Al Barzakh – Life after Death in Islam

Death is eternal. It is the biggest truth, the ultimate reality that we are born to face. According to the Holy Quran â€Å"Every soul shall have a taste of death. Hence, death is inevitable and its time and place is determined even before we are born.The following verse from the Holy Quran proves that there is life after death: â€Å"And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive† (2:154).Al Barzakh is an Arabic term which means barrier or veil. The word barrier implies the intermediary stage between death and the day of resurrection. As the Holy Quran mentions: â€Å"Between them is a Barzakh (Barrier) which they do not transgress† (Ar-Rahman: 20).Those who are alive cannot communicate with those who are in their graves. In return, the deceased cannot hear or see what happens in this world. To ask them for forgiveness is a sin since Allah alone has the power to forgive us. Life in this world and life in the grave are separate and the wall between them cannot be crossed (Islam, 2008).LifeHuman beings are curious and the mysteries of life and death have always fascinated them. Unlike death, life can be scientifically proven. Life for all human beings begins in his mother’s womb. After forty days of conception, life exists in the womb, and after another eighty days, life is blown into the piece of flesh and blood. At this time, the person’s deeds, destiny, religion and time of death are determined. Since Allah gives us our lives, He has the sole right to take it away as and when He pleases.DeathDespite being the greatest truth of our lives, death remains one of the biggest mysteries. Belief in life after death is crucial to being a true believer. The recent demise of my father intrigued me to answer certain questions about death. Life after death exists in a metaphysical world. It is questioned by people because it cannot be scientifically proven. However, there is suffi cient proof of it in the Holy Quran and in the sayings of the Holy Prophet (al-Jibaly, 2006).When a Muslim dies, he is bathed and wrapped in a clean white cloth, after which he is buried. Prayers are offered at a person’s death for his forgiveness. According to an interview conducted with a Muslim scholar, death is a transition that takes us from life that is temporary to life that is eternal. Life in the world is just there to prepare us for the life in the hereafter. It is then that actual and meaningful life begins. For those who did good in their lives, they will be rewarded with a life in paradise beyond their imagination (al-Jibaly, 2006).According to the Muslim scholar interviewed, when a person dies, he does not take his wealth with him into the grave. The only things he takes with him are his deeds. And it is his deeds that determine his final destination, that is, heaven or hell.

Shareholder vs Stakeholder vs Market Failure’s Model

Business and ethics are often considered as opposite ends of a magnet, one in the means of seeking profit and other with the common assumption of refraining from profit maximization; so the question become is business ethics really an oxymoron? The usual perception of business ethics is very poor and pessimistic as many corporate executives say one thing yet do another. Although the maximization of self-interest and profit seeking is what drives the economy forward, but how should one’s actions be justified, is it ok to do as you wish as long as the law permits?Business managers along with other professionals have sets of ethical codes laid out and are to be followed. There is the bar set in place to monitor the practices of each individual lawyer; medical association for doctors as they perform medicine; and a ring to be worn to constantly remind the engineers of their professionalism and the potential consequences of their work (Heath). Managers on the other hand do not have an association to oversee the decisions they make, whether they are permissible by law or meet the moral obligations.However not having the standards on paper does not mean there aren’t any to be followed. In order to make justification for the type of behaviours business managers have and to outline the appropriate actions they should take, many ethical theories have been developed since. There are three that best represent the key perspectives in this matter; Friedman’s Shareholder theory, Freeman’s Stakeholder theory and Heath’s Market Failure Model of business ethics (Heath).Each of them is the pillars of which many other theories are based on but have very different and opposite views. The Shareholder theory suggests that manager has fiduciary duties to the shareholders only and must maximize profits as long as the law permits. The Stakeholder theory on the other hand suggests that managers have fiduciary duties to all stakeholders whom are positive ly or negatively affected by the decisions of the firm; shareholders are only of the stakeholders and their benefits cannot account for all.The making of one group’s benefits can only be made in conjunction of making all other stakeholders better too; shareholders are no more special than the suppliers, customers, employees and communities. Both the Stakeholder and Shareholder’s theories are biased towards different ends, one suggesting profits to be maximized for one group while the other stating that profits should be common good for all. Furthermore, the Market Failure Model of business ethics comes in between the two, yet containing arguments of both but in revised versions.I will argue in this paper that the Market Failure Model is the one that best describes the causes and effects of the business environment we have today and the role ethics play within it. First, an extraction and analysis of the Market Failure Model will be conducted and be used to explain why it is the best fit for the current business environment and ethics. I will then explain the shortfalls of the Shareholder and Stakeholder theories and why they lack considerations on a broader scope. Market Failure Model Market failure is the situation when the competitive market fails to provide an efficient outcome.In order for an efficient allocation of resources, there must be the absence of externalities, symmetrical information between buyers and sellers, insurance markets, and utility maximizing agents whom are rational when making decisions (Heath). However in the real world, the above conditions are rarely met and thus the idea of a perfect market becomes only ideal in theory but impractical in reality. In response to such failure in the market, two corrective phenomenons exist. The first being the creation of corporations which is organized in a system of hierarchy.Managers have fiduciary duty to follow legal as well as moral constraints to achieve profit maximization for members in the hierarchy, in this case the shareholders. Moreover, in order to achieve the highest profits for anyone in the market, they will need to compete in prices as well as product innovation. Many historical scenarios has proven that competition leads to economic advancements where without it would result in economic stagnation. China and India had been communist states in the past where there were minimum price competition and product innovations, the government had full control and attempted to effectively allocate resources.However such intervention only led to full economic stagnation and poverty for its people. By the late 80s, both the Chinese and India government returned control to the market itself where competition for profit resumed and thus the economies began to advance and has brought prosperity upon its people. This not only proved profit seeking, price competition in the market is rather healthy for the economy but also concluded that government interventions in the market can create unneeded deadweight loss.The second response to Market Failure involves preservation of the market transaction and is subject to legal and regulatory constraints (Heath). In a competing market, there are various strategies firms may take to maximize their profits. Strategies that involve only of lower prices, better quality and product innovation that would exist in perfect completion are referred to as preferred strategies whereas the ones involving pollution, misleading advertising, sale of products with hidden defects are called non-preferred strategies (Heath).From the Market Failure’s perspective, the ethical firms will refrain from using non-preferred strategies even if they are allowable by the loophole of the law and regulations. These firms seek non-preferred strategies because they bring easy and quick forms of profits, but it is also short lasting. â€Å"Misleading advertising stands to false advertising as deception does to fraud† (Heath). When firms adopt misleading advertisement for its products, it will bring short term profits before consumers realize they are being deceived.However when consumers do acknowledge the unethical behaviours of the business, they will switch products and by the word of mouth spread unfavourable comments of the firm; thus in the long run, such business behaviour is not practical as bad reputation leads to loss of sales and eventual closedown of operations. Profit seeking often bears negative conceptions due to the frequent exploitation of the market and flaws of the legal and regulatory systems.These firms fail to consider the moral obligations they must also endure. The analogy between â€Å"orporate social responsibility† and â€Å"Good sportsmanship† effectively compares and applies such concept. Having good sportsmanship does not only include not breaking the rules of the game but also refraining from exploiting the loopholes and flaws of the regulations. Taki ng basketball for example, unavoidable physical contact will occur during the game; however one should avoid purposely injuring other players just to win.Although certain teams do adopt such tactics like those firms using non-preferred strategies to make money, but most top ranked teams along with the most reputable firms still win by applying only of the preferred strategies. Attack on Shareholder’s Theory Milton Friedman’ Shareholder theory argues that there is a fiduciary relationship between the managers and shareholders; managers by all means possible and permissible by law, must maximize profits (Friedman). However recent corporate scandals proof otherwise.The case of Enron for example, where corporate CEO and president along with other top executives engaged in a sequence of deception behaviours to achieve the maximum profit, not for shareholders but for themselves. Even on the verge of bankruptcy, these top managers froze the shares held by common shareholders so they could sell out all their shares while everyone else will suffer the drop in price. This proved the willingness to break the law never mind moral obligations, in order to maximize the self-interests of the managers themselves.It is mistaken to trust the strength of the fiduciary relationship between managers and shareholders where the shareholders are without protection. One may argue that shareholders can simply fire the irresponsible manager, but as Enron proves, these managers can easily cheat shareholders without being found out until it is too late. Another shortfall of the Shareholder theory is the inconsideration for others who are also affected by the firm’s decisions. Lockean argues that shareholders are entitled to the profits as employee deserves their wages, but it is unconvincing because it only defines the legal obligations but not the moral (Heath). We have no legal obligation to give but do not mean we have no moral obligation to give to charity†( Heath) This quote from Heath suggests that even though it is not by law that we must be moral and has concerns for other, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any moral and ethical codes to be followed. Attack on Stakeholder Theory The Stakeholder theory compared to the Shareholder theory argues that managers have fiduciary duties to everyone who are affected by decisions of the firm, including suppliers, customers, employees and many others (Freeman).It is true that consideration for these stakeholders are important when making business decisions however it doesn’t mean managers have fiduciary duties to all. Managers in corporations are trusted directly of property rights of shareholders with no alternatives and minimum protection against uncertainties. Suppliers, customers, employees and other stakeholder on the other hand have the ability to choose whether they are to be affected by the corporation.If suppliers refuse to agree to conditions and prices offered by firm, they may wish to supply to other firms instead; when customers refuse to pay for certain products or cannot agree to values (values referred to the corporate operations and its effects in the society) offered by the firm, they may choose not to purchase it’s products; and lastly employees may choose to resign from his position when conflict of interest and ethical concerns occur or may blow the whistle and expose the wrong doings of the firm to the public.Each group of stakeholders have their own alternatives in dealing with managers decisions and do not have property rights already invested and paid to managers for the outcomes of their performance thus they cannot be considered as having fiduciary relationships with managers. The major flaw of the stakeholder theory is that it assumes the stakeholders are not capable of making their own rational decisions and has left the responsibility of their wellbeing in the hands of others.The second shortfall of the Stakeholderà ¢â‚¬â„¢s theory is its short-term and narrow scope view of the matter and failed to consider the long-term strategies of the firm and wellbeing of the people. Walmart has been growing exponentially in recent years, but has also been experiencing much negative publicity like poor wages and benefits for its employees. When worker aren’t paid enough, the most common solution they seek is from the managers raising their wages.However most of these workers fail to realize they are only being paid according to their skill sets, rather than holding the managers and corporation responsible they should instead reflect on themselves and obtain higher education or more specialized skills to be worthy of their pay. If workers demand two or three dollars increase of their wage, they also need to consider the overall effects on the firm and not just themselves; it is not about a little more on one person’s pay cheque but the effect of thousands of workers and the incremental costs t hat a firm will bear.The market is competitive in nature, when firms fail to make profits, it will cease in existence in the long run. When the firm becomes bankrupt, all employees will lose their jobs and whom should be held responsible for that? Conclusion In conclusion, all three theories share different views of business ethics and the role of managers should take in it. Shareholder theory argues managers have fiduciary duty to shareholders only and should seek to maximize profits as long as it’s legally permissible; Stakeholder theory states managers have fiduciary duty to all stakeholders and must make ecisions so when certain stakeholders are made better off, the others involved must also be better than their original state. Both of these theories tries to outline what behaviours managers should take on a biased perspective yet fails to fit actual economic and market characteristics. Heath’s market failure model on the other hand suggests that managers do have f iduciary duties to shareholder only but should make decisions meeting their moral obligations as well, meaning adopting strategies that best benefit the firm and the society in the long run.Certain firms may donate to charity because they feel morally responsible or perhaps to cut taxes or simply for publicity; however in the overall wellbeing of the society, intentions matter but results matter even more. Firms that adopt non-preferred strategies will eventually break laws or be publicly criticized, will suffer losses in sale and be eliminated by firms applying preferred strategies because the market works to correct itself of its failures. Bibliography Heath, J. (n. d. ). Business ethics without stakeholders.In F. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ), Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology (pp. 110-126). Peterborough: Broadview. Friedman, M. F. (n. d. ). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. In A. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ), Business in Ethical Focus: An Antho logy(pp. 65-69). Peterborough: Broadview. Freeman, E. F. (n. d. ). A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation. In A. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ),Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology (pp. 69-78). Peterborough: Broadview.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 16

