The Need for Mass Media

Are there still mass media? The easy and immediate answer would be an absolute yes. However, the difficulty comes from substantiating the answer. For the purposes of this paper, mass media will be defined using Boeren’s (1994: 122-123) classification of media. According to him, mass media refers to â€Å"all media that enable one to disseminate ideas to large audiences through technological/electronic means†. Included here are printed medium of communication (books, newspapers, magazines, posters, etc.), recordings, radio, television, film, cassette, video programs, and the most recent information-carrying technology—the internet. Mass media here was also differentiated by Boeren from other channels of communication. These are media generated by the human body (verbal language, facial expressions, body decorations and the likes), objects or substances used in transient communication (Morse code, horn signals, perfume, etc.), objects or substances used to deposit and express ideas (architecture, ornaments, paintings, etc.), and complex media that refers to rituals and the performing arts such as songs, puppet shows, theater and the likes. To support the answer posed above, there is mass media and it is here to stay.   This is on the basis of, first, mass media play an important role in a democratic society wherein â€Å"the welfare of an entire nation depends on the knowledge and good judgment of the majority of individuals† (English & Hach 1968: 259). In support of this, the University of Washington (2000), in its article â€Å"What is the role of the media in the United States?† stated that media support democracy. This is done in a way wherein the media serve as a significant source of information. Through the information (and competing ideas) circulated by the media, people are then able to govern themselves or able to make their own decisions. Furthermore, mass media provide the general public â€Å"with the information it needs to function as a democracy† (Stay 1999). With this, it could be said that being a model country where its citizens enjoy democratic space, the United States of America will always consider media outlets as key structures or institutions for maintaining democracy in its ideal state. Second, there is a need to examine the role of mass media in a society. If those roles are still satisfied, then, it could be well validated that there is still mass media. For this paper, the roles of the media outlined by Voelker, F. and Voelker, L. (1978) were referred to. These are Informers or providers of information, Entertainers or providers of pleasure and enjoyment, and Persuaders or could be referred to as shapers of perception/public opinion and behavior. Mass Media as Informers News source for Americans has evolved over the past decades. Americans used to rely largely on print medium (mainly newspapers). Then the radio innovated how the public get their news from black and white printed paper. Then came television. And since then, it could be said that television has been the number one source of news compared to newspapers and radios. That TV is the primary source of news for Americans should not come as a surprise. In its study, the Arizona State University gave some data showing that TV sets are a fixture in American households (Arizona State University, n.d.). Data shows that 98.3% of households have TV sets, 65% have cable TV, TV sets are turned on for an average of 7 hours each day and that an average American spends 2.5 hours a day in front of TV. Aside from this access, news on TV is more available around the clock wherein we have early morning shows, noon newscasts, late night news and news breaks in between regular TV programs. In addition, TV is viewed as a source for international and national news while newspapers as source of local information. Meanwhile, with the advent of the internet, it is not yet defined whether this new technology has overtaken TV as the primary source of news. But data shows that over 2.5 million Americans are watching less TV this year compared in 2006 (Bauder c.2006). This decline has not been attributed to the internet replacing TV as a source of information (or other TV programs) but one of the factors being speculated upon is that more shows are either being downloaded or streamed. Mass Media as Persuaders With scores of discussion debating over the effects of media content, the point that mass media shapes individual or collective perception and behavior could not be disregarded. Gans (n.d.:236) stated that news, as an example of media content, â€Å"does not limit itself to reality judgments; it also contains values or preference statements.† With this, Gans forwarded that underlying the news lies â€Å"a picture of nation and society as it ought to be.† For example, a protest march pictured as a disruption to public order, would be considered more news worthy and placed in headline news. On the other hand, a family murder that claimed three victims is less news worthy would be placed in local news. The way how news stories are prioritized and presented in turn shapes the public’s perception on what social disorder is. On a different note, Klapper (1967:331-333) believes that mass media mainly strengthen the views the audience have. One factor leading to this situation is that generally, people lean to (watch, listen, read) materials that advocate the same views that they have. Similarly, people tend to ignore materials that are conflicting or opposing to their own judgment. Aside from the reinforcement power of mass media, Klapper also believes that the media is effective in creating opinion on new issues. He explained that when an