Thursday, November 28, 2019

Heart Of Darkness Essays (845 words) - Joseph Conrad,

Heart Of Darkness In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there is a great interpretation of the feelings of the characters and uncertainties of the Congo. Although Africa, nor the Congo are ever really referred to, the Thames river is mentioned as support. This intricate story reveals much symbolism due to Conrad's theme based on the lies and good and evil, which interact together in every man. Today, of course, the situation has changed. Most literate people know that by probing into the heart of the jungle Conrad was trying to convey an impression about the heart of man, and his tale is universally read as one of the first symbolic masterpieces of English prose (Graver,28). In any event, this story recognizes primarily on Marlow, its narrator, not about Kurtz or the brutality of Belgian officials. Conrad wrote a brief statement of how he felt the reader should interpret this work: "My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel-it is above all, to make you see.(Conrad 1897) Knowing that Conrad was a novelist who lived in his work, writing about the experiences were as if he were writing about himself. "Every novel contains an element of autobiography-and this can hardly be denied, since the creator can only explain himself in his creations."(Kimbrough,158) The story is written as seen through Marlow's eyes. Marlow is a follower of the sea. His voyage up the Congo is his first experience in freshwater navigation. He is used as a tool, so to speak, in order for Conrad to enter the story and tell it out of his own philosophical mind. He longs to see Kurtz, in the hope's of appreciating all that Kurtz finds endearing in the African jungle. Marlow does not get the opportunity to see Kurtz until he is so disease-stricken he looks more like death than a person. There are no good looks or health. In the story Marlow remarks that Kurtz resembles "an animated image of death carved out of old ivory." Like Marlow, Kurtz is seen as an honorable man to many admirers; but he is also a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and above all he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. Both men had good intentions to seek, yet Kurtz seemed a "universally genius" lacking basic integrity or a sense of responsibility (Roberts,43). In the end they form one symbolic unity. Marlow and Kurtz are the light and dark selves of a single person. Meaning each one is what the other might have been. Every person Marlow meets on his venture contributes something to the plot as well as the overall symbolism of the story. Kurtz is the violent devil Marlow describes at the story's beginning. It was his ability to control men through fear and adoration that led Marlow to signify this. Throughout the story Conrad builds an unhealthy darkness that never allows the reader to forget the focus of the story. At every turn he sees evil lurking within the land. Every image reflects a dreary, blank one. The deadly Congo snakes to link itself with the sea and all other rivers of darkness and light, with the tributaries and source of man's being on earth (Dean,189). The setting of these adventurous and moral quests is the great jungle, in which most of the story takes place. As a symbol the forest encloses all, and in the heart of the African journey Marlow enters the dark cavern of his won heart. It even becomes an image of a vast catacomb of evil, in which Kurtz dies, but from which Marlow emerges spiritually reborn. The manager, in charge of three stations in the jungle, feels Kurtz poses a threat to his own position. Marlow sees how the manager is deliberately trying to delay any help or supplies to Kurtz. He hopes he will die of neglect. This is where the inciting moment of the story lies. Should the company in Belgium find out the truth a bout Kurtz's success in an ivory procurer, they would undoubtedly elevate him to the position of manager. The manager's insidious and pretending nature opposes all truth (Roberts,42). This story can be the result of two completely different aspects in Conrad's life. One being his journey in the Congo. Conrad had a childhood wish associated with a disapproved childhood ambition to go to sea. Another would be an act of man to throw his life away. Thus, the adventurous Conrad and Conrad

A company’s ethical climate Essay Example

A company’s ethical climate Essay Example A company’s ethical climate Essay A company’s ethical climate Essay When we say ethical climate, it refers to the unified way of thinking of a certain group of people regarding moral, societal and cultural issues. This is the totality of their perspectives and insights on various things or issues. It is â€Å"the way [they] do it,† to sum up the definition of ethical climate. Through the advances of a leader or a manager, a company is able to achieve a certain ethical climate that would be the basis of how they run their work. It is important to develop such ethical climate so that unity between the employees could be promoted. If everyone goes by the ethical climate, the company will more or less be a unified unit when it comes to ethical issues.However, some companies often don’t achieve ethical climate because of several aspects. These are the factors that can hinder a company or an organization to obtain an ethical climate. They are considered to be obstacles, and needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. These obstacles involv e issues between employees themselves. An example would be the pressures to conform to the company’s â€Å"standards.† These standards are not set by the company themselves but arises from the way other employees â€Å"do things.† Another obstacle would be in the form of company/managers-employees relations. An example would be on the evaluations and rewards, where most employees aim hard to achieve, often working as an individual instead of cooperating with a team. Another is fragmentation and deference to authority. Some employees view highly of themselves which would lead to separations and factions.No matter what the cost, a company should strive hard to achieve an ethical climate. This would assure them of a better future as a successful organization. The key is to cooperate not only with co-employees but also to the superiors. If you are able to reach a conglomeration of ideas, then it is highly possible that an ethical climate would be achieved. All it ta kes is for all parties to do their share, and they will all reap the fruits of their cooperation.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Of Mice and Men4 essays

Of Mice and Men4 essays Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, takes place on a ranch in the Salinas Valley of California, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Steinbeck writes of two ordinary men trying to live the American Dream. Unfortunately they fail to fulfill those dreams. Steinbeck opens the book by vividly painting a picture of the Salinas River Valley. Two traveling laborers, George Milton and Lennie Small, are on their way to a job at a Californian ranch. George decides that they were to stay the night along the Salinas Rivers bank before reporting to work the next day. Over dinner George and Lennie discuss their plans. Through this conversation, Steinbeck reveals the contrasts between Lennie and George. Lennie is big and slow witted and George does the thinking for the pair. Lennie obeys Georges every word like a dog to his masters commands. At this point in the book it becomes apparent that George and Lennie want to pursue the American Dream. Lennie asks George to tell him of their future home. It would be just George and him. They plan to have many orchards, pigs, cows, rabbits. They plan to live off the fat of the land. The next morning the two friends travel to the ranch to obtain their work assignments. As the arrive at the ranch they are greeted by a man name Candy. He tells them of the ranch and its inhabitants. When interviewed by the boss, George answers all the questions. He even answers for Lennie. Due to this, the boss becomes suspicious. While in the bunk the Boss son Curly walks in looking for his father. Curly bullies Lennie, even though Curly is much smaller than him. George warns Lennie to stay away from him. At dinner, Slim introduces himself to George and is puzzled why they travel together. Later in the bunk George tells Slim about his life. He explains how Lennie likes to pet soft objects and how Lennie always gets them in trouble. George travels with Lennie because L ...