Chapter 16 We were twelve days into our journey, following Balthasar's meticulously drawn map, when we came to the wall. â€Å"So,† I said, â€Å"what do you think of the wall?† â€Å"It's great,† said Joshua. â€Å"It's not that great,† I said. There was a long line waiting to get through the giant gate, where scores of bureaucrats collected taxes from caravan masters as they passed through. The gatehouses alone were each as big as one of Herod's palaces, and soldiers rode horses atop the wall, patrolling far into the distance. We were a good league back from the gate and the line didn't seem to be moving. â€Å"This is going to take all day,† I said. â€Å"Why would they build such a thing? If you can build a wall like this then you ought to be able to raise an army large enough to defeat any invaders.† â€Å"Lao-tzu built this wall,† Joshua said. â€Å"The old master who wrote the Tao? I don't think so.† â€Å"What does the Tao value above all else?† â€Å"Compassion? Those other two jewel things?† â€Å"No, inaction. Contemplation. Steadiness. Conservatism. A wall is the defense of a country that values inaction. But a wall imprisons the people of a country as much as it protects them. That's why Balthasar had us go this way. He wanted me to see the error in the Tao. One can't be free without action.† â€Å"So he spent all that time teaching us the Tao so we could see that it was wrong.† â€Å"No, not wrong. Not all of it. The compassion, humility, and moderation of the Tao, these are the qualities of a righteous man, but not inaction. These people are slaves to inaction.† â€Å"You worked as a stonecutter, Josh,† I said, nodding toward the massive wall. â€Å"You think this wall was built through inaction?† â€Å"The magus wasn't teaching us about action as in work, it was action as in change. That's why we learned Confucius first – everything having to do with the order of our fathers, the law, manners. Confucius is like the Torah, rules to follow. And Lao-tzu is even more conservative, saying that if you do nothing you won't break any rules. You have to let tradition fall sometime, you have to take action, you have to eat bacon. That's what Balthasar was trying to teach me.† â€Å"I've said it before, Josh – and you know how I love bacon – but I don't think bacon is enough for the Messiah to bring.† â€Å"Change,† Joshua said. â€Å"A Messiah has to bring change. Change comes through action. Balthasar once said to me, ‘There's no such thing as a conservative hero.' He was wise, that old man.† I thought about the old magus as I looked at the wall stretching over the hills, then at the line of travelers ahead of us. A small city had grown up at the entrance to the wall to accommodate the needs of the delayed travelers along the Silk Road and it boiled with merchants hawking food and drink along the line. â€Å"Screw it,† I said. â€Å"This is going to take forever. How long can it be? Let's go around.† A month later, when we had returned to the same gate and we were standing in line to get through, Joshua asked: â€Å"So what do you think of the wall now? I mean, now that we've seen so much more of it?† â€Å"I think it's ostentatious and unpleasant,† I said. â€Å"If they don't have a name for it, you should suggest that.† And so it came to pass that through the ages the wall was known as the Ostentatious and Unpleasant Wall of China. At least I hope that's what happened. It's not on my Friendly Flyer Miles map, so I can't be sure. We could see the mountain where Gaspar's monastery lay long before we reached it. Like the other peaks around it, it cut the sky like a huge tooth. Below the mountain was a village surrounded by high pasture. We stopped there to rest and water our camels. The people of the village all came out to greet us and they marveled at our strange eyes and Joshua's curly hair as if we were gods that had been lowered out of the heavens (which I guess was true in Josh's case, but you forget about that when you're around someone a lot). An old toothless woman who spoke a dialect of Chinese similar to the one we had learned from Joy convinced us to leave the camels in the village. She traced the path up the mountain with a craggy finger and it was obvious that the path was both too narrow and too steep to accommodate the animals. The villagers served us a spicy meat dish with frothy bowls of milk to wash it down. I hesitated and looked at Joshua. The Torah forbade us to eat meat and dairy at the same meal. â€Å"I'm thinking this is a lot like the bacon thing,† Joshua said. â€Å"I really don't feel that the Lord cares if we wash down our yak with a bowl of milk.† â€Å"Yak?† â€Å"That's what this is. The old woman told me.† â€Å"Well, sin or not, I'm not eating it. I'll just drink the milk.† â€Å"It's yak milk too.† â€Å"I'm not drinking it.† â€Å"Use your own judgment, it served you so well in the past, like, oh, when you decided we should go around the wall.† â€Å"You know,† I said, weary of having the whole wall thing brought up again, â€Å"I never said you could use sarcasm whenever you wanted to. I think you're using my invention in ways that it was never intended to be used.† â€Å"Like against you?† â€Å"See? See what I mean?† We left the village early the next morning, carrying only some rice balls, our waterskins, and what little money we had left. We left our three camels in the care of the toothless old woman, who promised to take care of them until we returned. I would miss them. They were the spiffy double-humpers we'd picked up in Kabul and they were comfortable to ride, but more important, none of them had ever tried to bite me. â€Å"They're going to eat our camels, you know? We won't be gone an hour before one of them is turning on a spit.† â€Å"They won't eat the camels.† Joshua, forever believing in the goodness of human beings. â€Å"They don't know what they are. They think that they're just tall food. They're going to eat them. The only meat they ever get is yak.† â€Å"You don't even know what a yak is.† â€Å"Do too,† I said, but the air was getting thin and I was too tired to prove myself at the time. The sun was going down behind the mountains when we finally reached the monastery. Except for a huge wooden gate with a small hatch in it, it was constructed entirely of the same black basalt as the mountain on which it stood. It looked more like a fortress than a place of worship. â€Å"Makes you wonder if all three of your magi live in fortresses, doesn't it?† â€Å"Hit the gong,† said Joshua. There was a bronze gong hanging outside the door with a padded drumstick standing next to it and a sign in a language that we couldn't read. I hit the gong. We waited. I hit the gong again. And we waited. The sun went down and it began to get very cold on the mountainside. I rang the gong three times loud. We ate our rice balls and drank most of our water and waited. I pounded the bejezus out of the gong and the hatch opened. A dim light from inside the gate illuminated the smooth cheeks of a Chinese man about our age. â€Å"What?† he said in Chinese. â€Å"We are here to see Gaspar,† I said. â€Å"Balthasar sent us.† â€Å"Gaspar sees no one. Your aspect is dim and your eyes are too round.† He slammed the little hatch. This time Joshua pounded on the gong until the monk returned. â€Å"Let me see that drumstick,† the monk said, holding his hand out through the little port. Joshua gave him the drumstick and stepped back. â€Å"Go away and come back in the morning,† the monk said. â€Å"But we've traveled all day,† Joshua said. â€Å"We're cold and hungry.† â€Å"Life is suffering,† the monk said. He slammed the little door, leaving us in almost total darkness. â€Å"Maybe that's what you're supposed to learn,† I said. â€Å"Let's go home.† â€Å"No, we wait,† said Joshua. In the morning, after Joshua and I had slept against the great gate, huddled together to conserve warmth, the monk opened the little hatch. â€Å"You still here?† He couldn't see us, as we were directly below the window. â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"Can we see Gaspar now?† He craned his neck out the hatch, then pulled it back in and produced a small wooden bowl, from which he poured water on our heads. â€Å"Go away. Your feet are misshapen and your eyebrows grow together in a threatening way.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He slammed the hatch. And so we spent the day outside the gate, me wanting to go down the mountain, Joshua insisting that we wait. There was frost in our hair when we woke the next morning, and I felt my very bones aching. The monk opened the hatch just after first light. â€Å"You are so stupid that the village idiots' guild uses you as a standard for testing,† said the monk. â€Å"Actually, I'm a member of the village idiots' guild,† I retorted. â€Å"In that case,† said the monk, â€Å"go away.† I cursed eloquently in five languages and was beginning to tear at my hair in frustration when I spotted something large moving in the sky overhead. As it got closer, I saw that it was the angel, wearing his aspect of black robe and wings. He carried a flaming bundle of sticks and pitch, which trailed a trail of flames and thick black smoke behind him in the sky. When he had passed over us several times, he flew off over the horizon, leaving a smoky pattern of Chinese characters that spelled out a message across the sky: SURRENDER DOROTHY. I was just fuckin' with you (as Balthasar used to say). Raziel didn't really write SURRENDER DOROTHY in the sky. The angel and I watched The Wizard of Oz together on television last night and the scene at the gates of Oz reminded me of when Joshua and I were at the monastery gate. Raziel said he identified with Glinda, Good Witch of the North. (I would have thought flying monkey, but I believe his choice was a blond one.) I have to admit that I felt some sympathy for the scarecrow, although I don't believe I would have been singing about the lack of a brain. In fact, amid all the musical laments over not having a heart, a brain, or the nerve, did anyone notice that they didn't have a penis among them? I think it would have shown on the Lion and the Tin Man, and when the Scarecrow has his pants destuffed, you don't see a flying monkey waving an errant straw Johnson around anywhere, do you? I think I know what song I'd be singing: Oh, I would while away the hours, Wanking in the flowers, my heart all full of song, I'd be gilding all the lilies as I waved about my willie If I only had a schlong. And suddenly it occurred to me, as I composed the above opus, that although Raziel had always seemed to have the aspect of a male, I had no idea if there were even genders among the angels. After all, Raziel was the only one I'd ever seen. I leapt from my chair and confronted him in the midst of an afternoon Looney Tunes festival. â€Å"Raziel, do you have equipment?† â€Å"Equipment?† â€Å"A package, a taliwacker, a unit, a dick – do you have one?† â€Å"No,† said the angel, perplexed that I would be asking. â€Å"Why would I need one?† â€Å"For sex. Don't angels have sex?† â€Å"Well, yes, but we don't use those.† â€Å"So there are female angels and male angels?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you have sex with female angels.† â€Å"Correct.† â€Å"With what do you have sex?† â€Å"Female angels. I just told you.† â€Å"No, do you have a sex organ?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Show me?† â€Å"I don't have it with me.† â€Å"Oh.