Monday, September 30, 2019

Personal Ethics Essay

When faced with a decision which requires an ethical framework, my usual pattern of decision making follows a pattern of reflection and introspection. The introspective element is both cerebral, that is: based in a rational analysis of the issue or matter at hand, and also intuitive, of which is to some degree an assessment of the emotional components of the decision at hand. However, intuitive introspection, at least in my opinion, transcends the boundaries of rationality as we understand it, and it even transcends our understanding of emotional responses, so intuition, although critical to my own decision making process is a slightly difficult aspect to illuminate. I once read the following paradigm somewhere. The origin of the paradigm is lost to my present memory, but the paradigm was this: whenever you are faced with a truly perplexing â€Å"yes or no† or â€Å"do or don’t† or â€Å"either or† decision, and you really can’t seem to make up your mind, flip a coin and assign â€Å"heads† to one outcome, and â€Å"tails† to the other. Now, when the result of the coin flip is shown, assess your feeling about the result and you will see what you wanted to do all along. In other words, say your choice is between going to a movie or playing a video game with your friends online. You can’t make up your mind which would be abetter choice, so you flip the coin, assigning â€Å"heads† to going to the movie, and â€Å"tails† to playing video games, vowing to abide by the result. Now, let’s assume the result of the coin flip is â€Å"tails† — staying home to play video games — and you feel excited, pleased and happy right away without thinking. Then staying in is what you wanted all along. If the coin-flip result of â€Å"tails† — staying home to play video games — made you want to flip the coin again for a different result, then you would know the same thing, that what you actually wanted to do was stay home and not go out to the movie. That is not to say that I make my decisions, trivial or profound, based on a coin flip! What I am driving at is that we often have intuitive feelings that lurk below the level of our rational consciousness and we can access this intuition in some cases when making decisions. As someone who has little faith in absolute ethical systems, or in a morality which is based on abstract philosophy, I like to include my own feelings, as well as my rational understanding of ethical concepts when I am faced with decisions. The underlying principles which inform the way I live my life are also drawn from the aforementioned notion of intuition or deep-introspection. For example, if I refuse a certain job offer, or even the offer of friendship on specific occasions this may have less to do with something which could be expressed in a linear fashion: the job was too demeaning, or that person had the wrong hair-style or hobby, but with something that might be more difficult to articulate clearly, but which is much more crucial than any superficial notions that might be viewed by some as important gauges or cues. In short, I don’t have any kind of â€Å"maxim† or concrete set of principles — edicts, I believe they are called — but rather a sense of personal disposition and emotional bearing. For example, I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings; viscerally: I just do not like to witness their pain so I avoid doing so when I can manage it. On the other hand, I take a rather dim view of altruism or the notion of helping people or giving them charity. I feel awkward placing myself in a position where I am apt to start pitying or feeling sorry for people; I myself dislike being pitied or felt sorry for, so I guess I assume it is the same for others. I tend to adopt the pursuit of happiness and personal joy (not to be confused with hedonism) as key aspects of my world view. That is, I am, at heart, an optimist who dislikes â€Å"whining† and cynicism and the pursuit of superficial self-gratification at the expense of others. That certainly does not mean that I advocate â€Å"selflessness† — whatever that term may indicate as a way of life, but rather, that I view joy, success, and fulfillment at least to some degree to be communal in nature. It is necessary that all acknowledge that everyone is a part of the human experience, no matter who or what they are. there are no exceptions. In my work, I try very hard to be both competent and respectful of those who I work with and for — but I often find it difficult to refrain from voicing my opinions, especially when I believe there is a possibility that my input may be helpful. I realize that work is a primary form of self-expression and self-fulfillment in life. My idea is that most people either love their jobs and derive a large part of their self-identity and worldly power through their jobs, or they hate their jobs and are constricted, limited, and oppressed by them. So, to my mind, it is crucial that you endeavor as much as possible to find a job that puts you in the former rather than the latter category because so much of life keys off of one’s work. One thing that I am convinced about is that everyone should bring the same emotional involvement and enthusiasm to their jobs as they very often bring to their hobbies, just as I believe most people should try to bring the same level of integrity and competence to their personal relationships as is usually required by their jobs. Obviously, I would not advocate the pursuit of money as a reliable indicator of whether or not a job is the right or wrong job. It is much more important that a job facilitate one’s sense of self-esteem and emotional security than whether or not the financial rewards are above and beyond â€Å"fair. † That said, a fair salary is always indicated because without it, maintaining self-respect and self-esteem is made more difficult. While there is no single â€Å"litmus test† for whether or not one’s work is the right work for them, the emotional and intuitive aspects of decision making can help as much in assessing a job’s strengths and weaknesses as a cold rational evaluation of the facts.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Australian legal system

The Australian legal system has 2 main sources of law, namely the Parliament-made law and the case law or the common law. The primary source of law in Australia is the Parliament-made laws. As the representatives are elected to the House by the people, statutes and laws can be made keeping in mind the needs of the people. Case laws on the other hand are made by the judges in the courts. Once the court gives its decision, the same would apply for similar circumstances or instances (precedent).The decision would be binding on courts in the future. Another source of law that can be considered in the Australian legal system is the international law that would be applicable in case Australia is a signatory to an international convention, or a bilateral/multilateral agreement (Governments of Australia and South Australia, 2007). Judges are usually, unable to make laws. The law-making capabilities are usually done by the Legislation. The judiciary would be interpreting laws and filling up t he gaps that have been left by the legislation.However, there may be instances in which a strong judiciary can create a new law that may have a strong impact on the society such that it would place the importance of the rule-making authority on the judiciary. Such instances include old, inappropriate and laws that go against human rights. There may be several areas of law such as contract laws, tort laws, negligence, etc, which need to be decided on a case-by-case basis, and develop judicial precedents for future cases. If the statues are so rigid and unclear, then it becomes important for the judge to develop new laws.In some instances common laws may also be difficult to apply. However, there is another school of thought that believes that judge-made laws do not exist, and the statutes would be providing principles upon which case laws which would be developed. Any kind of a judge-made law would be a trespass on the powers of the legislation (Sackeville, 2001). Another reason why judges cannot make laws is that often if a judge creates a law that applies in a particular case, it would apply retrospectively, which destroys the basic purposes of the law.Thirdly, all the Statutes would overrule the case laws. There may be three kinds of relationships between the legislation-made laws and the common law. Firstly, common laws may supplement the legislation-made laws and in this way strengthen the legal process. Secondly, Parliament-made laws may replace a common law. Thirdly, if a particular Parliament-made law is outdated or is threatening the basic human rights, then the Court can decide that the same should be scrapped. Hence, it can be said that judges can state the law within the limits of the legal world.There are two ways in which laws can be interpreted by the advocate or the judge. One way is to determine what the statute might allow. The second way is to determine what the statute would definitely permit (Gleeson, 2001). Often the appellant courts and t he constitutional courts would be creating laws. If any statute would be impeding the Constitution, the same statute can be invalidated. A court may also implement a new rule or principle if it feels that the result of just implementing a law would not have desired results. This could even be in non-constitutional areas (Sackeville, 2001).

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Article on Karl Marx and Private Enterprise