Free Essays on Aids

D. Smith Biology 1 Reviews AIDS Epidemic Still Alive Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is human viral disease that destroys the immune system and the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2000 about 800,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and about 300,000 people were living with full-blown AIDS. In South Africa AIDS is the Leading killer among women and is killing more people every year. Aids related illnesses are responsible for 9.8 percent of female deaths in South Africa in 2001, up from 5.6 percent in 1997 according to a survey by Statistics South Africa. The survey also showed AIDS-related deaths among the all South Africans rose from 4.6 percent in 1997 to 8.7 percent in 2001. It is estimated that 4.7 million South Africans or 11 percent of the population are infected with the AIDS virus.... Free Essays on Aids Free Essays on Aids AIDS after 1985 was an astonishing deadly risk for sexually active people as a whole. The days of promiscuity and one-night stands were being re-thought due to the possible contraction of this new disease called AIDS. A fear of sex was brought upon the people and â€Å"as the AIDS threat [grew], the mating call [was] no longer ‘free-love,’ but ‘safety first’ (Kantrowitz 40).† AIDS had been thought of as â€Å"gay† disease or a disease of intravenous drug users, but as the epidemic grew so did knowledge that AIDS was an epidemic of all people regardless of their class, race, age, or sexual preference. An article in The Village Voice, entitled â€Å"The Facts About Straight Sex and AIDS†, answers the questions of whether or not AIDS was a heterosexual disease. When in fact â€Å"as early as 1979, Haitian women in Miami were dying of what turned out to be AIDS. In Africa, AIDS [was] primarily a heterosexual disease (Fettner 21).â⠂¬  Randy Shilts was quoted as saying "This is never going to be a middle-class heterosexual disease (Fettner, 21)." Contrary to Randy Shilts' position, the primary change in the AIDS discourse in 1985 was a shift from a mainly homosexual disease to a homosexual/heterosexual disease. The heterosexual population [including the middle-class] had to acknowledge that they too were too at risk. By 1990 about two-thirds of people with AIDS in the United States contracted the disease from sexual intercourse (Willis 32). Due to this fact condoms became a form of not only birth control but also disease control. Condoms were being promoted as a safe sex device verses its traditional role as a contraceptive. Furthermore, to enhance the appeal of condoms, they were eroticized to make the condom a sexual tool versus a sexual crutch. The popular conception of AIDS was changed to be a disease that heterosexually active people could contract. The new issue was how do we prevent ourselves! from contracting thi... Free Essays on Aids Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and everyone. Like other transmissible diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS. The pandemic continues: Many of us have forgotten about the virulence of widespread epidemics, such as the 1917-18 influenza pandemic which killed over 21 million people, including 50,000 Canadians. The arrival of a new and lethal virus caught us off guard. Research suggests that the agent responsible for AIDS probably dates from the 1950s, with a chance infection of humans by a modified Simian virus found in African green monkeys. Whatever its origins, scientists surmise that the disease spread from Africa to the Caribbean and Europe, then to the U.S. Current estimates are that 1.5 to 2 million Americans are now probably HIV carriers, with higher numbers in Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean. Recapping AIDS - the facts: AIDS is an insidious, often fatal but less contagious disease than measles, chicken pox or hepatitis B. AIDS is thought to be caused primarily by a virus that invades white blood cells (lymphocytes) - especially T4-lymphocytes or T-helper cells - and certain other body cells, including the brain. In... Free Essays on Aids The AIDS and HIV viruses are getting worse in the United States and the rest of the world. Although more people die of heart disease and cancer each year, AIDS has become the health problem people fear the most. Much of the fear comes from ignorance and misunderstanding. Education is the most effective tool against AIDS. It is important for young people to learn the facts about AIDS. It is a fact that the incidence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is on a rapid rise among teens and people in their early twenties. HIV & AIDS, are rapidly increasing all over the United States. HIV is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, primarily blood, semen, and blood products. HIV that is present in the sexual secretions of infected men and women gains access to the bloodstream of an uninfected person as a result of unprotected sex. Another way that a person can be infected is by sharing needles or syringes that results in direct exposure to the blood of an infected individ ual. This is common among people using drugs that are injected in the veins (Folks 4). HIV can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby, before or during childbirth, or through breast-feeding. Studies also show that only 25 to 35 percent of babies born to HIV-infected mothers worldwide actually become infected. This type of transmission accounts for 90 percent of all cases of AIDS in children. To me, this is the worst type of transmission because babies are defenseless and have no idea what is happening to them when they are so young (Treto). Even when the children of HIV-infected mothers are fortunate enough to avoid the virus, there is still yet another incidence of heart problems 12 times that of the children in the general population (Folks 4). Practices such as open mouth kissing, sharing toothbrushes, and sharing razors should be avoided. Researchers have recently identified a protein in saliva that prevents HIV from infecting white bloo... Free Essays on AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome I INTRODUCTION Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), human viral disease that ravages the immune system, undermining the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. Caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Infection with HIV does not necessarily mean that a person has AIDS. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. II PREVALENCE AIDS was first identified in 1981 among homosexual men and intravenous drug users in New York and California. Shortly after its detection in the United States, evidence of AIDS epidemics grew among heterosexual men, women, and children in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS quickly developed into a worldwide epidemic, affecting virtually every nation. By 2002 an estimated 38.6 million adults and 3.2 million children worldwide were living with HIV infection or AIDS. The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), estimates that from 1981 to the end of 2002 about 20 million people died as a result of AIDS. About 4.5 million of those who died were children under the age of 15. A North America In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2001 more than 800,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and more than 300,000... Free Essays on AIDS How is HIV Diagnosed? You can get tested for HIV in a number of locations including public clinics, AIDS organizations, physicians' offices, and hospitals. Many locations give the test for free. You can choose between anonymous tests, in which you do not give your name to the HealthCare provider, or confidential tests, in which you do give your name. Test sites should provide trained counselors who can offer you support and guidance, no matter what the test result.(Balch-97) An HIV test looks for the antibodies your immune system creates in response to the virus. These antibodies may not appear in your blood until three to six months after HIV infection. Therefore, a negative test for HIV does not necessarily mean you aren't infected. That's why if you are at risk for HIV infection you should get tested periodically in addition to practicing safer sex at all times. T-cell counts If you test HIV-positive, you should have frequent blood tests to determine the levels of healthy T cells. These cell counts help indicate how quickly the infection is progressing and which course of treatment is best. Normal T-cell count is 800 to 1,300 cells per cubic millimeter of blood. In the first few months after HIV infection, T-cells may decrease to 400 to 650. As infection progresses, T cells drop to a second level of 200 to 499. At this stage you can expect to have late symptoms, although this too is variable. The most life-threatening AIDS illnesses happen when T-cell levels fall below 200.(Berkow-97) Early Symptoms Once HIV enters your body through semen, vaginal secretions, blood, or human breast milk it generally takes a month or two before creating symptoms, if any (not everyone has symptoms at this stage). These initial symptoms are similar to the flu and can last three to 14 days: -Fever -Chills -Night sweats -Skin rashes -Headache -Malaise -Swollen lymph nodes (immune system organs easily fe... Free Essays on Aids D. Smith Biology 1 Reviews AIDS Epidemic Still Alive Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is human viral disease that destroys the immune system and the body’s ability to defend itself from infection and disease. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), AIDS leaves an infected person vulnerable to infections. Such infections are harmless in healthy people, but in those whose immune systems have been greatly weakened, they can prove fatal. Although there is no cure for AIDS, new drugs are available that can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. Some people who have HIV infection may not develop any of the clinical illnesses that define the full-blown disease of AIDS for ten years or more. Physicians prefer to use the term AIDS for cases where a person has reached the final, life-threatening stage of HIV infection. In the United States about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year. More than 30 percent of these infections occur in women, and 60 percent occur in ethnic minorities. In 2000 about 800,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents were infected with HIV, and about 300,000 people were living with full-blown AIDS. In South Africa AIDS is the Leading killer among women and is killing more people every year. Aids related illnesses are responsible for 9.8 percent of female deaths in South Africa in 2001, up from 5.6 percent in 1997 according to a survey by Statistics South Africa. The survey also showed AIDS-related deaths among the all South Africans rose from 4.6 percent in 1997 to 8.7 percent in 2001. It is estimated that 4.7 million South Africans or 11 percent of the population are infected with the AIDS virus.... Free Essays on AIDS The issue of HIV/AIDS has been a developing concern since the early 1980’s. It is an issue that has sparked fear in everyone, but â€Å"society† has narrowed it down to certain people who can contract the AIDS virus. The typical â€Å"AIDS† victim is not an IV drug user or a practicing homosexual; they are African Americans, and minority women. AIDS is spread in many ways, such as having unprotected sex, sharing needles, from mothers to infants during pregnancy, and getting tattoos with dirty needles. Some of the most common questions is â€Å"How is HIV/AIDS passed from one person to another? How effective are latex condoms in preventing HIV/AIDS?† Although these are questions of concern, the real and most controversial question is â€Å"Is the United States doing an effective job in educating people, especially African Americans and minority women, about HIV/AIDS?† This is a question with many opposing viewpoints. While some people, believe that t he United States is doing an effective job in educating people on HIV/AIDS; there are others who believe that they are not doing an effective job. I believe that the United States is doing a good job, but at the same time they are not doing a well enough job. Whether people are being educated or not depends more on if they are taking the time to actually research and get information on the HIV/AIDS virus, rather than people coming to give them information. There are many ways to get information, such as online websites, magazine articles, the library, health clinics, hospitals etc. Everything one would need to know is out there, but it is up to that person on how important it is to obtain this knowledge. As people seek to be educated on AIDS, the United States should take those same steps to get more information to more people within its fifty states. First, I believe that the United States is doing an effective job in educating African Americans and minorities about the HIV/AIDS virus. As ... Free Essays on Aids AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, better known as AIDS, is caused by the incurable HIV virus. AIDS is a deadly disease that deteriorates the immune system. There are two groups of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HIV-1 that occurs throughout the world and HIV-2 that mainly occurs in Africa. The HIV virus enters the white blood cells and takes over the reproductive system of that cell and uses the system to reproduce itself. The white blood cell dies and the new HIV cells infect other white blood cells and repeat the process. If you have become infected with the AIDS disease you may not have any symptoms of the for the next ten years. The AIDS disease makes the less serious conditions harder for your body to control or get rid of because of the loss of many of the white blood cells in your body. The most common causes of death for the people with AIDS are pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma, which afflict 70% of the infected people. AIDS is transmitted in three ways. Intimate sexual contact is the most common. While direct contact with infected blood and transactions to babies from the infected mother's fetus will also cause the disease. Although some speculation, you cannot receive the disease from air, food, water, or insects. AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is a sentence of slow but inevitable death. There currently is no cure or vaccine for this disease. There are drugs that have been proven effective in slowing the spread of this deadly disease. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it. But too few people are hearing the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. AIDS doesn't just occur in certain social groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and learn about it in tim... Free Essays on AIDS Is the message getting through? We already know enough about AIDS to prevent its spread, but ignorance, complacency, fear and bigotry continue to stop many from taking adequate precautions. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it without resorting to such extremes as mandatory testing, enforced quarantine or total celibacy. But too few people are heeding the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them." Experts repeatedly remind us that infective agents do not discriminate, but can infect any and everyone. Like other communicable diseases, AIDS can strike anyone. It is not necessarily confined to a few high-risk groups. We must all protect ourselves from this infection and teach our children about it in time to take effective precautions. Given the right measures, no one need get AIDS. The pandemic continues: Many of us have forgotten about the virulence of widespread epidemics, such as the 1917/18 influenza pandemic which killed over 21 million people, including 50,000 Canadians. Having been lulled into false security by modern antibiotics and vaccines about our ability to conquer infections, the Western world was ill prepared to cope with the advent of AIDS in 1981. (Retro- spective studies now put the first reported U.S. case of AIDS as far back as 1968.) The arrival of a new and lethal virus caught us off guard. Research suggests that the agent responsible for AIDS probably dates from the 1950s, with a chance infection of humans by a modified Simian virus found in African green monkeys. Whatever its origins, scientists surmise that the disease spread from Africa to the Caribbean and Europe, then to the U.S. Current estimates are that 1.5 to 2 million Americans are now probably HIV carriers, with higher numbers in Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean. Recapping AIDS - the facts: AIDS is an...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Terrorism Threat and Business Continuity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Terrorism Threat and Business Continuity - Essay Example Business stalled for some time. Many resources were used to re-stabilize the nation and start all over again. However, the main concern from the businessmen all over the globe who are faced with such challenges is whether their businesses will be affected in the event of such acts of terrorism befalling the nation in which they operate. The governments of the world today are tasked with the prerogative of ensuring that they maintain a state of stability in their nations. Billions of money are spent each year towards this effect. And the reason this is done is simple enough; without a state of stability, businesses fail and the economy crumbles. It, therefore, becomes a matter of paramount importance to curb the risk of terrorism if only to protect our own lives as well as sources of our livelihood. There are various ways in which governments of the world today have engaged themselves actively in the act of ensuring that they mitigate the threat posed by terrorists and in the process assure the business people of the guaranteed security for the continuity of their businesses (Crenshaw, 2000, p.405). On the same note, it is important to ensure that the measures are taken to curb terrorism also fall in line with the human rights concerns. People understand that lives could be lost in the process and as such, they ensur e that maximum precaution is taken to align themselves with the concerns of the human rights in a civil or democratic society. To this end, this paper seeks to take an in-depth look into some of these risks and the mitigation measures applied and how they have had an effect on the business continuity as well as on the human rights concerns. It will define what terrorism is, connect it to how it is a threat to business continuity as well as human beings and finally discuss the ways of mitigating this risk. Various scholars have come up with various definitions of terrorism that are all intertwined. Salazar, Rocco and Rio (2007, p. 327) state that terrorism is a deliberate and disastrous attack on key infrastructure in the world.  Ã‚  

