order to receive financial support for their individual pursuits to decrease distracted driving accidents. The major requirements within the long list of requirements are establishing a minimum fine for the first violation with increased fines as the number of violations increase, prohibition of youth cell phone use, prohibition of a driver younger than 18 from using personal wireless communication devices, and required distracted driving issues to be tested as a part of the State’s Driver’s License examination5. One controversy that has come with this Act is the question of how the government plans on paying for these grants; where will all this money come from when given out to states. With these grants coming out of taxpayer’s money, these grants have become an issue. Representative Black, Republican -Tennessee, led the opposition to the distracted driving grants, already approved by senators. Using the 10th amendment, she insists â€Å"the federal government should not be manipulating state law through taxpayer funded distracted driving grants10. † Representative Black explains to the House that what is best for one state might not be best for another state, therefore causing many of the problems in this plan. With this issue brought up, Rep. Black points out and highlights that distracted driving laws should just be left up to each individual state and not mandated from the federal government. During Representative Black’s speech to the House, she brought up many good points; such as all of the grant money coming from taxpayer’s money, but the overarching point of this act and these laws were not recognized. With matters such as drinking and driving or texting and driving, they will not be conquered without major enforcements. The federal government is trying to take this matter into their own hands out of the desire to stop distracted driving, increase the education on distracted driving, and to decrease the number of wrecks and deaths due to distracted driving per year. Representative Black makes the point about letting the states decide because laws vary state to state and even with these guidelines coming down from the federal government the states are still able to go about decreasing distracted driving in their own manner with the small list of guidelines given by the federal government. The federal government is not trying to control each state and local government but merely help get hard hitting issues under control, therefore granting money to do so. The majority of studies show that drivers as a whole understand that texting and driving is dangerous but without any more thought commit this act anyways. An online survey of 1,999 teens ages 16-19 found that 86% had driven while distracted even though 84% know it’s dangerous. Through the campaign â€Å"Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. † Over thirty basic statistics are shown. A texting driver is twenty three times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver says Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in 2009. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U. S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving11. With H. R. 1772 Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011, the grants developed will not only enforce discipline through citations and law enforcement, but will raise public awareness. This Prevention Act is needed for the education of current and upcoming drivers, recommitting citations, law enforcement, and the decrease in texting and driving, and the decrease in wrecks and deaths due to distracted driving. H. R. 1772 Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011 was introduced to the congressional committee in the 112th Congress on May 05, 2011. This bill’s description given to the congressional committee was to â€Å"amend titles 23 and 49 [which both deal with National Highway Traffic Safety], United States Code, to reduce injuries and deaths caused by cell phone use and texting while driving, and for other purposes. After many hearings led by Representative Eliot Engel, Democratic -New York, the bill and its supporters are waiting for it to be reported by the committee, passed to the House, then passed to the Senate, and finalized by the President’s signature12. According to govtrack. us, this bill has a zero percent chance of being enacted. The Pr evention Act is a re- introduction of H. R. 3994, Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009, brought up in the 111th Congress that had a negative three percent impact (-3%)12. With the sponsor of this bill being a member of the minority party, a negative two percent (-2%) adds into the likelihood of this bill being passed12. The only positive actualities of this bill and its sponsors is the bill’s cosponsors, Donna Christensen (Democratic – Virgin Islands) and Carolyn Maloney (Democratic – New York), who are also a member of the minority party, has a high leadership score, adding a positive three percent (+3)12. A key fact given by the legislation is that only four percent (4%) of all House of Representatives bills in 2009-2010 were actually enacted12. The U. S Department of Transportation has yet to be able to make distracted driving illegal on its own because the jurisdiction falls under each state. Even though nothing has been passed by Congress, many states have stepped up to pass tough laws against distracted driving. With optimistic thinking, Representative Engel still pushes forward and continues to campaign his hope for change on our highways and in our auto vehicles through Congress. A recent law was mandated in Fort Lee, New Jersey prohibiting pedestrians from texting. This law was highly ridiculed, but the local government’s thought process was â€Å"if we cannot stop drivers from texting, we better make sure that pedestrians do not text so they can keep their eyes peeled for reckless drivers. This concept seems outlandish, but without the support of the federal government through the Distracted Driving Prevention Act some places around the country cannot enforce such laws alone. If legislation approves this bill statistic will plummet tremendously leaving the highways, vehicles, and drivers in a safer environment when teenagers like Ashley Johnson are driving to tutor other young adults or elderly ladies like Mrs. Davis taking their daily walk. Distracted driving is common, tempting, and deadly and through H. R. 1772 Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011 lives can be changed, lives can be saved. How to cite Texting and Driving, Papers Texting and Driving Free Essays Driving a Thin Line I’d be lying if I said I never text while driving. But I recognize the dangers, and try to do it as little as possible. However, there are still incidents that occur. We will write a custom essay sample on Texting and Driving or any similar topic only for you Order Now One day, I was driving down Highway 6, passing Walmart, and received a text from my brother asking what time baseball practice was. I went to reply and took my focus off my driving. This immediately endangered myself, anyone else in the car, and everyone in the cars around me. While texting, I have no ability to respond to events as they occur around me on the road. Even if I may be able to text while driving and maintain control and not crash, if someone around was to do something dumb, my ability to react safely to that is severely diminished. For example, the other day I was driving home on Williams Trace, my radio blaring 94. 