Article on Karl Marx and Private Enterprise Karl Marx is the most controversial economist in history. His writings are studied and debated. He is frequently linked with communism and that association has biased many people against him. Marxs link to communism were formed because many of the socialist dictators such as Lenin studied Marx intensively, however it is erroneous to assume that Marx was a proponent of communism. He was however a critic of capitalism. He studied capitalism extensively and much of his writings focus on the problems with capitalism and specifically on the exploitation of the worker. By examining the origination of capitalism and the Marxist critique of capitalism, we can gain a better understanding of Marxs viewpoints and separate Marxs views from many of the misunderstandings surrounding Marx. Marx spent a great deal of time examining the conversion of the feudal society to a capitalist society. Before the conversion to capitalism took place, England experienced an industrial revolution. This revolution took place from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Around this time, the Plaque that wreaked havoc on England and wiped out nearly half of its population was over. After the Plague ended, many people inherited a lot of wealth and spending on extravagant items became very common. Additionally, it was during this time that technological advances moved industry forward. The invention of the loom made it possible to create linens rapidly and inexpensively and Englands textile industry flourished. Soon after that came the invention of the printing press, which changed allowed for the efficient transfer of information. It was no longer necessary to learn how to do things directly through human contact. This spread of information made it possible for the people of England to organize themselves and to expand their knowledge in different areas of industry. During the 16th and 17th centuries England experienced a turning point in its economic history. During the reign of Charles I, England was going through a period of economic shrinkage. Up until this time English monarchy favored an economic system that was monopolistic in nature. The reason for this is that it gave England greater control over profits and taxation. However, as the merchant class began to grow, Englands economic policies began to hinder further growth. The merchant class (referred to by Marx as the bourgeoisie) began to compete with the monopolies and Englands economy grew increasingly unstable. The rising bourgeoisie began to enclose their land and focused their efforts more and more and their own material gain. These economic factors were, in a large part, responsible for the eventual revolution and execution of the King of England, Charles I. The conversion to capitalism took place over a large period of time, but the changes that took place affected every aspect of society. It changed not only industry, but also politics, religion, laws, and peoples social interactions. In feudalism, wealth was tied to the land. Society was based on agriculture and 90% of the people worked the land. If someone owned land they were wealthy; the society was divided into two classes, landowners and non-landowners. In feudalism, wealth was inherited. Land was passed on when the landowner died to his descendants and therefore it was impossible for serfs to move up. With capitalism this all changed. Wealth was linked to trade and production. For the first time, serfs had the ability to acquire some wealth because wealth was no longer based on lineage. Under this new system, owning a business became the major way to generate wealth, which created some opportunity for serfs that had a skill. Furthermore, land became a commodity that could be bou ght and sold. Previously, land did not change hands and the king could seize it at any time. In capitalism property was bought and sold and people could do with it whatever they wished. In feudalism profits were considered immoral, but under capitalism profits became the way to obtain a better life. Capitalism is the separation of the economy and the state. It is a social system based upon private ownership of the means of production, which entails a completely uncontrolled and unregulated economy where all land is privately owned. Capitalism has been described as the a social harmony through the pursuit of self-interest. This is because those who promote capitalism, believe in that by leaving the state of the economy unregulated, and by each individual left in pursuit of his own self-interests, the economy will automatically adjust itself so that is runs with maximum efficiency. Today in the United States we live in a capitalist society (although our economy is not purely capitalistic because it is not completely unregulated). Under this system a large and growing section of the population survives based on the condition that it works for the owners of the means of production. Production became a key component of this new way of life. Marx defines social class as relations to means of production. Society class structure changed. Instead of society being divided into the landowners and non-landowners, it was divided into those the capitalist and the worker. Capitalists built huge factories instead of small workshops and began to employee hundred of workers at a time. The capitalist owned the factory, the land, and the raw materials and instructed the worker on what to do. Then the goods produced were sold and the capitalist paid the worker a wage and kept the profits. At a time when 90% of England were poor, former serfs, capitalists found plenty of people willing to work for almost nothing. Although, a select few of the workers who were skilled earned a slightly higher wage, the majority worked to just enough money to sustain themselves. The capitalist paid as low a wage as possible and tried to sell their products for as high a price as possible. Most cap italists were very successful. They reinvested their money into new ventures and their wealth grew. Marx recognized that Capitalism divides society into classes, whose interests are not only different, but are opposed to each other. According to Marx the relationship between the capitalist and the worker is inherently antagonistic. What one gains is lost to the other. Because of this he felt that it was inevitable that the worker would have to rise up against the capitalist. Lets take a closer look at the capitalist-worker relationship and how workers wages are determined. The same principles that determine the price of goods also determine the wages. Supply and demand and the competition for labor determine wages by the capitalists. This is what causes the cost of labor to fluctuate and the fluctuations revolve around the cost of producing labor. The costs can be described as the cost of maintaining and training the worker. The easier a worker is to replace or the less training required to educate a worker, the smaller his wage. If there is little or no training necessary, a workers wages will equal the subsistence wage (the minimum amount necessary for a worker to survive). In addition the subsistence wage the capitalist must also consider the cost of replacing worn out workers. The addition of this cost to the subsistence wage is the minimum wage. Although many workers do live and work for a wage below this level, the minimum wage correlates to the wa ges of the entire working class and this wage is the point about which wages of the workers fluctuates. Understanding how wages are determined in the capitalist society we can now examine the relationship between labor and capital in more detail. The laborer receives wages in exchange for his labor. The laborer receives this wage which provides him a method of survival in that he can by food, clothes, and shelter. However, the subsistence wage will not provide the worker any means of economic progression. It will not provide him a way of moving up from the lower classes. An example of this would be a factory worker. He works for one day and is paid for his work ten dollars. The factory owner earns twenty dollars for the work put forth by the worker after subtracting the wage that he pays the worker. Therefore, the employer has created for himself twenty dollars by doing nothing more than giving the laborer work. The factory owner can then use the twenty dollars to reinvest in the factory or in another venture, increasing his wealth. The laborer on the other hand, earns his ten dollars a day, which is only sufficient for him to purchase necessities. It is often said that in capitalism it is in the best interest of the worker and the capitalist for the capitalists ventures to succeed. This is true in that if the venture does not succeed, the worker nor the capitalist will reap a reward. However, when it does succeed it is the capitalist who has the opportunity to increase his wealth and it is in the capitalists best interests that the worker not be given opportunity to earn more than the subsistence wage he is being paid. The growth of the business under capitalism will logically benefit a select number of capitalists. The few who are fortunate enough to have wealth have the opportunity for their wealth to grow. However the worker is not as fortunate. Marx knew that a growth in profits for a firm did not help the worker as one might suspect. In fact, a growth in profits would imprison the worker. When profits increase, wages might also increase but not at the same proportion to profit. An increase in profits for a firm of 30 percent could translate roughly to an increase in wages of 5 percent. Even though wages rose, they rose proportionately less that profits. Therefore the relative wage has not increased, but in fact it has gotten smaller. As the few capitalists increase their wealth, the gap between the rich and the poor must widen. The size of the working class (Marx refers to them as proletariats) grows in number, but their individual wealth is stagnant. The relationship between the two classes i s a control relationship of the capitalist over the worker. This is not a great improvement over the relationship between the feudal lords and the serfs. In the best case scenario a capitalist economy prospers to the point that wages are driven up. Even in this case, however, the gap that would develop between the rich and the poor is so unproportional that it would be impossible for the laborer to increase his standard of living in a pure capitalist economy. We can see that even the best possible situation for the working class does not improve their situation. The material position of the worker may rise slightly, but his social position continues to decline. Marx refers to the manner in which a capitalist controls the worker and reaps the rewards of his labor as exploitation of the worker. The capitalist exploits the worker by using him in the production of goods and using the profit that was generated by the workers labor for his own gain. We will look at how this is done, but first we need to understand how the value of a good or a commodity is measured. By gaining that understanding we can then look at the value added to a product by the laborer and what portion of that value is rewarded to him. It had been a problem for economists to determine how the value of a good is derived. It had been determined that prices of all commodities including labor, are continuously rising and falling and that the price of the goods can rise and fall because of factors that had nothing to do with the production of the good itself. The determination of value was a problem that many economists tried to resolve. Marx was the first economist to investigate thoroughly the notion that the value of a good is determined by the labor put into producing the good. He believed that the value of a commodity was based on all labor, past and present, put into creating the good. This established a way of measuring the true value of good. However this theory had some problems. How is the value of labor determined? How do we express the value of labor when labor itself is used to measure value? Classical Economists contrast these problems that were faced by Marx (as well as other economists such as David Ricardo), with another theory. This theory suggests that the value of a commodity is equal to its cost of production. Under this idea, the value of labor can be determined by the cost of sustaining him or the cost of replacing him. Another way of looking at the exploitation of the worker is by examining the number of hours put into producing a product. The value of each product consists of three parts, according to Marx: the first part is the amount of constant capital put into a good, the second part is the amount of variable capital used to create the good (wages), and the third is the surplus value. The surplus value is the value of a good above and beyond the value that was paid to the worker in the form of wages. In fact by dividing the surplus value by the workers wages we are able to derive the Rate of Exploitation of the worker. So for example a workers wage might equal half of the value of the good he produced. The other half of the value that the worker added is the surplus value and the surplus value is taken for profit by the capitalist. By looking at the relationship between the worker and the capitalist one thing is certain. The value of a good is determined either directly or indirectly by the worker. The value is either composed of the actual units of labor used to produce the product or the cost of labor is used as part the valuation of the good (in addition to the other costs such as materials and machinery). Regardless the worker is reduced to a tool used by the Capitalist and he is nothing more than a component in the production process. And that is what Marx felt would cause the strain and the inevitable rebellion of the worker. It is important to note that despite the common misperception, Marx did not feel that Capitalism is all bad. He recognized that it ended feudalism which was far worse. In many ways he looked at Capitalism as a segue to something better. He believed that Capitalism was dynamic and constantly changing and this leads to the promotion of technology and spurs advances in science. He also knew that Capitalism was an efficient way of creating material wealth. However, despite capitalisms advantages, Marx could not over look its disadvantages. It divides people into classes, which in and of itself, Marx believed, creates problems. It produces wealth for few and unhappiness for many. He believed that a worker is not just selling his labor, he is selling his humanness. He believed that a Capitalist economy will grow for decades (although their will be periods of recession and depression), but the capitalist system can not flourish indefinitely because by isolating the worker and creating the tension that must exist between the capitalist and the worker, capitalism must fall. The workers will eventually organize themselves and overthrow capitalism and then capitalism will be regarded as feudalism is now, as a stepping stone to something better.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Management consultancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management consultancy - Essay Example They also have team works in every representative they send to their clients. They also use the different consulting modes in how they consult with their clients. Table of Contents Introduction Management consulting in its essence is the action or practice of helping organizations and business to improve on their performance. They are therefore called upon to help management to achieve the organization goals. Organizations call them for a variety of reasons which are mainly centered on gaining an external objective input on how to run the organization. Another reason is management consultants are experts in this area therefore gaining expertise information from the consultants (Schwartz, 2002). They are valuable since they have dealt with many organizations and hence have expert knowledge on how to achieve success in the organization. Other essential skills that management consultants offer the organizations include change management assistance, development and coaching skills, techn ology setting up in the firm, strategy development and also efficiency in operational services. Management consultants manage these tasks by bringing their own methods and frameworks that have succeeded in other organizations to make the organization more efficient and effective at performing their tasks (Drucker, 2006). Management consultancy has grown over the years. ... Management consulting therefore depends on the specialization of the consultancy firm and the consulting needs of the organization. They include information technology consulting, virtual management, human resource consulting and financial consulting. Sometimes some of this specialization offered by consultancy firms overlap and they offer an even more diversified consultancy (Werr, 2004). The field of management consultancy has grown to include consultancy in non-public organizations including the public sector. In the UK, there has been extensive use of management consultants. The government has spent a large sum between 1996 and 2006; it used 20 billion pounds in management consultants. This has raised question among the House of Commons if this type investment was even worth it. But the use of management consulting has yielded fruit especially in the National Health Service, in the Local Government Association Improvement and Development Agency and also in the National Supports T eams. Although Management consulting can be somewhat expensive it is essential. It often leads to better performance of the organization in general. It is therefore one thing that all companies and firms should consider especially in areas which they lack a lot of skills or if the firm is on the red and requires a turnaround plan to make it more profitable (Norton, 2006). Client Centered consulting process model by Cockman This consultancy cycle or model has been used by many consultants to show the interaction of the consultants and the client from the beginning of the consultancy model. At times it does not reflect what actually happens in reality. But like all models following them makes the process better. The Professional Consultants were