Non3 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Non3 - Case Study Example The justice system should be cautious when dealing with terrorism cases because most of them pose legal and practical challenges because they have no precedents. In some instances, the criminal justice system has been criticized because it is susceptible to errors such as being too fast or too slow or sometimes providing harsh or lenient punishments. The evolution of statues and courtroom procedures has exhibited a flexible justice system that can be able to deal with the rising unique case of terrorism. The rising cases of terrorism have given rise to the ethical and legal dilemma of whether to use federal courts or military tribunals. In the United States, jurisdiction of military commissions is limited to time of war and only offenses recognized under the law of war are tried. This poses challenges while using the commissions because given the complexity of terrorist activities, some offenses are not recognized under the law of war. Additionally, only aliens are permitted to be tr ied in accordance to the Military Commissions Act. The federal judiciary on the other hand, is a separate branch of the federal government, which is autonomous from the executive and legislative branches charged with the responsibility of interpreting law and deciding disputes that arise under it. Using the federal court has many advantages. Using the United States federal courts shows that United States takes its obligations seriously regarding the anti-terrorism conventions since it has always been at the forefront advocating for implementation of anti-terrorism conventions that requires states to prosecute terrorists in national courts. Using the federal courts guarantees use of the due process rights thus ensuring a fair trial. However, there are disadvantages of using the federal courts. Federal criminal trial of foreigners especially the Islamic terrorist could turn political leading to demonstrations against the United States which could cause security risk for the trial itse lf. The burden of proof in a terrorist trial is usually high and may hinder efforts to bring suspects to justice and this means that a suspect may get freedom more easily in a federal courtroom than in a foreign or international courtroom (Zabel & Benjamin, 2008). Incarceration of terrorist suspects has also raised a heated debate in the United States. Incarceration, which is mainly used as a punishment for a crime serves several purposes that include isolating criminals to prevent further crimes, punishing criminals, deterring others from committing the same crimes and rehabilitating the criminals. However, when suspects are incarcerated for long, it raises questions whether the rule of law is being applied effectively. This further puts doubt in delivery of justice because of the delays in delivering since access to justice is a mutually reinforcing component of the rule of law. States strive to implement the rule of law and therefore, more attention should be given towards achiev ing the rule of law. A poorly functioning justice system allows crime thus demeaning the essence of the rule of law. Progress in security, governance, economic development, and social well being are dependent on a good rule of law system, which is the foundation for economic and political success. The legal dilemma, which encompasses

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Concept of Self-regulation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Concept of Self-regulation - Assignment Example Talking Points: 1. Students bring information to their class that was formed by their experience. This information stuck with me because some professors ask about your experience and others do not. I think that ones experience is very important to overall learning because it lays a foundation so that the learner can relate new learning to something they already know. 2. Ausubel’s information was interesting. I was interested in his ideas on anchoring because I become overwhelmed easily. If a teacher starts with a lot of information immediately and then goes to specific information, I sometimes get lost. I think Ausubel’s idea of anchoring works better for me (specific information to general). 3. Making instructional materials meaningful is important because as a student, I need the information I am reading to be relevant to me. When I am in a class that does not make sense to me, I have a harder time understanding what I am supposed to do. 4. I also thought it was inter esting when the author said that most students already know something about any new topic, or they can make connections between what they already know and what they are learning. I do not think that learners always make the connections though. I think that there are things that are taught in high school that would be helpful in college, but we do not always remember what we learned. 5. I also found this chapter explained why I do well in some subjects and not so well in others. The text says that if a student is having trouble learning something, the materials should be changed to materials that explain the concept more thoroughly. I do think that in some situations, even the materials break concepts down, the student may still have problems if the subject is one they have problems in like science, math or English. 1. The quote that I liked in this chapter was â€Å"This means that the social interactions they encounter could lead to developmental delays or abnormal development as well as to normal or accelerated development†.

Should a composition course be required for all first-year college Essay

Should a composition course be required for all first-year college students - Essay Example The dons are disposed to safeguard their firm positions disputing that the recruits have "it-hardly-needs-a-commentary" dire necessity of this remedial course. The freshers, in their round, dare challenge their tutors' emphatic conviction demonstrating their willingness to scrap this "baby course for silly bullies" or at least, its status of a core subject. I would personally admire to join the mainstream and to fling away an advantage of taking it up without any misgiving to dumb down. Needless to say, I have my own fool-proof reasons to cast doubt on the efficacy of such a course. Here is a selection of them. Firstly, I feel free to admit that this course is particularly designed for cyber junkies, people who are addicted to using personal computers, especially the Internet. These are the never-ending hours I dawdled away on surfing the net, combing through vast bodies of information in my futile attempt to compose an essay that will meet all the requirements, brought me to the conclusion that English-composition classes spell the perfect recipe for pure and absolute contentment for those who are obsessed with craving the information that is so tantalizingly available in a global network. Thanks God I do not belong to this type of dataholics. I would prefer to pass my evening away with friends or my dear people or reading a book or an instalment of a glossy magazine. Secondly, therefore, I claim that slogging away at packing your essay is close to sweating over packing your suit-case. The point is that recently, having made up my mind to pick up on the advice to "read the works of published writers in a wide range of subjects, paying particular attention to the way in which they use their language to express their meaning" (3), I came across a truly thought-provoking article that shared a few tricky tips how to pack a suit-case. Being a recognized expert in jamming everything possible and impossible into my suit-case, I took a deep interest and followed all the instructions with a remarkable care. Despite my colossal efforts applied, I keep on arriving at the place of the destination with my crumpled clothes and creased T-shirts. I am continually taken aback, however, at my friend's 'preternatural' capability to have his suit-cases always elaborately packed, although he never stuffs his head with 'packing' details exposed at the article like that one. The similar situation is sadly expected to be disclosed and observed during English-composition classes. Those who can boast inner propensity for creative composing, will get the hang of the things easily and soon will be profoundly bored by re-copying somebody's else numerous thumb-nail sketches and 'printing out' the endless stream of top-of-scale creative work of their own. On the contrary, a significant proportion of those who lack special aptitude for writing will be intellectually challenged and stretched, indeed. In their case, practicing writing will be like skating on the thin ice, as they will be running all the chances to reduce their potential to compounding different ideas employing hiss-and-miss method. The students will become more preoccupied not how the message is conveyed but how their ultimate aim of making the "composition' tolerable for the don to read is reached. The teacher will turn

Monday, November 18, 2019

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Supply chain management - Essay Example 3.9 billion with the people employed by the company being 31,000 across the business (Argos, 2013). Being part of the Home Retail Group, it is among the United Kingdom’s leading general and home merchandise retailer. The company came into the limelight in July 1963 and Richard Tompkins was the founding member of the firm. During this time, he had already established the Green Shield Stamp which was based in the United Kingdom. The company started out as a stamp retailer shop but after Tompkins visited Argos City in Greece, everything changed. He embarked on selling gifts on cash. He later decided to rebrand the shop and named it Argos in 1973, July. The shop started out by making sales of ?1,000,000 the same year in November (De, 2011, Pg 25). BAT company purchased the shop in 1979 for ?32 million. It is at this time that the company resolved to always remain relevant in the market by embracing all the new initiatives in order to capture more clients. Literature review The boo k that gives a clear representation of the subject on chain supply theory is Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., Johnston, R. & Betts, A. 2012. Operations and process management. 3rd edn, Prentice Hall/ Financial Times, London. It analyzes some of the processes that have been used by Argos and other companies in inducing the innovations of technology. The mechanism is taken into consideration in terms of social, economic and environmental prospective through the supply chain, which is in accordance with the proposals set to produce a sustainable development (Slack, Brandon-Jones, Johnston, & Betts, 2012 Pg 15). The book continues to implicate some of the roles initiated by companies in building their supply chain. The innovations correspond with new technological developments, which are used in representing the best initiative in promotion of development in companies. The book is also responsible for the avocation of the debate developed in association with sustainability, innovation and supply chain management, which are used in the concept of sustainable innovations (Slack et al, 2012 Pg 32). . The same model is used management, which is used in the gap for differentiating development initiatives and those that are seen to have flopped. The application in the book is used to explain the case studies of Argos and the manner in which the company uses the model to benefit themselves at the moment and the future. In the case study, one will realize that there is demonstration of sustainable innovations which are driven by the company at the focal representation (Jespersen & Skjott-Larsen, 2005, Pg 78). This is seen to be an establishment of engagement of its suppliers in the reduction of the negative environmental and social impacts responsible for life cycle of the product in the market. A thorough examination of the book further explains that there is a possibility of the implementation of the innovations will generate a beneficial concept which is associated with t he net environmental and social in all the major players and stages of the supply chain. It is clear that the term supply chain was rampant in the 1980s at the time that majority of the companies were fighting to join the major players in the global trade (Slack et al, 2012 Pg 72). . This has always been a word used in the implication of materials flowing from one

Position Statement (outline) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Position Statement (outline) - Essay Example II. Another reason for decriminalizing marijuana may be the benefits the government will receive. This is through the amount of capital they might save in terms of the war against drugs. Billions of dollars are used in this expensive battle to catch, prosecute and house those who purchase and sell drugs (Gerber 59). When dealing with marijuana, the costs are soaring high, and it is no more harmful than other regulated drugs. III. There is also the issue of the capital lost in terms of tax collection when it comes to drugs. Revenue lost because the government cannot tax illegal drugs is proving costly in modern day. By decriminalizing marijuana, the government may earn tax revenue from legalizing marijuana than fighting it off the market, losing revenue in the process (Gerber 64). I. The implications of legalizing/decriminalizing marijuana are tremendous. Like anything else legalized in the economy, the government is likely to get involved in the stakes of marijuana production, harvest, and sale. This means that; it would be just like any other drug in the economy at the moment; controlled to profit of a few corporations (Morgan 79). The economy should not be controlled by these few corporations, and neither should the production, harvest, and sale of this drug. II. Just like any other drug, legalizing marijuana may lead to the growth of other trades. Other drugs may make their way into the market, which leads to rise in illegal and illegitimate trade. This implies that, the government might use extra capital annually to fight and combat other drugs off the market (Morgan 98). A. Through decriminalizing marijuana, it is highly likely the revenue a state may receive annually will benefit it tremendously. This is through tax collection, and reduction in costs incurred trying to fight the drug (Gerber 64). B. Decriminalizing marijuana also means the growth of employment opportunities. Many people will get employment through the