† I realized that there are some things I'd really rather not know about. Anyway, he didn't write in the sky, and, in fact, we didn't see Raziel again, but the monks did let us into the monastery after three days. They said that they made everybody wait three days. It weeded out the insincere. The entire two-story structure that was the monastery was fashioned of rough stone, none larger than could have been lifted into place by a single man. The rear of the building was built right into the mountainside. The structure seemed to have been built under an existing overhang in the rock, so there was minimal roofing exposed to the elements. What did show was made of terra-cotta tiles that lay on a steep incline, obviously to shed any buildup of snow. A short and hairless monk wearing a saffron-colored robe led us across an outer courtyard paved with flagstone through an austere doorway into the monastery. The floor inside was stone, and though immaculately clean, it was no more finished than the flagstone of the courtyard. There were only a few windows, more like arrow slits, cut high in the wall, and little light penetrated the interior once the front door was closed. The air was thick with incense and filled with a buzzing chorus of male voices producing a rhythmic chant that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once and made it seem as if my ribs and kneecaps were vibrating from the inside. Whatever language they were chanting in I didn't understand, but the message was clear: these men were invoking something that transcended this world. The monk led us up a narrow stairway into a long, narrow corridor lined with open doorways no higher than my waist. As we passed I could see that these must be the monks' cells, and each was just large enough to accommodate a small man lying down. There was a woven mat on the floor and a woolen blanket rolled up at the top of each cell, but there was no evidence of personal possessions nor storage for any. There were no doors to close for privacy. In short, it was very much like what I had grown up with, which didn't make me feel any better about it. Nearly five years of the relative opulence at Balthasar's fortress had spoiled me. I yearned for a soft bed and a half-dozen Chinese concubines to hand-feed me and rub my body with fragrant oils. (Well, I said I was spoiled.) At last the monk led us into a large open chamber with a high stone ceiling and I realized that we were no longer in a man-made structure, but a large cave. At the far end of the cave was a stone statue of a man seated cross-legged, his eyes closed, his hands before him with the first fingers and thumbs forming closed circles. Lit by the orange light of candles, a haze of incense smoke hanging about his shaved head, he appeared to be praying. The monk, our guide, disappeared into the darkness at the sides of the cave and Joshua and I approached the statue cautiously, stepping carefully across the rough floor of the cave. (We had long since lost our surprise and outrage at graven images. The world at large and the art we had seen in our travels served to dampen even that grave commandment. â€Å"Bacon,† Joshua said when I asked him about it.) This great room was the source of the chanting we had been hearing since entering the monastery, and after seeing the monks' cells we determined that there must be at least twenty monks adding their voices to the droning, although the way the cave echoed it might have been one or a thousand. As we approached the statue, trying to ascertain what sort of stone it was made from, it opened its eyes. â€Å"Is that you, Joshua?† it said in perfect Aramaic. â€Å"Yes,† said Joshua. â€Å"And who is this?† â€Å"This is my friend, Biff.† â€Å"Now he will be called Twenty-one, when he needs to be called, and you shall be Twenty-two. While you are here you have no name.† The statue wasn't a statue, of course, it was Gaspar. The orange light of the candles and his complete lack of motion or expression had only made him appear to be made of stone. I suppose we were also thrown off because we were expecting a Chinese. This man looked as if he was from India. His skin was even darker than ours and he wore the red dot on his head that we had seen on Indian traders in Kabul and Antioch. It was difficult to tell his age, as he had no hair or beard and there wasn't a line in his face. â€Å"He's the Messiah,† I said. â€Å"The Son of God. You came to see him at his birth.† Still no expression from Gaspar. He said, â€Å"The Messiah must die if you are to learn. Kill him tomorrow.† â€Å"‘Scuse me?† I said. â€Å"Tomorrow you will learn. Feed them,† said Gaspar. Another monk, who looked almost identical to the first monk, came out of the dark and took Joshua by the shoulder. He led us out of the chapel chamber and back to the cells where he showed Joshua and me our accommodations. He took our satchels away from us and left. He returned in a few minutes with a bowl of rice and a cup of weak tea for each of us. Then he went away, having said nothing since letting us in. â€Å"Chatty little guy,† I said. Joshua scooped some rice into his mouth and grimaced. It was cold and unsalted. â€Å"Should I be worried about what he said about the Messiah dying tomorrow, do you think?† â€Å"You know how you've never been completely sure whether you were the Messiah or not?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Tomorrow, if they don't kill you first thing in the morning, tell them that.† The next morning Number Seven Monk awakened Joshua and me by whacking us in the feet with a bamboo staff. To his credit, Number Seven was smiling when I finally got the sleep cleared from my eyes, but that was really a small consolation. Number Seven was short and thin with high cheekbones and widely set eyes. He wore a long orange robe woven from rough cotton and no shoes. He was clean-shaven and his head was also shaved except for a small tail that grew out at the crown and was tied with a string. He looked as if he could be anywhere from seventeen to thirty-five years old, it was impossible to tell. (Should you wonder about the appearance of Monks Two through Six, and Eight through Twenty, just imagine Number Seven Monk nineteen times. Or at least that's how they appeared to me for the first few months. Later, I'm sure, except that we were taller and round-eyed, Joshua and I, or Monks Twenty-one and Twenty-two, would have fit the same description. When one is trying to shed the bo nds of ego, a unique appearance is a liability. That's why they call it a â€Å"uniform.† But alas, I'm getting ahead of myself.) Number Seven led us to a window that was obviously used as a latrine, waited while we used it, then took us to a small room where Gaspar sat, his legs crossed in a seemingly impossible position, with a small table before him. The monk bowed and left the room and Gaspar asked us to sit down, again in our native Aramaic. We sat across from him on the floor – no, that's not right, we didn't actually sit, we lay on the floor on our sides, propped up on one elbow the way we would have been at the low tables at home. We sat after Gaspar produced a bamboo staff from under the table and, with a motion as fast as a striking cobra's, whacked us both on the side of the head with it. â€Å"I said sit!† he said. Then we sat. â€Å"Jeez,† I said, rubbing the knot that was swelling over my ear. â€Å"Listen,† Gaspar said, holding the stick up to clarify exactly what he meant. We listened as if they were going to discontinue sound any second and we needed to stock up. I think I even stopped breathing for a while. â€Å"Good,† said Gaspar, laying the stick down and pouring tea into three simple bowls on the table. We looked at the tea sitting there, steaming – just looked at it. Gaspar laughed like a little boy, all the graveness and authority from a second ago gone from his face. He could have been a benevolent older uncle. In fact, except for the obviously Indian features, he reminded me a lot of Joseph, Joshua's stepfather. â€Å"No Messiah,† Gaspar said, switching to Chinese now. â€Å"Do you understand?† â€Å"Yes,† Joshua and I said in unison. In an instant the bamboo stick was in his hand and the other end was bouncing off of Joshua's head. I covered my own head with my arms but the blow never came. â€Å"Did I strike the Messiah?† Gaspar asked Joshua. Joshua seemed genuinely perplexed. He paused, rubbing the spot on his head, when another blow caught him over his other ear, the sound of the impact sharp and harsh in the small stone room. â€Å"Did I strike the Messiah?† Gaspar repeated. Joshua's dark brown eyes showed neither pain nor fear, just confusion as deep as the confusion of a calf who has just had its throat cut by the Temple priest. The stick whistled through the air again, but this time I caught it in mid-swing, wrenched it out of Gaspar's hand, and tossed it out the narrow window behind him. I quickly folded my hands and looked at the table in front of me. â€Å"Begging your pardon, master,† I said, â€Å"but if you hit him again, I'll kill you.† Gaspar stood, but I was afraid to look at him (or Joshua, for that matter). â€Å"Ego,† said the monk. He left the room without another word. Joshua and I sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking and rubbing our goose eggs. Well, it had been an interesting trip and all, but Joshua wasn't very well going to learn much about being the Messiah from someone who hit him with a stick whenever it was mentioned, and that, I supposed, was the reason we were there. So, onward. I drank the bowl of tea in front of me, then the one that Gaspar had left. â€Å"Two wise men down, one to go,† I said. â€Å"We'd better find some breakfast if we're going to travel.† Joshua looked at me as perplexed as he had at Gaspar a few minutes before. â€Å"Do you think he needs that stick?† Number Seven Monk handed us our satchels, bowed deeply, then went back into the monastery and closed the door, leaving Joshua and me standing there by the gong. It was a clear morning and we could see the smoke of cook fires rising from the village below. â€Å"We should have asked for some breakfast,† I said. â€Å"This is going to be a long climb down.† â€Å"I'm not leaving,† Josh said. â€Å"You're kidding.† â€Å"I have a lot more to learn here.† â€Å"Like how to take a beating?† â€Å"Maybe.† â€Å"I'm not sure Gaspar will let me back in. He didn't seem too pleased with me.† â€Å"You threatened to kill him.† â€Å"I did not, I warned that I'd kill him. Big difference.† â€Å"So you're not going to stay?† And there it was, the question. Was I going to stay with my best friend, eat cold rice, sleep on a cold floor, take abuse from a mad monk, and very likely have my skull split open, or was I going to go? Go where? Home? Back to Kabul and Joy? Despite the long journey, it seemed easier to go back the way I had come. At least some level of familiarity would be waiting there. But if I was making easy choices, why was I there in the first place? â€Å"Are you sure you have to stay here, Josh? Can't we go find Melchior?† â€Å"I know I have things to learn here.† Joshua picked up the drumstick and rang the gong. In a few minutes the little port opened in the door and a monk we had never seen before stuck his face in the opening. â€Å"Go away. Your nature is dense and your breath smells like a yak's ass.† He slammed the hatch. Joshua rang the gong again. â€Å"I don't like that whole thing about killing the Messiah. I can't stay here, Joshua. Not if he's going to hit you.† â€Å"I have a feeling I'm going to get hit quite a few more times until I learn what he needs me to know.† â€Å"I have to go.† â€Å"Yes, you do.† â€Å"But I could stay.† â€Å"No. Trust me, you have to leave me now, so you won't later. I'll see you again.† He turned away from me and faced the door. â€Å"Oh, you don't know anything else, but you know that all of a sudden?† â€Å"Yes. Go, Biff. Good-bye.† I walked down the narrow path and nearly stumbled over a precipice when I heard the hatch in the door open. â€Å"Where are you going?† shouted the monk. â€Å"Home,† I said. â€Å"Good, go frighten some children with your glorious ignorance.† â€Å"I will.† I tried to keep my shoulders steady as I walked away, but it felt like someone was ripping my soul through the muscles of my back. I would not turn around, I vowed, and slowly, painfully, I made my way down the path, convinced that I would never see Joshua again.