Thursday, September 26, 2019

SWOT Analysis in Nestle Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SWOT Analysis in Nestle - Case Study Example In a recent research carried out by the company, almost 60% of the world population must have consumed or benefited from one of the company's brand3. Most of its brands are billion sellers, and some of the brands are popular than the company itself. Some brands are only available in certain parts of the world. The company is one good corporation promoting diversity, the shareholders, and the employees come from different part of the world. The company has millions of undistributed profit, a portfolio balance sheet in billions of dollars4. Through Creating Shared Value, Nestl links its operations to long-term value both for its business and for society as a whole, and defines its success in terms of internal financial returns and external social and economic results. Ultimately, creating shared value acknowledges both the work that corporations need to do to reduce negative impacts on society as well as, and more fundamentally, how they can be part of progress on global challenges5. The SWOT Analysis, or sometimes known as the TOWS Matrix, is a strategic planning, competitive and analytic weapon used to evaluate the S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats involved in a project or business venture6. Market analysis of competitors, suppliers, customers and potential opportunities has long been a competitive preparation of the staple firm7. As the struggle for product development and market shar... 1.2 Applying the SWOT Metrix The SWOT Analysis, or sometimes known as the TOWS Matrix, is a strategic planning, competitive and analytic weapon used to evaluate the S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats involved in a project or business venture6. Market analysis of competitors, suppliers, customers and potential opportunities has long been a competitive preparation of the staple firm7. As the struggle for product development and market shares continue, firms often perform market analysis of their competitor's strength, opportunities, and weaknesses and threats in order to know how to formulate and implement subsequent strategies8. However, in the theory of perfect competition and major strategic theories it is assume firms know their industry and competitors fairly well. Anderton, (2006) postulated that firms engage in competitive analysis to gain a better understanding of their competitors' resources, capabilities, and strategies. Smith et al. (1992) went further to detail how firms in the airline industry initiate strategies and respond to competitors' strategies. Thomas et al., (1993) went further to illustrate the importance of competitor's analysis.The perception of similarities and differences among competing firms can drastically affect the types of competitive behaviors in which a firm engages9. By doing competitive analysis firms are better placed to do ma rket segmentation, develop their core products and competences and be more opportunistic in their environment. Figure 1., below provide an in-depth analysis of Nestle strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Weaknesses Opportunities Major competitors have strong holding some countries and market segment. Some products have not been quite

What is 'News' Examine critically and discuss how it is constructed Essay

What is 'News' Examine critically and discuss how it is constructed and produced - Essay Example There is furthermore a tendency for news organs to try to vary their content - an excellent example is in the UK where the TV news bulletins, even on days which are dominated by â€Å"bad news† stories, will usually end with a piece of light relief - so much so that popular mythology has it that a certain news-caster was fired when his over-mirthful reaction to one such item was accidentally aired. Newspapers also follow this format - in most countries the â€Å"serious† news being placed at the beginning of a publication, with less serious issues such as TV listings, sports and letters being placed later in the publication. However, the advent of 24 hour TV news stations such as CNN, BBC World and Euronews, along with the massive expansion of the internet, has made significant changes to the ways that media construct their reports. A vast amount of effort is now put into gathering news, and once consequence of this is that news media are no longer able to manage the flow of news as comprehensively as in the past, nor to restrict access to what information the public will become privy to. Throughout history individuals, organizations and governments have sought to control public access to information. In this they have been sometimes aided and sometimes obstructed by the organs of the media which deliver that information. In particular newspapers in many countries have, until recently, tended to follow the guidance, or even censorship, which governments have imposed on them. However, more recently this has become a less followed path for news media. This greater independence appears to spring form several disparate sources. Firstly - the burgeoning of the internet has provided a new and largely unregulated source of news material. Items that mainstream news media might have previously not reported are now in the public domain. To fail to report these would leave the traditional media open to allegations of news manipulation, scorn and

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Six Faith Affirmations (Iman) and Importance of Shariah Essay

Six Faith Affirmations (Iman) and Importance of Shariah - Essay Example This paper is focused on interpretations of six faith affirmations and positions Shariah as a modern alternative for legal principles’ development. Six faith affirmations Iman has six basic pillars. In accordance with them every Muslim should believe in Allah, angels, revealed books, commissioned Missioners, resurrection and events of Qiyamah, predestination of all things in the world. It is possible to interpret these principles in the following way: belief in Allah should be considered as the first basic pillar of Iman. It is impossible to develop the Islamic personality avoiding this belief. Further on, it is evident that this principle is the basic need for every individual. God’s worshipping is possible only when this first belief is taken by Muslims for granted. Allah is the sole Creator and orders the actions of his creations only in the ways that may please him. God leads to paradise and people are guided only by the Creator. The Islamic personalities need Godâ €™s forgiveness. Belief in Allah should not be followed by Muslims only because it is a way to paradise. They can enter paradise only if they are allowed by God to enter there. The second pillar, belief in the Angels, can be explained as follows: angels exist among other creations of God. They are real beings and they were created from light. Qur’an describes angels: Jibreel is responsible for delivering revelation; Mika'il brings the rain, Israfil blows the horn on Qiyamah; Malik-ul-Maut takes away human souls after death. There are also the Noble Recorders responsible for recording of people's actions. The Protectors (Al-Mu'aqqibat) prevent people from death. Two angels, opposed to each other are Ridhwan and Malik. The former is responsible for Paradise and the latter for Hell. Munkar and Nakir are the questioners in the grave. There are also other angels, responsible for recording the future of fetus, those who entered the Haraam and some others. There are exact quotes in the divine books of Muslim that belief in the angels is one of the most important things for the Islamic personalities: â€Å"Belief in the angels is an integral part of Iman† (2/285 Al-Baqara), â€Å"Kufr with respect to the angels is Kufr† (4/136 An-Nisaa). Therefore, belief in the angels is the integrative part of belief in Allah. It is very important to believe in angels, because they are â€Å"spiritual mediators† of the words of Allah. It is possible to claim that every component of Iman is very important in the Islamic religion, but the role of angels as promoters of Allah intentions strengthens developments of Qur’an and the Sunnah. Belief in the Books of Allah is outlined in Qur’an, because they should be followed by truly devoted Muslims. These are: As-Suhuf of Ibrahim and Musa, Az-Zaboor given to Daud, At-Taurat revealed to Musa, Al-Injeel revealed to Isa, Al-Qur'an - the final revelation. Moreover, Qur’an has the following ch aracteristics: it is flawless (41/42 Fusilat); this book is the final authority (5/48 Al-Maidah), guidance and a mercy (10/37 Yunus). The importance and guidance of Qur’an is explained by the Prophet: â€Å"The Book of Allah; in it is news of those who came before you; news of what is to come after you; the ruling on that which is between you; it is the decisive criterion, and is not jest† (Six Affirmations of Iman). There are a lot of comparisons of this Holy Book and it is often mentioned that

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Arbitration on Buyer-Seller Disagreement Case Study

Arbitration on Buyer-Seller Disagreement - Case Study Example There are situations in the international market where the buyer and the seller disagree on their transactions. The basis of such dispute could range from the supply of inferior quality goods, failure of the goods delivered to meet standards and specifications or failure to deliver such goods or services in good time (Cornell, 2001). Under all these circumstances, the laws governing the international market provides an avenue through which such disputes can be resolved (Frank, 2009). In our case where the American businessperson ships livers to the German trader that do not meet all the specifications, then a need for dispute resolution arises. While the sex of the animal from which the livers are obtained is no cause for concern to Americans, the case is different in Germany. The livers obtained from different sexes of animals will fetch different prices in their markets. Since the attempt by the traders to resolve the dispute by them has failed completely, then a need for arbitrati on arises. The most important thing that the arbitrator should consider in this dispute resolution is the fact that a company is guided and under obligation to follow both the domestic laws regulating business transaction and the laws of the foreign country where the company is undertaking its business. In this case, owing to the fact that in Germany livers fetch different prices, based on which sex of the animal they come from, then the German importer has a reason to require the American supplier to pay a price allowance of $1000 (Cornell, 2001). Owing to the fact that the German importer issued instructions to the effect that the livers shipped should be of customary merchantable quality, it was the responsibility of the American trader to seek to understand the particular requirements of customary merchantable quality livers in the German market. Therefore, in this case, the arbitrator will rule in favour of the German importer, and establish an agreement with both of the traders, for the American exporter to reduce the price of the livers he shipped, so that the German importer does not run at a loss wholesomely.     