5 The Buzz, Erik in the passenger seat, when someone swerved to avoid debris on the road. I was able to react to this, and get out of the way, because I was focused solely on the road, with no distractions. Driving is always dangerous, because even if I drive perfectly, I could still get in a wreck because of the actions of others, over which I have no control. And by texting while driving the chances of this are greatly increased. That also assumes that when texting, I am also able to retain 100% of my normal driving faculties. This is completely false though. Even if I am able to text without looking at my phone, my mind is still distracted from an activity that requires my full attention. And if I do take my eyes off the road to text, I might as well be driving blind. My ability to conduct myself safely is almost completely gone at that point. There have been times when I’ve been looking at my phone texting, then looked up to find myself rapidly approaching stopped cars, and had to slam on the brakes. Every time so far I’ve been lucky, but that can only last so long. Eventually I won’t look up in time, and will slam into the back of those cars. Every time I pick up my phone, I’m putting lives on the line. Who knows who’ll be in that car I hit? It could be full of little kids on their way home from soccer practice, and I just potentially hit them. Texting while driving goes beyond just endangering myself on the road. Every time I pick up that phone, I’m potentially harming all of my passengers, plus all the cars around me. A lot of the time when I drive, my brother is in the passenger seat. So when I drive with him, its my responsibility to keep him safe. It goes beyond just making a stupid decision that affects myself, I’m making a stupid decision that affects my little brother. I’m putting his life on the line through my own foolishness and selfishness. The same holds true for anyone on the road with me. That grandmother driving to the store to pick up some groceries, or the little kid riding along with their parents to get some lunch, I’m personally putting their lives on the line when I text and drive. There is rarely any legitimate reason to text and drive. The vast majority of the texts I receive and send are not life or death situations that require my immediate attention, but when I answer that text, I put myself in a life or death situation. I’m also failing in the responsibility that I and every other person takes up when they get behind the wheel, to drive to the best of my abilities in order to keep myself and those around me safe. It would hurt nothing if I was to simply ignore my phone for the duration of the trip, then answer any messages I’ve received. So by texting while driving, I’m putting at risk the lives of all around me, plus my own, all so that can have conversation that could wait. How to cite Texting and Driving, Essay examples Texting and Driving Free Essays It has commercials, ads, and billboards all over the united States promoting not to text and drive â€Å"it can wait†, because it is very dangerous; not only for their life but others as well. This somewhat graphic commercial asserts that an ordinary person can take their eyes off the road and in an instance destroy his/her live or the lives of others, and does this effectively through graphic images, common text message subject matter, and a negative theme. The use of graphic Images are very apparent In this commercial. We will write a custom essay sample on Texting and Driving or any similar topic only for you Order Now This commercial appeals to their sense of compassion by having a very shocking end result. In the rhetorical appeal they are using ethos because they are showing what could actually happen. They choose to use very graphic real images, so people may actually listen and see what can happen that fast. The somewhat disturbing result helps people to see the real case scenario in hopes that maybe they can get the message across. It has a very emotional mood because no one wants to crash and possibly die from that mistake. This commercial Is very appealing because it works to show Just how quick things can happen. The first time someone sees this particular commercial ATT can remember make a vow to never ext and drive again. It shows that the text messages are coming through and the girl is reading and testing back then the crash happened. The rescue people knew she was testing and driving because they found her phone and text messages were still coming through and she crashed not long after she sent the text. It Is one thing to hear what â€Å"can† happen, but to actually see a real Life scenario on the TV screen did something to the viewers, and they believe this happens to too many when they see it. The commercial appeals to teenagers by showing a common theme in their conversations. The girl is testing her friend about a boy. She keeps looking down at her phone and back up at the road. The testing then suddenly becomes more Interesting to her, and she Is more wrapped up in the phone than she is the road. Then she does not make It to where she Is going because that text was more knows she is about to crash, but it is then too late to do anything about it. Waiting to check a phone can help save people from getting hurt or killed. Taking eyes off of the road for five seconds equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. Testing and driving is as bad as drinking and driving. Most people who are exiting and driving spend more time in the other lane than their own. The ad is not only for teenagers but it is for everyone. Parents are Just as bad as teenagers about testing and driving. Phones show be turned off while the vehicle is in motion and not back on till the vehicle stops. Negative themes are quite uncommon for commercials. Commercials usually try to promote the ads. In a rhetorical appeals, they use pathos because they are showing the emotional content. In this instance, it is very effective to teenagers. The commercial makes them actually believe that this could happen to them. ATT wants to use the worst possible scenario to make sure teenagers see the consequences that could come of their actions. Nobody wants to lose a love one because of this mistake, so that is why the commercial is promoting to not text and drive. Negative images are more realistic and make people actually see what can happen very quickly. Making the mistake to text while driving is not only putting one person’s life in danger but everyone who they meet on the road. When meeting a car on the same side of the road is never a good feeling and then seeing them on their phone. AT has decided against preaching the same boring message we may hear room our parents â€Å"stay off of that phone! † They have chosen a much more effective way to get the message across by using a drastic and emotional theme. As people can see, AT effectively uses a common text message conversation, a negative theme, and graphic images to get a very powerful message across. Since AT is so popular, people think it can potentially save more lives. It pulls at the viewer’s heart strings and shows Just how easily something like this can happen if they do not pay attention to the road. ATT is trying to get the message out that the text messages can wait. There is nothing more important to do or say while driving. How to cite Texting and Driving, Papers Texting and Driving Free Essays Texting and driving Today I will persuade you into thinking about why texting and driving is dangerous to yourself and others because the brain and visual fields becomes distracted resulting in automobile accidents, either injuries or fatalities. We all know someone who has texted while driving and has caused an accident. It’s a terrible and dangerous habit yet we all still do it. We will write a custom essay sample on Texting and Driving or any similar topic only for you Order Now Ask yourself one day why and maybe you’ll find your answer, but until then protest and don’t text while driving Texting while driving can be fatal and your body might end in a coffin or hospital, think about your family and how they would feel. You see the commercials and the TV shows of what happens to survivors and sometimes they would rather have passed away, but they’re alive to tell their story and help protest. Younger adults are more likely to do both of these dangerous activities than people in their forties would. Someone who might send an emotional text; example being â€Å"I’m breaking up with you†, while you’re driving could cause your mind to go somewhere else and make you not pay attention to the road. They say there are laws in fourteen states against texting and driving. Some of these penalties are significantly lower then it would be to drink and drive. I’ll even admit that when I’m driving and a red light shows up or when im at a stop sign, I’ll check my phone and respond to the messages quickly. While texting and driving it becomes harder to focus on your surroundings and your phone. In the car you have your radio playing, phone buzzing from your friends responding to the messages you sent them, and you’re