Saturday, August 31, 2019
Nervous System (Science Report) Essay
-The nervous system is a very complex system in the body. It has many, many parts. The nervous system is divided into two main systems, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system. The spinal cord and the brain make up the CNS. Its main job is to get the information from the body and send out instructions. The peripheral nervous system is made up of all of the nerves and the wiring. This system sends the messages from the brain to the rest of the body. -The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves that lie outside the brain and the spinal cord. These nerves carry impulses like sensations and information from the body to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the body. Thus, the peripheral nervous system connects the CNS to the muscles of the body. -The central nervous system (CNS) is the processing center for the nervous system. It receives information from and sends information to the peripheral nervous system. The two main organs of the CNS are the brain and spinal cord. The brain processes and interprets sensory information sent from the spinal cord. Both the brain and spinal cord are protected by three layers of connective tissue called the meninges. -The function nervous system is the major controlling, regulatory, and communicating system in the body. It is the center of all mental activity including thought, learning, and memory. II. The organs Central Nervous System Brain the brain is one of the most important organs in the human body system. It is the center of all commands. It monitors all the conscious and unconscious processes of the body. The brain coordinates various organs of the body and controls all the voluntary movements in the body. The brain is the organ that helps you remember things, learn, understand, think, create, talk, hear, taste, etc. The brain is divided into three segments, that is, fore brain, mid brain and the hind brain. The fore brain consists of the cerebral hemispheres and olfactory lobes. The mid brain is the region that mostly contains optic lobes, and the hind brain is the region that includes the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata. The pituitary gland is present in the lower side of the fore brain. It is called the ââ¬Ëmaster glandââ¬â¢ as it regulates the function of many other glands in the body. Spinal Cord The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that run down the back from the brain in the spinal column. The spinal cord is about 40 cm in length and as wide as the thumb. The function of the spinal cord is to relay all the impulses, information and sensations from all around the body, internally and externally, to the brain. If the spinal cord gets affected due to an injury, it may sever some or most of the connections between the brain and other parts of the body, leading to paralysis in different parts of the body like the upper and lower limbs. Peripheral Nervous System Nerves The 31 pairs of spinal nerves branch off and reach out to different parts of the body and perform different functions. The nerves of the cervical region supply information to the back of the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and the diaphragm. The nerves of the thoracic region supply information to the chest and some parts of the abdomen. The lumbar region nerves cover the lower back, parts of the thighs and the legs. The nerves of the sacral region provide information to the buttocks, most of the leg, feet, anal and genital area. Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System The PNS is further divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system contains sensory (afferent) neurons that carry information from organs/muscles to the CNS, and motor (efferent) neurons that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles of the body. Sensory neurons provide the brain all the information regarding the environment. The somatic nervous system plays an important role in transmitting the information and controlling voluntary movement. Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System The autonomic system regulates the involuntary body functions like respiration, heartbeat, blood flow and digestion. It is further subdivided into the sympathetic nervous system which regulates your flight-or-fight responses, and the parasympathetic system that helps regulate various normal functions of the body, for example, sexual arousal, salivation, lacrimation (shedding tears), urination, digestion, and defecation. Functions of the parasympathetic nerves include constriction of eye pupils, increase in secretion of saliva, increased digestion, decrease in heartbeat, etc. The sympathetic nerve functions involve dilation of eye pupils, sweating, production of goose bumps, decrease in digestion, etc. One of the important nerves, the vagus nerve is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. The sensory system is also a part of the nervous system. Sensory systems for vision, hearing, somatic sensation (touch), taste and olfaction (smell) work with the help of the sensory receptors, neural pathways and certain parts in the brain that help process sensory information. When you feel cold or hot, it is the sensory neurons that are doing their work. The motor neurons are reactors, that help the body react to different environment. For example, the immediate pulling away of your hand when you touch a hot stove is a motor neuron reaction. The somatic motor neurons convey orders to the muscles. A subsystem of the peripheral nervous system is the enteric nervous system. Normally, it communicates with the CNS but studies show that it works autonomously too. It regulates the gastrointestinal system in the body. III. Multiple Sclerosis| A chronic disease of the nervous system that can affect young and middle-aged adults. The course of this illness usually involves recurrent relapses followed by remissions, but some patients experience a chronic progressive course.| The myelin sheaths surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord are damaged, which affects the function of the nerves involved. Also associated with aging.| Tremor, rigidity and poverty of spontaneous movements. The commonest symptom is tremor, which often affects one hand, spreading first to the leg on the same side then to the other limbs. It is most profound in resting limbs, interfering with such actions as holding a cup. The patient has an expressionless face, an unmodulated voice, an increasing tendency to stoop, and a shuffling walk.| Sciatica| A common condition arising from compression of, or damage to, a nerve or nerve root.| Usually caused by degeneration of an intervertebral disc, which protrudes laterally to compress a lower lumbar or an upper sacral spinal nerve root.The onset may be sudden, brought on by an awkward lifting or twisting movement.| Pain felt down the back and outer side of the thigh, leg, and foot. The back is stiff and painful. There may be numbness and weakness in the leg.| IV. A. The cortex gets its name from the Latin word for ââ¬Å"barkâ⬠(of atree).B. There are approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain.C. The average human brain weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms).D. Unlike humans, the octopus does not have a blind spot.E. The average length of the adult spinal cord is 45 cm for men and 43 cmfor women.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Creativity in Critical Thinking Essay
In the health care profession, the skills, and abilities to think critically are an essential component of professional accountability and quality care. In order to manage the complexity of the work environment, and patient care issues, critical thinking will enable nurses think more effectively, and work through challenges to achieve the best possible results. There are many ways critical thinking can be used in nursing profession. Critical thinkers in nursing, demonstrate habits of the mind include flexibility, creativity, inquisitiveness, intellectual integrity, intuition, open-mindedness, perseverance, and reflection to manage complex matters in the health care arena (Rubenfeld, Scheffer, 2010). Nurses use creativity, one of the habits of mind in critical thinking to educate their patients. Example of Creative Thinking in Patient Education To provide safe care to the patients, nurses must utilize critical thinking abilities in the assessment of patient issues, the planning of care, and the implementation of care. Careful examination of all the aspects of patient care helps the nurse to reach a better outcome imparting education for the patient. When providing education or information to a patient, the nurses apply creative thinking, by using the counseling dialogues help the patient raise questions of why, how, and who. The nurses guide patients through identifying, and exploring the problem, consider the patientââ¬â¢s choices, choose a plan of action, and evaluate the results (Ranklin, 2005). For example, reducing falls in the inpatient unit. Fall risk assessment is a key safety issue in many inpatients. Identifying the risk for fall on patient admission, and implementing measures and reevaluate the patient is essential to prevent falls on the unit. Moreover educating the patient and families is a necessary step in preventing patient falls. Evaluation of an Example of Creative Thinking The presented example is a way of creative thinking to impart education to the patients. Firstly, visual observation of the at-risk patients helps the staff, patients, and families to prevent falls. Identification tools on the doors, at the bedside, yellow socks, and falls band on the arms enable the health care professionals to target implementation of fall prevention to the patients. The sign at the bedside which says, ââ¬Å"Please call, do not fallâ⬠, and the bed alarm reminds the patients and their families that, they are at risk for falling. Participating communication with other health care personals regarding fall risk in a regular shift report, and creating visual cues in the patientsââ¬â¢ rooms, alarm the nurses and other health care professionals to prevent patients getting harm from falling. Justification of Creativity in Critical Thinking Creative thinking helps the nursing professionals identify biological, behavioral and environmental risk factors. Patient fall is preventable by implementing effective, and creative fall prevention programs, and thus help the patients live better. Creative thinkers must have knowledge of the clinical problem. They should have the ability of assessing the present problem, and be knowledgeable about the underlying cause, and be able to overcome the situation. Creativity in critical thinking boosts the nurseââ¬â¢s ability to modify, and expand the existing knowledge in patient related situations. In creative thinking, health care professionals take initiative, examine strategies to use, and recognize the consequences of strategies, and make the decision. Creative thinking remains a key ingredient for individualized client care. In that nurse identifies the specific need of each patient, and makes interventions specific to those needs. Without creative thinking, nursing care would become consistent and routine. There is a strong relationship between critical and creative thinking. In order to provide education to the needy clients, nursesââ¬â¢ needs to utilize critical intelligence and to be a critical thinker (Daniels, 2004). Hence, hospitalized patients need an individual assessment when educating them. It is important that, nurse must learn to utilize critical thinking skills natural way when providing care to the patients.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Alaska Airline & Corporate Culture Essay
A unique cultural characteristic of Alaska Airline would be the benefits they allot their employees. After 90 days of working with Alaska Airline, an employee earns benefits which allows him or her to fly anywhere at anytime with 1 other individual. In addition to this, the employee is given 6 ââ¬Å"buddy passesâ⬠each year which allows the employee to give 6 roundtrip tickets to people other than himself or the 1 person he chooses to travel with. The best part about these benefits is that as long as the employee remains in good standing with the company, they are issued indefinitely, even after retirement. Companies can unknowingly cultivate negative culture among its employees and customers. This can happen in numerous ways. If a company were to institute a new policy which applied undue stress to its employees, adopt new prices that are greatly higher than what its customers are accustomed to paying, or allow a top representative to behave in a manner which sharply contradicts the values of the company, it would certainly be cultivating negative culture. While such behaviors may be immediately illusive to the company, some, if not many, employees and customers will notice it, and the company will suffer for it. In order to know specifically how a businessââ¬â¢ corporate culture can be amended for the better, it would be necessary to know which business is being discussed or at the very least, the disposition of itââ¬â¢s corporate culture. While a grocery chain may need to focus on training employees to assist the elderly or the otherwise incapable individuals with carrying and loading groceries into cars, the corporate culture of an electronic store may benefit from having better-educated employees about the products in order that said employees may help customers make better-informed purchases. As far as developing a sense of corporate culture directed at the employees, a company may issue monthly kudos to employees who overachieved or plan celebrations after goals have been reached. Nevertheless, any and all amendments put into effect by a business for the purpose of improving corporate culture must result in an enhancement of customer or employee experience and or perception. There will certainly be a cultural shift in Microsoft as they reorganize to emphasize customer service. Before, the company was not so focused on customer service, and therefore had a corporate culture with its center of gravity more on product development. Now, however, the company must necessarily implement changes ubiquitously, effectively replanting its center of gravity, in order to meet is goal of honing in on customer service. Such a drastic make-over will involve a significant cultural shift. While Jet Blue has experienced much difficult as a result of bad weather which has in fact damaged their culture, it would be hasty to say their culture has been irreparably damaged. There can be work done through public relations and customer appreciative measures to repair its damaged culture. Work Cites 1. ââ¬Å"Work-Life and Benefits- Alaska Airlines.â⬠alaskaair.com. Alaskaair, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011. 2. March, Suzanne. ââ¬Å"JetBlue Airways ââ¬â Flight Change Fees Waived For Passengers Affected By Bad Weather .â⬠starglobaltribune.com. Starglobaltribune, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011.