Friday, November 15, 2019

Annotated Bibliography on Tacrine

Annotated Bibliography on Tacrine Sathyan G et al (1995) studied the effect of solvents such as water, propylene glycol and ethanol and their mixtures for transdermal drug delivery on in vitro permeation of tacrine through rat and human skin. Largest flux and permeability were observed from ethanol-propylene glycol and water-ethanol binary mixtures, respectively. Excellent correlation between the rat and human skin data was observed. The formulations were found to be devoid of skin irritancy property. Ethanol-propylene glycol (1:1) mixture with a flux of 98  µg/cm2 through rat skin was found to be a promising solvent system for the transdermal delivery of Tacrine. Yanq Q et al (2001) formulated microparticles of tacrine using poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) by solvent evaporation technique. Effect of formulation variables on Encapsulation efficiency and release was studied. Results showed an increase in encapsulation efficiency by 10 times and decrease in rate of release when molecular weight of polymer was changed from 8,000to 59,000 and 155,000 The study indicated that tacrine microparticles have a strong potential for long term treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Kankkunen T et al (2002) investigated the iontophoretic delivery of Tacrine on 10 healthy adult volunteers by comparing a commercial LOGEL electrode with an ion exchange fibre formulation. Clinically significant plasma concentrations 21.3+5.9 ng/ml was achieved by commercial system whereas 14.9+2.6 ng/ml was achieved through ion exchange fibre system. The study showed that iontophoretic delivery of Tacrine is safe .Serum alanine transferase levels Jogani VV et al (2008) prepared and characterized mucoadhesive microemulsion of tacrine by the titration method for brain targeting for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Selective nose to brain transport was confirmed by lower Tmax values (60 min) with intranasal administration than 120 min with intravenous administration. The brain bioavailability of tacrine after giving optimized formulation was 2 times more than obtained with intranasal tacrine solution Scintigraphy study in rabbits showed more uptake of Tacrine in brain after intranasal administration. The results indicated better, quicker transport of tacrine in scopolamine-induced amnesic mice brain and rapid regain of memory loss after intranasal administration. Hence, results suggested that intranasal tacrine delivery hold promising in treating Alzheimers disease. Wilson B et al (2010) prepared Tacrine-loaded chitosan nanoparticles by spontaneous emulsification method. The particles were characterized for size, zeta potential, drug-loading capacity and in vitro release. Mean particle size for drug-to-polymer ratio 1:1 was found to be 41  ± 7 nm with average zeta potential of +34.7  ± 1.5 mV. The release of tacrine from nanoparticles ranged from 83.04%  ± 1.41% to 94.64%  ± 0.84% for 12 hours depending on the drug-to-polymer ratio. In vitro release studies showed an initial burst of 30 minutes followed by continuous and slow release of the drug. The release of drug from nanoparticles was diffusion-controlled, following Fickian mechanism. Controlled release characteristics suggested prolonged residence time which could improve the bioavailability of tacrine in the brain. Luppi B et al (2011) prepared albumin nanoparticles of Tacrine hydrochloride with beta cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin and sulphobutylether beta cyclodextrin using coacervation method and thermal cross-linking. Prepared nanoparticles were then soaked in solutions of tacrine hydrochloride and lyophilized for effective drug loading. Evaluation results showed that nanoparticles had a spherical shape with negative charge and mean size .Dixit S et al (2013) formulated mouth dissolving tablets of Tacrine hydrochloride by direct compression using different superdisintegrants. Results indicated that mouth dissolving tablets showed acceptable hardness, friability, mechanical strength and weight uniformity. The optimized formulation disintegrated in less than 1 minute in mouth and released >98% of Tacrine within 14 minutes. The study reflected the potential of mouth dissolving tablet of Tacrine for quick absorption, improvement in bioavailability, increased patient compliance especially in patients with difficulty in swallowing. Corace G et al (2014) developed liposomes delivery of tacrine hydrochloride by nasal route using cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine, a-tocopherol and/or Omega3 fatty acids by reverse phase evaporation technique followed by membrane filter extrusion. Results reflected that prepare d liposome formulations had a mean diameter varying from 175nm to 219nm with polydispersity index Haughey DB et al(1994) developed a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method(RPHPLC) with fluorescence detection for the analysis of Tacrine and 1-hydroxy-, 2-hydroxy-, and 4-hydroxytacrine (metabolites of Tacrine) in human plasma. The alkalinized samples of human plasma were extracted with a mixture of 90:10%v/v of chloroform and l-propanol. Calibration curves were constructed for clinically significant concentrations(5 to 30 ng/ml) for all the analytes. The method was found to be precise and accurate. The developed method was sensitive enough for the determination of tacrine and its metabolites after Cognex (40 mg single dose) was administered orally to normal volunteers. Hansen LL et al (1998) developed and validated a method for simultaneous estimation of tacrine and its metabolites, 1-hydroxytacrine , 2-hydroxytacrine and 4-hydroxytacrine in human plasma and urine .The method involved one-step liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Determination was done by isocratic, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using fluorescence detection (excitation: 330 nm and emission: 365 nm).The developed method demonstrated simplicity , precision, accuracy and sensitivity with limit of detection as 0.5 nM for 2-hydroxytacrine and 4-hydroxytacrine, 2 nM for 1-hydroxytacrine and tacrine in plasma. Mean recovery ranged from 84 to 105% for tacrine and its metabolites in plasma. Aparico I et al (1998) developed a spectrofluorimetric method to estimate tacrine in human serum and pharmaceuticals. The fluorimetric method allowed the determination of Tacrine in the range of 1–70 ng /ml in aqueous solutions of acetic acid–sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.6) with (excitation wavelength of 242 nm and emission wavelength of 362 nm. Chollet DF et al (2000) developed a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay method for therapeutic monitoring of Tacrine. The method was based on simple protein precipitation by acetonitrile or cold methanol followed by isocratic separation on a CN column eluted in reversed-phase mode. Developed method was found to be precise, robust, accurate and suitable which was demonstrated by analyzing more than 1,000 plasma samples from patients with Alzheimer disease . Ortuà ±o JA et al (2007) developed a flow-injection pulse amperometric method for estimation of Tacrine on the basis of ion transfer through a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane using a four-electrode potentiostat with ohmic drop compensation. Lnear relationship between peak height and concentration of tacrine was found up to 4Ãâ€"10-5M .Limit of detection was found to be 1Ãâ€"10-7M. The method was found to be linear, reproducible, specific and repeatable. Qian S et al (2012) developed an assay for simultaneous determination of Tacrine and its metabolites in rat plasma and brain tissue. The analytes along with internal standard were extracted from plasma of rat or tissue homogenate of brain by liquid-liquid extraction with the help of ethyl acetate. The separation was done on Thermo Hypersil BDS C18 column using mobile phase of acetonitrile and ammonium formate-triethylamine (pH 4.0) with fluorescence detection. Percentage recovery varied from 82.1% to 93.2% in h rat plasmas and brain tissue. The developed method was found to be simple, sensitive and reproducible procedure for the estimation of Tacrine and its metabolites in rats after oral administration.