trying to focus on the road. All of these tasks are a form of distraction. Other teens have done the same, but I do know some teens who are texting as soon as they receive a message, which is more of a distraction than it would be at a red light. It’s wrong no matter what, but yet we still do it. According to Distracted Driving Help 5,400 fatal crashes and 448,000 injuries are caused by texting while driving. In January of 2012, an eighteen year old student who attended a university was killed in a fatal car accident, because she was updating her Facebook status while operating her vehicle and going a speed of 75 miles per hour says Idaho state police. The true question is why was this eighteen year old on her Facebook when she was going so fast on a highway. Some things can wait till you’re at your destination or you could simply pull over, but that’s my personal opinion, Others could think differently. Drivers who text at the wheel also check their email, Facebook, Twitter, and some, even surf the web, which is another distracting thing. This situation is a growing problem. We all don’t care about the research and neither do we care about the statistics, it will only hit â€Å"home† when it has happened to someone we know or to us. There are other options instead of being a distracted driver. You can have a voice command options on your smart phone if the message becomes that important. You don’t have to respond, you could pull over and respond. The message can wait I have come to realize family and life is more important than a message. Keep that in your mind while you glance at your phone or g et behind the wheel. Is it really worth the cost of the car, cost of a ticket, or even the cost of a hospital bill. No should be the answer. How to cite Texting and Driving, Essay examples

Cost Management and Analysis for Interest and Tax -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCost Management and Analysis for Interest and Tax. Answer: Analysis of Information In the business organizations, financial analysis is one of the major parts in order to measure the financial performance of the companies. In addition, with the help of financial analysis, the board of directors along with the major stakeholders of the companies can understand the overall financial health of the companies. In order to analyse the financial condition of the companies, the financial managers use to observe some of the major financial parameters; they are earning before Interest and Tax (EBIT), Capital Expenditure (Capex), Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and others. As per the provided case, it can be seen that there are four scenarios. Each scenario has all the information about EBIT, Capex, NPV and IRR of the projects. Thus, for this analysis, it is required to discuss some of the major terminologies for the analysis. First, EBIT is one of the major concepts for the business organizations. EBIT refers to a particular measure of the performance of the companys profit that includes all the expenses except interest and taxation expenses (Barta, Kleiner and Neumann 2012). More specifically, it is considered as the difference between the operating revenues and operating expenses of the companies. Another major aspect is the concept of Capital Expenditure. Capital expenditures refer to those business expenditures that are occurred for the acquisition and maintenance of the fixed assets of the companies such as land, building, machineries and others. The concept of NPV is used for the analysis of the profitability of particular projects or investment s (Rich and Rose 2014). More specifically, NPV is considered as the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows. The concept of IRR is used for the measurement of the profitability of the potential investments of the companies (Bas 2013). As per the first scenario, it can be seen that there is an increasing trend in the EBIT of this particular project. The same increasing trend can be seen in case of EBIT excluding depreciation and after tax cash. In this scenario, the rate of NPV and IRR for this project is 11% and 28.7% respectively. In case of the second scenario, it can be seen that EBIT of the project has an increasing trend over the years. The same increasing trend can be seen in case of EBIT excluding depreciation and after tax cash. Capital expenditure can be seen in the financial year of 2022. In this scenario, the rate of NPV and IRR of this project is 11% and 35.8% respectively. The NPV of first and second scenario is 55.5 million and 77.9 million. However, the third and fourth scenario is different from the first and second scenario. In case of the third scenario, it can be seen that the NPV of the project of zero. This has happened as the rate of NPV and IRR is same that is 11%. In the fourth year, decrea se in after tax cash flow can be noticed. In case of the fourth scenario, one of the major factors is that the NPV of this project is in negative and the rate of IRR (0.8%) is less than the rate of NPV (11%). Negative NPV implies that the company will not be able to recover the cost of the project during the project lifetime. On the other hand, fluctuations can be seen in after tax cash flow of this particular project (Brigham and Houston 2012). For the selection of any project or investment, the NPV and IRR of that particular project need to be higher compared to the other projects or investments. Thus, based on the provided sensitivity analysis, it can be seen that both the NPV and IRR of the project is higher than the other three projects. On the other hand, the amount of gross profit is higher in this project than the other projects. Thus, Coles should select this project. Problems and Suggestions From the above analysis, it can be seen that there are some problems in the third and fourth scenario. In case of the fourth scenario, it can be seen that the NPV of the project is negative. At the same time, the rate of IRR is lower than the rate of NPV. In addition, fluctuations can be seen in after tax cash flow. In the second scenario, it can be seen that the NPV is zero. For all these reasons, it is needed for the company to reduce the project costs in different levels. Reduction of project costs in different level will help the company to increase the amount of NPV for the projects. Future Trends and Impacts From the above analysis, it can be seen that the selection of correct project or investment will have major impact on the operation of the company. In case the company selects the fourth project, the company will be profitable, as right investment will fetch the company with higher returns. In case the company fails to choose the correct project, it will affect the profitability as well as return of the company. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be seen that there are four scenarios provided. Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that there is a trend to increase in the EBIT and after tax cash flow in case of the first and second scenario. However, in case of the fourth scenario, it can be seen that the NPV is negative and the rate of IRR is less than the rate of NPV. From the sensitivity analysis, it can be seen that in the fourth scenario, the amount of gross profit is more. In addition, the amount of NPV is higher than all other projects along with the rate of IRR. The above discussion also shows the fact that the negative amount of NPV in the fourth scenario is one of the major problems for the company. For this reason, the company needs to cut the amount of costs from the various operations of the project to make the amount of NPV positive. References Barta, T., Kleiner, M. and Neumann, T., 2012. Is there a payoff from top-team diversity?.McKinsey Quarterly,12, pp.65-66. Bas, E., 2013. A robust approach to the decision rules of NPV and IRR for simple projects.Applied Mathematics and Computation,219(11), pp.5901-5908. Brigham, E.F. and Houston, J.F., 2012.Fundamentals of financial management. Cengage Learning. Rich, S.P. and Rose, J.T., 2014. Re-examining an old question: Does the IRR method implicitly assume a reinvestment rate?.Journal of Financial Education, pp.152-166. Xiao, Z. and Xiao, Y., 2013. Security and privacy in cloud computing.IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials,15(2), pp.843-859.