How skills and knowledge acquired in a simulated environment can be Essay
How skills and knowledge acquired in a simulated environment can be transferable to real clinical situations - Essay Example How skills and knowledge acquired in a simulated environment can be transferable to real clinical situations? An independent variable is a variable that the researcher has control over. In this case, the independent variable in the research was the mode of training adopted for nursing education. The manipulation of this variable was attained by assigning differing models of nursing education delivery, which included clinical simulation-based education and actual clinical placement. The dependent variable is the measured element of interest, which is affected in the research, and in this research the dependent variable was the medication errors (Sears et al., 2010, p. 52). The problem presents an opportunity to bridge the gap in knowledge so as to effectively achieve a reduction in medication errors and make appropriate decisions with regard to placements (Sears et al., 2010, p. 52). The study was justified by the fact that most Canadian Schools found it hard to acquire enough clinical placements for their students. As such, it was necessary to determine whether simulations were as effective as actual placements. The confirmation of efficiency would mean that the shortage of clinical placements would be solved through implementation of simulations. The literature review provided is relevant to the study and it cites the need to bridge an identified gap in knowledge as the rationale behind the study. The connection of the study to previous studies is established, but the previous studies are not critically reviewed. The conceptual framework of the study is clearly stated. However, there is no clear summary of the previous literature.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Emotions in Conflict Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Emotions in Conflict - Coursework Example Also, the stress itself becomes a problem. Emotions of tension make the resolution process hard since the parties are not comfortable talking to each other. Emotions of sadness and hopelessness are also bad. The mediators may also experience emotions of favoritism and bias toward one party and this is very harmful for the other party because the final decision would be one-sided. Thus, it is important for the conflicting parties and also for the mediator to control their emotions. It is a misconception that emotions makes the parties understand each other. To remove this misconception, it is important for both the parties to know what emotions they are possessing. One party should know if the other party is angry or excited or if it is tense or relaxed itself. This helps build a strong communication platform where the two parties share their interests and goals and a better resolution is achieved. References Faw, B. (2009). Staying positive in negative times. New Hampshire Business R eview, Vol. 31 (25).
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Silla Buddhism and Hwarang by Richard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Silla Buddhism and Hwarang by Richard - Essay Example Korea Kingdom recognized the instituted hwarang that embraced Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion. There was massive changes in the kingdom in the 6th century where Sinitic-style kingship was embraced and formation of strong government (54). This has kicked out huge debate as to whether the Korean Kingdom was founded onà the Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism dynasty or otherwise: the debate and research are still on.Richard argued added that Hwarang was got from information stored in Kim Pusikââ¬â¢s. The Confucian approach indicated that there was close relationship among theBuddhist monks and hwarang in the Silla kingdom.à Buddhist monks comprised of Haedong kosung, chon and Samguk yusa who demonstrated a link between Buddhist beliefs and the hwarang practices. Hwarang is demostrated as sketchy, laconic and suggestive, it was considered to bear different differentiation. Scholars also found that it was likely that hwarang were modelled by King Chinhung. Buddhism religio n was significant to the hwarang (55). The author presents the fact that Hwarang offered wilderness training in miltary to the youths where they also leant their culture. We can therefore argue that the Hwarangà was a very important tool that propagated the cultural practices throughout gernerations. They were interested in information regarding where they came from and the meaning of hwarang. Hwarang was understood as flower of youths even though many scholars do not agree.Hwarang is believed to originate from Samguk Sagi (56).
Monday, August 26, 2019
Advaced Business Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Advaced Business Structures - Essay Example Most cities and many countries require businesses - even tiny home-based sole proprietorships to register with them and pay at least a minimum tax. And if you do business under a name different from your own, such as a custom coding, you usually must register that name - known as a "fictitious business name" with your country.1. Cheap Setup Cost - There are no legal complications in setting up a sole proprietorship. There are no minimum or maximum limits for capital thus even qualifying small business units with less capital as a Sole Proprietorship. The business is flexible in its operations as it can engage in any other operations without any restrictions as it may be in the case of Limited Companies.2. Reduced Operating Costs - Sole proprietorships are easy to setup and to maintain. Much of the running of the business is done by the owner, saving on labour costs as there is no requirement to hire professional help.3. Avoidance of Corporation Tax - At the time of paying income tax, a sole proprietor simply reports all business income or losses on his or her individual income tax return. The business itself is not taxed. Sole proprietor is not required to pay Corporation Tax because it is not a separate legal entity from its owner, so the business will not be taxed separately.... For instance, if you're engaged in a low-risk enterprise such as freelance editing, landscaping or running a small band that plays weddings and social evens, your risks of facing massive debt or a huge lawsuit is pretty small. 5. Subject to Governmental Regulations - As stated above, there is no regulation on minimum or maximum capital, the sole proprietorship is not required to file its accounts with the registrar of companies, there is no need to produce memorandum or article of association. There is also no compulsary audit as it is the case with Limited Companies. Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorship 1. Failure to raise funds - Many financial institutions consider sole proprietorship as risky ventures and are not willing to extend finance to these entities. Sole proprietor may not be able to raise capital on his own unlike in partnership where they are able to share the financial burden of raising funds. 2. The Proprietor has unlimited liability - The liability of the sole proprietorship is bound to the proprietor since this type of business is one with its owner. Therefore the liability of the business is ultimately the liability of the proprietor. Since there is no law binding the owner regarding limited liability, this can prove to be fateful if the owner takes a huge loan and cannot repay. 3. Lack of Business Skills - The proprietor does not avail the services of any professional, hence conducting the day-to-day business on his own. In many businesses, the lack of the proprietor's experience would be detrimental to the health of the business unlike a Public Limited Company, where professionals are hired to conduct the day-to-day business. Partnerships
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Staff Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Staff Management - Essay Example If we take these factors into consideration, we find that in hotels there is usually a respect for authority which makes the employees defer to their superiors and operate in the circle of ownership that they have over their jobs. Hence, what can be done within their purview, they do that well and leave the rest to the control system to tell them their specific duties. By empowering employees at all levels, Becker has introduced what can be called uncertainty in the decision-making the process as the case highlights how employees are unsure of what they are supposed to do and hence seeking direction on even the minute aspects. Though the intention here is not to belittle empowerment, there are places where employees need to be assigned specific jobs with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and this is one such instance (Joiner, 2001, 238). Individual behavior, in this case, is a classic example of how empowerment leads to the wrong results if not managed properly. The case ill ustrates the need for direct supervision along with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the staff that stems from a command and control system with each level doing what they are supposed to do under strict conditions of regulation. Though the intentions of Becker are noble, he just happened to have implemented them in the wrong manner leading to the outcomes described in the case. In conclusion, it can be said that Becker was in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong set of people. Organizational Culture The culture of the organization before Becker took over is an example of top-down control with limited autonomy at each level and employees at all levels being clearly told what to do and how to do it. Once Becker took over and started the process of empowerment, there was a "culture" shock in the hotel which led to chaos and confusion and loss of productivity and direction. These are all symptoms of how an organization reared in the culture of authoritarian decision making and centralized authority reacts when there is a shakeup in the way the organization goes about its business. As mentioned in the previous section, the intentions of Becker are noble but they just happened to be applied to the wrong organization (Ashkanasy, 2003, 303). The point here is that hotels can be run in autonomous fashion provided they have a culture of openness right from the beginning. And if changes to the culture are supposed to be brought in, they must be done in a gradual and graduated manner instead of introducing them all at once. This saves the organization and the employees in it a lot of trouble as culture shocks can be managed and the transition to another organizational culture done in an orderly and smooth manner. Hence, when introducing changes to the organizational culture, care must be taken to follow the due diligence process and not jump into unchartered territory (Schein, 1990, 90). The hotel described in the case was being run in an efficient manner with the culture being one of command and control with elements of delegation and role definition is clearly laid down. So, when Becker took over and started his reorganization methods, it did not go down too well with the employees who were used to a different