Mummion risk assessment Essay

ChemicalProced-ure or equipm-ent Risks Precautions to be taken Safety regulations Concentrated sulphuric acid Test tube and pipette Corrosive skin and toxic if swollen Wear goggles and gloves when In contact with thisKeep locked up. Keep container dry. Do not ingest. Do not breathe gas/fumes/ vapour/spray. Never add water to this product. In case of insufficient ventilation, wear suitable respiratory equipment. If ingested, seek medical advice immediately and show The container or the label. Avoid contact with skin and eyes. Keep away from incompatibles such as oxidizing agents, reducing Agents, combustible materials, organic materials, metals, acids, alkalis, moisture. May corrode metallic surfaces. Silver nitrate solution Test tube Toxic Avoid being in physical contact with this as it can stain skin and clothing but this is not so dangerous If this product comes in contact with the eyes immediately flush the eyes with water to prevent this always wear goggles. If this product is inhaled remove from contaminated area in serious cases, it is advisable to take the person to hospital. Nitric acidTest tube Corrosive on skin and toxic if swollen Wear goggles and a lab coat to prevent physical contact Immediately flush eyes with large amounts of water for at least 30 minutes and lift lower and upper eyelid as you are showering the eye. Barium chloride Test tube Toxic to the gut Avoid skin and eye contact. Avoid inhalation or ingestion of the powder. ¬ immediately wash Skin, eyes or the affected area with large amounts of water until all evidence of the chemical has been removed (approximately 15 minutes). If irritation or pain persist seek medical attention Cyclohexane Test tube Toxic Eye and skin contact with liquid causes pain and irritation. Repeated skin contact degreases the skin and may cause cracking Ammonia Test tube Toxic May explode if heated for too long. Corrosive to eyes and skin and toxic if inhaled Immediately rinse the affected area with Luke warm water until the burning or irritation is relieved. Hydrochloric acid Pipette, test tube Corrosive on skin and toxic if swollen A lab coat and goggles should be worn and if it’s a stronger concentration of HCl, nitrile gloves and a fume hood should be used.In the eye Flood the eye with gently-running tap water for 10 minutes. See a doctor. †¢ Vapour breathed in Remove to fresh air. Call a  doctor if breathing is difficult. †¢ Swallowed Do no more than wash out the mouth with water. Do not induce vomiting. Sips of water may help cool the throat and help keep the airway open

Unix Multiprogramming

The computer allocated in UNIX to every process, whether a system task or user task. The choice of task to be executed when the CPU becomes free is based on a formula that penalizes tasks that have used most CPU cycles in the recent past. The process priority which can be set by super user (root) is an important part of this formula. The CPU scheduling algorithm is simple but allows users some measure of control over their workstation performance. The CPU speed defines the capacity of a mainframe for a given release of the operating system. All other hardware components are usually configured so that when the system is fully loaded, the CPU which is by far the most expensive resource becomes the bottleneck. In order to give the user the impression of simultaneous execution, the CPU must be allocated alternatively among the individuals processors. This task is managed by scheduler, a special processor that maintains a list of normal processes and sees to it that the processor handles the next process at certain time intervals. There are various strategies that a scheduler can use to determine which process to handle next, one of these strategies is (round robin) selects the next respective process in the list at regular intervals and puts it at the end of the list after the allocated time if the process is not yet finished. Another strategy assigns each process a priority, whereby processes with higher priority are allocated more CPU time. UNIX employs nice levels, which allow the user to influence the internal priorities of processes. This allows the user to reduce significantly the encumbering of the system by programs running in the background. Likewise the administrator can also raise the priority of important process to ensure faster execution. UNIX does timesharing as well as multiprogramming. Timesharing creates the illusion that several processes execute simultaneously, even though there maybe only one physical CPU.