Adolf Hitler Essays (1973 words) - Politics, Nazi Germany

Adolf Hitler ADOLF HITLER 1. THE BEGINNING At half past six on the evening of April 20th, 1889 a child was born in the small town of Branau, Austria. The name of the child was Adolf Hitler. He was the son a Customs official Alois Hitler, and his third wife Klara. As a young boy Adolf attendated church regulary and sang in the local choir. One day he carved a symbol into the bench which resembled the Swastika he later used as the symbol of the Nazi party. He was a pretty good student. He received good marks in most of his classes. However in his last year of school he failed German and Mathematics, and only succeeded in Gym and Drawing. He drooped out of school at the age of 16, spending a total of 10 years in school. From childhood one it was his dream to become an artist or architect. He was not a bad artist, as his surviving paintings and drawings show but he never showed any originality or creative imagination. To fullfil his dream he had moved to Vienna the capital of Austri a where the Academy of arts was located. He failed the first time he tried to get admission and in the next year, 1907 he tried again and was very sure of success. To his surprise he failed again. In fact the Dean of the academy was not very impressed with his performance, and gave him a really hard time and said to him "You will never be painter." The rejection really crushed him as he now reached a dead end. He could not apply to the school of architecture as he had no high-school diploma. During the next 35 years of his live the young man never forgot the rejection he received in the dean's office that day. Many Historians like to speculate what would have happened IF.... perhaps the small town boy would have had a bit more talent....or IF the Dean had been a little less critical, the world might have been spared the nightmare into which this boy was eventually to plunge it. 2. WORLD WAR I While living in Vienna Hitler he made his living by drawing small picture s of famous landmarks which he sold as post cards. But he was always poor. He was also a regular reader of a small paper which claimed that the Araban race was superior to all and was destined to rule the world. The paper blamed Communists and Jews for all their problems and hitler agreed to those views. Hitler agree with most of the points made in the publication. He continued to live a poor live in Vienna and in 1913 decided to move to Munich. Still living in Vienna and being Austrain by birth, Hitler showed more loyalty to the Geramny. He thought that the Aryan race was destined to rule the world. Many believe that he tried to escape the draft but it was never proven. His live in Munich was not much better then before and he continued to be poor. Then in 1914 World War I broke out and Hitler saw this as a great opportunity to show his loyalty to the "fatherland" by volunteering for the Imperial army. He did not want to fight in the Austrian Army. Hitler was a good soldier. Many o f political opponents claimed that he was a coward but records clearly show that he was not. He received to awards of bravery but never achieved a high Rank. In 1918 Germany surrendered and Hitler was very upset about the loss. He believed that it was the Jews and the Communists who betrayed the "fatherland" and it was here that his disliking of the Jews most likely began. Germany after the war was in chaos. With no real Government to control the country, many groups tried to take control. One day a big communist group staged a big riot but another group of ex-soldiers including Hitler managed to hold them back. 3. THE NAZI PARTY Since there were not many chances for employment Hitler stayed in the army. Hitler was assigned the job of going go to various meetings of groups which sprang

Modernity

Modernity Sociology Term EssayQ4. What does sociology contribute to an analysis of the culture of modernity ?To understand what sociology brings to a study of our modern culture we must understand how humanity has got to where it is today .We must ask why the way that humans live day to day has changed so dramatically over the past couple of hundred years .We get some of the answers from sociologists who observed and questioned these developments .The study of Sociology itself arrived as a product of modernity.The term modernity is "designed to encapsulate the distinctiveness, complexity and dynamism of social processes unleashed during the 18th and 19th centuries" , which make a distinct break from the traditional way of living .It has been called the "Great Transformation" .Sociology tells us what happened and why , it highlights greatly the difference between living 300 years ago. It can be seen as a combination of a number of new developments in production coinciding with some new theories and ideas.Karl & his daughter Jenny MarxAn example of one of these developments that can explain the arrival of modernity was the dramatic improvement in the transport system and other forms of communication .This greatly accelerated contact across distances and required the synchronization of activity using clocks and calendars .Anthony Giddens a modern day sociologist believed that this was typified by the railway timetable ,which he described as a "time space ordering device" , in other words something that helped to coordinate in different areas and time zones.In his book "Introductory Sociology" , Tony Bilton tells how modernity had a huge effect in such basic things as peoples diet .He highlights 18th Century England as an example of this how people of all classes daily intake consisted of produce from all over the globe...

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 28

Ethics - Essay Example Unethical behavior in the workplace can be defined as any action that does not confirm with the standards of conducts established by the organization, this unethical behavior can occur between the employees. The following example will explain better the impacts of unethical behavior in a business organization. At one occasion, one of my colleagues entered my room and expressed his desire to apply for the leave. The leave was marking 5 working days of the month, I explained to him that in this month it’s almost impossible to apply for such a long leave and the CEO would cancel his application for the leave. He insisted me to talk to the CEO and somehow convince him, I refused and told him that already few applications were rejected, he thought that I was making an excuse and was not trying hard for him, on my second refusal he just rushed out of my room and made his way towards the CEO‘s room, to talk to him about my unprofessional behavior. The CEO called me and asked for an explanation, I told him the whole situation, he was convinced later and asked me to be polite next time with the employees. In this situation, I was not responsible for what happened but the employee’s unethical behavior for complaining about me without any reason. This incident started a non-cordial relationship with that employee and the work that we shared soon started to get affected. Unethical behaviors in the office environments has always made negative impacts on the environment, employees and the employer, it affects the work and behavior of the organization thus leading to negative progress in the

Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles Assignment

Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles - Assignment Example The paper "Gender and Race in Picasso's Les Demoiselles" provide Chave's analysis of the painting. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was rejected at first and was hidden for more than three decades as people saw what it portrayed was simply not in accordance with their beliefs. They believed that the naked women were not a good; it was an indirect attack to the prostitutes. Chaves objective is to view the picture from a different angle which was not allowed. She uses the picture to show various facts of gender and race and how they are brought out clearly in a picture that was painted so many decades ago yet so relevant in the occurrences that have taken place in the world. Mimicry is the act of copying what one is doing, their speech, look or even their actions. Minstrelsy on the other hand is whereby the Americans acted or performed skits and other acts in blackface. Picasso’s art in Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is an act of mimicry and minstrelsy whereby; using the two w omen on the right-hand side of the picture, he gives an exaggerated representation using the African masks which are sacred. This mimicry is to show that these women simply are African women being perceived as prostitutes. Mimicry is one of the most effective and an unrecognizable form of power that colonialists used as at a first glance it shows both resemblance and menace. They have the turbans which are usually worn by African women which is a continuous mimicry of African women. In Les Demoiselles, Minstrelsy is also seen where it makes fun of the clients.