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Comparison of Detroit and Cleveland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Comparison of Detroit and Cleveland - Essay Example On a comparable state is the city of Cleveland which is considered as the ‘shrinking city’ because of its declining economy. Detroit began its rise with the plan of Gallatin, the man who proposed the canal system in the nineteenth century which eventually caused people to travel easily to the city from its neighboring places. The canals attracted travelers and the density gradient of the city’s population rapidly rose. The influx of people in the city was economic based requiring more rapid transportation and inspiring the use of airlines to concentrate people in the city, which in turn produced economic success and cultural vitality, affecting how America was to be defined. The transport system later required the building of railroads which connected cities and states in the 1960s, similar to the canal system of Gallatin which catered to the buses and cars during that time. As cars increased, more and more people travelled on their own cars leaving those who are not able to afford the transportation to commute through bus and trains. However, the roads were more frequented by cars and the transportation system declined, affecting the economy of the city. People left the city in search of better places where they are allowed to travel to their workplaces in a faster means and this suffered the city as its economy went down with its population. On a similar form, Cleveland experienced economic failure, shrinking to one of the poorest cities now in America and considered along with Detroit as exurb. Could the two cities regain their former state? With the competition of nations and cities for success, Detroit called its foundations, politicians and city planners to look into a plan for gentrification, a design that would bring back the life the city once had when its economy was at its peak. The groups mentioned proposed wirings that would enable electrically operated

Saturday, September 21, 2019

My Ambition Essay Example for Free

My Ambition Essay My ambition in life has always kept changing frequently, like as a dancer, as an artist, a writer or a doctor since I like biology . But I have realized that by just liking something that is related to it cannot assure someone to become that. Every ambition has so many fields to look through to achieve. One may not be successful in all the related paths but can be in at least a few. But now I feel its time for me to have a particular goal to reach. I don’t want to be focused completely on it but also want to be flexible at the same time. At home my father always dreams of me becoming a scientist like him, for that’s natural. But if anyone asks me now, about my ambition, may be it’s for sure I would like to tell I would become a scientist. This is not because my family wants it or because of their view, it’s because I have seen how life changes with a job like this. I always think of doing something different from others so that I am being recognized and also to do something new and worthy. A scientist lives with all reality. There is nothing better. I would love to work for the country’s development and to retain its prestige. As far as I have seen, I know that a scientist job would do better for me to do this. I don’t want to be just a scientist but also a researcher. A work becomes a research when one does something which is not known to the person doing which brings out wonders. I would like to learn every moment rather to do what others have done. It may be a hard job to do, but I like being complex. I want to work with others view to improve or invent something that is needed by the world. On a daily basis, I see my father’s work as a scientist or as a researcher discovering something that is unusual. Every day becomes a day to solve problems This very much surprises me . It also won’t be wrong to say that his works, deep involvement, seriousness, ect have actually put an impact on me. I would rather say, he has influenced me to carve out my future. I now dream to get into the field of my father and would put in a complete contribution to achieve my goal, by also having a complete support from my family . By becoming a scientist I will not only fulfill my parents dream but also can fulfill my wishes to live in my own way, with my own ideas like a free bird. I also wish to become a role modal to the rest of the world. The value of achievement lies in achieving. But at the same time I remember that it needs lot of work from now, only then can I turn a dream into reality. Sincere hard work always fetches. It may not just be a proud moment for me, but also for my parents and for my country. The will to succeed can overcome greatest adversity. So, my ambition to become a scientist begins or has already begun.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Effects of Prevalence Expectation on Visual Search Behaviour

Effects of Prevalence Expectation on Visual Search Behaviour Page | 1 Introduction The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of prevalence expectation on visual search behaviour and cognitive function in radio-diagnosis of the adult chest radiograph and its impact upon medical expert witness testimony in malpractice litigation. Research into radiological error has consistently demonstrated disparity in radiological performance. Most studies of radiology error report significant rates of intra and inter observer variability. The pertinent question is why do radiologists make mistakes? â€Å"Conventionally, radiologists produce diagnoses on the basis of a combination of their training, experience, and individual judgment. Radiologists perceive and recognise image patterns and associate or infer a diagnosis consistent with those patterns.† [1] Accurate results depend upon the radiologist’s ability to recognise a lesion, ignore irrelevant details, and retrieve pertinent memories in order to accurately interpret an image. The radiologists primary task is to accurately identify a range of anatomical structures and pathological findings on medical images. The diagnostic process in radiology is not well understood. Basically, radiologists perceive and recognise image patterns and then associate or infer a diagnosis consistent with such patterns. Appearances on a radiograph are silhouettes of normal and abnormal anatomy. Each shadow represents a projection of layers of detail on a two dimensional surface from a three-dimensional object. The successful detect ion of the target and the time required to seek it out depends upon a number of external factors Much information needs to be processed by the radiologist during the interpretation of such shadows. The disease pattern, The clinical and demographic information relating to the patient The differential diagnoses pertaining to such a pattern. The experience of the radiologist A general aspect of everyday life is looking for a particular target amongst an assortment of other (distracting) items. Visual Search is one task that is performed routinely from radiological diagnosis to finding a definitive research text in a library. Visual search is an essential element in the cognitive process and is the interaction between the visual system, its target and the reader’s subsequent decision. Each experiment was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, but were designed to simulate, as near as possible, the clinical arena. Expectation is explored by manipulating the information given to radiologists between general clinical information and very specific clinical information, thereby encouraging each radiologist to formulate an individual expectation of abnormal prevalence in the images presented to them. We then measured any subsequent change in behaviour as the subjects’ biases shifted. It was hypothesised thata radiologist would vary their decisions at the cost of more or less false alarms. This is termed criterion shift. The amount by which a radiologist considers false alarms to achieve a higher rate of detection is termed the bias. Bias represents an approach to lessen the consequences of a missed target. What is visual search? In a visual search task, subjects look for a target item among a number of distracting items. [1] After breaking down an image into its distinct components, the visual system directs attention to unusual areas for further analysis. This act of looking for and selecting an anomalous feature on a radiographic image is termed visual search, and is the task performed by radiologists daily. At a very basic level, there are generally considered two types of visual search termed pre-attentive and attentive. A great deal of research has been conducted regarding the differences between these two types of visual search and the factors that affect performance during each [2, 3]. Pre-attentive search has been given a number of labels including efficient search, parallel search, easy or effortless search [1] and automatic detection [4]. In this type of search, the targets are anticipated to contain features which are processed pre-attentively [5], basically drawing attention to themselves. In this type of search, the target appears immediately to the observer, requiring little search effort. For example when searching for the letter X on a page of letter Os or for a red target in a mass of blue targets. Attentive search also referred to as inefficient search [1] serial search [4] and controlled search [2] refers to a complicated search in which attention must be given to targets much less obvious. These components are influenced respectively by the characteristics of the environment (e.g., saliency of targets and distracters) and learned search strategies. The distinction between these two types of search is consistent with the view that search is driven by both bottom up and top down processes [6] wherein bottom up processes drive attention due to salient features in an environment or target features and top down processes drive attention through the function of search strategies such as the direction of attention to locations of high priority. Experienced radiologists develop a mental global impression of a standard radiograph [7, 8] sometimes called a target template [9] and in some instances use pre-attentive search as the abnormality is almost instantaneously visible. Conversel y they may use the second approach in more difficult cases. Recognising how these factors influence target detection helps to understand real-world search tasks and cognitive psychology. Together, the results can help to show how different influences affect visual search in the performance of real-life search tasks as in medical radiology, and airport baggage security. Fiore et al [10]) define threat detection in an airport screening task as the ability to rapidly recognise targets in the environment and interpret the meaning and importance of these cues. Nodine et al [11] break the radiological interpretation task down into three elements, describing the task as consisting of a search for, the recognition of an abnormality and the decision made regarding the abnormality. Many occupations depend on the speedy and effective execution of a visual search. Surf life savers in Australia are trained to search the ocean for rips, sharks and for swimmers in difficulty. Diamond cutters need to be able to evaluate the cutting potential of a rough diamond and need to be able to look at a diamond crystal and determine whether it will yield a large enough gemstone to make a profit.The quality and price will vary greatly based on the cut quality [12]. Airport baggage security screeners are trained using Threat Image Projection (TIP) technology to detect potential threat items within an X-ray image that may contain harmless clutter. There are various features which might hamper a successful visual search, including item superimposition, different viewpoints, rotation of the item and general image complexity. A number of other demands may also influence search, including psychosocial pressure (a busy airport might provoke a too rapid search), expectation (a threat it em is a rare occurrence), boredom and the number of different targets added to the list of dangerous or suspicious items. Errors in these areas are potentially life-threatening, expensive or both. In the medical arena, diagnosis in cytology and radiology are two areas that are dependent upon visual search. Clinical understanding and proficiency in visual pattern recognition serve as the basis for diagnosis by radiologists and pathologists [13]. Error in Radiology Imaging departments must offer a top quality radiological service with as little risk to the patient as is possible. It is therefore incumbent upon radiology department to address any problematic areas and try to reduce the causes of error. The accuracy of the radiological report is one element of the patient’s care. In radio-diagnosis, errors are either of perception or cognition [14]. Perceptual errors occur when targets (tumours, infection) are not visualised. A cognitive error occurs when an abnormality is seen but the radiologist draws the wrong conclusions due to unsound diagnostic reasoning. Diagnostic errors are classified as either false positive (FP) or false negative (FN). A false positive decision is due to the interpretation of a presumed target as pathological when it is in fact normal. A false-negative is an abnormality that is present but is not perceived. FN errors errors are five times more likely than FP errors [15], whilst perceptual errors are four times more frequent than decision making errors [14]. Radio-diagnosis not an exact science. Approximately 4% of Radiological interpretations contain errors, fortunately, most of these errors are clinically insignificant, or if serious errors are found, they are promptly corrected causing no harm to patients [16]. Identifying and locating items can be challenging especially when one is uncertain of where, or even what, to look for. Difficulties are more likely to occur when observers must locate the target’s position rather than simply detect the target’s presence [17]. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand error in radio-diagnosis. This issue has been recognised for a number of years. In the 1940s, Garland [18] found that 10-20% of chest radiographs of patients with suspected tuberculosis (TB) were read differently by different observers and a study by Quekel et al [19] observed that 19% of lung cancers presenting as a nodule on chest radiographs were missed. Another study [20] identified major diagnostic variation between three experienced radiologists interpreting medical images of patients in an emergency department. In this study the level of diagnostic agreement between the radiologists varied according to the anatomical area examined. Levels of agreement were abdomen (51%), chest (61%) and musculoskeletal (74%). There are a number of influences that affect the perception and diagnosis of chest lesions. Of these influences, prevalence expectation has had very little study. Target prevalence and prevalence expectation Prevalence expectation or bias occurs when expectations about an outcome influences a subject’s behaviour. In radiology this can be a factor during diagnosis. For statistical reasons, laboratory studies of visual search in typically include targets on 50% of all trials and participants often recognise that any given trial has an equal chance of having a target or not. However, real-life searches are seldom so balanced. In airport security, baggage screeners view numerous x-ray images of suitcases, but the incidence of a dangerous item happens infrequently. Consequently, one issue in visual search is exploring how a difference in target prevalence modifies searcher expectation and subsequent detection performance. This issue has been raised in multiple domains, including vigilance studies, radio-diagnostic perception, and cognitive psychology. In routine radiological examinations, the occurrence of abnormalities is generally low. This frequency fluctuates depending on the demographics of the population and the anatomical area being examined. However, in all cases, a mis-diagnosis might result in serious consequences. Research within radiology has therefore attempted to show whether low target prevalence is responsible for diagnostic error. Whilst a number of studies, within the medical and non-medical domains, have investigated whether the number of targets present (prevalence) can affect performance. [21, 22, 23, 24], there has been almost no research undertaken regarding the effect of prevalence expectation.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Temporal Cortex :: Brain Neurology Essays