individual has no predisposition on an issue, that individual would be vulnerable to adapt an opinion presented by any mass medium. That created opinion would be easy to reinforce and then hard to change. Now we go to the media as shapers of behavior. Some of the critics about media content pertain to their effects on the behavior of target audience particularly on issues such as violence, alcoholism and the likes. A research study by Atkin, Hocking and Block (1981:280-289) was used to support the idea that mass media indeed affect the behavior of its target audience. They used a correlational survey design to determine if advertising of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and liquor encourage non-drinkers to drink and encourage moderate drinkers to drink more. The questionnaires were distributed to 665 students from seventh to twelfth grades in the states of Michigan, California, New York, and Georgia. Over-all results of the study showed that the relationship between exposure to advertisements and liquor is strongly positive. Also, non-drinkers immensely exposed to alcohol ads expressed intentions of drinking when they get older. The difference between those who intended to drink and the opposite is a significant 26%. Mass Media as Entertainers Apart from its functions as providers of information and shapers of perception and behavior, there is no doubt that mass media also largely function as entertainers. Americans turn to different forms of mass media to enjoy, to relax or to simply spend leisure time. The expansion of leisure time in the twentieth century according to De Fleur and Dennis gave way to Americans’ â€Å"growing interest in various forms of recreation and entertainment: (1981:212). This could be attributed to reasons why most commercial TV shows (75%) are made for entertainment while the remaining 25%   accounts for the news and public affairs, educational and cultural programs and religious programs. They also classified entertainment programs that Americans watch such as dramas, situation comedies, variety and talk shows, personality and game shows, soap operas, children’s programs, movies, specials, sports and special events, and docudramas (1981:190-196). Aside from TV programs, it is also worth noting the movies or motion pictures as channels for entertainment. As early as the 1920s, Jowett (1976, quoted in De Fleur & Dennis 1981:212) stated that the movies â€Å"had become the largest and most widespread commercial entertainment form the world had ever known†. By that time onwards, the movies have become a multi-billion dollar industry. Of course, the business would not have been that successful if it had not been for the millions of audience patronizing them. Meanwhile, the print media was never behind when it comes to its role as entertainers. Newspapers and especially magazines make space for materials that offer amusement to the audience. And to complete the package, there is the internet, which makes available online versions of print materials, music, music videos, TV shows, and movies on the World Wide Web. Of course, the internet also offers other types of entertainment that are not offered by the aforementioned mass media such as online games, social networking and others. So are there still mass media? Definitely. To conclude different channels of communication—mainly print media, TV, radio, and the internet—are still prevalent today. The roles or functions of mass media in American society are satisfied because the public has a need for them. Americans are hungry for news and information. They continue to seek information, which consciously or unconsciously reinforce their views on various issues. In addition, Americans continue to turn to mass media as a source of entertainment. No mass medium has been obsolete since it was introduced decades ago. Mass media technology continues to be sophisticated and in the near future, we might be introduced to new channels of communication. Bottomline is, mass media provide distinct social needs of the Americans and that is why these channels of communication are here to stay, up until the next century or even forever. List of References Boeren, A. (1994) In Other Words†¦ The Cultural Dimension of Communication for Development. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries (CESO) English, E. & Hach, C. (1968) Scholastic Journalism. 4th ed. Iowa: The Iowa State University Stay, B. L. (ed.) (1999) Opposing Viewpoints: Mass Media [online] available Gans, H. J. (n.d.) ‘The messages behind the news’ In Media in Society: Readings in Mass Communication. ed. by Deming, C. J. & Becker, S. L. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company: 243 Arizona State University (n.d.) Mass Media & Society: A Sociological Perspective on Media [online] available from < http://www.public.asu.edu/~zeyno217/365/notes1.html> [17 November 2007] Klapper, J. T. (1967) ‘Basic Research in Persuasion and Motivation’ In Mass Media: Forces in our Society. 3rd ed. ed. by Voelker, F. H. & Voelker, L. A. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.: 331-333 Atkin, C., Hocking, J. & Block, M. (1981) ‘Teenage Drinking: Does Advertising Make a Difference?’ In Media in Society: Readings in Mass Communication. ed. by Deming, C. J. & Becker, S. L. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company: 280-289 De Fleur, M. L. & Dennis, E. E. (1981) Understanding Mass Communication. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company Bauder, D. (c.2007) Data Says 2.5 Million Less Watching TV. [online] available from [17 November 2007] Pember, D. R. (1987) Mass Media in America. Science Research Associates, Inc.         