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Project Proposal for Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Project for Paper - Research Proposal Example 262). Cybercrime can take on many shapes and forms. It can begin as something seemingly harmless, and rise to one of the gravest threats to personal and national security that exists today. It is also a troubling trend that the majority of the perpetrators of such crimes appear be young people under the age of 26. They often justify their actions initially as harmless hacking just for fun, but they quickly realize that their actions could prove to be quite lucrative. The harm done to victims of cybercrime, however, are immense. It is important to note that cybercrime does not only involve a financial element. There are crimes being committed that involve spam, harassment, threats, child pornography, and child endangerment just to name a few (Lee, 2012, p. 14). This proposal will detail the reasons why cybercrime is a serious issue today and explore the basis for future research and study that will be conducted in this area. Problem Statement The problem is that cybercrime has become so pervasive in society today and many people are fearful of the damage, both psychological and and financial, that can be perpetrated on them via technology. In addition, the problem has persisted to the point that it is costing society hundreds of millions of dollars a year in damages and preventative measures. Network security has been compromised to the point that clients and IT professionals globally has lost trust in conducting many types of electronic commerce transactions. Tremendous and organized efforts are currently underway to tackle this problem, but it is requiring an inordinate amount of manpower and resources, further compounding the financial cost to society. In addition, resources are having to be reallocated to this area, limiting technological progress and business expansion that could be otherwise achieved, largely owed to the sophistication that the average cyber criminal is exhibiting today (Gray, 2004; Lin, Fofanah, & Liang, 2011). This is a problem and issue that is serious and requires immediate attention. The rapid globalization take place today requires technological innovation. Companies and countries around the world are in a constant struggle to maintain a competitive advantages over others in the same industry (Kolsaker & Lee-Kelley, 2008). Cybercrime has impacted companies by threatening their infrastructure and their financial well being. Furthermore, cybercrime has impacted the countries around the world by enhancing certain espionage activities that serve the threaten and raises issues of national security across the board. Finally, cybercrime impacts the individual citizen on multiple fronts. Identity theft, for example, has become a common method of cybercrime whereby an individualââ¬â¢s very identity is stolen for personal gain. Not only does this create a loss of trust in technology by the victim, but it can create immense financial and emotional trouble that can take years to unravel and correct. In addition, compute r crime has made it much easier for a certain criminal element to prey on innocent children around the world. These issues alone demonstrate the importance of examining this problem with a united and global front. Let us now examine the relevance and significance of this proposed study. Relevance and Significance The security
Friday, August 23, 2019
A Race for Intelligence Gains through Aerial Reconnaissance Term Paper
A Race for Intelligence Gains through Aerial Reconnaissance - Term Paper Example One of the most striking features of the Mosquito bombers as reconnaissance vessels was its reliable speed in aerial space. Technical features range to incredible numbers such as with the Mosquito PR Mk 34 and PR Mk 34A. These units had addition fuel carried in a bulged bomb-bay - 1,192 gallons which was the equivalent of 5,419 miles. A further two 200 gallon drop tanks under the outer wings gave a range of 3,600 miles cruising at 300 mph. Powered by two 1,690 hp Merlin 114s first used in earlier Mosquito units. A total of 181 were built, including 50 built by the Percival Aircraft Company (Bowman 165).As what had been explained above, both Spitfire fighters and the Mosquito bombers were the most versatile aerial vessels of the British Royal Air Force. Both were proven exceptional when it came to dogfights and bomb raids respectfully. They were efficient in aerial defenses that kept enemy aerial raids at bay. Both units were also useful in assault missions where escort Spitfires prov ided cover for raiding Mosquito bombers above enemy territory. More importantly, espionage missions were the key factors which created the Spitfire and the Mosquito a treasure to the British Royal Air Force. The speed and efficiency both the mentioned fighter and bomber units possessed were the primary aspects which catapulted the Spitfire and the Mosquito into heavy reconnaissance tasks. Flexibility to adopt with the environment and the maneuverability of the mentioned units were beneficial for low, medium and high altitude spying.Ã Ã ... Technical features range to incredible numbers such as with the Mosquito PR Mk 34 and PR Mk 34A. These units had addition fuel carried in a bulged bomb-bay - 1,192 gallons which was the equivalent of 5,419 miles. A further two 200 gallon drop tanks under the outer wings gave a range of 3,600 miles cruising at 300 mph. Powered by two 1,690 hp Merlin 114s first used in earlier Mosquito units. A total of 181 were built, including 50 built by the Percival Aircraft Company (Bowman 165). As what had been explained above, both Spitfire fighters and the Mosquito bombers were the most versatile aerial vessels of the British Royal Air Force. Both were proven exceptional when it came to dogfights and bomb raids respectfully. They were efficient in aerial defenses that kept enemy aerial raids at bay. Both units were also useful in assault missions where escort Spitfires provided cover for raiding Mosquito bombers above enemy territory. More importantly, espionage missions were the key factors wh ich created the Spitfire and the Mosquito a treasure to the British Royal Air Force. The speed and efficiency both the mentioned fighter and bomber units possessed were the primary aspects which catapulted the Spitfire and the Mosquito into heavy reconnaissance tasks. Flexibility to adopt with the environment and the maneuverability of the mentioned units were beneficial for low, medium and high altitude spying. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Luftwaffe provided the Germans with unique espionage units. At the onset of the war, ordinary German passenger planes were used as the primary aerial vessels for the campaign of enemy espionage. These were indeed decisive actions taken by the German intelligence because they risked innocent civilian
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Marketing Simulation Essay Example for Free
Marketing Simulation Essay The rest of the sales force time would be equally divided between the segments B, C and D. Change in Strategy: During simulation, we studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and ââ¬Å"small volume customersâ⬠is almost three times of segment Aââ¬â¢s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and ââ¬Å"small volume customersâ⬠is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Hence, we decided to increase the sales force percentage time for segment D to 40% and for segment A to 30%. We decreased the sales force time percentage for segments B and C to 15% each. Also, we reduced the list price from $142 to $136. Challenges during simulation: During simulation, the primary challenge we faced was to decide on the key parameters that should be changed and the level of change in each of these parameters to get optimum profit and higher market share. Key decisions: Since our initial strategy was to increase the sales volume of segment A, we decided to concentrate on sales force time percentage parameter for each segment and the list price of the motors. We studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price on the overall profit of the company. Solution Analysis Decrease in list price from $142 to $136 and increase in sales force time percentage to 40% for segment D and to 30% for segment A. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and ââ¬Å"small volume customersâ⬠is almost three times of segment Aââ¬â¢s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and ââ¬Å"small volume customersâ⬠is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Segments B and C sales force time was reduced because of the high competition that MM faces in these categories on the basis of the rmal resistance parameter. Hence, in the long run, MM can target for higher profit margins than for higher sales volume if it concentrates the sales and market research resources to segments A, B and C. The main challenge with this approach is that it would difficult to attract customers from these segments who are already loyal to competitors and would require much more effort from the sales team and the product development team to come up with a product that caters the needs of these segments especially segments B and C where MM has yet to prove its overall competitiveness. Learning and experience This simulation exercise helped us to validate whether our suggested solution was an optimal one and also helped us to arrive at new solutions through experimentation which finally led to change in our overall decisions and strategy. It also showed us how varying a single parameter can change the overall market share and overall profits of the company. Finally, it reinforced the theory behind segmentation of customers according to their buying behavior to achieve optimal marketing strategies.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Information Strategy Plan for catering services Essay Example for Free
Information Strategy Plan for catering services Essay Develop a solid, corporate identity in its specified targeted market areas. Become the top brokerage firm by its fifth year (2015) of operation, or before. The company believes that the above-mentioned objectives are obtainable because of the high degree of professionalism and expertise in real estate marketing upheld by the corporationââ¬â¢s core values. Compliance to the RESA Law compels all marketing executives with the knowledge of the real estate laws and procedures which will give them the corresponding license from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as Licensed Real Estateà Sales Agents to engage in the marketing and sales of real estate properties. DRIVEN will provide them the needed training upon entering the profession. Free and paid trainings will be available at a high return to the agent. When starting out, most agents are not able proper training and support. The office environment will be productively and professionally presentable making it inviting to the agent as well as to its client developers and potential buyers / investors. A team of assistants and coordinators will man the office to provide virtual support and track daily marketing routine/schedule. Marketing executives will have the opportunity to be guided each day through a marketing plan. They may choose to follow the guidelines and training provided or they may follow their own daily routines. The company will be supplying a well-studied program allowing the new marketing executives to earn more than the average real estate agent by providing constant guidance and stability. If an agent for example sets a goal to obtain one buyer for the month, on an average of Php3,000,000.00 he would earn an income of Php81,000 per month (inclusive of withholding tax) X 12 months = Php972,000 per year. The accredited brokers will guide and assist every marketing executive in conquering this goal. The same sales as noted above would profit the corporation Php27,000 per month X 12 months = Php324,000 for the year X 460 agents = Php149,0400,000.à Under the RESA Law the real estate brokers on the other hand, are entitled to manage 20 marketing executives hence the corresponding profit for the accredited brokers given the same sales goal will be Php27,000 per month X 12 months = Php324,000 for the year X 20 agents = Php3,888,000 on top of his personal sales. At every stage of a personsââ¬â¢ search for property the listing will experience attrition or in other words a point where the searcher does will not proceed to view details or make an enquiry about the property being sold. This happens when the property cannot be found hence agents are encouraged to utilize all major portals in the market to minimize attrition and maximize results. No attention grabbers can also happen when the website is compromised by poorly optimized and presented Images and even the mere. Titles and Text may increase attrition rate significantly reason why all listings presented on portals should theme professional real estate photography as well as optimized titles and text. People online get bored quickly as well, if a personââ¬â¢s interest is lost while reviewing the property, chances are a potential sale might be lost as well. Apart from getting bored quickly, people using the internet react impulsively. They are quick to judge and if their perception is negative of what they are reading or seeing they will leave and move on, potentially never to look at the listing again.