An Islamic Micro Finance Bank To Help Enterprises

An Islamic Micro Finance Bank To Help Enterprises The Conventional Micro-Finance programs have shown little interest in religious and cultural sensitivities ,also excludes the poorest of the poor and are inadequate to full-fill the needs of 37.4 % poor Muslims of the world. A recent report by CGAP suggests that a large proportion of poor muslims rejects all forms of loans, including Grameen style Microloans on religious grounds, even many Government initiatives have failed because of this reason. Islamic Finance industry is an industry with rapid growth but has shown little interest in Micro-Finance and poverty alleviation aiming for shariah compliance inform and not in spirit. There are many Islamic MF programs currently operational in different parts of the world, but they are regional and country based programs, this research paper will focus on the development of an International Micro-Finance Bank (not Program) with deepest local penetration. Interest based loans may lead prospective entrepreneurs to refrain from pursuing activ ities as cost of failure is too high. Islamic Economics goals of equality, fairness, social solidarity through risk sharing, property rights, and sanctity of contracts; entrepreneurship, partnership, income generation through productive activity for poverty alleviation are completely in sync with basic principles of any Micro-Finance program. Aim and objectives: The purpose of my research is developing a sustainable and universal business model of an ideal full-fledged Islamic Micro-Finance Bank? by examining working technique and mode of operation of Islamic Banks(and of Banks working on No Interest principle) and of Micro-Finance programs ( both Islamic and Non-Islamic) and merging the working principles of both to come with a business model of a Universal World-Wide Micro-Finance Bank strictly following and working on principles of Islamic Finance. An Islamic Micro-Finance Bank will provide thousands of entrepreneurial poors access to Micro-Finance- especially those who fear breaching their religious beliefs. Islamic Micro-Finance Bank will seek to finance business activities which will lead to the economic empowerment of the poor, rather than merely lending to the poor for consumption. Literature review: Islamic Finance : Islamic Finance refers to a system of Banking that is Consistent with Islamic law(sharia) principles. This system reflects Islams teachings on wealth distribution, social and economic justice. The basic principles and practices of Islamic Finance date back to the early part of the seventh century. (Islamic Finance : A Euromoney Publication, 1997). Prohibition of Riba(interest). Risk Sharing. Social Mission. Prohibition of Speculative Behaviour. Sanctity of Contracts. Shariah- approved activities. Islamic Financing Techniques: Islamic financial institutions have developed several financing techniques that are applicable according to the nature of the commodity or business and finance period of the project. The principal financing techniques, murabaha, mudaraba, musharaka, and ijarah, are described briefly below: The first technique, murabaha, is the most popular and widely used Islamic financing instrument. Murabaha involves the resale of a commodity after the lender adds a specific profit margin (often referred to as the ËÅ"mark-up), which is paid by the borrower who agrees to buy that commodity. Usually, repayment is made in instalments to the financier, who pays the price to the original supplier of the commodity. This type of finance is commonly used for financing assets or working capital inputs, such as raw materials, machinery or equipment. For murabaha to be Shariah-compliant the financier must own (or procure) the commodity first and then resell it, the commodity should be a tangible one, and the buyer must know and then agree to the purchase and resale prices. Under mudaraba, a second type of contract, two parties are involved â€Å" the financier, who provides all the money, and the entrepreneur who uses his or her skill to invest the money in an attractive business venture. The profit from the mudaraba contract is shared by the financier and the entrepreneur according to a pre-determined ratio. Importantly, profit-sharing rates are a percentage of the profit and not a lump sum payment. In the case of a loss, providing it has incurred in the normal process of business and not due to neglect or misconduct by the entrepreneur, the financier loses all his or her money, while the entrepreneur merely loses his or her time and effort. Musharaka, a third financing instrument, means partnership in Arabic and can be understood as an equity participation contract. Both parties provide capital and are involved in the management of the funded venture. Profits are shared between each partner according to the ratio of his or her investment. If the venture suffers a loss, each partner loses according to this same ratio. Neither mudaraba nor musharaka are popular mechanisms in the context of microfinance as the thorough reporting and transparency requirements surrounding the just distribution of any profit or loss can result in substantial operating burdens and costs on small businesses which are generally unaccustomed to formal accounting and reporting. Ijarah, a fourth primary finance instrument, is similar to leasing. Under this arrangement, an entrepreneur short of funds approaches a financier to fund the purchase of a productive asset. The financier may buy the productive asset and rent it out to the entrepreneur. The financier retains ownership of the asset and is responsible for its maintenance. Importantly, and like any other contract, an ijarah contract must fulfil all of the conditions of a valid contract stipulated by the Shariah. Thus, the contract should be clear, should be by mutual agreement, the responsibilities and benefits of both parties should be clearly detailed and the agreement should be for a known period and price. Islamic Micro-Finance Bank is something very very new and in fact there is only one Islamic Micro-Finance bank currently in the world(Nigeria) and that too was launched recently on 15th of April 2010,recently State Bank of Pakistan has laid down guidelines for the establishment of any Islamic Micro-Finance Bank. My research problem is somewhat related with poverty as a whole and poor muslims around the world will be the main focus of the solution, because solution that is applicable for muslims is certainly available to every individual in the world. First, I will talk about why there is a need of Islamic Micro-Finance and then about the need of a Full-Fledged Islamic Micro-Finance Bank. About 65% of the SMEs (muslim owned) who had never applied for bank loans were uncomfortable with the interest based loan products being extended by banks. While this may not be a conclusive evidence for the extensive demand for Islamic finance products as it is not clear that whether these responden ts need the loans etc, however generally the respondents do highlight the interest (Riba) based banking products as one of the reasons for their reluctance to access bank loans. About 75% of the farmers in Muslim dominated countries who did not take bank loans and 55% of all the farmers expressed their dislike of interest based products and said that they donÃ… ¸t want to take the interest bearing bank loans. Although this finding signifies the need for introduction of Islamic Agrifinance Products, however the finding may be somewhat biased as a large number of these farmers also considered lack of collaterals/defects in title deeds and non-cooperation by revenue department as the key hurdles in obtaining banks loans. Nevertheless there is substantial demand for Sharia compliant agri-finance products and if offered most of the farmers would be willing to avail the facility. Conventional microfinance had also been questioned on its overall desired impact since the poors are subjected to very high interest rate of up to 30%. Some even argued that disbursing credit to the poor to make financial gains out of the same cannot be the aim of the microfinance institutions. Interest charged is rather oppressive for their poor receivers, thus fails to achieve the noble objective of microfinance. According to various studies, a notable number of the recipients were also found to be well above the poor category. Islamic Micro-Finance , on the hand, utilizes Islamic financial Instruments which are based on PLS schemes rather than loan. Conventional microfinance institution focused mainly on women as their client. On the hand, Islamic Micro Finance Institution should not only be focusing on women but must also be extended to the family as a whole. Moreover, Conventional Micro-Finance used group lending as a way to mitigate risk in their operation. Islamic Micro-Finance may also use similar technique, but they can also develop Islamic ethical principles to ensure their clients pay the payment regularly. Now, talking about why there is a need of an Islamic Micro-Finance Bank, well there are many Islamic Micro-Finance operational in different parts of the world run and managed by different organisations like Sanadiq at Jabal-al-Hoss; Muassasat Bayt Al-Mal in Lebanon; Hodeidah program in Yemen. IBBL, SIBL in Bangladesh; Akhuwat in Pakistan; Sahulat , Manara in India. Amana Ikhtiar in Malaysia; BPRS , BMTs in Indonesia. FINCA in Afghanistan. Azaovad Finance in Northern Mali. But my question is that why we cannot have a Global Islamic Micro-Finance Program when is there is such a huge of this, microfinance programs are designed keeping in mind the needs of local people and how to serve them better, but if this is done with an International approach then experiences gained in one region will be very beneficial in addressing the problem of other regions, it will be very helpful in the diversification of risk and also SMEs will be share to share expertise and experiences of one another and can work to build and ecosystem of mutual co-operation and empowerment. Also the increasing demand for alternative micro credit products by the less privileged members of the society against the conventional banking practices, now requires a whole financial system rather than a program or a bank as individual entities, marriage of two is much required need of the time and a new approach designed on the strict guidelines laid down by Quran for Islamic Finance is recommended, adapting Classical Islamic Contracts to modern Islamic Micro-Finance is easier than for mainstream Islamic Finance. I want to develop a Islamic Micro-finance Bank with muslims as prime focus but only for muslims because What we are commissioning today represents our contribution towards providing an alternative banking for Muslims and non-muslims alike. Poor person is a poor person and this has nothing to do with her/her religion, and poverty can only be alleviated if we consider all poors of the world as one and work global make No poverty? a reality. The number of Islamic Micro-Finance initiatives remains limited, less than 1% of the total global microfinance outreach, there is for a number of reasons increasing in interest in developing microfinance programmes based on Islamic Financing principles. Since, Islamic Microfinance is a new area, because little research has been conducted on its impact, outreach of such programmes has so far been limited. So, research with the aim of developing a new approach to Islamic microfinance is completely justified. Research Methodology and Method(s): My research methodology will be based on a lot research and study of Islamic Finance laws approved by Quran, their practical application in the real world scenario, how they are applied by different Islamic Banks and Micro-finance programs in their working, how differently they are applied in practice, analysis of shortcoming of different Islamic Banks and Micro-Finance programs. Study of how Islamic banks weathered current GFC, what were their advantages and disadvantages. How an Islamic Bank is started( rules and regulations in different countries) and how an Islamic Micro-Finance program works( relative to different regions), establishing a common ground for Islamic Micro-Finance bank, framing rules and policies for an ideal Islamic Micro-Finance Bank. Research and study of banking system in Japan( interest rates are negligible) and of JAK Bank Sweden(work on NO interest principal), how they operate , from where and how they fund themselves, how their modus operandi will sustain in an Islamic Finance environment. Data will be collected basically from internet because much of the work has not been done in the area of Islamic Micro-Finance Bank, interviews and discussion with the experts in field of Islamic Law and Islamic Finance, thorough study of Quran( Islamic laws and Financial laws).Study of books on this topic, discussion and advice from experts on Risk Management and Diversification and how i can apply them in Islamic Finance. Extensive of all available sources of information Islamic Finance and Micro-Finance. Structure and plan: Chapters in the Dissertation will be as Follows(Final Structure Can Change): CONTEXTUALISING ISLAMIC FINANCE Error: Reference source not found (Number of days taken to complete the chapter) Modern revival of Islamic financeError: Reference source not found Islamic economic foundationsError: Reference source not found Ethical dimensions of Islamic economic systemsError: Reference source not found Benefits of Islamic bankingError: Reference source not found Islamic economic principles do they promote or stifle growth? 9 DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF ISLAMIC FINANCEError: Reference source not found Principles of Islamic financial systemsError: Reference source not found Prohibition on speculation or risk (gharar)Error: Reference source not found Prohibition on usury (riba) and hoardingError: Reference source not found Prohibition on usury (riba) and interestError: Reference source not found Profits as distinct from usury (riba)Error: Reference source not found APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC BANKING TO MICROFINANCEError: Reference source not found Interface of Islamic Banking Principles and MicrofinanceError: Reference source not found Islam and microfinanceError: Reference source not found Social and development roles of Islamic banksError: Reference source not found Informal Banking and Debt transfer (hawala)Error: Reference source not found Is Islamic microfinance truly Islamic?Error: Reference source not found ISLAMIC FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES AND PRODUCTSError: Reference source not found Financial productsError: Reference source not found Islamic MortgagesError: Reference source not found Conventional Banking through the ËÅ"back door?Error: Reference source not found Need for regulationError: Reference source not found ISLAMIC MICROFINANCE IN PRACTICEError: Reference source not found Expansion of microfinance in the Arab worldError: Reference source not found Islamic microfinance in the Arab worldError: Reference source not found Experiences in YemenError: Reference source not found Experiences in BangladeshError: Reference source not found Resistance to the Grameen BankError: Reference source not found MicroFinance and Islamic Values 13 Japanese Banking System and JAK Bank Sweden13 Framing Regulations and Strategies For an Ideal Islamic Micro-Finance Bank 14

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Phillipines :: Filipinos and its religion and traditions

Philippines Filipinos Manila Religion holds a central place in the life of most Filipinos, including Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, and animists. It is central not as an abstract belief system, but rather as a host of experiences, rituals, ceremonies, and adjurations that provide continuity in life, cohesion in the community, and moral purpose for existence Women have always enjoyed greater equality in Philippine society than was common in other parts of Southeast Asia. Education and literacy levels in 1990 were higher for women than for men. The majority of the Philippines are bound together by common values and a common religion. Among these are strong religious faith, respect for authority, and high regard for amor proprio (self-esteem). Filipinos are sensitive to attacks on their own self-esteem and develop sensitivity to the self-esteem of others as well. Anything that might hurt another's self-esteem is to be avoided or else one risk terminating the relationship. Philippine own alliance systems are secured by kinship, beginning with the immediate family. A Filipino's loyalty goes first to the immediate family; identity is deeply embedded in the network of kinship. It is normative that one owes support, loyalty, and trust to one's close kin and, because kinship is structured bilaterally with affinal as well as consanguineal relatives, one's kin can include quite a large number of people. The geography and history of the Philippines have conspired to produce a multiplicity of languages, some 80 dialects in total. 1988 Philippine government figures, which count as literate everyone who has completed four years of elementary school, the overall literacy rate was 88 percent, up from 82.6 percent in 1970. Literacy rates were virtually the same for women and men. About 10% of Filipinos (the so-called cultural minority groups or tribal Filipinos) retain their traditional culture.