Compare and Contrast the Education System in China

Compare and contrast the education system in China with the English education system After the appearance of culture, an important public service came into being, that is education. However, different countries have different forms of educations. According to the internet, it is found that there are many differences between them education system in China and English education system. The differences between these two education can be seen in terms of teaching style, subjects, and exams. The first difference is teaching style, which is the biggest difference caused by values and traditions.In China, students do not have group work. They only need to listen to the teacher and take notes. But English students have a lot of group work instead of only listening to the teacher and taking notes. Relative to China, the English teacher are friendlier and the class are more relaxed. In the United Kingdom, students express their opinions and focus on experimentation. However, in China, students mainly focus on the knowledge and the books, and try to remember everything that maybe contained in the exam. Thus, education in China and English education system differ in the aspects of teaching style.The second difference is subjects. In the United Kingdom, students can choose a few subjects in every term, and they do many practices. However, in China, students have tense load of subject and can have 6 – 10 subjects each term. English students focus on every subject, but Chinese students only concerned about some of the subjects which are related to exam. Therefore, the subjects taken in China and United Kingdom are different. A third difference is exams, which are used to test students’ learning outcomes or as an entrance of school. Chinese schools have a lot of exams both in universities and secondary schools.In the United Kingdom, some of the schools only have an entrance exam. Chinese schools enroll students based on entrance exam scores and previous results. Exams in United Kingdom are mainly made up of practical questions. But in China, it is mainly to check their memory. As mentioned earlier, education system in China and English education system differs in their exams. In conclusion, we can see that these two education systems differ a lot in teaching style, subjects and exams. It is difficult to decide which one is better. As far as I can see, measure an education system depends on its quality of education instead of the level of scores.

Tourism Destination Development: Homecoming Scotland

Executive summary The subject of this report is the application of Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle for Scotland and also a critique of VisitScotland’s tourism destination development. The first section of the report presents the aim and objectives and the utilised methods of research. In the second chapter called â€Å"Tourism destination or destination tourism† are presented some preliminary theories regarding tourism destination as a market place. The third section presents the evolution of travel and tourism, international tourism, and also tourism destinations.The fourth chapter consists of three subsections. The first one presents the theoretical background behind the main destination development models and their partial applications to Scotland. The second subsection presents the unique early stages of the Scottish tourism through Butler’s TALC model. The last subsection of the chapter objectively illustrates Scotland’s present and recent pas t development through the cycle and its potential entries to the new and final stage. The fifth and final chapter is focused on Scotland’s international market.The first subchapter demonstrates the rich Scottish heritage in North America. In the second subsection the US society and its generations are analysed to select the best US market for Scotland. The third subsection presents VisitScotland’s campaign for the American visitors called Homecoming Scotland, the results of the 2009 campaign and expectations from the 2014 one. Table of contents Executive summary 1 Table of contents 2 List of figures 4 1. 0Introduction 5 1. 1Background 5 1. 2Aims and objectives 5 1. 3Methods 5 2. 0Tourism destination or destination tourism? 3. 0History of International travel and tourism: From ancient festivals to outer space 6 4. 0The Tourism area life cycle (TALC): Theory and application for Scotland 9 4. 1TALC models and the concept of Tourist Area Cycle Evolution: Their application to Scotland 9 4. 2Scotland’s unique early cycle stages 11 4. 3Scotland’s tourism development and consolidation 14 5. 0Homecoming Scotland: Attracting the American market 16 5. 1Scottish Ancestry in North America 16 5. 2Scotland’s markets in the changing US society 17 5. Homecoming Scotland 2009 and 2014: Stagnating nationally, developing internationally 18 Conclusion 20 References 21 Bibliography 23 List of figures *Figure 1 copied from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/File:Culloden_Viaduct01_2007-08-22. jpg Representing a panoramic view of Cullodin Viaduct 10 *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's â€Å"The Tourism Area Life Cycle Vol. 1: Applications and modifications†, about Tourism Area Life Cycle 14 *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland from International Caption Survey 17 Fig. 4: Adapted from clanstirling. org website about American Scottish 18 1. 