Mosque Is A Worship Place For Muslims English Language Essay
Mosque Is A Worship Place For Muslims English Language Essay Mosque is a worship place for Muslims. Its function not just performs salat purposely but it can be as well as a center for information, education, and dispute settlement. As we know, mosque basically dealing with sounds which in delivering religious matters such as Friday sermon and lectures which most important speech activities in mosque. Through these activities, the congregation will be hearing messages of reminder of their religious and social duties. A study was carry out about acoustics and speech intelligibility quality of Kampung Laut Mosque, Kota Bharu (Ngasri Dimon, 2007), they determine the acoustic quality of the mosque such as reverberation time (RT60), speech level distribution in the main hall and speech intelligibility quality which involving different type of situation. In this study, they undergoes several acoustic quality analysis which are RT60 analysis, ray tracing analysis, sound pressure level (SPL) analysis and speech intelligibility prediction based on Speech Transmission Index (STI) and Rapid Speech Transmission Index (RASTI) lead to indicate that mosque posses good quality and good speech intelligibility when kuliah or khutbah is performed.[1] Acoustic is a very important nowadays, it does not restrict to the study of musical only. Acoustics is such a wide course which related to physical acoustics, psychoacoustics, electro acoustic, noise control, shock and vibration, underwater acoustics, physiological acoustic and etc. In Malaysia, there is standard that organized by Department of Occupational Safety and Health on the noise control. Noise is unwanted sound that harmful and will effects to our hearing sense. Consequences from that, it will lead to accident. The normal range of hearing for a healthy young person is from approximately 20 Hz (Hertz) to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). 1.2 Problem Statement Acoustic quality in mosque is very important. Mosque is a building where worshipper perform for their pray. So, it must be conducive in term of sound which audibility. The worshipper cant get the message or unpleasant to do their religious activity sometimes and it need to be improve. Several studies have been made about the acoustic quality which most of them come from out of our country. In Malaysia, acoustic engineering does not wide like other engineering. So, to implement this kind of quality does not taking serious. Most of our mosque here, the buildings more focus on the decent architectural design. Besides that, in the main hall prayer also come with astonishing look which somehow adaptation from other great design in the world. This is good regarding to modernization of architectural design but acoustical quality also should be considered too. According to CAHRISMA project that researched by Zerhan Karabiber about ancient buildings, it states conservation and restoration of the architectural heritage were restricted with material means until now. However, it is obvious that, preserving an architectural heritage also should includes with acoustical heritage, especially the spaces that has acoustical importance.[2] Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah Alam is newly mosque upgrading from their old building which formerly known as Pusat Islam UiTM. This mosque fully finished their renovation on 2010 which come out with new architectural design in their main hall prayer. Tuanku Mizan Mosque is not same like other mosque, it just only has one beautiful minaret and upper space of the building is flat which does not have dome. Upon to its uniqueness, a study should be made to evaluate whether this mosque has good acoustical quality. In addition, throughout this study also, we can improvise and learns in spite of implement the acoustic learning course offered in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UiTM. The result of this study can be aid to design a new mosque in the future. 1.3 Objective The main objective is to study the acoustic quality in Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah in order to gain understanding about the good criteria needed in designing acoustic in mosque To determine the reverberation time, RT60 during semi-fully and fully occupied. To study the signal-to-noise ratio in the mosque during semi-fully and fully occupied. 1.4 Scope of Project The scope of the project is to investigate the good criteria needed in designing acoustic in mosque. There are several criteria need to carry out in this project such as study of reverberation time (RT60), Speech intelligibility, Noise Control and etc. As a result, sound contour mapping will be determined for RT60 at certain places in main hall prayer in the mosque. Besides that, throughout the studies also we could understand circumstances that effect to acoustic in the mosque and the way to counter it. 1.5 Significant Project This study was carrying out to gain the understanding about acoustic quality in the mosque. Thus, it will promote the value of acoustic in a building which does not focusing on the mosque only. In addition, it will help to improve the deficiency of acoustic quality and performing some guidance on designing mosque in future. Chapter 2 Literature review 2.1 Mosque 2.1.1 Definition Mosque is defined as the place of worship for Muslim. One of the most repeated building types in Muslim countries. In Malaysia, lot of mosque resembles mosque found in Java. The mosque serves as a place whereà Muslimsà can come together forà salatà (prayer) as well as a center for information, education, and etc. File:Quba.jpg Figure 2.1 : First mosque in the world, Quba Mosque First mosque (Figure 2.1) in the world built in Quba, Medina in Saudi Arabia. It was built during prophet Muhammad S.A.W on his way for emigration from Mecca to Medina, Saudi Arabia. The present mosque of Quba is a rebuild building. When Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil, Egyptian architectà was commissioned on 1980s, he conceived larger mosque and preserve the older design but the client eventually decided to pull down the old mosque and completely replace with new building. This mosque is a significant building to Muslim people nowadays due to its history.[3] 2.1.2 Architectural / Room Acoustic Room acoustic or architectural acoustic is the science of noise control within the building. This acoustical design quite important in making a hall that has acoustical purpose such as lecture hall, auditorium and etc. This study is to provide for maximum intelligibility of the speech while also in maintaining a natural voice. The first implementation of the architectural acoustic is in the opera houses then concert halls. Every single building has its own acoustic requirement depending to the purpose of the building. Sà ¼leymaniye Mosque(Figure 2.2), was built by Architect Sinan in 1557 is a great architectural acoustic building. The uniqueness of this building has the mosques main dome was found to have 256 symmetrically placed cubes measuring 15 centimeters around the front and 45 centimeters in length, which contribute to very good acoustic quality in this mosque. Some coresspondance said no need microphone there and the speech intelligibility very good. Unfortunately, after a few restorations relating to its heritage, the mosque already lost their uniqueness. Local people claimed that they cannot hear the sermon clearly as usual after that. http://img1.eramuslim.com/fckfiles/image/dunia/suleymaniye-mosque.jpg Figure 2.2 : Sà ¼leymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey 2.1.3 History of Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah Alam Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah Alam is located at top of hill nearby with Kolej Seroja and Faculty of Applied Science, about 1.5 km from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. This Mosque has their own history which is known as Islamic Education Centre (IEP) at beginning of their established onà 1st April 1983. In order with modernization, this centre was revised its name by Y.Bhg.à Datoà Serià Prof Dr.à Ibrahim Abu Shah, Vice Chancellor UiTM on 1st January 2004 become Centreà for Islamic Thought and Understanding (CITU). CITU was supervised by a director and assist with two vice director that responsible to Islamic academic and non-academic in the UiTM Shah Alam campus. The establishment of CITU in UiTM is a combination of Islamic Education Centre (IEP) with the Religious Advisory Centre (non-academic) in which all Islamic activities governed by the University under one roof with the Islamic Centre at the university. After a few years, CITU has undergone renovation which incriminates a few parts that need to be maintaining in its building such as a new minaret and its main hall prayer. In 2010, UiTM move one step ahead in elevate Islam as main religion in our country and desire emerge as World Class University by introducing Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah Alam.[4] 2.1.4 Mosque Features The area and volume of this mosque is calculated based on Architectural drawing that been provided by Unit Rekabentuk Projek, Bahagian Fasiliti UiTM, a department that responsible to plan or proposing the features of this mosque. C:UsersfirdausyusufPicturesBukit Raja-20121130-00173.jpg Figure 2.3: Site plan on architecture drawing of UiTM mosque The mosque has an estimated volume is 62,720 m and it can accommodate 7000 person at a time. The floor area of the mosque about 3136 m and for the main prayer hall floor area estimated of 1600 m. It is 56 x 56m, with height of 20m. Each area calculations of main prayer hall is as shown in Table 1. TABLE 2.1 Summarise area of Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque,à UiTMà Shah Alam Surface Type Surface Area (S), m Carpet Floor 1,600 Plaster Ceiling 2,240 Plaster Front wall 1,120 Plaster Side wall 800 Plaster Back wall 960 Glass Side door 36 Glass Back door 36 2.2 Sound 2.2.1 Sound Mechanical Wave Sound is defined as pressure variation in term of mechanical wave that travels through a medium from one location to another. This phenomenon occurs when the wave is set off; it sets the nearest layer of particles of air into motion and corresponding energy to it in example vibration disturbance. This transport of mechanical energy through a medium by particle interaction is what makes a sound wave a mechanical wave. A vibrational disturbance is interpreted as (audible) sound if its frequency lies in the interval from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. Depending on the properties of the medium, sound propagates at different speeds. Medium Speed of sound (m/s) Air 340 Water 1500 Steel 5000 Sound wave behaviour is same with light and other wave behaviours. The sound wave may exhibits reflection, interference (two waves superimpose to execute resultant wave), refraction and diffraction.[5] 2.3 Early Decay Time (EDT) In describing the decay of a reverberant tail of sound energy in room, Sabines equation states the relationship between low absorption to its internal volume. Sabine in his study was discovered that sound like many other quantities which have a half-life. These produce an exponential curve that against increasing time graph (Figure 1). This pattern of graph much like the decay of radioactive material or carbon-14 that been use by archaeologist in the dating process. In other example to describe the decay time is the decay of light in a light -emitting diode (LED) and the voltage across a capacitor. The behaviour of this kind of energy, Sabine through its equation estimates the time required for energy to reflect until becomes inaudible (-60 dB) after the sound source been interrupted the RT60. http://www.synaudcon.