Haunted House in Maine Essay -- Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Haunted House in Maine The story I collected entails a house in Maine that was experiencing strange occurrences with no reasonable explanation. The ostensible answer was a supernatural presence. The story was recounted by a family member trying to remember how the story went. It was told to her when she was younger, and she heard the story first hand from her relatives who experienced the phenomena. While telling me the story many years later, she remembered many details and events. My relatives who live in Maine had a ghost in their house. They started hearing foot-steps around their house and they think it was the previous owner of the house; I can’t remember his name, but he died. One of the stories was their younger daughter asks her mom, â€Å"who was that man who tucked me in last night†. They heard some foot falls in the attic. The daughter kept waking up in the middle of the night and the music box kept opening. Once, the wife was doing laundry in the middle of the night, felt something on her back and heard foot steps in the room and she freaked out. Often they would return home to new wood being put in the fireplace even though it was never used and behind locked doors. They eventually said out loud, â€Å"Please leave† and foot steps were heard walking out of the house and no other events occurred. While the story was told, there were many pauses while the storyteller tried to remember details of the haunting. She made few gestures; the majority of the story involves separate actions performed by the ghost without a constant plot. This fragmented tale left little in the form of suspense and presented the tale as a factual occurrence and not merely a performance being put on by the teller. While looking into other acc... ...ween the house that he loved so much and a burning desire to continue living there. From his continuous loyalty to the house, this story suggests one’s presence lingers on in the places where you dedicate your life, even after you’re gone. The owner continues to feed the fire and look after the inhabitants. He doesn’t leave the house until they ask him to, suggesting a pleasing spirit which is unconcerned with its own needs. This unique story of a residence being haunted only until the ghost is asked to leave creates a different image from the typical ghost haunting until the inhabitants are driven crazy. The residents thought the ghost more of an annoyance than a threat, and when they asked him to leave; he did so without a fight. By performing no physical harm to any of the individuals and being mostly just foot steps in the dark, this was not a typical haunting.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Is King Lear Nihilistic or Hopeful?