The Temporal Cortex The temporal cortex, also known as the temporal lobes, is the part of the verbal cortex in the left and right hemispheres of the brain lying inside the temples. In general the temporal lobes handle a wide variety of task that are essential to every day functioning. Patient him/herself The temporal lobes are readily recognizable brain structures with a thumb like appearance when viewed from the side. Their name reflects their location beneath the temporal bone on the side of the head. In some ways, the temporal lobes are more a convenient fiction than anatomical entities. They share borders with the occipital and parietal lobes, but the precise boundaries are not clearly defined by landmarks. A better definition of the anatomical limits of the temporal lobe would come from thalamic and intracortical projections and a functional analysis of the various subunits within the lobe. Because excision of the anterior temporal lobe is often used to help control medically intractable seizure disorders, much of our knowledge of the effects of damage to this area comes from studies of persons with epilepsy (Encyclopedia of the Human Brain). The functions of the temporal lobe are: auditory, ventral visual stream, processing of auditory input, visual object recognition and categorization, long term storage of sensory input, Amygdala (adds affective or emotional tone to sensory input and memories), and Hippocampus (cells code places in space and allow us to navigate space and remember where we are) (www.brain place.com/bp/brain system/temporal.asp). The temporal lobe is separated into two sides: dominate and non-dominate. The dominate side of the temporal lobe is usually the left side and is involved in the perception of words, processing language related to sounds, sequential analysis, increased blood flow during speech perception, processing details, intermediate term memory, long term memory, auditory learning, retrieval of words, complex memories, and visual and auditory processing. A patient who is experiencing dominant temporal lobe problems may be suffering from one or more of the following symptoms: decreased verbal memory (words, lists, stories), difficulty placing words or pictures into discreet categories, trouble understanding the context of words, aggression; internally or externally driven, dark or violent thoughts, sensitivity to slights, mild paranoia, word finding problems, auditory processing problems, reading difficulties, as well as emotional instability (www.brain place.com/bp/brain system/temporal.asp). The non-dominate side of the temporal lobe is usually the

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Historical Events that Changed the World Essay -- World War 2 II Two

Historical Events that Changed the World Between World War I and World War II America went through events in the political, economical and social areas that would change the face of the nation forever. The various eras- World War I, the Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression & the New Deal, and World War II each had separate issues that caused changes in relation to class, gender, domestic and international affairs. Although many of these events were only effective temporarily, others still show a strong influence today. Movements such as woman suffrage, events such as dropping the atomic bomb, and social eras such as The Harlem Renaissance still play an important role in the lives of Americans today. World War I laid the foundations for the political and economical crisis that was soon to follow. Even before the end of the war, Allies claimed reparations from Germany, whose economy was destroyed. Wilson, after meeting with the Big Four, slowly began to accept the idea of reparations. Once implemented, the American banks were now beginning to profit greatly from loaning to both Germany and the Allies- Germany who had to pay their reparations and fix the infrastructure of the country, France whose infrastructure was destroyed and Great Britain, who had to pay back America for all the ammo and weapons they had bought. Germany entered a never-ending debt cycle- repaying the allies by taking out loans, then repaying the loans by taking out even more loans. Germany’s devastated economy as a new democratic nation that was used to monarchy led to poor democratic governments that always failed. These issues eventually caused the Nazi party to become dominant- and Hitler became lead er. The Bolshevik revolution in the 1917 started hatred towards the Communists in America (Eventually leading to the Cold War). The Red Scare that followed the war was a good example of the psychotic mind of the average American. The fear of being overthrown by communists was everywhere. Anyone who publicly opposed the war was immediately thrown into jail. â€Å"Subversive† books were removed from the shelves; feminists were attacked because of their opposition of American intervention in Europe. It was a time of chaos. Once Wilson was out of office, and Harding elected, however, things started to change- The 19th Amendment that was ratified in 1920 marked the end of 100 years o... ... morning of August 6th, 1945, Hiroshima was bombed, over 80,000 casualties, and Nagasaki was bombed 3 days later, with over 100,000 casualties. September 2nd, 1945 was the surrender date of the Japanese. Fourteen million troops and over 35 million civilians had perished in this devastating war. The era between World War I and World War II changed the face of America greatly. From the traditional world of religion, hands-off capitalism, modesty, white-male supremacy, emerged a new world- where evolution was taught, radio and movies became the main source of entertainment, where blacks were treated more as equals and less as scum, where women received voting rights and labor benefits, where California became the economic powerhouse. The era has set the economic and social values of which we live by today, as well as many political issues that have recently ended (Cold War) or issues that are still going on today-for example the Mexican illegal immigrant work force. All in all, I believe that the individual triumphs, or collapses, in the class, gender, domestic and international affairs of those times have changed the face of America and set the basis for our everyday lifestyle.

The Basics Of A Hard Drive :: essays research papers

The Basics of A Hard Drive   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I'm sure, by now you have used a computer be it to play games or write a paper. But do you know how a computer works and runs all the programs you what it to? Well if not I will tell you. To begin with I will explain a little about the history about the computers history. About 50 years or maybe a little longer someone came up with the thought that all the boring stuff like math could be automated so humans would not have to do it all. Hence the computer, as to who exactly I could not tell you. That person than began to work with his Idea and figured out that if he could turn a machine on and off at a specified time for a specified time he could in a way alter what it could do. To turn it on and off he came up with a very interesting way, he used a sheet that looked almost like a scantron sheet but with holes and those holes where used to turn it on and off. The holes represented 1s and the noholes 0s. the 1s turned it on an the 0s turned it off. With this knowledge he began to make little programs that could solve math problems. I guess he must have gotten bored with the math or something because he came up with a way to let him play tic-tack toe with the computer, which by the way was the first came ever to be created on the computer. Now there is one more thing you have to know about this computer, the computer was half the size of West High Schools gym. And it was thought that when it was ecomoical for people to own there own computer it would fill a decent size room. Could you imagine a computer filling up your entire living room, where wolud you put your TV? But with the invetion of keyboards and nanotechnology they reduced the size of the computer by nearly 200% and every year the keep getting smaller and smaller and it is estimated that nearly 85 to 90 percent of American homes have at least one computer in their home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that I have bored you to death with the history of computers here's the fun stuff.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Programs that let you play games and surf the net aren't just ideas put in a niffty little box and sold. They are ideas put on paper then translated into a really, really huge math problem that the computer can understand, after

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Living in Sin by Adrienne Rich: Of Simplicity and Brevity Essay