0 Introduction 1. 1Background Each tourism destination area travels a life cycle. These cycles are adapted a ccording to the destination type, but they are still subject to interpretation. Scotland has proved to be an important competitor in the tourism industry nationally and even internationally. The uniqueness in which Scotland travelled the first stages of the cycle and the numerous differences of cycle phase between regions and also markets makes it the one of the world’s most challenging destination area to develop. . 2Aims and objectives The aim of this report is to demonstrate using strong and logical arguments Scotland’s current place in the TALC cycle and also to analyse VisitScotland’s newest international and national market campaigns called ‘Homecoming Scotland’ and respectively ‘Surprise Yourself’. 1. 3Methods In the attempt of writing this report various sources have been used such as books and journals which focused on tourism destination development and also Scottish tourism. Moreover, electronic sources such as VisitScotland. com or HomecomingScotland2009. om were used for guidance along with accomplished knowledge accumulated throughout the Tourism Destination Development module. 2. 0Tourism destination or destination tourism? Tourists and tourism experience had both grown in the last 100 years. Tourists nowadays are increasingly discerning in their choice of holidays, in terms of both activities and destinations. These high expectations have been heightened by the tourism industry itself mainly due its outside competitiveness with other sectors and inside one between destinations to attract the potential tourists.The ‘age’ when destinations could simply make known their attractions by sitting back and await the arrival of visitors is far behind. Tourism plays an essential role for many people’s high-quality lifestyle. Today’s tourists have to be enticed by marketing destination’s place products effectively. â€Å"Communities are the recipient of tourists† (Heat h and Wall 1992, p. 6), which is why most of the impacts of tourism occur on the community level. Yet, many communities, especially those whose economies are dominated by tourism, don’t have reliable tourism and marketing plans, or even any of these two components in their general plan.Places are ‘sold’ in a wide variety of consumer markets by private and public sector organisations which is why tourism destinations can be treated as products. There are, however, some differences between a place as a tourism destination and a marketable good or service purchased directly by customers of the tourism industry, such as the hire of hotel space or purchase of souvenirs. 3. 0History of International travel and tourism: From ancient festivals to outer space Many people wonder how travel and tourism has evolved so rapidly only in the last 50 years.There are many archaeological sites that reveal tourism destinations even from the 6th century A. D. in Babylon in what appea red to be the oldest history museum ever built which attracted people from all around the kingdom. Ancient Egypt also prided itself with its two majestic wonders: The Pyramids of Giza and The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Nile River also represented an endless source of agricultural prosperity and boat festivals were organized as a sign of worship and gratitude for their wellbeing. A similar example was Ancient Greece with their many temple sites, venerating various gods.With the rise of the Roman Empire, tourism started to segment in different categories. Vacation tourism was practiced by the wealthier Romans who built residences outside the cities for seasonal use. Study tourism also became popular in the Upper Roman Class for children, but also parents who travelled to regions like Greece or Egypt to learn the local language and culture. It represents the beginning of what it is known today as â€Å"International tourism†. Romans also invented the first form of leisure tou rism (balearic tourism) at different water spring sites all over the Empire.The travel phenomenon however was mostly related to expeditions, commerce, migration or military expeditions and it remained this way until the beginning of the 21st century. As technology grew and faster ways of transport became available, travel and tourism finally got closely connected. In England, Queen Elisabeth The 1st had promoted study tourism through which English diplomats were educated in Universities such as Cambridge and Oxford. At the time the idea of travelling for the sake of curiosity was very popular among the upper-class, thus the introduction of passports to keep evidence and secure the multinational travelling.The term Grand Tour was introduced by Richard Lassels in his 1670 book â€Å"Voyage to Italy†. Additional guidebooks, tour guides, and the tourist industry were developed and grew to meet the needs of the 20-something male and female travellers and their tutors across the Eu ropean continent. The young tourists were wealthy and could afford the multiple years abroad. They carried letters of reference and introduction with them as they departed from southern England. The