Intellectual Traditions In Islam Religion Essay

Intellectual Traditions In Islam Religion Essay Islam after the death of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) spread far and wide and was accepted by different people of different languages, culture and lands. Hence it became enriched by the intellectual contribution of many individuals and communities in various diverse fields of learning such as philosophy, literature, law, theology, arts, mysticism and natural science. Thus, Islam was elaborated in a multitude of forms and interpretations and by the 1oth century, it completely flourished as a civilization To discuss the significance of these issues, a seminar entitled INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS IN ISLAM was organized by the institute of Ismaili studies at the Mellor centre, Churchill College, university of Cambridge during 14-20 august 1994. This book contains the edited and reviewed versions of the papers presented at the seminar excluding Professors M. Mahdi, M. Arkoun and A Sachedinas contributions. The report is an overview of all the essays presented in this book excluding the essay Some Observations on the Religious Intellectual Milieu of Safawid Iran by John Cooper and Present Day Islam Between its Tradition and Globalization by Mohammed Arkoun. It discusses all the key points and topics addressed by different authors in their respective essays. ABOUT THE BOOK (SUMMARY) The concepts and the key points described in the book are discussed below with respect to each chapter: 1. Introduction The introduction is the key note address which was presented at the seminar by Dr. Aziz Esmail. He in his essay explores the key concepts of Intellectual Life, Tradition and Islam. He raises many questions about concept of an intellectual life. He asks about the designation and position of an intellectual in the society. He asks whether the intellectual thoughts and the intellectual themselves are very distantly placed from the society. He further confronts the readers by asking questions such as what is the place of intellect in ones persona. What is the relationship of intellect with feelings, character and most importantly with the faith of a person? He further explores the role of intellectual life in the development of personality and character and in the making of identity of a person. He asks what is the relation of intellect in our daily lives. What is its relation to ones relationship with God? How does it effect the relation of an individual with its society? Does the intellect enable any participation in the society or does it retards it? He confronts the readers with such questions and enables them to think, to review and to divulge in his thoughts. Furthermore, he deals with the concept of tradition and traditionalism. He defines the relationship of old age and youth with tradition. He says that the old age identifies with the past whereas the youth has a relationship of dependence of defiance with the past. He identifies the different models of schooling which provide the basis of relationship of an individual with his traditions. The author explains that the tradition becomes an object of anxiety and attention when it ceases to work not when it is actually at work. He says that you cant find the idea of traditionalism or tradition in traditional societies. He explains that the main confronting question facing the people today is that in this world which is characterized by a pluralism of tradition which tradition one should uphold? The other question is what is the future of any traditions in such a rapidly changing world? When the author talks about Islam he asks the meaning of Islam. He also asks what is the relationship of past and present in Islam. The author describes the challenge of relativism in todays world. Relativism says that all doctrines, ideas and values can be explained by reference to time and place. But if all ideas and values are thus explained, ones confidence in upholding a single culture or tradition is shattered. The author says that today the culture is becoming a supermarket of ideas, values and doctrines where one chooses according to taste not according to objective essence. It the past, community came first and the individuals second, today, the scenario is opposite. Today, in such a pluralistic world, there is a need of a genuine mutual appreciation between faiths. The author says that engagement with other faiths doesnt mean to surrender, for criticism too is a form of engagement. How Islamic theology may engage with the modern world without becoming a prisoner of the mode rn understanding of modernity is one of the major challenges facing Islamic thought today? 2. Intellectual Life in the First Four Centuries of Islam by Hugh Kennedy: The author in his essay surveys the intellectual life of the Muslims in the first four centuries of Islam. He also describes the development of the intellectual life in this era. He explains that the first main issue that confronted the Muslims after the death of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was that of the leadership of the community. People raised many questions such as who should lead the community. How they should be chosen and what powers they should enjoy? There were two different groups of people who had two different view points. One group believed that the leadership should be inherited by the Ahl al-Bayt (family of the Prophet). The other idea that found favor was that of a tribal Sheikh. The early Islamic intellectuals faced a very important issue that how they were going to preserve and record the utterances and deeds of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) and his companions, secondly, they faced the issue of explanation of Quran Sunna to the new Muslims who were Non-Arabs. Consequently, a whole series of sciences developed in order to solve these problems. These sciences include grammar, genealogy, poetry and history and were known as the Islamic sciences. Grammar was a part of such sciences. It became the essential constituent of all the intellectual activities as it was vital to understand the basis of religion. Science of genealogy also found its way in the minds of the Muslims intellectuals. It was used to establish relations between different tribes and people. To understand the Quran completely, it was equally important to learn the language and thoughts of the Prophets contemporaries. So, poetry of pre-Islamic Arab and the early days of Islam became a very important part of the Muslim Intellectual life. History was another aspect of systematization of learning. Historical writing came into form just due to the need to record the life of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) and the events of the Islamic conquests. The non-Islamic sciences that Muslims were concerned with were medicine, philosophy, astrology and astronomy. All these sciences were brought into the Islamic tradition by translations made from Greek language in the 9th century. The Muslims in the early era of Islam pursued only those sciences that they thought were practically useful for them. Philosophy was studied by Muslims because it was required for analysis of arguments and logic study of medicine was required for obvious reasons. Astronomy and astrology were regarded as practical sciences by Muslims because many of them believed in the influence of planets on peoples lives. The author highlights that in the early intellectual life of Islam certain subjects were studied because they were perceived to be useful and there was no structure of intellectual life for there did not exists any academic profession. Thus, in the first four centuries of Islam, there was no institutional frame work for intellectual life; people who were engaged in such activities lived on their private income. Overall, the Muslims in the four centuries of Islam were pre-occupied by Islamic sciences which developed from just being recordings of the early days of Islam to