Is King Lear nihilistic or hopeful? Satisfying, hopeful, and redemptive: some critics would say that these adjectives belong nowhere near a description of King Lear. One critic, Thomas Roche, even states that the play’s ending is â€Å"as bleak and unrewarding as man can reach outside the gates of hell† (164). Certainly, Roche’s pessimistic interpretation has merit; after all, Lear has seen nearly everyone he once cared for die before dying himself. Although this aspect of the play is true, agreeing with this negative view requires a person to believe that Lear learns nothing and that he suffers and dies in vain.Indeed, this is exactly what Roche believes when he states that at the play’s end, â€Å"Lear still cannot tell good from evil . . . or true from false† (164). This nihilistic approach, however, not only disregards many of the play’s moments of philosophical insight, but it also completely misinterprets Shakespeare’s intent. Th at is not to say that Lear is without fault at the end of the play; as Shakespeare surely understood, Lear is still human, and as such, he is subject to human frailty. What is most important about Lear, however, is not that he dies a flawed man but that he dies an improved man.Therefore, although King Lear might first appear â€Å"bleak,† Shakespeare suggests that Lear’s life, and human life in general, is worth all of its misery because it is often through suffering that people gain knowledge about the true nature of their individual selves and about the nature of all humanity (Roche 164). From the very beginning of the play, Shakespeare suggests that King Lear has much to learn. As Maynard Mack explains in his essay â€Å"Action and World in King Lear,† the reader/audience is immediately invited to sense that Lear is â€Å"too deeply . . . omfortable and secure in his ‘robes and furr’d gowns’, in his rituals of authority and deference . . . and in his childish charades† (170). In other words, there is an immediate sense that Lear is not truly aware of the harsh realities of human life. For instance, when Lear says that he has divided his kingdom into thirds for each daughter so that he can retire and â€Å"Unburthened crawl toward death,† he shows that he is completely lacking in common sense by assuming that his plan will go according to his will and that the transition of power will run smoothly (1. . 43). Almost instantly, Lear is proven foolish when Regan and Goneril â€Å"hit together† and agree to â€Å"do something, and in the heat† to strip their father of any power that he has remaining (1. 1. 306, 311). Mack calls this rapid string of events that follow Lear’s hasty abdication â€Å"the waiting coil of consequences [that] leaps into threatening life,† bringing with it the unmistakable message that Lear was terribly wrong in choosing to reward his false-flattering dau ghters with the gift of his kingdom (170).Lear’s gift to Goneril and Regan, whose quick deception shows the falseness of their affections toward their father, proves that Lear is unable to see the love, or lack thereof, that others have for him. Likewise, when he becomes enraged at Cordelia after she refuses to flatter him, Lear reveals that he, like Goneril and Regan, is unable to have altruistic love for another person when he says to Cordelia that it would have been â€Å"Better thou/ Hadst not been born than not t’ have pleased me† (1. . 235-236). In essence, his â€Å". . . power [and his love] to flattery bows† and he is only able to love another person when that person appeals to his sense of vanity, so when those who truly do love Lear, namely Cordelia and Kent, refuse to appease his vain nature, Lear banishes them, â€Å"Without grace . . . love . . . or benison† (1. 1. 149, 266). This inability to accept love and relationships â€Å"as t heir own reward,† Mack states, is Lear’s fatal flaw (170).Mack argues that relationships can lead to happiness but that they lead to heartache and despair equally as often; in order to have any good relationships, then, a person must accept others for who they are, which is something that Lear is unable and unwilling to do (Mack 170). Indeed, Lear would have been very happy living his remaining years without any meaningful knowledge about love or relationships, surrounding himself in a â€Å"childish charade† of false love and false truth; from this point forward, however, Lear will have to learn the consequences of his blindingly ignorant actions (Mack 170).The ignorance about life and human nature that Lear demonstrates in the play’s first scene, then, leads to his largest mistake, the mistake that serves as a turning point from which all other actions are the direct consequence. As Mack explains, because Shakespeare put the turning point at the beginnin g of the play, â€Å"The meaning of action [in Lear] lies rather in effects than in antecedents, and particularly in its capacity, as with Lear in the opening scene, to generate energies that will hurl themselves . . . in reverberations of disorder† (170). That is, because Lear’s fatal flaw resents itself early rather than later on in the play—as is customary for Shakespearean tragedy—the meanings and consequences of his actions, as well as Lear’s own thoughts/awareness, have a longer time to evolve. How the early turning point in Lear helps to emphasize Lear’s learning experience is clarified by comparing the play with another Shakespearean tragedy; the turning point in Othello, for example, occurs in act 3, scene 3 when the seeds of jealousy that Iago has planted throughout the first three acts finally take root inside of Othello’s mind.It is not until this time that Othello’s fatal flaw emerges, when, in a jealous rage, he v ows that his bloody thoughts â€Å"Shall nev’r look back . . . / Till a capable and wide revenge / Swallow them [Desdemona and Cassio] up† (3. 3. 454-457). The play is already half over before Shakespeare reveals Othello’s fatal flaw, and it is not until the final scene that Othello learns how gullible he has been. In essence, Othello learns nothing from his experience; he dies in vain, humiliated and heartbroken.In Lear, on the other hand, the main action throughout the entire play revolves around Lear’s painful suffering and his purgatorial learning experience, all stemming, of course, from his rash, ignorant behavior in the first act. In order for Lear to learn from his selfish and ignorant ways, he must first realize that he has been blind to the truth. Lear is served a cold dish of reality when Goneril and Regan disrespectfully refuse to allow their father the privilege of his noble knights, which of course, are the last symbol of his past authority and his kingly pride: GONERIL. Hear me, my lord.What needs you five and twenty? Ten? Or five? To follow in a house where twice so many   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have a command to tend you? REGAN. What need one? (2. 4. 259-263) Not only do these lines represent how Lear’s daughters have contemptuously taken away his remaining power, but they also represent the loss of Lear’s dignity by leaving him a shell of his former self, without a single conciliatory knight left to appease his sense of self-importance. Once this happens, Lear is left enraged and desperate, pridefully stating that even â€Å"our basest beggars / Are in the poorest superfluous† and that he needs â€Å". . . ore than nature needs,† else â€Å"Man’s life is cheap as beast’s† (2. 4. 263-266). In other words, Lear feels that his daughters are treating him like an animal by depriving him of his royal train. Clearly, Lear still clings to t he pompous supposition that his needs are above the needs of the â€Å"basest beggar†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and he still feels like the innocent victim of his daughters’ cruel behavior (2. 4. 263). Even with all of Lear’s continuing faults, however, the seeds of knowledge are beginning to grab hold; it has been painful, but he finally sees that Goneril and Regan’s false tongues had blinded him from their true, unloving natures.That is, when he calls them â€Å"unnatural hags† and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å". . . a disease that’s in my flesh,† he finally sees what love is not (2. 4. 277, 221). In this way, Lear has had his idealized vision of the truth—one where he is flattered, pampered, and adored—painfully stripped away from him; even still, it will take a purgatorial storm and subsequent repentance before Lear learns what the true meaning of love is. Fittingly, as Lear storms out of the castle and into the harsh weather, Regan states tha t â€Å"the injuries† that â€Å"willful men† do â€Å"themselves procure / Must be their own schoolmasters† (2. . 301-303). What Regan means by this is that the storm will teach Lear that he must swallow his pride, but the statement also foreshadows how Lear will learn something much more important about human nature while he suffers from the elements. In fact, it is in the rage of the storm, interspersed with his own rage, that Lear has his first unselfish thoughts, as is evident when he asks the Fool â€Å"How dost my boy? Art cold? † and he (Lear) says to him â€Å"Poor Fool and knave, I have one part in my heart / That’s sorry for you yet† (3. 2. 68, 72-73).Lear further portrays the empathy that he has for others when he stands alone on the heath and, in a moment of heartfelt lucidness, laments over the houseless masses:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poor naked wretches, wheresoe’er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless s torm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From seasons such as these? (3. 4. 28-33) Not only does Lear express sincere concern for others during this soliloquy, but he also expresses regret for the way that he has treated his subjects when he says that â€Å"O, I have ta’en / Too little care of this! (3. 4. 33-34). Indeed, this is the first time in the play that Lear admits any kind of wrongdoing, and as such, it is the first time that he looks inside himself at his own soul and sees that it, like his eldest daughters’ souls, is far from spotless. Following Lear’s profound insight on the heath, he moves into the hovel where, after meeting Edgar, who is disguised as the beggar Poor Tom, he begins to question the nature of all humanity.When Lear sees Edgar’s cold, shivering, and â€Å"uncovered body,† he asks the eternal question †Å"Is man no more than this? † (3. 4. 105). When Lear says that â€Å"The unaccomodated man is no more / but such a poor, bare, forked animal,† he is essentially saying that human beings, like their naked bodies, are pitiable creatures (3. 4. 109-110). Likewise, when he proceeds to strip of his garments, he is making the symbolic gesture that he is no better than Poor Tom; that is, he realizes that he, too, is pitiable.Lear’s recognition that his own body is pathetic, the literary critic Paul Jorgensen argues in his book Lear’s Self-Discovery, is Lear’s first insight. Jorgensen argues, â€Å"self-knowledge means understanding the vileness of the flesh†; in order to attain wisdom, he asserts, people must be willing to recognize that they â€Å"are born of the seed of Adam† and as such, are â€Å"impure . . . and abominable before God† (26). Shakespeare, however, does not suggest that Lear is necessarily doomed because he is the So n of Adam.Rather, the episode with Poor Tom in the hovel simply suggests that all of humanity, including its royalty, is flawed; using Lear’s insight as an example, Shakespeare suggests that in order for people to be redeemed by God, they must first realize humankind’s shortcomings and learn to pity one and all. Lear’s compassion toward Edgar’s frailty and his insistence that he have the company of the naked, â€Å"noble philosopher† proves that he has learned more than just empathy and self-awareness; he has also learned to value his relationships with people despite their flaws, regardless of what he might gain from these relationships (3. . 175). Another example of Lear learning altruistic acceptance comes from his relationship with the Fool, who, as A. C. Bradley explains, makes â€Å"incessant and cutting reminders of [Lear’s] folly and wrong†; indeed, Lear gets nothing from the Fool other than insults, such as when the Fool sugg ests that Lear has â€Å"a little tiny wit† (Bradley 24; 3. 2. 74). Yet despite his lack of reward, Bradley argues, â€Å"Lear comes in his affliction to think of others first, and to seek, in tender solicitude for his ‘poor boy,’ the shelter he scorns for his own bare head† (24).In essence, Lear has learned how to accept his relationships as â€Å"their own reward,† which, as surely Mack would agree, is the first step in learning how to love (Mack 170). Clearly, the relationship that Lear has with his Fool is unusual; in fact, the Fool’s role in the play is so unusual that one critic, Jan Kott, argues in his essay â€Å"King Lear, or Endgame† that the Fool’s character represents the theme of the entire play, namely, â€Å"the decay and fall of the world† (152).In an absurd world where no action has any real meaning, Kott states, the Fool is the only character to realize that â€Å"the only true madness is to regard this world as rational† (167). Certainly, what Kott says about the Fool is correct, to a point. The soliloquy he gives while in the hovel in which he prophesizes that â€Å"the realm of Albion† will â€Å"come to great confusion† certainly proves that the Fool does represent an absurdist viewpoint, but Kott misinterprets Shakespeare’s intent when he states that the play is itself absurd (3. 2. 91-92). One must remember that Shakespeare makes the Fool disappear at the end of act 3 for a reason.Surely, life is meaningless during the first half of the play when Lear blindly lives his life without truly learning anything about the nature of humanity, but as Lear suffers in the third act, he also learns how to feel for the weak and houseless poor, to â€Å"discern the falseness of flattery and the brutality of authority,† and to â€Å"pierce through rank and raiment to the common humanity beneath† (Bradley 24). As a result of learning, Shakespeare sug gests, the world—and Lear’s part in it—ceases to be absurd; consequently, the Fool, and his philosophy, quietly disappear.It is by no coincidence that Lear’s suffering and subsequent learning in the third act occur during a miserable storm. In fact, Shakespeare uses the storm as a physical representation of the raging storm of emotions that occurs in Lear’s mind; that is, the â€Å"contentious storm† symbolizes and embellishes what Lear himself calls â€Å"The tempest in my mind† (3. 4. 6,12). Likewise, it is by no coincidence that Goneril, Regan and Cornwall grow worse from their success; they all remain warm, dry, and comfortable during the storm and they have all gained great power, but not one of them learns anything during the course of the play.Indeed, as Bradley explains, â€Å"The warm castle becomes a room in hell and the storm swept heath a sanctuary† (33). The power of comfort to corrupt is apparent several times dur ing the play, but it is perhaps most shocking when Cornwall gouges out Gloucester’s eyes and proceeds to stomp on them, telling the old man that â€Å"Upon these eyes of thine I’ll set my foot† (3. 7. 69). It is in these lines that the reader/audience sees how powerful, and indeed untouchable, people feel when they have all of the comforts of the world to support them (3. . 69). Cornwall, like Lear at the beginning of the play, feels invincible, but unlike Lear, he never learns that he is â€Å"not ague / proof† (4. 6. 105-106). Therefore, by contrasting Cornwall, and the other â€Å"bad† characters, to Lear, Shakespeare not only reinforces the idea that knowledge and redemption come to those who suffer through physical and emotional storms, but he also suggests that people who have power and comfort often feel that they are superhuman and have nothing left to learn (Bradley 33).Of course, the eventual demise of all of the wickedly comfortable prov es otherwise. In addition to the evil characters acting as foils to Lear, Gloucester’s symbolic blindness and subsequent literal blindness also help to emphasize how Lear gains knowledge through suffering. Indeed, Gloucester acts as a foil to Lear throughout the play: both are initially blind to the actions of their wicked children, both disown their loyal children, and, in turn, both learn the truth in very painful ways.Until his blinding, Gloucester believes that Edgar is a â€Å"strange and fastened villain† who has betrayed him and that Edmund is a â€Å"loyal . . . boy,† but the quickness with which Gloucester realizes Edmund’s true intent after Cornwall has blinded him, screaming â€Å"O my follies! Then Edgar was abused† strongly implies that, like Lear, Gloucester had to suffer in order to see the light (2. 1. 79-86; 3. 7. 92-93). In this way, Shakespeare uses irony to reinforce the idea that those who have eyes are often blind to the truth and those who suffer often see more truth than their bodies and minds can handle.Yet another person one might compare Lear to is his loving and loyal daughter, Cordelia, who is so angelic that her tears are like â€Å"holy water† that from â€Å"heavenly eyes† flow (4. 3. 31). In essence, she is the â€Å"goodliest† of human figures and a model to which Lear can aspire to become more like (4. 3. 17). Indeed, Lear shows that he has become more like his blessed daughter after he reconciles with her and tells her that â€Å"When thou dost ask me blessing, I’ll kneel down / And ask of thee forgiveness . . .† (5. 3. 10-11).This humble, indeed shameful statement seems not to have come from the same selfish, egotistical king who banishes his daughter for not proving her love to him, and in fact, it does not. Lear is a changed man. What his purgatory has prepared him for, his reunion with Cordelia, the play’s Christ-figure, has set in stone. Lear h as finally and completely learned how to love, and for that, he is forgiven and completely redeemed. There are some critics, of course, who believe that Lear does not learn how to love, or learn anything else for that matter.In his essay â€Å"‘Nothing Almost Sees Miracles’: Tragic Knowledge in King Lear,† Roche even argues that Shakespeare intended Lear to be a â€Å"total failure, in fact and in vision† (168). Roche continues by stating that at the end of the play, Lear â€Å"sees nothing† because â€Å"every gesture of his love is countered by an equal and opposite gesture of hatred† (164). Indeed, Roche is correct when he states that Lear is still flawed at the end of the play.After all, he still feels like a victim to Goneril and Regan’s cruel behavior and he is still vengeful, as is evident when he proudly states to Cordelia’s corpse that â€Å"I killed the slave that was a-hanging thee† (5. 3. 276). Even in his def ense of Lear’s knowledge, Jorgensen states that â€Å"Lear is still pathetically unwise in worldly matters at the end of the play,† but he continues by stating that none of this matters because Lear â€Å"has learned that which, especially for a dying man, is all-important† (7).That is, Lear has learned about the meaning of love, the pitiable frailty of the human form, and the miseries of the unfortunate. In essence, he has learned what it means to be a human instead of a king. Therefore, it does not matter that Lear still has faults because his suffering has taught him eternal truths—truths that are worthy of his redemption. In the end, King Lear almost ceases to be tragic (Bradley 32). Certainly, Lear’s suffering is severe, but Shakespeare shows that it is Lear’s suffering that leads to his learning and his subsequent redemption.Prior to Lear’s painful banishment, he is a pampered, flattered king living a false life, full of false l ove. It is excruciating for Lear to face that his life has been 80 years of lies, but in order to learn the truth, he must first suffer through the pain, and as Shakespeare clearly shows, it is better to learn through suffering than to remain comfortable and ignorant. Therefore, Lear’s life is worth all of the agonies it incurs; after all, it is only after Lear begins to suffer that he truly begins to live.