The Beguines: The Brave, Religious Women of the Middle Ages

Women were expected to be two things in the Middles Ages, they either live under the charge of a husband in the household or dedicated herself to the Church in a convent as a nun. However, something unfamiliar happened in the late 12th century in parts of Europe, especially the Lowlands, Germany and Italy.Women who were called â€Å"beguines† gained prominence as they questioned those stereotyped concepts of being women and lived outside of those boundaries. During the Middle Ages, women who entered Beguinages (Beguine houses or convents) were not bound by permanent vows, in contrast to women who entered convents.It would seem that these women responded spontaneously to the work of the Holy Spirit to live a simple communal life of prayer, to care for the poor, the sick, lepers and orphaned, to teach, make lace, garden and anything else which enables them to be economically free in their respective communities. They also read and taught the Scriptures in the vernacular. The beg uines had a very special devotion to the Eucharist and to the Passion of Christ. The beguines were ordinary women who were in a certain world, but not really part of it.They are pious women whose devotional ardor often surpassed that of cloistered nuns. Like them, they dedicated their lives to God in a disciplined lifestyle, but unlike them they did not professed religious vows. In sum, it was the lifestyle of the early beguines, a lifestyle founded on intense spirituality, which differentiated them on the one hand from other laywomen and on the other from nuns. Women could enter beguinages having already been married and they could leave the beguinages to marry. Some women even entered the beguinages with children.Various debates exist with regards to their origins, but around 1150, groups of women, eventually called beguines, began living together for the purposes of economic self-sufficiency and a religious vocation. The attitudes of the clerics towards blossoming beguine movemen t were ambivalent at first. They deemed that these were groups of religious women who were dedicated to chastity and charity, which could not be condemned in any way. The fact that they existed and existed without men, except for priests and confessors to lead them, was suspect to the ecclesiastical hierarchy.For this and many other reasons, many beguines came to be known as heretics and were brutally persecuted. Though they were never an approved religious order, at one point they were granted special privileges and exemptions customary for approved orders. The Church, however, did not approve of their lack permanent vows. Women were not supposed to have that much freedom. What is particularly interesting about the Beguines was that, unlike most of those considered heretics, most of them considered themselves orthodox, but still beguines.Some strongly identified themselves as such and while in court testified to that effect, demonstrating self-identification with the group. Yet, th e group was diverse and is hard to define. This diversity was due in part to the geographical distribution as well as to the individual autonomy of each community. However, the beguines’ great devotion to the Eucharist emphasized the real presence of the incarnated Lord. At the height of the beguine movement the Feast of Corpus Christi was decreed by Pope Urban IV in 1264, and there is no doubt that the Eucharistic piety of the beguines attributed to the keeping of this feast.Indeed, the beguines wanted to imitate their Lord and to live as the Spirit inspired them. The first beguines were not subject to a rule of life, neither did the beguine have to make a life-time commitment. She was free to leave or to marry. Such a way of life was very attractive to the devout woman, and it is not surprising that their numbers grew swiftly. It was a welcome alternative to the cloister or marriage, although for women to live without the protection of the convent or a husband was quite rev olutionary in the early medieval period.Undoubtedly, the beguines had become an important fragment not only in the history of women’s movement, but also the development of the Catholic faith. Origins of the Beguines Two important movements in the 12th century had their impact on those who became known as beguines. The Cistercian monk, Bernard of Clairvaux (1090- 1153), especially from his writings on The Song of Songs emphasized the importance of a personal relationship between the soul and the Lord. He allegorized this relationship as being similar to that of the bride and the heavenly Bridegroom.This union between the beloved and the lover was a foundation upon which the feminist mystics, including beguines, developed an intimate spirituality with their Lord. Of course the receiving of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament was the outward act of this union. Closely associated with this nuptial image of Bernard was the â€Å"reasonable mystic† and â€Å"learned lover† of his friend, William of St. Thierry (1085-1148), who happened to live in Liege, the birthplace of the beguine movement.He appealed to the soul to know God in perfect love, which also appealed to these mystics (McNichols, 2002). Another factor contributing to the birth of the beguine movement was the vita apostolica, which St. Francis of Assisi had preached by returning to the ideals that our Lord had preached to His disciples: poverty, simplicity and a burning desire to preach the Gospel. The acceptance of this Franciscan preaching and mendicant order in 1215, even though no new orders were supposed to be have founded, gave inspiration to like-minded souls (McNichols, 2002).In the early twelfth century a new order, Premonstratensains, was founded in Liege by Norbert of Xanten who allowed religious women to be â€Å"attached† and to do charity work in the world. However his successor reversed this role and all nuns were expelled from the order by the end of the century. In a way, these sisters were the forerunners of the beguines (McNichols, 2002). In addition, when the church structures were becoming increasingly inaccessible to women in the 13th century; where convents were overcrowded and entrance dowries were expensive; women's orders were scarce and subject to male oversight.At this time in Liege and Antwerp, on the peripheries of urban centers, self-supporting communities of women began to appear. They lived by the work of their hands, often caring for the poor, the sick and the dying, and carried on regular devotional practices. They sought â€Å"an unstructured, nonhierarchical spiritual life that was both active (in the sense of ministering to the needs of others) and contemplative (in the sense that meditation and visionary experience were highly valued and developed)† (Petroff 1994, p. 51-52). This was the seed of what would become the beguinages.More elaborately, Walter Simons explained in the preface to Cities of Ladies Beguine Co mmunities in the Medieval Low Countries, 1200-1565 (2001) that the most widely held scholarly opinions about the origins of the beguines both have their source in medieval materials. James of Vitry's second Sermon to Virgins, written sometime between 1229 and 1240, provides Joseph Greven with his argument that the beguines were â€Å"nuns manquees, women who became beguines because they could not be nuns† (p. x). Similarly a statement on the origins of the beguines made by a clerical committee who visited the beguinage of St.Elizabeth of Ghent in 1328 became the basis for Karl Bucher's argument that the beguine movement was the result of a â€Å"surplus of women† in the urban areas of the Southern Low Countries and other parts of northern Europe. As Simons summarized that the two materials of James of Vitry and the bishop's men at Ghent agreed on several points: they argued that large numbers of young women of the best families, in their desire to live chastely, attemp ted to join a nunnery, but that many of them could not find a convent that would accept them: there were simply too many candidates.The Ghent report added that women could not afford the entrance gift, the dos, required in most monasteries – an obstacle to their entry that James tactfully omitted. It further differed from James in its assessment of the primary motive that drove women to the convent: it was the inability to conclude a suitable marriage that prompted these women to the monastic life; when the latter proved impossible, they joined the beguinage (p. xi).Seen from the perspective of the committee at Ghent, particularly as reread by Bucher and others, the beguines were driven primarily by economic and social forces and beguinages were â€Å"thus just female versions of guild organizations† (p. xi). Grundmann, as Simon noted, was the first to write about a â€Å"religious movement by women† (â€Å"religisen Frauenbewegung†) and to understand the specifically religious motivations behind the beguine life style, particularly their emphasis on poverty and labor in the pursuit of the apostolic life.Grundmann goes on, however, to describe in detail the complex negotiations between the papal curia, the mendicant orders, and the women's religious communities whereby the mendicants were eventually persuaded-sometimes pressured-into taking over the â€Å"care of souls† and often institutional responsibility for women's houses (Grundmann's most detailed examples of this process involve communities that became Dominican convents).Implicit within the narrative of Religious Movements in the Middle Ages, then, lies the argument that orderly communities of beguines desired and ultimately succeeded in becoming more traditional convents, most often within the mendicant orders. Beguines were forced to give up ideals of individual poverty and self-support and to possess sufficient corporately owned property to maintain a community of enclosed nuns.Hence ecclesial concerns for women's chastity and religious propriety required that women's religious ideals be transformed. As Grundmann argues, the result is the spiritualization of poverty within the writings of the thirteenth-century beguines and their heirs among both male and female Dominican authors. Without directly contesting Grundmann's arguments, which for the most part pertain to Germany, Simons presents a significantly new picture of the development of beguine communities in the Southern Low Countries.Simons divides the history of the movement into two periods: the first, from 1190-1230, saw the emergence of laywomen living alone or together in â€Å"loose communities without institutional attachments† (p. 36). The primary sources pertaining to this period are eleven hagiographies devoted to individual holy women involved with the movement from 1190-1250. Often written shortly after their death and in each case by male clerics or monks interested in promoting cults around the holy women, none of these women were ever canonized nor did they all maintain the beguine lifestyle.In fact, as Simons points out, hagiographers from the period and region seemed particularly interested in women who moved from the beguinal milieu into more traditional forms of monastic life (p. 92). Groups of women outside convents, like the beguines, had to steer a narrow course in order to avoid â€Å"the shoals of anticlericalism and heresy that always threatened the spiritual creativity of women† (McNamara 1990, p. 237). The success and spread of the beguine movement would suggest it did answer a need felt among women for an independent expression of their own religious creativity.It is also important to note that beguines fall under the more general designation of mulieres religiosae (religious women), an umbrella term which included nuns, recluses, and virgins living at home or in small groups. The appearance of the mulieres religiosae, who f lourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was a major religious development, possibly connected with factors like the Crusades, priestly celibacy and harsh physical labor, which resulted in women outnumbering men in Western Europe.Religious motives, however, were perhaps even more important than socio-economic ones (DeGanck 1991, p. 2-3). Development of the Beguine Movement Scholars trace the development of the beguine movement through several stages, beginning with individual women (beguinae singulariter in saeculo manentes) living in towns but observing the evangelical principles as well as they could. These individuals eventually came together in the beguinages (congregationes beguinarum disciplinatarum) that are the main focus of this chapter.Later, some of the communities took the form of cloistered communities (beguinae clausae); finally, some communities were reconstituted as autonomous parishes (Little 1978, p. 130). Around 1230, these loose communities of widows, v irgins, and chaste wives began to acquire property, to draw up regulations governing the life of the group, and to present â€Å"themselves to the outside world as religious institutions, either in the form of small ‘convents,' or as larger architectural complexes segregated in some manner from the surrounding urban community, the so-called court beguinages† (Simons 2001, p.36). Simons therefore convincingly demonstrates that up to and through the Catholic Reformation the beguine movement in the Southern Low Countries remains a lay urban movement characterized by the preponderance of women from a range of social classes who participated within it (p. 91-117). In addition, Simons provides invaluable information about the beguines' work in the textile industry (p. 85-87), with the sick and dying (76-80), and-perhaps most importantly for the study of spirituality-in teaching (p.80-85). Grundmann's early argument for the centrality of the beguines' lay status to the develop ment of vernacular religious literature here finds crucial support. Not only did the beguines themselves read and write in the vernacular, but they were also engaged in the education of girls and women who then in turn constituted an audience for vernacular religious writing. The development of the beguinages demonstrated an outgrowth of the lay religious awakening of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.It also reflected the social background of the era. Although much more positive than simply a stand against clerical mediocrity and Western feudalism, the growth of the beguinages did, nevertheless, provide alternatives to both. The beguinages represented a new way of giving religious significance to women's ordinary lives (Bynum 1987, p. 17). It was characteristic of the beguinage to combine the vita contemplativa and appropriate devotional exercises with the practical solution of daily problems.The beguines customarily engaged in weaving, spinning, carding, charitable activity, se wing, and the education of children. So religious impetus and economic factors were intertwined in a beguine's life (McDonnell 1954, p. 146). Theologically, medieval women were faced with contradictory doctrines which placed them either on a pedestal or in a bottomless pit: the virgin or the temptress. In the Christian view of sacred history, the greatest source of blessing for humanity after Christ was his mother, Mary; the greatest source of grief was also a woman Eve, the mother of us all.Clearly, Christian tradition saw women as both the greatest and the weakest (Power 1962, p. 401-403). Thus, the beguines were bound to change these by shaping their own religious experience in lay communities, where female charisms served as alternative to the male emphasis on the power of office, the beguines paralleled other women who were emerging from the feudal system and becoming economically independent through small crafts, shops, and businesses in new towns (Bynum 1987, p. 22).Also, it has been suggested that the strength of the beguines lay in their unique combination of traditional spirituality with their freedom from the restrictions of the cloister, a combination which allowed them to experiment and break new ground. Beguines adopted a chaste way of life and dressed simply, but they were not separated from the world, nor were they bound to any ecclesiastical authority. To wit, The beguine movement differed substantially from all earlier important movements within the western church.