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/EDT_as_a_Performance_Benchmark-fig1-e1266328072561.png Figure 2.4 : reverberant energy decays exponentially EDT is roughly defined as the sensation of RT. It is better indicator of subjective feeling of reverberation time, and is critical defining the acoustical quality of a music hall. By comparing the initial rate of reverberant sound decay and reverberation time likely appears initial rate more important than the total reverberation time. Decay time likely important too since it more rapid initial decay is interpreted by the human ear as meaning that the reverberation time is short. EDT should not be higher than à ± 10% for good acoustics. For liturgical purposes, EDT should be between 2.7 and 3.85 (Templeton, 1993). Things to avoid in design include the following: Echoes. An echo is a strong reflected sound that is arriving at the listener after the direct sound sufficiently delayed that it can be heard as a separate entity rather than as a continuation of the original sound. When echoes are heard, the most likely culprit is the rear wall of the room. Flutter echoes. Flutter echoes are a series of echoes that occur in rapid succession; they usually result from reflections between two parallel surfaces that are highly reflective. Sound focusing. Focusing of sound can be caused by reflection from large concave surfaces. Certain sounds will be heard too loudly near the focus of a curved surface. Sound shadows. Under balconies at the rear of an auditorium or church there may be insufficient early sound, since most of the reflections from the side walls and ceiling do not reach this area even though they are in a direct line of sight to the performer and therefore receive the direct sound. [6] 2.4 Speech Intelligibility Speech intelligibility is the measure of the effectiveness of speech which its expressed of percentage of a message that correctly delivered and understood. In term of understanding, speech intelligibility does not same with speech quality because speech quality refers to message that want to delivers that may be understood by the listener. A message that lacks quality may still be intelligible. C:UsersfirdausyusufDesktopFYPmeasurement speech.jpg Table 2.2 : Speech Inteligibilty Test Method Table above shows speech intelligibility test method which standardizes by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and International Standards Organization (ISO) standards that already incorporate objective methods for evaluating speech intelligibility. 2.5 Reverberation Time that required for a sound in a room to dies out which specifically decays by 60 dB in a room after the sound from its source has stopped is known as reverberation time (RT). RT is the basic parameter that should be calculated in the study of acoustic. Reverberation time specifying the efficiency of sound decays in a room for fulfilling the acoustical requirement depending upon the activities conducted in certain time. JBL Professional Sound System Design Manual reverberation time was simply described about the length of time required for a very loud sound to die away to inaudibility. It was later defined in more specific terms as the actual time required for sound to decay 60 decibels.[5] RT60 was found by Wallace Clement Sabine, a professor at Harvard University in the early 1900s who was the first person that quantifies this quality subject. W.C. Sabine has come out equation below due to his study on acoustic of the Fogg lecture hall: RT = Where, V = volume in cubic meters, S = total surface area of the room in square meters, = average absorption coefficient in the room According to past study in the mosque, RTis 7.48 s in the middle frequencies. This much longer than the optimum level even for liturgical purposes. Liturgical purpose refers to orchestra, chorus or organ which the optimum range level for reverberation time is about 3.0 to 3.5 s for spaces larger than 1000 m(Egan, 1994). Long sound decay at low frequencies can reduce the intelligibility of speech. For good intelligibility, RT values at low octave band should remain flat down to 100 Hz. At low frequency, an increase in RT values of around 10%-20% would still yield a natural sound. 2.6 Signal-to-Noise Ratio Noise is a sound which known as unwanted signal or damaging sound that may damage your hearing. It also can cause to other health effects such as stress, increased heart rate level, increased blood pressure and hypersensitivity to no noise. It can also interfere with communication at work, which could lead to accidents. For healthy young person, the normal range hearing is from approximately 20 Hz (Hertz) to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). Our ears are more sensitive to the middle frequencies, which range from 500 Hz to 4000 Hz the speech frequencies. Signal-to-noise ratio defined as a measure of desired signal level to unwanted signal (noise). It is also known as the ratio of signal power to the noise power in a space. This describes the level of noise that exerts from output device such as fan and refrigerant, in relation to signal level. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/Assets/images/expclas1.gif Figure 2.5 : Two signal which referring to wanted signal which does not disturb and unwanted signal (alternate amplitude). Due to ratio between noise and signal, it often expressed in logarithmic decibel scale. Signal-to-noise ratio (dB) = 10 Where; = Pressure for signal (dB) = Pressure (signal + noise) in dB Chapter 3 Methodology Research methodology is one of the important parts in this study. A systematic methodology was created which to ensure that the research will be running smooth and successfully. In order to carry out the research, this methodology comes out with 5 stages which stated in the flowchart below. This flowchart is important to describing the way or designing the method that being use. Flowchart of the proposal methodology 3.1 Preliminary Preparation 3.1.1 Introduction to acoustic and understanding on the basic concept of the study. In this stage more on understanding of the basic concept about the study. This includes by doing some observation on past study and the sources that will provide the information that related to this study such as from library, book, internet, journals and etc. There are some keyword been highlighted regarding to the research includes acoustic, speech intelligibility, architectural acoustic, sound propagation, and reverberation time (RT60). This fundamental knowledge is quite important to understand about study that will carry out to perform a good research. The keyword had been discussed in the literature review. 3.1.2 Collecting information details about the study Collecting data is quite tough job need to handle. As mentioned in the objective, object that will carry out for the experiment is UiTM Shah Alam Mosque. For your information, this mosque was built past 20 years ago and basically there is no research done on this mosque. So the information about the mosque is quite limited. A lot of stages needed in determining the details about the mosque: Observing the features inside the object about the experiment will carry out, UiTM Shah Alam Mosque includes: Glass doors (11 Units) Pillars in wooden covered (6 Units) Speaker (6 Units) Collect some detail about the history in making the mosque from Arkib UiTM Shah Alam Dealing with Unit Fasiliti, UiTM Shah Alam regarding to get the dimension and drawing about the object. Contacting the architect that handle the latest renovation to get some point and view about the material that been used in the object that will carry out for the experiment. 3.2 Experimental Study 3.2.1 Reverberation time (RT60) For experimental study stage, sound level meter plays its role in obtaining the sound pressure level in decibel (dB). Referring back to the objective, the study is to determining the reverberation time (RT60) which the time required for sound level from present level down to 60dB. The sound level meter will be placed in certain position in main hall prayer area. From this we can see the variation of the sound propagation inside the hall. This variation of the sound propagation will be translated into sound contour mapping by using Matlab software which inserting the time required from the experiment. 3.2.2 Signal-to-noise ratio This parameter will be determined by using sound spectrum analyzer. This spectrum analyzer is worked to differentiate the signal and noise in a space. The result from this observation, we can obtain the noise level in the condition as stated in the objective of the study. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/FSL.jpg/220px-FSL.jpg Figure 3.1 : Spectrum analyzer 3.3 Simulation using software Stage 3 which need to carry out the simulation by using software in computer lab provided in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UiTM Shah Alam. Regarding to Dr. Valliyappan David Natarajan, it is a new software that bought by the faculty conjunction to expanding demand in acoustics field. The software abilities can generate the architectural design instead of stimulates the sound propagation and speech intelligibility in the hall. 3.4 Data Analysis After computing both result by using experiment and simulation, it continue with the organizing all the result for the simulation and experiment. This analysis referred to do comparison for both conditions which is reverberation time and signal-to-noise ratio related to semi fully occupied and fully occupied people (peak hour) inside the hall. This analysis will come out in the plotted graph. In addition, the result of the analysis will be discussed. In spite of that, the result of experimental pattern will be compared with simulation that executed by the software. The comparison will be discussed in the short essay. 3.5 Report writing After going through in preparing the proposal, experiment and simulation, finally translate the entire chapter into report writing. The report writing consists of 6 chapters which the report must be below 100 pages.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Essay examples --
In one way or another [1], mobile phones have changed everyoneââ¬â¢s life. We can say that nowadays more than half of the population has a mobile phone or at least has used a mobile phone. Mobile communication networks made it possible to be connected and reachable even in the most remote places. One might question whether this is good or bad. The truth is mobile phones can nowadays save lives but it can also endanger life if not kept below the allowed limits. Since predictions show that in future most of the communication will be in the mobile domain (maybe even the internet), it makes sense to optimize mobile networks for the most efficient utilization of the frequency spectrum and for minimizing smog. Both the telecommunication network providers and the users can only gain in efficiency and usability if we theoreticians provide them with the most efficient algorithmic solutions to all interesting problems raised by these networks. While there exist a number of results on several aspects of telecommunication network planning and management, very little is known about models that use a ...