Poetry has turned off a lot of people Because of its confusing nature and interjection of difficult-to understand symbolisms, poems have been disregarded by many. Yet what most people do not know is that the landscape of poetry has changed tremendously in the past years. Contemporary poets have realized that their works should no longer include flowery words and deep allegories to be beautiful – that in fact, the poems that eventually become popular are those marked with simplicity and brevity and those that posses the ability to touch the readers’ hearts. If one is to get reacquainted with poetry, Adrienne Rich’s Living in Sin is a good place to start. This particular poem talks of something that is very common nowadays – domestic partnership without the grace of marriage. But the â€Å"sin† Rich referred to in the title does not point to the seemingly sinful relationship of living together but was more a tirade on how people can sometimes persuade themselves about staying in a relationship even when the ‘expectations’ on the particular relationship have not been met. Living in Sin tells how a woman has realized that living with the person she loves is not all â€Å"A plate of pears, / a piano with a Persian shawl, a cat / stalking the picturesque amusing mouse† and that there is indeed â€Å"dust upon the furniture of love†. In Living in Sin, Rich describes how a relationship is something that one needs to work at. This poem is the best one to pick up when trying to re-embrace poetry because it differs greatly from those written under the pens of 15th and 16th Century poets. Revolving around a present-day issue, Living in Sin is sure to be easily understood by new readers. Most of the people nowadays can surely relate to the fact that certain aspects of a relationship can be disillusioning. Almost anyone who enters a relationship do so armed with certain positive expectancies that are – sadly – not met as the relationship progresses. By painting images of boredom (â€Å"†¦he, with a yawn, / sounded a dozen notes upon the keyboard, / declared it out of tune†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) and disappointment (â€Å"she, jeered by the minor demons, / pulled back the sheets and made the bed and found / a towel to dust the table-top, / and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.†), Rich successfully communicates her message. Rich’s successful telling of her message can be attributed to her ability of steering clear from highfalutin words and hard-to-imagine imagery. In fact, Living in Sin is marked by simple words and symbolisms that are common to everyone. The language that Rich used in this particular poem is something that we all understand. These are just more reasons to actually pick up and enjoy this particular poem. Yet the good points of Living in Sin do not end there. This particular poem is also armed with only a few lines. Rich employed just 26 lines and a mere 196 words in conveying her message yet those numbers have been enough to transfer Rich’s messages to the readers. Undeniably, no other literary piece can achieve such feat but poetry. Living in Sin – and poems in general – are lovable in that one need not go through lots of word tangles to feel exactly what the author wants him/her to feel. True enough, poems of old are pretty hard to understand, talking about things that most modern-day people can no longer relate to. Yet as with everything, poets have changed and have taken to voicing out topics that are close to today’s readers’ hearts. Adrienne Rich is but one of those poets who have successfully mastered combining relatable subjects with easy-to-grasp symbols and language in her poetry. And reading one of her more popular poems, Living in Sin, will surely convince this generation that poems should be given a chance because, contrary to popular belief, they are beautiful literary pieces that are worth reading.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Analysis Essay

Introduction In the novel Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen identifies the key components of successful marriage – love, tolerance, affection and financial stability. The whole novel is written to underline the importance of marriage which shouldn’t be based on social status, wealth or affection of the youth. For her time the author was very radical as she strongly defended marriage for love, whereas in those times it was prestigious to marry for financial stability and social status. Through her characters – Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Darcy – she shows the right and wrong attitudes towards the ideal marriage. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy represent true love and true relationships, whereas Mrs. Bennet is motivated only by wealth when she decides to get her beloved daughters married. Through characters Austen makes readers believe that love and happiness can’t be bought. Character Analysis Mrs. Bennet is characterized as a miraculously tiresome character. Moreover, she is frivolous and too foolish. Mrs. Bennet is an irritating woman who becomes obsessed with idea to get her daughters married simply to improve her financial stability and social status as after her husband’s death she has been refused certain social entertainments. She cares for nothing in the world except money. Austen is willing to show that Mrs. Bennet does lack sense of virtue and property, and, what is more awful, she is not interested in intellectual and emotional education of her five daughters. Mrs. Bennet affects the attitudes of her younger daughters – Lydia and Charlotte Lucas – towards marriage. Mrs. Bennet is very pleased when Lydia gets married to an officer and she never reproaches her for shameful behavior. However, she can’t be blame as she was married only for beautiful appearance and she didn’t see another life. I think the author introduces Mrs. Bennet to highlight the necessity of marriage for young ladies. In contrast to Mrs. Bennet the author introduces the character of Elizabeth to show true virtues and necessity of love and happiness. Elizabeth is the most quick-witted and intelligent. Moreover, Elizabeth is clever, lovely and brilliant. Her positive character traits enable her to rise above shameful conduct of her mother and sisters. Elizabeth is strong enough to overcome all difficulties and to get married for love, not for financial stability or higher social status. Elizabeth is entailed with sharp tongue and ability for hasty judgments. She is the only character who manages to make Darcy love her for personality and who overcomes the power of prejudice: â€Å"My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you†. (p.35) We see that Elizabeth has pride in her abilities to express herself and to perceive the truth. Mr. Darcy is one more positive character in the novel who overcomes prejudice and finds his true love – Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy is a wealthy aristocrat being extremely conscious of class differences.   Nevertheless, he has sense of virtue and honor. Firstly, he is not interested in Elizabeth saying that â€Å"she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men†. (p.13) However, with novel progression his character transforms and he recognized his faults of prejudice and pride. His character affects the novel as, despite high social status and wealth, he manages to overcome prejudice and to show that marriage should be based on love. He proves that a man should love women for her intelligence and personality, not only for beautiful appearance. Conclusion Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy affect the novel in different ways. Mrs. Bennet symbolizes misconception of true marriage as she is obsessed with financial stability and social status. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy represent true virtues in the novel as they teach others that marriage should be grounded on love, happiness, and attraction. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. UK, London: Penquin Books, 2005.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Imposing Strict Punishment for Driving Offences

Two weeks back, my friends and I witnessed a car accident in front of our very own eyes. The night was still as there were not many cars on the road. However, the silence was disrupted by a loud screeching noise. The flow of conversation came to a halt as we turned our heads in unison towards the source of the noise. At that exact moment, we saw a black car crashed into a lamp post. The front of the car was severely damaged and minutes later, the bleeding driver could be seen limping out of the car. What we have just witnessed serves as proof that road accidents are becoming more and more rampant with every passing day. Some suggest imposing strict punishments for driving offences as a mean to reduce road accidents. In most situations, this holds true because punishments such as heavy penalty, community service and a prison sentence are able to change an offender’s behavior. Moreover, it deters the public from making traffic offences. Heavy penalty should be imposed on those who defy the road rules. For example, those who fail to obey the speed limit on Malaysian roads and expressways can be fined up to RM300, depending on the difference between the speed limit and the driven speed.Compare and Contrast Driving in the Winter and Driving in the Summer A heavier penalty of RM500 should be imposed on the road offenders to deter them from committing the offence again. Besides that, a stricter punishment in the form of a heavier penalty will act as a deterrent to potential road offenders. This method has been proven to be rather successful as a statistics have shown that the number of road accidents have reduced by 39% when a heavier penalty was imposed. If this continues, nobody will dare to go at high speed. After all, money is what motivates or deters people from doing or not doing something. Not only that, I believe that the community service is a good form of punishment especially for the younger offenders. Young being those who are aged between 17 to 35 years of age. In this form of punishment, offenders are forced to carry out between 40 to 300 hours of unpaid work as ‘Community Payback' which includes cleaning public areas such as the community halls, playgrounds and schools. They are also made to wear uniforms while carrying out their duties. Undoubtedly, they would be embarrassed as people would take notice of them and more so if it were their very own friends. They might even be mocked at or ridiculed by passers-by. However, the main aim of the community service is not to make a fool of these people but to bring about a change of attitude in them. By doing the community service, hopefully they are able to experience and appreciate the hardship that others face in maintaining the public areas even though the offence committed was not related to it. One way or another, this might just help them to be a better person. A prison sentence could also be seen as an effective method to reduce road accidents. However, this will take into account the severity of the road offence committed. If it involves the lost of an innocent life then a prison sentence should be compulsory. For instance, the punishment of a two year long imprisonment to those who commit a road offence such as driving under the influence (DUI). If there happens to be a lost of a life due to that person’s irresponsible act, then the prison sentence should be extended to four years. This might seem rather cruel to some but these offenders should think of the consequences before they decide to go behind the wheels while under the influence of certain substances such as alcohol and drugs. Life in prison would be a deterrent to the public in committing driving offences as it strips them of their freedom. Undeniably, the mere thought of losing one’s freedom is enough to send shivers down the spine. With that being said, we can conclude that most people will abide by the law if a sense of fear is instilled into them. Nevertheless, I am also of the opinion that other methods that are not punishment based could also reduce road accidents. For instance, tightening the rules on obtaining a driving license and holding campaigns on road safety in schools. Some may argue that the subtler methods do not work well with today’s society but I think that we should look into the core of the matter to find out where the problem lies. By doing so only then we are able to decide on the best solutions to overcome this ever growing problem. The subtler methods are effective in its own ways as it helps to instill the right mentality into teenagers’ and children’s minds from a young age. In other words, the law enforcers, police and government should find the best solution to this problem and it should incorporate both the elements of the harsh punishments and also the subtler methods.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Guided Reading Essay