Hobbies, sports, film, current events etc Essay

Hobbies, sports, film, current events etc - Essay Example When this balance is disturbed in any way, there is bound to be trouble. Gunfire is not something that I like to hear even today. I have had the chance to think about my life in Somalia since I have been in America. There are so many things I like about my new home. There is a feeling of safety here that most Americans take for granted. When they see a person in a uniform, such as a police officer or a soldier, they can assume this person is not going to herm them, arrest them for no problem or make trouble for them unless they have broken laws. This is not the guarantee in Somalia. I also like the food in America. Fast is something that most people say is unhealthy, but I like to eat it sometimes. It is so different from the food at home. There are many things I like about America, but I will always feel like a Somali, even though I know my homeland is a dangerous place for many people. Essay #2 Sports Watching sports on television is something that I have learned to love since comi ng to the United States. Most people in America are crazy about sports. I have been lucky to have friends that invite me over to watch soccer on their televisions everywhere I go. My favorite sport in Somalia was soccer. We played it informally in the street. I'm a fan of professional soccer in America and like to watch any game that DC United plays. I have never lived in Washington DC but my friend did. He loved DC United so I became a fan. I like professional American soccer but actually prefer to watch the Premier League in Europe. I like to watch any game Arsenal plays. I am having a difficult time learning about the American sports of baseball and football. I like baseball much more because I lived near to where the Angels play in Pasadena, California. I like to watch baseball games, but only for a while. The game is sometimes slow. I do not like American football. I do not see what the individual players are doing and they are always stopping and starting the action. It is a s low game that many people seem to love. Catching the ball is difficult to do because it is oddly shaped. If I had to choose between watching baseball or football, I would choose baseball. Essay #3 History of Lewiston, Maine Lewiston, Maine is one of the towns where I have in America. There were lots of other Somali’s there. It is a place that gets very cold in the winter and is different that Somalia in nearly every way. I was wondering about the history of this place and why so many Somali’s were settling in such a cold place. I learned that Lewiston used to be a town that was very rich. There were factories that made cotton cloth and other textiles. These textiles were sold all over the United States and around the world. After America’s civil war, all of the factories were moved to the south so that people who had lost the war could have jobs. This meant that Lewiston got poorer and poorer. For a long time, it looked like Lewiston was going to be a town that could not stay alive. During the civil war in Somalia, many Somali’s like me came to America to live. I have lived in many places, such as Atlanta, Georgia and Pasadena, California. Some Somali’s heard about Lewiston, Maine and went there to live because it was nicer than other places that were taking Somali’s. Once word spread, lots of Somali’s went there to live. In Lewiston, there were some people that didn’t like all the Somali’s living in one spot. They didn’t like seeing different people. What has been good

A report on a piece of qualitative research - The Impact of Price Essay - 1

A report on a piece of qualitative research - The Impact of Price Changes on the Brand Equity of Toyota in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example This chapter will explain the research methodology used for achieving the goals of this research study and the justifications for the methodology chosen. A qualitative case study is chosen for accomplishing the objectives of this study since it emphasizes the experiences and perspectives of the consumers who have purchased Toyota vehicles or other similar vehicles in Saudi Arabia. In this regard a qualitative study involves the exploration of a specific social setting or phenomenon involving the collection of â€Å"detailed, in-depth data† from multiple sources including interviews, observations, open-ended questionnaires and secondary data such as reports and records (Creswell, 2009, p. 43). A qualitative case study allows for an â€Å"analysis of a† specific â€Å"phenomenon† which may be programs, institutions, individuals, or social groups (Merriam, 2009, p. x). Since this study involves the collection of data relative to the experiences and perspectives of Toyota consumers in Saudi Arabia relative to price changes and its impact on brand and value, this study is a qualitative case study. Specifically, this s tudy investigates a bonded system. Choi and Hong (2002) conducted a qualitative case study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews among managers in Acura, Honda and DaimlerChrysler to determine the impact of operations cost on the structure of the supply network. In this regard, a qualitative case study was useful for gaining an understanding of how cost influenced the behavior of those directly impacted by costs. Likewise, my case study seeks to determine the impact of price changes on the behavior of consumers who are directly impacted by price changes. Beach, Muhlemann, Price, Paterson and Sharp (2001) argue that any research that can impact production channels and management decisions in production management is best suited to qualitative studies. This is because

Nursing Education Systems of Ireland and China Essay

Nursing Education Systems of Ireland and China - Essay Example In 1998, the Report by Ireland’s Commission on Nursing presented a strong argument for enhanced education of nurses. This paved way for initiation of a degree program in nursing in 2002 and improvement has been taking place since then (O’Dwyer, 2007). Unlike in Ireland where development of nursing education started in the 1970s, in China, nursing education started developing early, following the arrival of Western missionaries in the year 1842 (Xu, Xu, & Zhang, 2000). By the year 1915, the country had an examination framework for certification of professional nurses. This was followed by introduction of a bachelor’s nursing degree programme in 1920, which was the first of its kind in Asia (Smith, 2004). Significant development followed thereafter with establishment of a government-sponsored nursing school being established in 1930. Development of nursing education in China continued until the year 1949, when government was taken over by the Communist party. This led to the abolishment of all nursing education beyond the secondary level. The remnant programmes comprised of three year training courses, after nine years in primary and intermediate academic levels. However, after the collapse of the Communist party government in 1977, gradual improvements started taking place. Bachelor degree nursing education was re-introduced in 1983 and significant milestones have been attained by China ever since (Xu et al., 2000). Government and Nursing Organizations Just like in other nations, Ireland and China have both governmental and non-governmental organizations that work to ensure that nursing education is comprehensive and sustainable. For instance, in Ireland, it was an organization named Irish Matrons’ Association (IMA) that commissioned the original report regarding improvement of nursing education in 1970 (Joyce, 2000). There is also the Irish Nursing Board (INB), which further stimulated discourse regarding the future of Irish educatio n in the nursing profession. The Irish Practice Nurses Association (IPNA) has also contributed significantly to the growth of nursing education and practice. Other Irish organizations that have played a crucial role in recommending and advocating for advanced nursing education and practices include the Irish Nurses Organization (INO) and Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA). The Irish government also collaborates with other member nations of the European Economic Community (EEC). It is this affiliation to the EEC which ensures that Ireland adheres to general nursing education guidelines and recognition of nurses’ qualifications among member states (O’Dwyer, 2007). Presently, the Chinese Nursing Association (CNA) is recognized as the principal professional body for nurses in the country. The organization unites, develops and promotes nursing in all aspects, including advocating for nurses’ workplace rights and education opportunities (Smith, 2004). The Chinese go vernment also collaborates with international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO), Project Hope and Heart to Heart, among others to ensure that it works towards establishing comprehensive university education programs for nurses. These organizations ensure that Chinese nurses are well-equipped in terms of experience, prior learning and knowledge of treatment strategies specific to Chinese culture (Xu et al., 2000). Current System of Nursing Education It is rather evident that nursing educ

What is the role of Seaport Terminals in Maritime Transportation Assignment

What is the role of Seaport Terminals in Maritime Transportation - Assignment Example Port terminals are where goods are brought, loaded and unloaded and distributed to wherever they have to be sent. Seaport terminals provide service to container vessels and other sea vessels like barges and feeder vessels used in commercial fishing. Seaports serve international and global firms and have a role to play in international trade as a big bulk of world trade is transported by ship (Frankel, 1987 cited in Stevens, 1999, p. 43). Globalization has affected many world developments such as regional integration of countries like the European Union, the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the establishment of the World Trade Organization, and the homogenization of the world economy, to name a few. All these provide expansion for global firms. They expand business, and they need seaport terminals because they demand movements of goods. Global firms have the whole world as its market field that they can offer a wide array of products and services. Firms keep growing and continue to build products that have to be transported and marketed anywhere and anytime. Seaborne transportation is the cheapest means of transportation for goods that have to be transported to many parts of the world. This keeps seaports busy all throughout the year. With these facts, it can be understood that seaports have a very important role in the supply chain of businesses worldwide. This can be to fulfil business-to-business or business-to-consumer transactions. With globalization at the helm of businesses today, seaports are connecting a worldwide traffic of goods of different kinds. Supply chain management excellence is crucial for customer satisfaction, at the same time customer satisfaction is critical to customer loyalty, with loyalty being critical for profitability (Reichheld 1996 cited in Flint et al., 2008, p. 258). Supply chain has to

HRD acheiving professional recognition as a seperate entity from HR Essay

HRD acheiving professional recognition as a seperate entity from HR within the Mining Environment - Essay Example One of the macro challenges faced by HRD is attaining professional recognition as a separate entity from HR, which comes through research based theories. Practice of theories is not focused towards client needs. It is because HRD jobs are given to people who don’t possess knowledge of the core HRD theories; HRD as a profession is not given due importance like other departments in an organisation. Strenuous efforts are needed to bring recognition by developing a sense of respect in organisations for HRD as a special area of research and practice. Swanson (2001)) remarked, â€Å"HRD practice does not come close to what we know from sound theory" (p. 309). For that efforts should be made in nurturing the ethics, values, standard practices and developing competencies for initiating research and practice in the right direction (Short et al. 2010). For gaining professional recognition (Lynham 2000), some unknowns in the body of knowledge demand attention for building theory in HRD. First, the outwardly philosophical assumptions are missing besides the required structure to lead the function of theory building in HRD. Second unknown is the reported lack of well documented, tested and outward multi-paradigm methods of theory building in HRD. Third unknown is the lack of collective and common comprehension of the basic concepts of theory and theory building in HRD. In discussing methods of research and practice in HRD, the issue of sound and good knowledge of the field needs to be tackled. For meeting the task and challenge of strict and contextual theory building in HRD, a multi-attributed discussion is foremost. So far it has been missing in theoretical practice and scientific research in the absence of multi-paradigm methods. It has highlighted the problem of lack of professionalism needed to bring recognition to HRD as a diff erent

Buddhism as a Critique of Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buddhism as a Critique of Culture - Essay Example This is the aim, even with regard to 'normal' people in the world, since they tend get confused, and develop problems due to wrong identification of the patterns of life or 'samsara' (Watts 16) shrouded in 'maya' which is explained as being more than illusory; 'maya' encompasses the entire range of concepts from culture, one's cultural identity, to the way one perceives the world (Watts 9). An individual is an inseparable organism of the universe, and simultaneously unique, since all organisms are not uniform and differ in their identities accorded as per the societal constructs such as sex, class, and others. Conflicts arise because the rules of the universe and cosmos may not always be in consonance with that of the societal conventions, and the individual struggles to integrate between these two inherently differing components of reality and social constructs or maya (Watts 9). In these eastern thoughts, 'nirvana' or liberation (Watts 16) is the solution to the problems arising from afore mentioned conflict. The aim of nirvana is not to destroy maya, but rather, to see through maya; and to do this one must come out of the social constructs and see reality (Watts 9).