becoming immensely rich intellectual work. 3. Scientific and Philosophical Enquiry Achievements and reactions in Muslims history by Oliver Leaman: The author in his essay describes the development of scientific philosophical enquiry in the Muslim history. The author says that after the death of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H), the Islamic empire expanded and extended to the various parts of Middle East where a variety of civilization were established for a very long time. The new Muslim rulers came into contact with people who had very sophisticated ideas about theology, medicine, astronomy and mathematics. Now they had to decide whether to reject this kind of learning or to study it. They chose to study it and learn from it and as a result a pluralistic society of different cultures and religious was formed There were basically two reasons for using the discoveries and theories which were present in the Middle East at that time. One was the need to argue and debate with the people of other religions and to persuade them to become Muslims. It was necessary to use the methodologies of the older religious to defend Islam and to prove to people what improvements Islam has brought. The other rational for using science and philosophy of existing cultures was a practical one. When the Muslims came to Syria, Iraq and later on Persia, they found out that those people had a high standard of living. They were relatively more educated and healthy. They had better management skills. The Muslims wanted to learn how they achieved this state of affairs. This resulted in a great deal of interest in early Islamic world for philosophical, scientific and medical discoveries which were all around them. The author further explains that these new communities had a bulk of philosophical works especially those of Aristotle and Plato. Philosophy is all about the ability to debate, to argue. There was a great demand by the people for philosophical material with which they could persuade others about the validity of their point of views. The philosophical literature was widely read in the first few centuries of Islam and great evidence of scientific work is also found. The author further explains that to the positive approach of the philosophers, thinkers and intellectuals towards ancient philosophy and science, the ulama had a different approach. They thought that if the Muslim intellectuals were forming a philosophy based on the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle then they were developing a philosophy based on pagan thought. They thought that Islam in itself contains the solutions of all the problems faced by the people. They argued that we need not approach ancient Greek philosophy for solutions of our problems. But the philosophers thought that if something is good or true there is no harm in incorporating it in our daily lives. The author says that the questions that arose as a result of all this debate were: how much is it acceptable for one to borrow from a culture that is not ones own? How far could Muslims incorporate secular knowledge in their own culture and still maintain their culture? The above mentioned debate was a dispute about who would sort out the theoretical problems of the Islamic world. Would it be the philosophers inspired by the Greek science and philosophy, or would it be the ulama and the fuqaha, the traditional Islamic scholars and jurists? 4. The Rational Tradition in Islam by Muhsin Mahdi: I would like to focus on the historical perspectives of the rational tradition in Islam. The author points out in the start of his essay that whenever in history Muslims including scientists, philosophers and mystics tried to express themselves, they had to use reason. The author traces back the history of rationalism from the age of enlightenment and the French revolution in European culture and history in the 17th and 18th centuries. It happened that some learned encyclopaedists started destructive rationalism by trying to get rid of religion and religious ideas, thoughts and prejudices. They wanted to establish a society that is purely based on reason. The author asks a question: how the rational tradition arose in Islam in the first place? He replies by saying that it arose after the death of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) when Islam and Muslims faced the crisis of leadership. The question: who has the claim to rule Muslim religious community after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)? Is it by the prophets designation of an imam or is it by election? The origin of Islamic religious thought and theology is based on this question. And, thus, begins the whole process of rationalism in Islam. Within the tradition and knowledge that came in from other cultures and societies to Muslims, the concept or idea of Neoplatonism also found its way. Neoplatonism is the theory that speaks of god as something that is hard to understand, that is above and beyond reason. Thus, Neoplatonism provided the revealed religions with a support. It taught them that the divinity is active; its not just a mind it is something that acts and causes things to be. Now as the rationalist ideas began to develop, the contradictions between the rationalists and the fundamentalists began. One illustration of rationalism in Islam was Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Razi, the physician who opposed all forms of human authority in matters of religious knowledge, even that of the prophet. He completely opposed prophecy and criticized religion. He proposed that organized religion was a device used by the evil men to establish their rule over mankind and that it leads to violence, conflicts and wars. The whole idea of extreme rationalism is to get rid of all religions and to form a society based purely on reason. But no tradition ever thought of a society completely based on reason. One can make justifications about prophecy, revelations and religious transactions. The author here states his point of view that the only way that a society can be held together and the only way that people can be encouraged to pursue virtues and avoid vices which may not always be in their rational interests is by a divine law and through a doctrine of reward and punishment hereafter. In Islam two kinds of rationalist traditions are found. One is that of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) who believed in acquiring rational knowledge to find a way to the divine. He believed that as one perfects it to its limits, then he has a vision of what is beyond it. The other tradition is that of Ibn al-Arabi who believed in practicing and learning from people and experiences to find the way to the divine. 5. The Limits of Islamic Orthodoxy by Norman Calder: Norman Calder in his essay firstly explains that in this essay he wants to discover the outside limits of Islamic Orthodoxy with respect to the Sunni Islam. The author defines the terms Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy. Orthodoxy means the right teachings whereas Orthopraxy means the right practice. According to the author, the Sunni Islam is a religion of Orthodoxy. The author describes that one of the places where the right teachings of Islam can be found are those books which are called Aqida or Aqaid in Arabic meaning creed. These books set out the agenda of beliefs that represent being a Muslim. The author gives the example of Christianity, that in the first five centuries of Christianity, they faced a debate about what it was you had to believe to be a Christian and they decided a creed under the authority of a council and the pope. But there is no such source of authority in Islam. There is no such council and there is no such creed that is found in which all the Muslims believe. According to the author one thing found common in all the creeds is the components of the Shahadat i.e. the belief that God is one and Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the messenger of