Monday, August 19, 2019
Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility by Harry Frankfurt Ess
In ââ¬Å"Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibilityâ⬠, Harry Frankfurt attempts to falsify the Principle of Alternate Possibilities. The Principle of Alternate Possibilities is the principle where a person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. A person would be morally responsible for their own actions if done by themselves. If someone else had forced that person to do the action, then the person doing the action is not morally responsible. Frankfurt does not believe this to be true and that the person doing the action is morally responsible. Frankfurtââ¬â¢s objections towards the Principle of Alternate Possibilities shows the refutation of natural intuition and places moral responsibility upon those who deserve it. Frankfurtââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Black and Jonesâ⬠example is an appropriate explanation for how the Principle of Alternative Possibilities works. Black put a gun on Jonesââ¬â¢ head and tells him to do action A. According to the Principle of Alternate Possibilities, this will play out in three ways. If Jones was not a reasonable man and was ââ¬Å"gung-hoâ⬠, not caring about any consequences or cost, then he is not to be morally responsible for that action. If Jones was afraid of what Black will do with the gun and decides to change his decision from doing any other action to action A, then he is only morally responsible for the decision that he made earlier and not for the action. If Jones isnââ¬â¢t affected by Blackââ¬â¢s actions, but he considers those actions in planning to make his next move yet still follows his original decision, then he is morally responsible for all actions and decisions.(Frankfurt; Watson, 169-170) What Frankfurt is considering to be a counter-e xample to the Principle of Alternate Possibil... ...ow moral responsibility. One needs to will other alternate possibilities, knowing that there is no moral responsibility for them, to show that the original will has moral responsibility. It is like placing a white stone on a pile of black stones to emphasize the fact that that one stone is a white stone. This shows the need for alternate possibilities and strengthens Frankfurtââ¬â¢s argument. In conclusion, Frankfurtââ¬â¢s argument against the Principle of Alternate Possibilities showed that people under coercion had moral responsibility for their own actions. Copp placed the value of moral responsibility to the ability of being able to do oneââ¬â¢s will and Pereboom supports Frankfurtââ¬â¢s argument by placing the robustness condition on alternate possibilities. This shows that there is still a need to put more thought and brainstorming into who has the moral responsibility.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
English :: English Literature
English A Summerââ¬â¢s Reading Respect is a very dominant and important factor in the story of Bernard Malamud, ââ¬Å"A Summerââ¬â¢s Reading.â⬠The reach for respect from the people around him causes a lot of dilemma within the main character, George Stoyonovic. And those dilemmas led to consequences that George hated. George, a high school drop out, can not get any job during one summer. He decides to read the magazines found at home. But when he met Mr. Cattanzara, he immediately lies about the hundred books he is reading, in order for Mr. Cattanzara to respect him as well as to be proud of him. Respect is a form of acknowledgement of oneââ¬â¢s existence. Respect is very important to everybody. Respect also gives a person a sense of confidence that he is not a failure and contradicts the idea that he is not good enough. People want respect because they want others to know how good they are. Though everybody wants it, most people often take it for granted. The irony of it all is that people wants it so much that they would do anything just to get it. In the story, the theme Respect is very important for everybody was shown a couple of times. An example of these scenes is when George was contemplating whether or not he should attend the night classes. ââ¬Å"He has considered registering in a night high school, only he did not like the idea of teachers always telling him what to do. He felt that they had not respected him.â⬠He decides that since he has nothing to do at home, attending night-class would be great and it would help him catch up on the lessons he has missed. But that the idea of teachers telling him what to do causes George to think twice. He thinks that when his teachers tell him what to do or should not do it shows a lack of respect on the teachersââ¬â¢ part. He then feels that he is not good enough and loses confidence in himself. But in reality, when people tell you what to do, it means that they are concerned about you and that they know that you can do better but it does not really mean that you are not good enough as a person. They are actually acknowledging your abilities and your capabilities which also acknowledge your existence. George searches for respect because it is where he gets the confidence that will enable him to move on forward with his life. Another instance in the story where it shows respect is very important is when George tells Mr.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Americaââ¬â¢s Postwar Divide
The end of the Civil War brought opportunities and disadvantages for many Americans depending on oneââ¬â¢s race, ethnicity and abilities. Chapters seventeen through twenty of ââ¬Å"The American Nationâ⬠explains the changes which occurred in American society post civil war due to industrialism. The following essay examines the barriers created by an inefficient government causing discrimination of the poor in the mid-to-late 1800s. Severe discrimination of minorities and the poor led to a corrupt American government working only to benefit themselves and important wealthy voters.Congress used bribery to ensure their financial needs were met while those of American citizens were ignored. Many tactics were uses to ensure Congress remained Republican, such as criticizing Democrats as rebels and using the ââ¬Å"bloody shirtâ⬠as a reminder of the violence and untrusting nature of Democrats during the Civil War (449). Many Americans were distrustful of Congress, and with go od reason. An example of such distrust was seen in Americans desire for American currency to be changed from paper money back to bullion because they feared government would print as much money as necessary to cover an increase or decrease in taxes (450).Civil service reform was a concern during the post Civil War era but the barriers were immense (450). There were many factors contributing to the need for civil service reform. There was a long list of ineffective presidents and the hiring of unqualified lieutenants by politicians because of their involvement in the Civil War. In order to keep their congressional status, politicians needed loyal employees and by celebrating Americaââ¬â¢s patriots, they were adding on votes to ensure their success.As the author wrote in ââ¬Å"The American Nationâ⬠, ââ¬Å"patronage was the lifeblood of politicsâ⬠(451); basically politicians bribed soldiers with high paying jobs and preferential treatment in return for their votes. Refo rmers wanted nonpartisan professional civil service and both democratic and republican politicians made a mockery of them (451). Although the Reconstruction era looked promising for Americaââ¬â¢s black men and women, it quickly became a failure. Minorities were treated very poorly postwar.One ineffective president, President Hayes, could have made a difference in the lives of black Americans, but when President Hayes realized his hopes were useless, he did not pursue the problem further (451). Poll taxes created an ââ¬Å"economic barrierâ⬠to blacks an poor whites and the Fifth Amendment was not upheld for blacks (451). The literacy tests for the right to vote were rigged for illiterate whites and not for illiterate blacks; giving white votes the majority. Because blacks were treated as stupid and inferior, white law makers felt it was okay to restrict their rights.Rather than improving American society by addressing equal rights and liberties, congress spent their time mak ing sure the rich and the white succeeded by restricting the rights of others who could get in the way. The Civil Rights Cases (1883) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) gave way to legalized segregation laws in schools, prisons, hospitals and anywhere public services were available. The only way blacks found success was through separatism, where they established communities of their own, and financially supporting the community through black business ownership (453).Blacks were forced to make ââ¬Å"the choice between confrontation and accommodationâ⬠(454). Immigrants suffered as well, they were seen as a drain on society and were accused of taking the jobs of other Americans because of their cheap labor (454). Immigrants rushed to America with the rise of industry and manufacturing, yet they could only afford the slums where disease and violence were abundant. This gave them a bad reputation and therefore Americans demanded laws be made to protect their jobs and money from immigra nts.The Plains Indians were removed from their land and many violent attacks caused the death of thousands of Indians. White influence threatened to take culture away from the Indians, as Indians began buying new technologies from Americans. White man wanted to civilize the Indians by passing the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 which was a promise of education and some land which resulted in the Indians loss of culture and tax increases on land resulting in a loss of land (462). American greed such as seen during the gold rush, trampled on the lives of the Indians.Rich, powerful industrial leaders took away land for railroad development, killing of the tribesââ¬â¢ food source and killing off most of the Indians (462). Wealth rose among the business tycoons but not for the average American citizen. It was a kill or be killed society. As population increase, food and transport demand also increased, bringing wealth to industry giants (472). Government was so ineffective in creating reg ulations for businesses that many business owners took it upon themselves to fix things, such as seen with the oversupply of cows.However, the ranchers for the most part destroyed their businesses by unintentionally killing their cows with barbed wire fences (473). The exploitation of natural resources brought expansion to American manufacturing, farmers were getting replaced and they lost the respect of many Americans and the government did nothing to help (477). The rise of new and competing technologies made businesses and their products quickly become obsolete (487). Lowering product prices to in order to compete with similar companies caused job loss and other problems in society.Mergers took place without any government regulations and peoplesââ¬â¢ jobs were very unstable. The government tried to get their act together by creating business regulations, such as the Sherman Act, which were essentially ineffective (495). Labor unions caused more strikes and violence than actua l assistance for workers. Employees were in constant distress from more skilled workers taking over jobs, employers who could throw them out at any time and union opportunities met with employer disapproval (498). Wealth was unevenly distributing to only a few and the few became smaller with every year (500).The wealthy business owners held ordinary citizens fates in their hands because their money controlled the government and the court systems (500). The middle class society benefited from big businesses and lived well and extremely wasteful (505). New technologies caused many workers the inability to keep up with the needed skills and once new schools and colleges were opened many college grads got the jobs while both male and female unskilled industrial workers suffered low wages and could not live decently (505).The uneven balance of societyââ¬â¢s wealth can be demonstrated through the type of work women maintained. Although all women were paid less; middle class women worke d as nurses teachers and lower class as sales and cashier clerks (505). Stability was a problem; middle class workers saved money if their jobs were not stable where stable workers would spend their money (507). Social culture was important to the rich and middle class but the poor were discriminated against enjoying such privileges (516). Even the church discriminated against the poor.Protestants were the only ones to take a step in the right direction and help the poor improve their lives, not with charity but with reform (524). Socialist ideals became popular towards the turn of the century likely because of governmentââ¬â¢s inability to help all Americans and not just themselves and other wealthy citizens. Society wanted to see welfare, unemployment benefits, nationalizing industries, public housing and many other beneficial programs for the needy and equal opportunities for all Americans (524).