What is the typical organization of an argument essay? An introduction that states the issue then an objective summary of the opposing views followed by a point-by-point discussion of their limitations. Then a summary of your viewpoint with a point-by-point discussion that strengthens your position, and then lastly a conclusion. What are points of contention and how do you identify them? The points of contention are the two to five most important issues on which you disagree with the other side. The best way to figure these out is brainstorming, try to see things from their perspective. Why is it important to know the stance of your opposition? You need to know what you are trying to argue so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses of your position and to be able to build your case against the opposing viewpoints. What is the difference between argument and research writing? An argumentative essay is more subjective and usually controversial where you are trying to prove that one side is better than the other. A research paper is presenting facts about a topic. Chapter 24 What is a good way to start the research process? Define your research question, develop a working thesis, devise a research plan, collect sources, assess the reliability of each source, triangulate facts among the sources, determine whether facts verify working thesis, and lastly either accept or modify working thesis. Why is it important to have a sharp research question? It will help you narrow the scope of your research thus saving you time and effort by allowing you to target the best of sources and information. What is a working thesis? How is this used in research? Defining your research question or hypothesis. It is your best guess about how you will answer your research question, it is your overall claim about  your topic. What are the key elements of a research plan? Why is it necessary for researchers to have a research plan? Research question, working thesis, results of start-up research, description of electronic, online, print, and empirical sources available, schedule of conducting and completing the research, and a bibliography are key elements of a research plan. Having a research plan helps to better target sources and the streamline your research. When conducting research where should writers go for reliable information? Surf the Internet, look through online encyclopedias, and browse your library’s catalog. How do writers know whether a source is credible? Use the Internet to search for the backgrounds and expertise of the author and publisher to make sure they are trustworthy. If you find questionable credentials or reputations use something more reliable instead. What is bias and how can researchers overcome it? Putting your own ideas and opinions into your research where it seems like you want the information to be true rather than right. If you know what your biases are then you can use them to gain a richer understanding of your topic. How do researchers determine whether a resource is up to date? Depending on your topic and how quickly information in that field becomes obsolete. Medical information is usually outdated in a few years where something like geology doesn’t really change so decade’s old info can be used. List three steps for setting up a research schedule. List all the tasks you need to complete, set a deadline for finishing your research, drafting, designing, and revising, then work backwards form your research deadline on which task needs to be completed. What are some reasons why a researcher would have to modify his or her research plan? Roadblocks to research, ideas, and information that changes your research question or working thesis.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Philosophy of Leadership in Schools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy of Leadership in Schools - Assignment Example The concept of leadership in a school requires the principal (administrator) to be able to improve the students' performance and introduce various positive changes into the schooling system. All in all, the school's administrator should manage the school in a way that ensures its survival and development. All the actions and risks of a school administrator should be in line with his or her forward-looking vision. This vision is developed with the participation of teaching staff as involving them into the decision-making process ensures their higher motivation and boosts their creativity. It should be kept in mind that the efficient leadership of the school administrator is hardly possible without stable and productive relations with teaching staff and effective planning. When hiring the teachers, the school administrator should make sure they are professional and eager to work with children. In order to be a good leader, the school administrator should implement the correct leadership style. Generally, three different styles of leadership are singled out - authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. I believe that for the school administrator, the best way is to be a democratic leader because it presupposes a higher degree of involvement of teaching staff members and students into the process of taking decisions, introducing innovations and improving the functioning of school in general. However, there are different views as far as introducing changes to K-12 schools is concerned. On the one hand, there is an opinion that it is necessary to update the curriculum as a way to modernize the school with no risks on the part of teachers and principal. On the other hand, it is considered that the school, and the administrator at the first place, are the main agents of change. This second approach is more challenging and demands from the administrator to take decisions, however at the same time it allows the school principal reveal his or her potential, creative abilities, capacity, and it also requires that the administrator is persistent, self-confident, and eager to develop.  Ã‚  

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Critique of a Public Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critique of a Public - Speech or Presentation Example The speaker is in white sweater and a dark coat, quite presentable to the crowd. It is cold from where he is, he said. He maintains enough eye contact with his audience. The camera pans back and forth from speaker to audience. The topic is "Why it is not second coming if Christ comes back to earth." It is organized through four general questions giving proofs that Christ was on earth even before he was born a human being. The voice is pleasant enough. He is a known broadcaster, debater, and now becoming a phenomenal blogger on biblical issues. In between takes, he makes a report about his mission in the United States, talking about social issues. He specifies the evil effects leading to genetically modified organisms (GMO) by showing on screen a very big rooster 10 times bigger than the man supposed to be in charge with it. The man carries on his hand a long string attached to the giant rooster. He laughs and laughs. The audience laughs with him. There is clear interaction. He tells a little anecdote. To illustrate that people do not have time for God, he tells about people not sleeping, not even standing up to answer the call of nature, just so one could gamble effectively. For God, however, he says, people think time should be very, very short if possible. The speech purpose is for the weekly spiritual feeding of God's people. It is to make them understand that when Christ comes back, it will not be the second time as he had been here before; he was with God the Father even before the world began. Those who are thinking it will be the second time are those looking at Christ as a mere human being. The speaker flashes on screen the false belief of the Church of Christ that it is the day of judgement when Christ comes back and that the earth will fade away. He uses their publication entitled Pasugo or "Messenger," then he tries to demolish their argument. His assistants amply supply him with audio visual aids. He uses a wide screen for a very large audience (Estimate: 40,000) scattered about the very large convention center in the Philippines. He uses artefacts in the form of documents, audio clips, still pictures, and video footages. As he exposes a false preacher, the false doctrines of the preacher are flashed on the screen as he does his analysis. The presentation style is that of a delivery of lecture with interactive part to check understanding, sandwiched throughout the two-and-a- half-hour session. It is not the usual one way sermon. The conversational type of delivery now and then is backed up with biblical verses flashed on the screen. The speaker asks questions which structures his lecture that is intentionally built for clear understanding. He speaks in a normal tone that is clearly heard with the aid of good acoustics. It is not true that it will be the end of the world when Christ comes, he says. There will still be 1,000 years. The just will rise from the grave, and those are alive who are also just will be caught up in the clouds when Christ comes (Thessalonians 4:16). This is a fulfilment of a prophecy, he says. They will be made priests and will reign for 1,000 years. As presented in Revelations 20:5, some will not resurrect until after 1,000 years. The earth will still be there. It will only be gone after the second death. (John 5:29). Now and then, the main representative reads

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Disccuss Mary Cassatt's The CHild's Bath 1893 in terms of one or two Essay

Disccuss Mary Cassatt's The CHild's Bath 1893 in terms of one or two ideas - Essay Example Also, Cassett shows her interest in Japanese woodblock print which is evident in this picture. The painting of a Child Bath is based on a mother cleaning a little child's feet in a tub of water (Art Institute of Chicago). The walls behind this cozy scene are covered in a wall paper decorated with a flowery pattern. The floor appears to be a carpet of some sort: designed intricately with flowers placed inside boxes. A jug is placed to the right side of the painting. The mother is fully dressed in a long gown and has a child placed on her knee. The child is looking down and is clothed with a single white cloth. The artist has used very vibrant colors in this painting. There are no shadows and there is a very bold brushwork used by the artist. She uses an asymmetrical style (Art Access).The shape of the woman and child's head, the basin and the pitcher are circular. The image also has a symmetrical striped pattern. Thus, the entire painting is in perfect asymmetrical form. This, along with Cassatt's decision to paint from an unusual position: above. Adler speaks of how to think about art in his book. In an interview with Luckman he claims art to be a technique which uses skill or expert to produce a piece. This is exactly what Cassatt uses in her work, technique to produce a perfect painting. While this painting is n

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

IBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

IBM - Essay Example IBM is an American Computer manufacturing company which was founded in 17 February, 1874 by Thomas Watson. It is also known as the ‘big blue’ due to the color of its logo. The company started as a producer of punch cards tabulating machines. It built a 600s calculator in 1930s which was based on the punch card processing machine. The first computer (Mark 1) to perform long calculations automatically was co-funded by the organization in 1944 together with Harvard University. Watson Junior developed the 701 EDPM in 1953 which was meant to help in the policing of Korea by the United Nations but was not compatible with the punch card processing machine. The machine had processing units which were about 10 times faster than the core memory. The organization built more computers of IBM types like the IBM 704 of 1956, IBM 7090 of 1960, the 650 EDPM which was compatible with the earlier calculator 600s and it was the first massively produced computer. In 1981 the organization bu ilt a home-use computer called IBM PC. The company currently produces software products and computers. IBM research has helped the company in development of new technology and their application and helped the company to make innovations in the industry. These include; the innovation of copper chip technology that are capable of holding very large capacity of information. These were scheduled to be produced in 1998; Introduction of the Giant Magneto-resistive Head (GMR) which allowed introduction of products with higher areal densities e.g. disk drives; Speech recognition technology that would revolutionalise data input and usage of computers in business. There is research to expand and enhance voice recognition software which is already available in 8 words; Scalable parallel systems that allows joining of computer processors together while breaking down complexity and data-intensive jobs to speed their completion; Token-ring networking that allowed more efficient and reliable control of LAN (Local Area Network) traffic-a token-ring controls an individual computer to accessing of the network for example used in factories, cyber cafes, and university campuses; discovery of High-temperature superconductivity in ceramics which was done in 1986 by two scientists from the organization and they were offered the Nobel Peace Prize; discovery in Fractals allows mathematical description of natural irregularities via fractal geometry. A paper which contained the view that, irregular shapes in the nature, like tree branching of objects or phenomena had similar form when given a close up view or far away. The paper was published by Mandelbrot Benoit a scientist at IBM, in 1967; introduction of Formula Translation System (FORTRAN) in 1957; Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), whose memory concept of storing one bit of information in a memory cell consisting of only one transistor and a capacitor, was first described by a researcher in organization in a patent issue of 1968.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Food & Beverage Revenue Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Food & Beverage Revenue Management - Essay Example Established in 2004, Red Bamboo offers a casual and relaxed atmosphere but guarantees an enjoyable dining experience. The star of the restaurant is the food, so people are encouraged to visit in relaxed garments or casual attire. The restaurant is conveniently situated in the heart of Central Dublin's food and restaurant district. The restaurant can conveniently seat around sixty to eighty-five guests and is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner: As in any food business, Red bamboo also encountered problems in controlling yields and revenues, especially in its initial year of operations. The management then decided to use an effective yield management mechanism to address the problems which will eventually affect the overall operations of the restaurant (Kimes, 1989). Yield management is an approach aimed at improving revenues and increasing the course of consumer demand. In order to achieve these goals, yield management utilizes the fundamental stratagem of giving the precise service at the right point in time to the right consumer at the appropriate price (Kimes, 1989). Each segment of this approach entails definite tactical levers that enable the management to come up with an efficient and advantageous yield management plan. The factors that greatly affect the outcome of this strategy are best known as the 4 Cs which are cost, clock, calendar and capacity. Calendar procedures entail control over the timeframe when the transaction/reservation is made. Clock-related strategies rotate on the timing of the service delivered to the customer. Capacity issue is associated with effectively selling seating that is on hand based on the existing demand. Last, cost refers to the appropriate value of the service (Kimes, Chase, Choi, Lee, and Ngonzi, 1998). It is imperative to provide a measurement tool or give definition to the sale which is the outcome of the service provided. For Red Bamboo's case, the management referred to it as available seat per hour or seat/hour (Kimes, 1989). The guiding principle for an effective yield management plan is to take full advantage of the revenue that could be made on the available seat/hour (Kimes, 1989). For purposes of easier identification, management referred to this as REVSH. Being able to quantify in a time-related approach the goal of the process, the management of Red Bamboo then refocused on the specific stratagem levers that will impact REVSH. Among the levers that were initially identified are the following: meal preparation, menu plan/design, operational process, labor setup, etc. Red Bamboo's management first looked into the physical capacity of the restaurant. Red Bamboo conveniently seats sixty persons in its main dining hall, twenty in the bar and when weather permits, can seat around fifteen in an outside patio/area. When the revenue management plan began, Red Bamboo's menu consisted of twelve appetizers, twenty-five entrees and six desserts. In order to ascertain baseline information on mealtime length, arrival sample and REVSH, data was collected on an hourly fashion; though point of sales and observation by the staff. From these collected data, the management then estimated the average periodic meal duration by calculating the standard deviation and variance during meals (Miller, Dopson, and Hayes, 2004). It was found out that the average meal duration of customer was one hour