God. The author further explains that there are five possible forms of religions beliefs including scripture, community, gnosis, reasons and charisma. Some people claim that the way towards the knowledge of God is through scripture i.e. Gods revelation others claim that Gods self-revelation to man is through a community that has been chosen by God and in which correct belief is preserved. A third group claims that way towards knowledge of God is through gnosis i.e. mystic knowledge, experience or just mysticism. A fourth group claims that way towards understanding God is by using reason or by being rational. Finally, there are communities that believe that God has appointed throughout the generations one particular person to express His message, they are also claim that this particular person has the knowledge of God. All great religious traditions of the world including Hinduism, Islam Christianity have all fine elements described above. The author classifies different groups of believers according to the above mentioned forms. Within Islam, the Twelve Shia the Ismaili Shia are the communities which lay stress on charisma as the most important form of achieving knowledge of God. There are two sets of people in Islam which lay great stress on reason as the means of achieving knowledge of God. One group is represented by philosophers like Al-Farabi and Avicenna i.e. Ibn Sina. The other group is the Mutazila which are rejected by the Sunnis because they claim that they overstress the role of reason. The group representing gnosis or mysticism in Islam is the Sufis. According to the author, the Sunnis are the group that lie somewhere between scripture and community. The author further explains that the Sunnis have formed intellectual writing traditions, there literature to which they refer as the expression to their understanding of their relationship to God and His Prophet (P.B.U.H). This list of literary genres is as follows: Qisas Al Anbiya, Sirat Al-Nabi, Quran, Hadith, fiqh, Kalam, Tafsir and Sharh Al Hadith. At intellectual level, the limits of orthodoxy are represented by the contents of the set of books defined above. 6. Intellectual Life Among the Ismaili: An Overview by Farhad Daftary: The author firstly explains the history and beliefs of Ismailis. He says that the Ismailis maintain that the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) has appointed his cousin and son-in-law- Ali b. Abi Talib as his successor and that this designation or nass has been made divine command. They also believe that there is a permanent need of a spiritual leader with a particular Kind of knowledge (ILM) for guidance of mankind. They believe that after the death of Prophet, only Ali and succeeding imams possessed the required ILM and religious authority which enables them to act as the sole authority for interpreting the Islamic revelation. Thus, this doctrine of imamate forms the foundation of all the teachings and literary works of the Ismaili Shi is. The early Ismailis developed a cyclical history of revelation and a cosmological doctrine. These two concepts became the main components of theology. These two doctrines also explain the great appeal and popular success of the early Ismailis Dawa (the guiding mission led by teachers known as dais or missionaries. The establishment of the Fatimid state in 909 in North Africa proved to be a mile stone for the success of dawa. The Fatimid period is often known as the Golden Era of Ismailism. After the acquisition of the Fatimid state, the Fatimid Caliph-Imams didnt abandon their dawa activities aiming to extend their rule over the entire Muslim Umma, they retained their dawa and network of dais, operating both within and outside Fatimid states. Special institution was setup for the training of dais and instruction of ordinary Ismailis. The dais who were educated as theologians, themselves were the scholars and authors of Ismaili community. They produced great literary works on theology, law, philosophy and exoteric and esoteric subjects. In Egypt, the Fatimids created major libraries in Cairo, which grew into a centre of art, culture, Islamic and natural science. The Dais themselves were trained in jurisprudence and were acquired with knowledge of Hadith and other religious sciences as well as the languages and cultures of regions in which they operated despite being the sole representative of the Ismaili Dawa it Seems that very little is written by Ismaili authors on Dais who acted as missionaries, teachers and judges for the Ismailis of their community outside the Fatimid dominion. The high yearn for learning in Ismailis led them to conduct Majalis i.e. Lectures or teaching sessions for public. In 1005 Fatimid Caliph-Imam Al-Hakim (996-1021) formed an institution of learning known as Dar al-ilm, the house of knowledge or Dar al-Hikma in a section of Fatimid palace in Cairo. A multitude of religious and non- religious sciences were taught at Dar al-ilm which was equipped with a major library. Many Dais received training in Dar al-ilm. In the Fatimid period, the Ismaili law was codified by Al-Qadi Al-Numan under the guidance of the Fatimid Caliph-Imam Al-Muizz. His compilation the Daaim-al-Islam (The Pillars of Islam) served as the official legal code of the Fatimid state, Al-Qadi Al-Numan, on Fridays after the mid-day prayers conducted public sessions in Cairo at the mosques of Al-Azhar, Amr Al-Hakim, to explain the legal doctrines of the Ismailis jurisprudence to Ismailis. Much of the literary work and chronicles of Ismailis perished as a result of the Ayyubids harassment of Ismailis. These libraries were also destroyed and hence much of the literary work was also perished. After the persecution of Ismailis by Ayyubids in the Fatimid states, Hassan Sabbah founded the Nizari state in the fortress of Alamut in northern Persia. Hassan Sabbah was a learned theologian and he established an impress library at Alamut. Other major Nizari Fortresses in Persia Syria were also equipped with a signification collection of books, documents and scientific instruments. The Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period used to compile chronicles in which events of the Nizari states were recorded accordingly. But most of these official chronicles preserved at Alamut and other Nizari fortresses perished in the Mongol attacks of 1256 or later on. After the invasion of Mongols in 1256, the Nizaris how began to observe taqiyya for extended period. Until the end of the 17th century, the Nizari Dawa met with particular success in Central Asia India. In the Central Asian tradition, the authentic works of Nasir Khusraw occupy a prominent role. Central Asian Nizaris have also preserved a bulk of Persian Nizari literature produced during the Alamut period in later times. The Syrian Nizaris have also formed another literary tradition based on Arabic, in which local ideas as well as Fatimid Ismaili thought found expression. The Nizari Khojas of the Indian sub-continent developed a distinctive tradition known as Satpanth or true path which is expressed in their hymn like Ginans written in different South Asian languages and later on recorded in the Khojki Script in Sindh by the Khoja community. These Ginans were written by Pirs or Dais to increase their appeal of message. The author acknowledges Ismailis as a community with the doctrine of Imamate as their central teaching. He successfully traces back the Ismaili literary traditions in his work. 7. Nasir Khusraw: Fatimid Intellectual by Alice C. Hansberger: The author Alice C Hunsberger in her essay focuses on the great Fatimid thinker and intellectual Nasir Khusraw. Nasir Khusraw who lived primarily in Khurasan in the 11th Century was an eminent Persian philosopher, writer and poet. He was a successful preacher of the Ismaili faith in Central Asia renown for his poetic teachings. He was so successful in preaching among people that those of other Islamic school turned viciously against him and he had to spend his last 15 or 