Friday, August 16, 2019
Enlightened Philosophers (John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean Jacques Rousseau)
John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean Jacques Rousseau were all enlightenment philosophers. Each of these men had a particular view of government, society, and its citizens and they were all passionate about their works. Locke (1632- 1704) was an English philosopher, his ideas had a great impact on the development of political philosophy and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential enlightenment thinkers. Montesquieu (1689- 1755) believed that all things were made up of laws that never changed. His most famous work, The Spirit of Laws, outlined his ideas on how government would work best.Voltaire (1694- 1778) was a poet, an essayist, playwright, historian, and above all, a critic of society. He was a great crusader for liberty and was twice imprisoned for his writings. Rousseau (1712-1778) generally recycled older enlightenment ideas but is well known for his passionate rhetoric, which enflamed a generation and beyond. John Lockeââ¬â¢s view of government was that it was good to have one. The people may put their trust in the government so that in turn, the government may trust the people and protect their rights. The reason why men choose and give power to lawmakers is that there may be made, and rules set, as guards and fencesâ⬠¦ The people are right in trying to put the laws in the hands of the government which will protect their rights. (Excerpt from Locke's Two Treatises with Government) â⬠. Within the government, there were societies. Lock felt that the people needed/ wanted a government to protect their rights. They donââ¬â¢t, however, want to be victims of power abuse by the government. ââ¬Å"The reason why men enter into society is to preserve their property. Two Treatises with Government) â⬠. Every society is made up of citizens; he believed that People (lawmakers) will inevitably abuse their power at some point. When this happens, people should have the right to break free from the government. ââ¬Å"Whe n lawmakers abuse absolute power and try to take away and destroy the property of the peopleâ⬠¦ The people are then freed from any further obedience to lawmakersâ⬠¦ (Two Treatises with Government) â⬠. If Locke were alive during the Renaissance period, his views may have shifted.Lock may have been less bold about his reasons ââ¬Å"why men enter into a societyâ⬠. The renaissance was a time of peace and prosperity. Humanism, self awareness, art, and science were a big deal and his view of people and their ââ¬Å"state in natureâ⬠may have changed because people were thinking differently during those times. During the Protestant Reformation, times were also different and his opinion may have altered again. Locke may have not cared about the people as much because he was too busy criticizing the government/ churches.The Protestant Reformation was a time where people were very critical of the churches because they abused their power which is one of Locke's philosop hies; people want to be protected by the government, not abused. During the Scientific Revolution, however, people were big on science and the people; not so much the churches/ government so Locke's view may have changed again. He probably would feel the same way about the government but less harsh about the people. As times change, so do peoplesââ¬â¢ opinions. Baron de Montesquieu believed in a government slightly different than Locke's.Montesquieu still believed in a central government but he thought that laws should be specific to different parts of the world where as different law may have to be enforced in different places. In his most famous work, The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu says ââ¬Å"Lawsâ⬠¦should be adapted for the people for whom they are framedâ⬠¦they should be relative to the climate of each country, to the quality of its soilâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ Montesquieuââ¬â¢s view of society, however, differed very much from Locke's. Montesquieu felt that people become intoxicated on power when they have enough of it and they couldnââ¬â¢t handle having more than the person next to them. Political liberty can only be found in moderate governments when there is no abuse of power. (The Spirit of Laws) â⬠Montesquieu feels the same way about individual citizens as he does about the general society. People always abuse their powers. No matter how small the amount they have, they will push their credibility to the edge. ââ¬Å"Constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it and carry it as far as it will go. (The Spirit of Laws) â⬠. As the renaissance came around, Montesquieu would definitely not have had such a bad opinion of man.As previously mentioned, the renaissance was a time for prosperity and there was a focus on humanism. Montesquieu believed that men will abuse any power that they are given but during the renaissance, people were much different. As for the Protestant Reformation, Montesquieu woul d probably feel the same way as his original philosophy. Nobody liked each other during the Protestant Reformation but the liked the government/ churches even less. Thereââ¬â¢s no doubt that people would abuse their power and the government should be split in 3 sections.However, during the Scientific Revolution, Montesquieu would feel the same about the people and probably would view the government the same way. During the Scientific Revolution, people were recovering from the Protestant Reformation but it was the abuse of power that put them there in the first place and they needed a stable government. Jean Jacques Rousseau was similar to Locke in his belief of a government. Rousseau believes that government is necessary for stability but only to an extent. If the king/ government should go against the people, they have a right to demand their freedom. No one ââ¬â not even a king ââ¬â has the right to go against the community as a whole. If a ruler was tyrannical and wen t against the will of the people the social contract is broken and the people had a right to demand their freedom (The Social Contract)â⬠. Rousseauââ¬â¢s view of society was also good in that he did not criticize anything; he merely made the observation that in a society, people all have to abide by all the same rules because this keeps them at bay. ââ¬Å"The essence of the social contract can be stated simply: each individual surrenders all his rights to the community (The Social Contract). Rousseauââ¬â¢s view of citizens basically adds onto his view of how they react in society. He believes that people want to live amongst each other in peace; they want to be protected and live by certain guidelines to ensure prosperity. During the Protestant Reformation, Rousseauââ¬â¢s ideas would have changed drastically. People were definitely not living in peace and the government/churches were what got them into a mess in the first place. During the Protestant Reformation peopl e were basically at war with the church and anyone who disagreed with their opinion.During the Scientific Revolution, people need a stable government because of what happened during the Protestant Reformation. However, people also wanted to live in peace with the government and their neighbors and whoever else. Rousseau would have felt the same about the government and about how people were living their lives during the Scientific Revolution as he would have from his original philosophy. Voltaire does not seem to care much for the government, ââ¬Å"He was a great crusader for liberty and was twice imprisoned for his writings. His view of society was that people should be accepting and understanding of each other; when people do not accept each other and their ways of thinking, nothing good will come of it. ââ¬Å"Tolerance has never brought about civil war. Intolerance has covered the earth with destruction (A Treatise on Toleration). â⬠When it comes to individuals, Voltaire is lighter with his words; he doesnââ¬â¢t penalize them for his distaste in the government. Voltaire believed that people should have certain unalienable rights that cannot be revoked unless they are causing some sort of a public disturbance. Each person must be permitted to believe and to think that which he rightly believes in. Each person should be able to speak freely as long as it does not disturb the public order. Each person must be able to freely practice any religion which he believes inâ⬠¦ (A Treatise on Toleration). â⬠Voltaire would have the same feelings about the government and about the people during the Protestant Reformation. It was a time when nobody liked the government/ churches and the people wanted their rights because they were losing faith in religion.During the Scientific Revolution people wanted their rights because they werenââ¬â¢t big on religion anymore, so, Voltaire probably would have felt the same way as his original writings. In conclu sion, each philosopher had their own ideas and ways of thinking about the government, different societies, and its citizens. Each man may have also been influenced differently by the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, or the Scientific Revolution. These enlightenment philosophers have left their mark on history and will always be remembered as influential figures.
Venus in fur
I sat next toccata Saunders parents, and to see how proud they were through out the show was a special thing to be a part of. Sonata for Cello and Plano by Claude Debussy, the first piece was Jazzy, then romantic, then mysterious. It really set the tone for the rest of the concert. The first piece really showed a lot of variety In the tones and tempos of the song. And it was so interesting to listen to because I never knew what was going to happen next. The second piece was a solo, and it was so inspirational. Cantor 1 & 2 for solo cello, by Morals Noble.Jacob was breathing hard, playing an overwhelming amount of notes all so fast. You could really see the passion in his face, and his entire body language. He is such a professional and advanced performer who clearly has a very bright future in his music career. This musical number was also one that threw curve balls at me, because of the continually changing tempo and tones from romantic to suspenseful. All the pieces were long in du ration, and that really impressed me because it's clear that they put in so much effort and time with practicing, and then performing perfectly.Music is a really powerful thing, and it was the most clear how much passion he has for what he does, and that's what makes a great musician. His vibrato was impressive to watch, and it made me wish I had played cello longer. After intermission, Beets came back, which I was glad about because I love the sound of the cello and piano together; it's absolutely beautiful. This piece was called Fretters for Cello and Piano by Arbor Part. The song was slow and quiet and It sounded familiar to me.The notes had so much flow, and the two performers vided so well together; always on the same page. There was such a good build on the song, and was really moving. The short amount of time the musicians have to change their page of music is so amazing to me, because It seems critical that they don't mess up. And they TLD. Very professional. The last piece was my favorite because It was so beautiful. Sonata In C Major, pop. 119 by Serge Profile. It made me feel so fancy and classy. The whole show was romantic, but the last piece really stood out to my on the romance level.When the show was over, I was really happy that I had chosen this concert to attend, because it need up being my favorite. Venus in fur By Joyfully was great. White Christmas lights, and the position of the instruments made me feel like I was at a classy coffee shop in France. The cello and piano were the first instruments I ever learned how to play, and I went with a friend who plays the cello currently, so we both had a great appreciation for the show. I sat next to Jacob special thing to be a part of. Sonata for Cello and Piano by Claude Debussy, the first the concert.The first piece really showed a lot of variety in the tones and tempos of he song, and it was so interesting to listen to because I never knew what was going Fretters for Cello and Piano by Arbor Par t. The song was slow and quiet and it sounded together; always on the same page. There was such a good build on the song, and page of music is so amazing to me, because it seems critical that they don't mess upâ⬠¦ And they didn't. Very professional. The last piece was my favorite because it was so beautiful. Sonata in C Major, pop. 119 by Sergei Profile. It made me feel so fancy and classy.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Save the Environment