Sunday, September 8, 2019

San Francisco Bart strike Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

San Francisco Bart strike - Essay Example to Reuters, the previous strike and â€Å"The July work stoppage caused between $73 million and $100 million a day in lost productivity for riders, said Rufus Jeffris, spokesman for the Bay Area Council, which studies the local economy.†(October 20, 2013)This is awesome. The present strike within a period of three months has disrupted the economy of San Francisco from all ends. Technological advancement and internet revolution have caused genuine problems for the workers and when advanced technology procedures are introduced, there is the distinct possibility of labor strength being curtailed and a stoppage to new recruitment. The promotional avenues for the existing staff are affected. All these factors lead to discontentment. For example, when computers were introduced in the Banking system, with one computer capable of doing the job of at least ten assistants, it affected job prospects for educated youngsters. But that cannot be the reason for strikes, as technological advancement is the national goal and it is not possible to stop it to please one section of the people To end such a fiasco, highly responsible leadership that will be able to communicate with the mammoth membership of workers effectively is needed. Trade union is a responsive organization. If the organization is not there, where is the union? Similarly if the health and economy of the organization is affected, in the long run it will affect the worker’s interests also. The State and the Federal authorities need to pay serious attention to this so save the people from precarious situations on account of such strikes. . Political interference in the union (some of the political leaders occupy top positions in the trade union hierarchy) matters is the root cause of most of the

Self Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Self Study - Essay Example The importance of self-study cannot be undermined as Shakespeare said† to thine own self be true†. There is a gem of wisdom behind that line since self-study reveals the foundations of a person’s character, values as well as environmental factors that have greatly influenced her perspectives in life. The following is an excerpt of an interview of myself done by my colleague. Mass media often plays a significant role in disseminating information to society. When asked about my favorite TV shows, books, and characters I replied that I loved watching TV shows like â€Å" Sesame Street, Mister Rogers Neighborhood Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk and the Jefferson’s† as a child. Of course, there were many wholesome shows then but the aforementioned really suited my taste. The books I have read were â€Å"Mice and Men† George Orville, 1984, and Aesop’s fables. I loved these stories since they were filled with Fairy Tales, morals, and mythology. In fact, my favorite characters were the Tortoise and the Hare. I realized a valuable lesson from the slow tortoise: plodding along with determination will get me to where I want to be if I never give up. Until today, I kept that lesson in mind and use it whenever situations are difficult, I persevere until the end. Another character I liked was Elmo. Until today, I am not certain whether Elmo is male or female, but I do think he is male. The lessons I learned from Elmo were creativity, tolerance, optimism, and the opportunity for simple pleasures. Although the media influences children’s minds, it cannot be denied that parent’s are the primary role models for a growing child. According to Santrock (1994) : †The information that surrounds the child and which is internalized comes to the child within the family arena through parent-child interactions, role modeling,

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Free

Free Will and Determination Essay Do you make your own choices or your destiny has been decided for you by circumstances behind your control? For thousands of years, this question has puzzled philosophers, scientist and anyone who thinks about how they choose to act and live. Part of the complexity of the matter is related to the metaphysical nature of the subject which has a close affinity with the concept of GOD. Some people think that Everything that happens in nature and life is predetermined. Morality, love, hate and free will is just an illusion(Ward, 2005) while others think, human beings have an absolute and total freedom to enjoy all the deeds and actions unconstrained by any external forces, fate or divine intervention ( Sadegh, 2011). There are at least three main approaches to the problem of free will and determinism. First is deterministic approach. Determinists main idea is that all events are caused and the caused events are never free, (Ward, 2005). The future state of things can be explained and predicted by knowing the current state of the things and the way they are affected by the work of natural laws, (Ward, 2005). This approach implies that the urge to eat, for example, is governed by our internal need and the search for food is also a natural reaction to this need. When a person is on a diet and limits his food intakes at the time of hunger, the deterministic view explains that this restriction is not by choice but it is a natural response to the health concern. To make things more complicated, if the person fails to follow his diet and fall off the wagon, the failure is attributed to the winning of the hunger force over health conscious force. The Libertarianism approach on the other hand, recognizes free will, and the ability to make choices unconstrained by forces such as physical laws, fate and divine desire. Man’s decisions are influenced, but not caused (Sadegh, 2011). The question of free will has important implications for our moral responsibility. If we do not have free will, and our behavior is determined by what came before us, like our environment, genetics and our parents then what does that mean for our justice system and our idea of crime and punishment? How do we treat individuals who commit crimes if we believe their backgrounds led them to the crimes? The third approach towards the issue of Free will and Determinism is the compatibility view or a combination of both. This simply means that determinism and freewill are not absolute concepts and freedom is compatible with determinism because freedom essentially just a matter of not being constrained in certain way when one acts or makes a choice. The reality is that humans have some degree of free will within the boundaries of determinism. Normal adult human beings in normal circumstances are able to act and choose freely. No one is holding a gun to their heads. Therefore they are fully free to choose and act even if their whole physical and psychological makeup is determined by thing that they had no control over like genetic inheritance and early upbringing. It is true that our choices are limited by some circumstances, but it does not mean that we are not free in those circumstances. Only compulsion, panic or uncontrollable impulse really removes our freedom to choose. Even when our finger is being forced down on the button, we can still act freely in resisting the pressure. Going back to my hunger example, although hunger is a natural reaction to seek food, and man might not have control over this mechanism, he is certainly in control of the way he is reacting toward this need. What to eat, when to eat and even how much to eat, are some of the decisions that man can make. Of course we can’t do everything we want to do, we might want to fry unassisted or end civil war in Africa or even free all women from abuse. But that is not free will, free will is simply a matter of having true and genuine options and opportunities for action, and being able to choose between those options according to what we want and think. One of the strongest evidence for supporting free will is human conscience. When people do something that is against their moral values they feel shame and regret and they try to use their negative experience to avoid making the same mistakes in future. This behavior and emotional response indicate that humans have a free nature. The existence of shame is unexplainable with a deterministic view. The fact that people admire and praise the good and rebuke the evil is also a confirmation of free will. Growing up and going to school in a Muslim society, we were encouraged to think, talk and write about free will and determination. The main reason was to teach us the responsibility of our actions, despite knowing that God is aware and in control of everything. It might have been difficult to understand such a philosophical concept at the time but now I am at peace with this concept due to the early teaching of Islam. Islam provides a comprehensive answer to the Free will and determinism debate. Islam, more than 1200 years ago stated: No Determinism, No Free will but something in between. According to Islam, the choices of man are not entirely determined by God. Man indeed is a free agent and freely makes choices, but these choices are limited. One of the reasons for the creation of the world is to provide a ground for humans to flourish and qualify for divine satisfaction. God will reward or punish people in the hereafter based on their deeds. One way to characterize the concept of ultimate responsibility for one’s action is by refereeing to the story of hell and heaven. If we are responsible for what we do, then it make sense to propose that it could be just to punish some in hell and reward others in heaven. It makes sense because what we do is absolutely up to us. But, one certainly does not have to believe in the story of heaven and hell in order to understand and believe the notion of responsibility. Karl Popper, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century also recognised that there had to be some balance between complete determinism (clocks) and complete disorder and chance (clouds), (Haselhurst ,2012). â€Å"What we need for understanding rational human behaviour and indeed, animal behaviour is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks (Popper, 1972, p.232)† (Haselhurst ,2012). 1. Ward, K. Baron, D’Holbach And Determinism, open source buddhism Oxford University Press (2005) 2. Sadegh, M (2011) Citing website. Free will and determination in Islam. Retrieved Feb 20, 2013, from http://www. bsharat. com/id/1/2/1jabr. html 3. Haselhurst, G, (2012) Citing website. Philosophy of Education. Retrieved Fed 20, 2013, from http://www. spaceandmotion. com/Philosophy-Free-Will-Determinism. htm.