Business Strategies Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Strategies - Research Paper Example Organizational strategy therefore requires that all business units, support units and employees are aligned and linked with the business strategy. The most important management responsibility in this context is to design, create and implement organizational strategies which are best suited to the demands of the market, its customers and the business model. However, since the competitors in the market would also have access to the same or similar information and might develop the same strategies, it is crucial that it must consider its organizational design as its most important strategic weapon. Some of the factors to be kept in consideration are as follows (Heracleous, p.XIV). Firstly identifying the right organizational strategy suited for executing the business strategy of the firm is important. This must be followed by identifying its own operating capabilities and sources of competitive advantage. Organizations can only act according to its business strategies if management desi gns the right way for them to do so. The most important factor in this context is strategy and structure alignment in designing its capabilities in a completely informed and rational manner. Some of the problems that might arise in the process are the strategy changes that might have implications or poor alignment with the organizational design and structure; need for restructuring of organizational parts due to sudden changes in technologies and other competitive pressures; organizational growth demanding changes in organizational design and finally, poor execution and organizational effectiveness (Jensen, p.5). The first phase in this alignment is gathering and organizing of data which is then fed to the management in a way which supports validation and learning. The management reaches out on the many different key issues, causal factors and problems and organizational requirements. This is followed by the design process which includes scale and leverage assessment, designing vert ical alternatives and lateral structures etc. Since organizational structures work through trade-offs the various alternatives are evaluated through with regards to their fit with requirements, impact of implementation etc. Based on the evaluation the new organizational structure is created with clear roles and responsibilities; development of values and norms for the alignment of culture with strategy; designing rewards and metrics etc (Jensen, p.5). A theory of management has three main components, a set of assumptions regarding the attitudes and behaviors of humans, the managerial practices, policies and actions consistent with the assumptions, and expectations regarding the performance of employees if the policies are implemented. Research reveals that organizational structure affect the performance of a firm. There are evidences which show that a firm’s performance declines considerably when the strategies are not rightly matched with the appropriate structure and contro ls. The structure necessarily specifies the work which needs to be conducted and how to do it also. It influences the way managers perform their work activities and the decisions resulting from the same. Supporting the organizational structures, strategies are concerned with the processes used for conducting the task activities. Effective structures provide the stability and steadiness towards an organization’s needs and requirements to establish and implement its strategies. It also helps to maintain and its present

Globalization of operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Globalization of operations management - Essay Example raw materials, skilled and low-cost labor force among others (Mahadevan 121). Economies of scale also arise after a company expands it production capacity due to lower cost of operation. The service sector on the other hand has capitalized on the skilled labor force available overseas at low cost e.g. outsourcing firms relocating to India (Mahadevan 138). This expansion or shifting centers of operation also affect operations management adversely. There is the need for the firm to operate within the laws and standards of the new markets which are not necessarily similar to those of original market. Client’s special needs and preferences should also be considered in production which can increase on costs. Global market place is also quite competitive raising the need to have sound operational management strategies. CONCLUSION Globalization has taken many organizations to greater heights in the competitive global market. This scenario has enabled them to gain competitive advantag e and increase on production which results to higher margins. A firm going global should therefore appreciate that it will have to initiate changes in its operations to suit the new market dynamics. Works cited Mahadevan, B. Operations Management: Theory and Practice. Pearson Education India, 2010.

International Finance Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

International Finance Management - Term Paper Example Forward contracts however can not change hands and are contracts between two parties. Prevailing interest rates in the respective markets have a major impact on the increase or decrease of a contracts price. For example if the GBP/USD contract is on sale at CME, than an increase in the interest rates prevailing in the British economy would increase the contract price and those in the United States economy would decrease it. This is because there is a direct link between the price of value of a currency and interest rates. If for example interest rates are reduced money supply will increase in the economy. According to the economic laws of supply and demand, an increased supply would result in lower prices. Thus the futures expected price of currency would also decrease. Balance of trade is without doubt the most important factor that can affect the price of a currency. Balance of trade refers to the difference between what a country imports and exports. Also called the current account balance, it can only be offset if investors keep investing in dollar dominated assets. If a country gives a budget with a deficit, it can only fill up that deficit by borrowing money for the national or international market. The government will have to use up its currency reserves to pay off international debt and possibly print more money to pay of national debt; these will decrease the value of national currency. The stability of the government is also a huge factor in determining the increase or decrease of national currency value. This is because a stable government establishes stable policies; this stability reduces investor risk thus increasing currency value. These factors have huge impacts on Currency value. This is because the risk associated with the currency is high in war and the risk of default; on foreign payments also increase. In case of Natural disasters, the expenditure of the country increases on

White-collar crime and criminal theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

White-collar crime and criminal theories - Essay Example Based on the rational choice theory, individuals engage in crime deliberately, and they have the conscious that the act they engage in is criminal. The theory also holds that people engage in white-collar crime on their own and as a result of their own free will (Shover & Hochstetler 2). The rational choice theory states that individuals willing to engage in white-collar crime first evaluate their actions. Based on their evaluation of the situation, the individual then makes an assessment on whether there is a possibility that they will complete the action without any sanctions. The rational choice theory is also states that people who carry out white-collar crime tend to be motivated to do so because of the desire to make illegal gains (Shover & Hochstetler 4). The theory further argues that the entities and individuals engaging in white-collar crime know the consequences of such a crime, but they choose to ignore these consequences and engage in crime regardless of the consequences. For example, a white-collar crime like fraud is carried out intentionally with the aim of getting unscrupulous gains. Corporate entities also engage in white-collar crime intentionally since they know the consequences of such crime (Vito and Jeffrey 63). The other theory, which explains white-collar crime, is the social disorganization theory. According to this theory, the factors around a person have a profound impact on the possibility to commit a crime. The conflicts and inconsistency of institutions play a key role in determining whether the white-collar crime will be committed (Payne 224). The key theorist who advanced the social disorganization theory was Edwin Sutherland. According to him, the social disintegration of society can be regarded as the basis upon which white-collar crime takes place. The disorganization of institutions contributes to white-collar crime since it enables criminals to have an easy way.

Cultural competence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural competence - Assignment Example knows what question to ask.’’ Nurses are more likely to attain culturally competent cross cultural care when the multifaceted combination of cultural knowledge, consciousness, attitudes and skill are used enthusiastically for cultural evaluation of patient’s health beliefs and practices, and for negotiating culturally harmonizing health interventions through expertise cross cultural communication. Health care providers can employ a number of strategies of cultural competence in their practice so as to deliver effectively; for instance, cultural accommodations can have a big payoff for patient’s emotional well-being because it supports and facilitates the use of cultural practices that have not been proven harmful, a good case study is placing a metal object such as coin or key on the umbilicus of a new-born child, which is understood to promote healing according to some societies (Srivastava,2007). However, for accommodation of culture to work, it is upon the nurse to have the prior knowledge of the culture from other sources, direct assessment and conversations. Implementing this strategy I quite involving because it requires the health provider to go extra mile in acquiring the relevant information related to a particular culture. Cultural preservation support clients in maintaining those aspects of their culture that promotes healthy behaviors. The health provider will support the use of systematically sound practices such as acupuncture for managing pain in a patient as well as interventions from biomedical health care systems such as using lower doses of opioid analgesics. However, this might be a challenge due to stereotype, other health care givers will ascribe to certain beliefs and behaviors to their patients without really understanding the individual differences within the groups (Ivanov & Blue, 2007). Cultural repatterning involves working with the patient health promoting behaviors. A health provider will work with the patient in order to

Popular Music, Youth and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Popular Music, Youth and Education - Essay Example Green’s Music on Deaf Ears: Musical Meaning, Ideology and Education explains the status that popular music plays on a social standpoint. Green explains that the set-up of music in classrooms came about because of the roles and eventual division social classes in society. Because the only way to measure skills and set classifications for music was based on the performances of the students, the students who received the most education had enough money for private lessons (Green 51). Therefore, on a social level, it was the higher-class students whose parents set the standard for what music was going to be like in the school system. The study showed that students who had parents that were higher up on the social ladder were more interested in music than students who had parents lower on the social ladder (Green, pp 47-48). The higher class of students also had a higher appreciation for the classical training and thought they had a better understanding of the need, awareness and w isdom that this music brought to an educational setting (Green, 51). The willingness to learn and the likelihood that the students in the higher classes listened to this type of music out of the classroom were higher than students who did not receive this opportunity (Green, 52). The liking of classical music in the upper division and the fact that students who were fond of popular music over classical music not being represented in this study shows the role that music played in society and the relevance in education (Green, 45, 48).