My environmental issue is trash pollution. Trash pollution is basically when people pollute areaââ¬â¢s where animals and humanââ¬â¢s live with trash that they donââ¬â¢t dispose of properly so it endââ¬â¢s up in the places that we donââ¬â¢t want it like the ocean, and places where we generally live by. Trash pollution is occurring all over the world. Where ever people live their is almost always trash their. People are to lazy to dispose of their trash the right way so they basically throw it on the street, on beachââ¬â¢s etc. The issue that are facing are wildlife is that the trash is destroying their environment and polluting their ecosystem. ne example is that in Hawaii the sea turtles are dieing because they get tangled in plastic soda holders and they are also eating the trash that floats in the ocean. Polluting the ocean kills a lot of the big animals too because if the food sources for the big fish all die then of course the big fish will start to die too. The challenges were facing is finding out how to stop it because its a international problem so its hard to stop it because no one know where its coming from or who is doing it so its hard to stop it completely.Trash pollution is the worst in land because their is more trash on land then in the ocean and it does even more damage on land then it does in the ocean because its not only effecting the humans but the humanââ¬â¢s main food sources and the land that they grow the different types of agriculture on. If we donââ¬â¢t have food we canââ¬â¢t survive and the main problem isnââ¬â¢t the polluting of trash, its how much trash we are actually generating because in a couple years almost all land fills will be full and their wonââ¬â¢t be enough space for the other trash.People have proposed solutions like recycling metals, plastics, and glass. In Hawaii, some location have places to recycle your bottleââ¬â¢s and cans and u can even get money for recycling your materials. Thatââ¬â¢s what i donââ¬â¢t get, people getting paid to recycle? And yet people still are too lazy. Its the best of both worlds because if i recycle my materials then then wonââ¬â¢t end up in our landfills and i get a few extra bucks depending on how much materials i recycle to spend on anything i want like for gas in i need.Also people have created materials to substitute the materials that take along time to biodegrade. Companies have created biodegradable bags and wrappers for the food items they see to make their company more green and help the environment out. Why not recycle? well that is the global question that still canââ¬â¢t entirely be answered. Trash pollution has effected the economy in many different ways. In Economics, an externality is a cost or benefit, not transmitted through prices,[1] incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit.A benefit in this case is called a positive externality or external benefit, while a cost is called a negative externality or external cost. In these cases in a competitive market, prices do not reflect the full costs or benefits of producing or consuming a product or service, producers and consumers may either not bear all of the costs or not reap all of the benefits of the economic activity, and too much or too little of the good will be produced or consumed in terms of overall costs and benefits to society.If there exist external costs such as pollution, the good will be overproduced by a competitive market, as the producer does not take into account the external costs when producing the good. If there are external benefits, such as in areas of education or public safety, too little of the good would be produced by private markets as producers and buyers do not take into account the external benefits to others. Here, overall cost and benefit to society is defined as the sum of the economic benefits and costs for all parties involved. [2] Save the Environment A speech: Save the environmentà !! ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- Welcome everybody, today we are going to talk about us, about our environment, and our planet. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- Look around you people, what do you see? Wake up and open your eyes widely. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- Nowadays it becomes normal to see the earth suffering from pollution. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â Trashes, factories, nuclear energy, bombes and chemicals are all destroying our planet. In fact we are the main reason of all those disasters. Human selfishness and economy importance are all causes. U nfortunately most of us donââ¬â¢t care about his personal environment forgetting that terrifying effects like diseases, desertification, and ozone layerââ¬â¢s hole, acid rain can all lead to our extinction.Those dreadful global warnings and catastrophes around the world opened our eyes to the real hazardous situation weââ¬â¢re going to face for the next years if this pollution completes increasing. Every day in the News we hear about a new earthquake or an erupted volcano or a tsunami or a destroyed city. Itââ¬â¢s getting really bad, all because the nature is angry about those threats. But there is always hope and never forget late is better than never. Itââ¬â¢s our planet our future protecting it starting by now is the only solution to survive and to solve fauna and floraââ¬â¢s problems.There is a million solution like saving water, stop logging, being more responsible green and sensitized, following the 3rs strategy, using biological products and of course search ing for new natural sources of energy because simply if we donââ¬â¢t respect the fortune given to us we will lose it as soon as possible. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- Now for sure we all imagine that pollution is a monster and itââ¬â¢s our duty to protect mother Earth from it but seriously isnââ¬â¢t it a responsibility humans owe to themselves
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
How the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab influenced everyday life in Saudi Arabia
Introduction Commins (2006, p. 97) asserts that the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab have influenced the contemporary political and cultural environment in Saudi Arabia. This religious movement, commonly referred to as the Wahhabi movement started in central Arabia in the mid-18th Century and grew because of the preaching and scholarship of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. According to Zayd (2006, p. 41), Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence who received his education in Mesopotamia and Hijaz and then returned to Najd (central Arabia) to advocate for Islamic reforms. This paper explores how his teachings influenced the everyday life in Saudi Arabia. Allen (2006, p.89) says that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was concerned with the practices of the people of Najd, which he regarded as polytheistic and wanted them to stop the practices. He wanted reforms that would remove all practices that were added to Islam after the death of Mohammad. He was against practices like using votive and sacrificial offerings, veneration of caves, stones and trees, celebration of birthdays of prophets, praying to saints and making pilgrimages to special mosques and tombs. These were common practices in Najd and the people here regarded them as being in compliance with Islamic teachings. However, to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab they were polytheistic. He was concerned with these practices because he perceived them as being lax in terms of adherence to Islamic law. In addition to this, he was also concerned with the fact that the people were reluctant to perform religious devotions like disregard to obligatory prayers, not showing care to the widows and orph ans, rampant adultery and failure to give women their fair share of inheritance. These practices formed the basis of his preaching as he was determined to make the people change their ways of life and start living in full compliance with Islamic laws. Weston (2008, p. 11) asserts that his teachings revolved around the breaches of Islamic laws and emphasised the need to comply with all customary practices like jahiliya. He initially encountered opposition but eventually overcame it by forming an alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, a local chieftain. This alliance ensured that his influence endured through difficult times because Muhammad ibn Saud was very powerful in southern Najd. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his descendants converted the alliance that was initially for political loyalty into religious obligation that had to be followed by everyone. In his teachings, he insisted that all Muslims must present an oath of allegiance (bayah) to Muslim leaders when alive so that they can get redemption when they die. He emphasised that Muslim leaders must be given unquestionable allegiance from the people as long as they are providing leadership that is in full conformity with Islamic laws. He held the perception that the purpose of the Muslim community was to be a living embodiment of Islamic laws (Hegghammer & Lacroix 2011, p. 64). The responsibility of ensuring that the community knows and conforms to the laws of God lay squarely on the legitimate rulers. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his followers then started a jihad targeting the backsliding Muslims in the region to ensure that there is total obedience to Muslim rulers and God. This was the beginning of religious intolerance in Saudi Arabia. Fatah (2008, p. 77) claims that the key message in the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was tawhid (oneness of God). Tawhid is very important in Saudi Arabia and it is emphasised by both state and religious leaders. It is for this reason that its adherents call the movement as the call for unity (ad dawa lil tawhid). He was against third party intercession and all prayer rituals because he considered them as leading to shirk. This is why he objected Sufi mysticism, celebrating the birthdays of prophets and Shia m ourning ceremonies which were considered as religious festivals. As a consequence grave marking, building of tombs and any other shrines are forbidden in Wahhabism. However this is partly practised in Saudi Arabia because the shrine of Prophet Muhammad is in the country and Muslims go there to pay pilgrimage. They only accept authority from the Sunna and Quran and disregard any reinterpretation of the two books on issues that were already settled by the previous jurists. They totally remain opposed to reinterpretation but give allowance for interpreting the areas not decided by the earlier jurists. Livingstone (2011, p. 50) suggests that they literally interpret the Sunna and Quran and aim towards enforcing parochial Najd practices. The religious and political leadership work collectively in ensuring that there is conformity in behaviour throughout the country. Life in Saudi Arabia is guided by Wahhabism as the government remains committed to ensuring that there is full compliance w ith Islamic laws (Brym & Lie 2010, p. 31). In addition to this, the government has supported the Wahhabi literal interpretations of right and wrong behaviour. Prayer performance in a ritually correct and punctual manner is required of all men. Livingstone (2011, p.54) says that all the believers are forbidden from taking wine because literally, the Quran forbids it. They have extended this ban to include all intoxicating drinks and stimulants like tobacco. Both men and women are required to dress modestly in accordance with the Quran. These conservative regulations have direct influence on all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. The leaders of Saudi Arabia support the conservative religious establishment and monitor closely the people who present potential threats to their regimes (Lacroix & Holoch 2011, p. 96). In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia ranks as one of the most conservative and restrictive countries with those who do not subscribe to the Islamic religion barred from practicing their faith even in private (DeLong-Bas 2007, p. 66). It is this harsh, conservative and restrictive environment that has led to radicalisation of some people in Saudi Arabia as they have no tolerance to other religious faiths. In school the religious curriculum teaches students that there are two types of people; the first one is the Salafis (Wahhabis) who are the chosen ones and will go to heaven because they are the winners. The other group are Muslims, Jews, Christians and all other religions. These ones are either, enervators, or deniers of God (kafirs) or they put their gods next to God (mushrak). The Sunni Muslims are called enervators because they do things that are proscribed by Salafis like celebrating the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (Husain 2009, p. 15). All these groups of people are not accepted by the Saudi Arabians as Muslims and as such, they are supposed to be hated, persecuted and even killed. This is what the government is encouraging and has led the Saudi Arabia ns to be intolerant to any other dissenting views on religion because of the rapid radicalisation and fundamentalism (Allen 2006, p. 77). This paper has shown that the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab influenced everyday life in Saudi Arabia. His teachings, which were originally intended to bring reforms to the Islamic faith, have gone to the extent of radicalising the people of Saudi Arabia. As the paper indicates, they have no tolerance for other religions. To them, the people of other religions should be hated, persecuted and even killed. This is what is fuelling fundamentalism and radicalism in Saudi Arabia and has already brought about extreme terrorists like Osama bin laden among others. References Allen, C. (2006). Godââ¬â¢s terrorists: the Wahhabi cult and the hidden roots of modern Jihad. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. Brym, R. J., & Lie, J. (2010). Sociology: Your compass for a new world, the brief edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Commins, D. (2006). The Wahhabi mission and Saudi Arabia. London : Tauris. DeLong-Bas, N. J. (2007). Wahhabi Islam: From revival and reform to global jihad. London: I.B. Tauris. Fatah, T. (2008). Chasing a mirage: The tragic illusion of an Islamic state. Mississauga, Ont: John Wiley & Sons Canada. Hegghammer, T., & Lacroix, S. (2011). The Meccan rebellion: The story of Juhayman al-?Utaybi revisited. Bristol, England: Amal Press. Husain, E. (2009). The Islamist: Why I became an Islamic fundamentalist, what I saw inside, and why I left. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books USA. Lacroix, S., & Holoch, G. (2011). Awakening Islam: The politics of religious dissent in contemporary Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. L ivingstone, D. (2011). Terrorism and the illuminati: A three-thousand-year history. Joshua Tree, CA: Progressive Press. Weston, M. (2008). Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Zayd, N. A. (2006). Reformation of Islamic thought: A critical historical analysis. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Univ. Press.
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