The Importance of Reading

I had an epiphany about reading and it changed my life. It was a day only several years ago when I first realized the numerous benefits I could realize from reading. Of course, I had been told all my life that reading was important. I was forced to do it in class after class beginning in elementary school and on up through high school. I had never read for enjoyment, had never gone to a book store and surveyed the stacks of tomes with pleasure, had never been to the library except when it was required for researching a particular assignment. To me reading was drudgery, a chore which interfered with more important things in life, like eating and sleeping. It wasn’t until I took an English class in my senior year, however, that the importance of reading finally penetrated my brain. I realized my teacher for that English class, Mrs. Smith, was different from others I’d had in the past from the first day I walked into her classroom. While she looked like a typical, older lady with her graying hair and pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses continually perched on the end of her nose, it was her attitude that set her apart from other instructors. From her roost atop a stool at the front of the room, Mrs. Smith ruled the classroom with short legs swinging to and fro above the rungs while her arms – complete with flabby â€Å"schoolteacher arm† – would wave about to lend emphasis to her words. Mrs. Smith could tell I was uncomfortable in her English class almost immediately. She watched me squirm in my seat during her lectures and saw the visible signs of upset when she handed out a reading assignment. I’m sure the groan I emitted was another clue to my discomfort. The next day, Mrs. Smith decided to address this issue with the entire class, without naming me specifically as the impetus for this particular lecture. I’ll never forget what she said, however. It was something along the lines of this: â€Å"If you are going to get ahead in this world, you need to continually inform yourself about many different matters. In order to keep yourself informed, you must read. I don’t mean sitting down to read â€Å"War and Peace† front to back, but more general reading. Take the opportunity to read anything you can. If you are sitting at the breakfast table eating a bowl of cereal, read the back of the cereal box. Take time to read a magazine article about something which interests you. Reading doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be boring.† For some reason, Mrs. Smith’s words made me come to the realization that reading was beneficial in a way that other teachers had failed to do. I took her advice. I began by reading the back of the cereal box while eating my breakfast later that week (and Trix, by the way, has the best reading material, although Cap’n Crunch comes in a close second). I started reading newspaper articles; smaller ones at first and then lengthier columns. While waiting for a doctor’s appointment or to get on an airplane, I read the signs posted on the wall, the advertising posters and billboards, and magazines that were left behind. Just a little bit at a time, I told myself. Remember what Mrs. Smith told you – that reading doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Mrs. Smith’s first assignment to the class included reading two short stories, William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† by Flannery O’Connor. We were to read the assigned stories and then analyze their meanings, and structure. Mrs. Smith helped us with an initial story we read in class and showed us how to read efficiently and what things to keep in mind as we read. She taught us to look beyond the obvious and delve deeper into the author’s motivation, history, and the lesson, or lessons, they were trying to convey. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading the two short stories. It didn’t take much time to read through them the first time and, using Mrs. Smith’s directives, the second time of reading brought to light many aspects of the story I had previously missed. There was a depth to the words that caused me to sit back and reflect further on what I’d read. In particular, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† made a great impact on me with its important statement regarding racism and reverse racism. Prior to reading that story, I’d really had no idea just how prevalent such issues were in the South and how it might adversely affect people. Although O’Connor wrote the work some decades earlier, the issues raised are as important today as they were back then. I wish I could say I became an avid reader overnight, but that’s not the way it happened. I did, however, begin to take a peek at some of the books for sale in various stores. If I happened to be at the drug store, I snuck into the aisle of bestsellers and looked over the covers, reading the blurbs of praise on the front. I wasn’t sure what subjects would interest me, but after reading some excerpts online, I decided that science fiction was the best fit for me and my personality. I tried reading â€Å"The Hobbit† but its length made it a chore so I opted, instead, for some shorter books, like novels based on the â€Å"Star Wars† movies. The volumes I chose couldn’t be classified as classical literature by any means, by I enjoyed reading them and I figured that if there were books that could hold my interest, me – the self-proclaimed non-reader – then they couldn’t be all bad. Next on my list are some of the more classical works of science fiction, like those by Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells. I’ve learned a lot along the way in my reading adventures. I’ve gotten an insider’s view to history, as well as what the future might hold. I’ve identified with characters and been surprised at endings which left me wanting to know more. An added benefit which I never would have guessed is that of greater confidence in writing. Attending college means that essays, term papers, and theses are required in order to pass most classes. When once I used to dread doing such assignments, I’ve found that, through reading, I am much more comfortable with the written word. This is what literacy means to me. It is the ability to use our skills – of reading and writing and comprehension – to further our knowledge as well as the desire to do so in order that we may better ourselves. No matter if you read a mystery novel or a history book, there is something in that volume which imparts further knowledge to the reader. In some cases, it is obvious – such as learning about the mistakes in history so future generations are not doomed to make the same mistakes. In other cases, it is not so obvious. But any book that causes the reader to think about something in a different way is doing its job by expanding our knowledge and inciting our curiosity. As Frederick Douglass once said, â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.† And by the way, thank you Mrs. Smith, wherever you are! The Importance of Reading I had an epiphany about reading and it changed my life. It was a day only several years ago when I first realized the numerous benefits I could realize from reading. Of course, I had been told all my life that reading was important. I was forced to do it in class after class beginning in elementary school and on up through high school. I had never read for enjoyment, had never gone to a book store and surveyed the stacks of tomes with pleasure, had never been to the library except when it was required for researching a particular assignment. To me reading was drudgery, a chore which interfered with more important things in life, like eating and sleeping. It wasn’t until I took an English class in my senior year, however, that the importance of reading finally penetrated my brain. I realized my teacher for that English class, Mrs. Smith, was different from others I’d had in the past from the first day I walked into her classroom. While she looked like a typical, older lady with her graying hair and pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses continually perched on the end of her nose, it was her attitude that set her apart from other instructors. From her roost atop a stool at the front of the room, Mrs. Smith ruled the classroom with short legs swinging to and fro above the rungs while her arms – complete with flabby â€Å"schoolteacher arm† – would wave about to lend emphasis to her words. Mrs. Smith could tell I was uncomfortable in her English class almost immediately. She watched me squirm in my seat during her lectures and saw the visible signs of upset when she handed out a reading assignment. I’m sure the groan I emitted was another clue to my discomfort. The next day, Mrs. Smith decided to address this issue with the entire class, without naming me specifically as the impetus for this particular lecture. I’ll never forget what she said, however. It was something along the lines of this: â€Å"If you are going to get ahead in this world, you need to continually inform yourself about many different matters. In order to keep yourself informed, you must read. I don’t mean sitting down to read â€Å"War and Peace† front to back, but more general reading. Take the opportunity to read anything you can. If you are sitting at the breakfast table eating a bowl of cereal, read the back of the cereal box. Take time to read a magazine article about something which interests you. Reading doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be boring.† For some reason, Mrs. Smith’s words made me come to the realization that reading was beneficial in a way that other teachers had failed to do. I took her advice. I began by reading the back of the cereal box while eating my breakfast later that week (and Trix, by the way, has the best reading material, although Cap’n Crunch comes in a close second). I started reading newspaper articles; smaller ones at first and then lengthier columns. While waiting for a doctor’s appointment or to get on an airplane, I read the signs posted on the wall, the advertising posters and billboards, and magazines that were left behind. Just a little bit at a time, I told myself. Remember what Mrs. Smith told you – that reading doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Mrs. Smith’s first assignment to the class included reading two short stories, William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† by Flannery O’Connor. We were to read the assigned stories and then analyze their meanings, and structure. Mrs. Smith helped us with an initial story we read in class and showed us how to read efficiently and what things to keep in mind as we read. She taught us to look beyond the obvious and delve deeper into the author’s motivation, history, and the lesson, or lessons, they were trying to convey. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading the two short stories. It didn’t take much time to read through them the first time and, using Mrs. Smith’s directives, the second time of reading brought to light many aspects of the story I had previously missed. There was a depth to the words that caused me to sit back and reflect further on what I’d read. In particular, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Everything Rises Must Converge† made a great impact on me with its important statement regarding racism and reverse racism. Prior to reading that story, I’d really had no idea just how prevalent such issues were in the South and how it might adversely affect people. Although O’Connor wrote the work some decades earlier, the issues raised are as important today as they were back then. I wish I could say I became an avid reader overnight, but that’s not the way it happened. I did, however, begin to take a peek at some of the books for sale in various stores. If I happened to be at the drug store, I snuck into the aisle of bestsellers and looked over the covers, reading the blurbs of praise on the front. I wasn’t sure what subjects would interest me, but after reading some excerpts online, I decided that science fiction was the best fit for me and my personality. I tried reading â€Å"The Hobbit† but its length made it a chore so I opted, instead, for some shorter books, like novels based on the â€Å"Star Wars† movies. The volumes I chose couldn’t be classified as classical literature by any means, by I enjoyed reading them and I figured that if there were books that could hold my interest, me – the self-proclaimed non-reader – then they couldn’t be all bad. Next on my list are some of the more classical works of science fiction, like those by Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, and H. G. Wells. I’ve learned a lot along the way in my reading adventures. I’ve gotten an insider’s view to history, as well as what the future might hold. I’ve identified with characters and been surprised at endings which left me wanting to know more. An added benefit which I never would have guessed is that of greater confidence in writing. Attending college means that essays, term papers, and theses are required in order to pass most classes. When once I used to dread doing such assignments, I’ve found that, through reading, I am much more comfortable with the written word. This is what literacy means to me. It is the ability to use our skills – of reading and writing and comprehension – to further our knowledge as well as the desire to do so in order that we may better ourselves. No matter if you read a mystery novel or a history book, there is something in that volume which imparts further knowledge to the reader. In some cases, it is obvious – such as learning about the mistakes in history so future generations are not doomed to make the same mistakes. In other cases, it is not so obvious. But any book that causes the reader to think about something in a different way is doing its job by expanding our knowledge and inciting our curiosity. As Frederick Douglass once said, â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.† And by the way, thank you Mrs. Smith, wherever you are!