20 year in exile in Yumgan in Badakhshan under the protection of a local Ismaili Prince. The author in her remarkable essay sheds light on his personality and his teachings. She narrates the story of an eagle from one of his poems. The essence of the story is that human beings have it all in them that carries them to the sky and brings them to the dust. The author is found to be saying that Nasir khusraw is far away from being a mystic and neither he is an ascetic rather he preaches his readers to become the best human beings they can by being fully in this world and using it for achieving self-perfection. Nasir Khusraw is the only philosophical writer of his era to have written all his writings in Persian language. He leaves us with three different genres of writing: a prose memoir of his travels, the safarnama, and his poetry gathered in his diwan and a no. of philosophical works in which he lays out the doctrines of Ismailism. His famous edited and published books include: Gushayish wa Rahayish, Jamial-Hikmatayn, Khwan al-Ikhwan, Shish Fasl, RawshanaI-nama, Wajh-i-din and Zad al-Musafirin. Nasir Khusraw earned his title Hakim through his broad training in philosophy and other sciences including finance and mathematics. In his writing, Nasir Khusraw shows a certain honesty and directness. He talks his hopes. His prose and poetry is so admired by people because it is plain and complex. Around his fortieth birthday Nasir Khusraw underwent a spiritual reawakening and left his privileged life in the royal Saljuq court and set out for a journey which was much esoteric rather than exoteric. The authors sheds light on a very important concept from Nasir Khusraws teachings that one must be in this world in order to achieve the higher world. He explains in his teachings the need of physical world for a life of faith because according to him it is the physical world that holds the tools for learning true wisdom, namely reason (or intellect and knowledge i.e. aql and ilm). Nasir Khusraw gets irritated by people who are ignorant. He compares them to all sorts of animals including donkeys, asses and noisy birds. In his book Wajh-i-Din Nasir Khusraw explains that animals act without knowledge, while angels know without acting. But it is human beings who must combine both action and knowledge. For Nasir Khusraw, intellect leads a believer to proper faith and strengthens his faith. The other concept that Nasir stresses in his teachings is the observance of the sharia. He criticizes people that they must observe sharia. He compares the observance of sharia with taking medicine when we are sick. Although we may not like the medicine but we have to do in order to heal our body. Similarly, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) is the physician and the medicine he brings to heal our souls is the sharia. Nasir Khusraw stresses that it is through the body that ones soul can be perfected by carrying out sharia. Since man is responsible for his actions, the effects of his actions are transferred to his soul leading ultimately to the purification or perfection of mans soul by observing the sharia. The author gives a great overview of the teachings of Nasir Khusraw in her essay. 8. Reason and Mystical Experience in Sufism by Annemarie Schimmel: The author in her essay sheds light on the concept of love, intellect, reason and experience in mysticism and in religion. She sheds light on different concepts by using references of Maulana Rumi and Iqbal. She starts her essay with some verses by Maulana Rumi and Iqbal in which they both in their own words point out the difference between intellect and love. According to them, intellect first ponders over things whereas love just jumps into the hearts of the matter without thinking of the consequences. Intellect is necessary to give us information i.e. Khabar whereas love gives us the direct vision i.e. nazar, The author quotes the story of a moth and a burning candle which Al-Hallaj has written in his Arabic book, Kitab al-Tawasin in which the moth is not satisfied with the sight and feeling, it want to burn itself and led to a new higher life. The Sufis present the idea of die before you die. The Sufis desire for Nazar i.e. the true experience that comes from love. The author also describes in the analysis of intellect and love, two other modes of perception, dhikr and fikr. Fikr literally meaning thought is necessary to understand the creations of this world. And dhikr literally meaning the constant remembrance of god is supposed to polish human heart and make it shine like a mirror. These two modes of thinking of fikr, intellectual thinking and of dhikr remembering god with love are always used together. Iqbal presents another idea about the intellect that as it makes to think and ponder over things it creates new idols every moment. But again in his poetry he tells us that these idols of intellect bow to love. The author highlights another aspect of mysticism that is expressing the love in words. She quotes Rumi as saying that when the pen comes to write the word love, its break into pieces. The pen breaks when it comes to write about love but the same pen has written a bulk of books and poetry about this very love. It is a paradox in literature that the mystics who stressed that ones who wrote numerous books. The mystics have been found to say that whatever they write is not by their intellectual powers it is all waridat things that come to the mystics. These literary works are produced even by illiterate people and when you read them if it looks as if it has been crafted with much intellectual effort. We have the examples of such writers such as Ibn al-Arabi and khwaja Mir Dard who claim that they didnt even think of it. These mystical writings have been opposed by Ulama and many scholars as dangerous and poison for untutored minds. The traditional saying finds its way here that: think about the work of god and the qualities of god, but do not think of gods essence. Again Iqbal quotes in his works that Quran also invites to seek signs in the horizons of this world and in ourselves. Thus, the author concludes by saying that intellectual activities are not to be excluded from the way of Sufis or the Muslims. The idea of looking at signs and pondering over them may be of great help to understand religion in a better context. At the end she quotes a verse by Rumi that I quote here: when you make a house for your chicken, a camel does not fit into it. And she concludes that intellect is a chicken and love is a camel- a great, proud and beautiful camel. 10. Woman, Half-the-Man? The Crisis of Male Epistemology in Islamic Jurisprudence by Abdulaziz Sachedina: The author introduces the readers to the sharia, the Islamic sacred law and the two spheres of human activity: those actions that relate humanity to god categorizaed as Ibadat (literally acts of honouring god, technically god-human relationships), and those actions that relate humans to fellow humans categorized as Muamalat (literally transactions, technically inter-human relationships ). According to the author the area of inter-human relationships demands rethinking and reinterpretation of the normative sources like the Quran and the sunna, under changed social conditions. One area particularly in inter-human relationships which is retarded in progress by interpretation by Muslim jurists is the personal status of muslim women. The madrasa tradition of learning in Islam has disregarded female voices in emerging issues of women and human rights. The redefinition of status of a muslim woman is a major issue that confronts the Muslim jurists in todays modern world. Muslim womens participation in legal-ethical matters where situational aspects can be best determined by women themselves only, is very essential. Without their participation in such discussions, womens rights will always depend on the patriarchal society. The author further discusses the male jurists and their female related rulings. He narrates his exp