Short stories Essay Example for Free

Short stories Essay Traditional detective stories fall into three groups, whodunit murders,mysteries with a twist in the tale and locked room stories.  A whodunit mystery is a story where the detective has to find out who commited the murder by unravelling a series of clues that will eventually lead him to the murderer.There are usually a group of characters who are potential suspects because they have either a method or a motive for the crime.As the story moves on the detective slowly eliminates all the suspects in his mind until only one remains. The detective then usually calls all the suspects together and reveals the perpetrator.When the villain is taken away the detective them goes on to explain how he assembled all the clues and how they led him to the murderer. An example of how Conan Doyle exploits this is in the Cardboard Box when a cardboard package is sent to Miss Susan Cushing with a pair of preserved human ears in it and no-one knows why or who the ears belong to.Conan Doyle exploits this by removing the elimination process and turning it into a hunt for who the ears belong to and who must have killed the owners. After using his powers of observation, I percieved that her ear corresponded exactly with the female ear which I had just inspected. The matter twas entirely beyond coincidence.There was the same shortening if the pinna,the sam broad curve of the upper lobe,the same convolution of the inner cartilage.In all essentials it was the same ear. He comes to the conclusion, that one of Miss Cushings sisters, who is mentioned at the beginning of the story, and her lover were killed by her jealous husband.He was driven back to drinking by the rumours spread about him by the third of the Cushing sisters. The Mystery with a twist is a story that appears to follow the traditional lines of a murder or a crime story but then has an unexpected twist at the end.An example of how Conan Doyle exploits this is in the Silver Blaze story.In Silver Blaze a prize winning horse has been stolen and its trainer murdered.Sherlock Holmes is then called in and after following a series of clues he comes to the startling conclusion that Silver Blazes trainer,John Straker was not murdered but was kicked in the head by his horse when trying to sabotage its chances in its next race. The horse had then run away from its stables and was picked up by a rival stable owner; then kept hidden by painting it brown and passing it off as one of his own horses.A long series of clues were pieced together to lead to this conclusion.So the twist in this tale was that there was no murder when from the start all the evidence make it appear so. The locked room story type is a story where a murder has been commited in a locked room but there is no murderer,no murder weapon and no evidence of a suicide.In the Speckled Band a murder was commited two years ago but no-one knows how or why the girl died because she was in a locked room with barred windows and there was no evidence to show how she died apart from fright.Conan Doyle exploits this by having Holmes be visited by the sister of the murderd girl and say that she is afraid that the same thing will happen to her. Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are sound,and that the door,window,and chimney are impassable,the her sister must have undoubtedly been alone when she met her mysterious end. Holmes is trying to find out from the beginning how a murder could take place in a locked room with no way to enter. After visiting the house, Holmes and Watson decided to stay in Ms.Stoners room and while they are there a snake drops through the ventilation shaft, which was intended to kill Ms.Stoner.The snake then retreats back through the ventilation shaft and bites Dr.Gimesby Roylott the owner of the snake.It can seem very obvious from the beginnning of the story that Dr.Roylott has something to do with the murder but there is no evidence to prove this.Holmes then using his powers of deduction and observation uncovers Dr.Roylotts plans but inadvertantly causes his death. The genre used in the Red Headed League is that of a simple mystery.At the beginning it is not obvious that a crime is being commited but it is obvious that something very strange is happening.Conan Doyle exploits this by not giving us a target to point our suspicions at because there is no murderer that needs to be found or stolen property that needs to be recovered.There is just a simple mystery that leads on to a much larger one. The mystery is that a Mr.Wilson had been admitted to this organisation called the Red Headed league who would pay him four pounds per week to copy out the Encylopaedia Britannica. He thought this a bit odd but carried on with it for a number of weeks until one day the offices of the League were closed.He then went to see Sherlock Holemes,who after investigating the mystery found out that a much larger plot was at work. Mr.Wilsons apprentice pawnbroker Vincent Spaulding is really a wanted criminal who set up the League with a friend as a way of getting Mr.Wilson to leave his shop for a few hours a day.During that time they were digging a tunnel from the basement of the shop to a nearby bank.This kind of mystery cannot be solved from the start and readers can only suspect that the apprentice has anything to do with the mystery. This kind of plot could be called a Hidden-crime mystery. In conclusion I would say that Arthur Conan Doyle exploits many different kinds of traditional detecitve stories and gives them his own unique twist.He uses logic mixed with intricate plots and a sometimes a few red herrings, as in the Red Headed League.Some devoted readers prefer his earlier stories when Sherlock Holmes performed his observational miracles,however,one can only say that which ever you prefer Conan Doyles work is still read and admired today.

Pip and his Journey to becoming uncommon Essay Example for Free

Pip and his Journey to becoming uncommon Essay He shows it to Joe, who thinks its magnificent, but when Joe tries to read it all he can say is J. O. JO. (44) Pip is surprised, and then asks Joe if he can actually read. Joe replies that he can so Pip gives him a book, but again the only thing Joe can say is, J. O. JO. (44) Pip has looked up to Joe all his life, but now realizes how common Joe is. Pip is determined to teach Joe how to read, in order to make himself feel more uncommon, although Joe is happy with his simple blacksmiths life and doesnt want to change it. This is one example of Pip trying to make everyone around him uncommon for his own use. Later in the book, Joe is invited to Miss Havishams house with Pip. Joe gets all dressed up and is ready to go, and Pip realizes that Joe isnt himself when he is dressed up. While the two are at Miss Havishams house, she begins asking questions of Joe, but instead of replying to Miss Havisham, Joe replies to Pip. It appears that Joe feels Pip is a higher class than he is. Pips goal is to make Joe uncommon, but by exposing Joe to his own commonness, Pip made Joe feel even more common. Pips plan to make Joe uncommon backfires. Pip does not hesitate to take advantage of people and opportunities if it will help him on his journey to becoming uncommon. He is always looking for a way to push himself further up in society, and when he finds one, he takes advantage of it. Pip makes several visits to Miss Havishams house, every time becoming more and more attracted to Estella. Pip is attracted to Estella because of what the relationship would do to his social status. I have particular reasons for wanting to become a gentleman. You know best, Pip, but dont you think you are happier as you are? (114) He realizes that if he were to marry Estella, he would be rich and high class. With that marriage, Pips main goal in life would be completed. Pip also takes advantage of Biddy. Pip thinks that in order to become a gentleman you have to be educated. He knows that Biddy is very smart, and tries to use her to educate himself. Pips fixation with becoming uncommon leads him to use the people he knows as a step up in the ladder of society. In the beginning of the novel Pip is given a choice. Pip can either take the crooked or the straight path. It is his encounters with people of both higher and lower class that push him towards the crooked path. Pips encounters with people of a higher class make him feel jealous, and his encounters with people of a lower class make Pip feel common. Pips reactions to these encounters are to push himself further up in society, regardless of whom he hurts along the way. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

A Christians Experience In A Mosque Religion Essay

A Christians Experience In A Mosque Religion Essay I am a Christian by personal faith, genetics and through circumstance of being raised in the church. I have been a Christian so long that any other religion to me is of little concern to me personally. But, I do not say this to be mean because I have many friends of different religions, beliefs and races. Whatever they believe in is fine with me and vice versa. I decided to go to a mosque with my best friend since fourth grade since she is a Muslim. I learned a lot more than I originally thought and this is my journey. Humama and I have been best friends since fourth grade. My family and hers are close despite one being Christian and the other Muslim. To each other we are people, friends, and religion does not define our relationship. I asked Humama to come with me to the mosque downtown on King Street because I would feel more comfortable being with someone who knew what was going on. We decided to go on a Friday, which is their holy day. Before leaving her house in Goose Creek, we performed ritual called a Wudu. It is washing of body parts important to performing formal prayers, called Salah. She said that there is a station at the mosque for it, or they use a sink for it but it would be easier to do it before we left home. She gave me a blue outfit to wear with a matching veil to cover everything from our wrists to our ankles for modesty and respect. On the drive downtown, bundled up in a beautiful outfit completely out of my normal form of dressing, I wondered how I would be greeted and how I would be changed by this. I have walked and drove past the mosque on King Street many times. After living downtown for almost a year, you would have to be blind not to notice it. It sits there on the corner of King and Romney street, quiet and not architecturally designed like the mosques I have seen in pictures. It is simplistic in its design for its purpose. We parked and walked to the mosque and I noticed people of different races entering the mosque which surprised me. There were Blacks, Whites, and many people of Middle Eastern descent. There were young people, old people and all seemed unified in their beliefs of Allah. We entered the mosque and entered a quick prayer to bless the mosque. The prayer had not started yet, so Humama introduced me to other Muslims in the hallway. My anxiety was easing somewhat speaking to others that did not seem to mind I was there, despite being a Christian. Before entering the actual mosque, Humama and I took off our shoes to show another form of respect. Humama and I sat facing Mecca, after speaking for a few minutes to the others, she said we could offer other quick prayers while waiting for the sermon to start. I realized for the first time that the men and women were separated in the mosque. The men were in the front and the women in the back, though we could still see everything. I noticed that there were two rows of chairs and I saw that the handicapped or men of importance sat there. I sat beside Humama thinking, this is kind of unfair having to sit all the way in back and not among the men. In my church you sit anywhere, but I pulled the thought back, to not judge but participate in her faith. To get my mind off it, I thought to myself that I really enjoyed not having my shoes on since I am somewhat bohemian. Humama informed me we were waiting for the Imam, the preacher and leader of the mosque, to come out and preach which is called the Pre-Prayer. She informed that the Imam would usually come out and give a sermon on whatever he wished to or tell a religious story. He would later in the sermon connect the meaning of it to his sermon. I became a little impatient waiting for the Imam to come out, but she reassured me that he would be out shortly. After five more minutes he walked out and reality finally set in that I was completely out of my depth. The Imam, whose actual name is Mohamed Melhem did not look like a preacher to me. He seemed like a regular man yet easy to talk to. He began the sermon by welcoming everyone to the mosque and praising Allah. He was easy to listen to and to understand. He gave a sermon on serving Allah and fasting. That by fasting you gain a closer relationship with Allah. Allah is there for us and there is only one. Prayer should be consistent (they pray five times per day) and that the Quran is there to guide us. He spoke of being a Muslim in the world, that all aspects of being a Muslim should be retained once leaving the mosque. As a Muslim, your ethics and how you stick to them in the world shows how Allah is working through you. I noticed that everyone seemed in awe and took in every word he said. They seemed completely devoted to listening to the Imam speak about this, because by looking at them you could tell some found themselves again by being among peers like themselves. After finishing the sermon, the Adhan or Azan, did a call to prayer. Everyone listened and moved forward face down listening to the Azan pray. After the prayer was finished, some people continued to pray and others got up to socialize. The mosque offered food to us to raise money for the mosque. The food was similar to what I had eaten before at Humamas house and it was delicious. I do not remember the names of the food, but it did not matter at the time. Everyone socialized for about an hour and a half and some continued to speak about Allah, others about school and work. Some people were coming in late having just got off work to come in at the right time to pray. Leaving the mosque, I felt a little different. The peace of praying with others who get along despite your race. The sacredness of leaving the world outside and finding yourself again when entering the mosque. Facing Mecca and everyone praying in one direction and at one time. They all believe the same way and it shows why they have such a strong community. No one is trying to pull away and do their own thing. It made me feel closer to my own God, and that it makes life easier knowing that essentially we all have the same belief in one God, despite the different ways we worship. I gained a closer relationship with my best friend and with my God and that really changed me.