Grand Tourists were primarily interested in visiting those cities that were considered the major centres of culture at the time – Paris, Rome, and Venice were not to be missed.Florence and Naples were also popular destinations. The Grand Tourist would travel from city to city and usually spend weeks in smaller cities and up to several months in the three key cities. After the industrial revolution that brought important economic and social changes, the middle class population had significantly increased. At the end of the 19th century, middle class workers started to benefit of annual paid holidays. As the ways of transport became faster, reliable and also accessible, the demand for tourism resorts has exploded.As a result of the mass tourism phenomenon of the 1960s and post-World War flight technology and pilots, chartered seats on commercial airlines were introduced followed by long-haul packages that were very popular a decade later and encouraged international tourism also for the middle class. Today’s tourism is dominated by niches. The most popular segments are: religious tourism, photographic tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, tradition and culture-based tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife and special interest tourism.Space tourism represents the most recent niche and a number of companies have sprung up in recent years hoping to create a space tourism industry in near future. As an alternative to â€Å"tourism† some organisations use the term â€Å"personal spaceflight†. It has been practiced only by 7 people so far due to the high cost of such a trip (minimum 20 million dollars), but with today’s acceleration in technology growth, no one can predict what and to whom this niche has to offer in the future. 4. 0The Tou rism area life cycle (TALC): Theory and application for Scotland . 1TALC models and the concept of Tourist Area Cycle Evolution: Their application to Scotland Tourist areas are dynamic; they evolve and change over time. The idea of a consistent process through which tourist areas evolve has been described by authors such as Christaller, Stansfield, Noronha and Cohen. Noronha suggests that tourism develops in three stages: discovery, local response and initiative, and institutionalised institutionalisation. Christaller also makes clear the fact that types of tourists change with the tourist areas.There is a lot of literature about characteristics of visitors, but the tourist’s motivations and desires have been ignored. Cohen, for example, characterises tourists as ‘institutionalised’ or ‘non-institutionalised or even ‘drifters, ‘explorers’, ‘individual mass tourists’ and ‘organised mass tourists’. Plog also said t hat â€Å"Destination areas carry with them the potential seeds of their own destruction, as they allow themselves to become more commercialised and lose their qualities which originally attracted tourists† (Cited in Butler 2006, p. ). But while writers such as Cohen have warned against the problems of unilinear models of social change, there is a lot of evidence that the general pattern of tourist area evolution is consistent. Butler’s Hypothetical Tourism Area Life Cycle Model is illustrated through a process of five stages: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation, and rejuvenation or decline. Because most studies in which the model has been applied for can be characterised as mature destinations, Butler’s model has attracted some criticism.In 2000 Butler revisited his model and highlighted aspects about it that could explain its continued relevance since 1980. He argued that because of a focus on detail in many studies some key aspect s and the overall validity of the model had sometimes been overlooked. In order to explain the growth, change, limits and intervention in a tourism area, the model is based in eight elements: dynamism, process, capacity or limits to growth, triggers, management, long term view point, spatial components, and universal applicability. Prideaux however, notices that the life-cycle may be at ifferent stages for different markets, which is why he comes forward with a market perspective analysis. His model applies best for those destinations that have gradually developed from local to international markets, mainly applied for resorts. Scotland’s early stages however don’t seem to apply with the first two of Prideaux’s model (from local to regional tourism). As for Miossec’s evolutionary cycle of destination development model, success from development starts even from stage one and at the latest stage he emphasises on the social-cultural impact for the region.The second stage represents a promotion through word-of-mouth which again didn’t apply to the first ‘courageous’ who visited Scotland and especially the Highlands and described it with horror. Weaver proposed a different but complementary model to the life cycle paradigm. It captures the need to regulate the use of tourism resources, especially the environment in order to adjust the flow of tourists. In situations where a high degree of regulation occurs, Weaver proposed that a destination could adopt ‘‘deliberate alternative tourism (DAT)’’, related to two forms of mass tourism, and to the sustainability of the destination.The first form he calls: unsustainable mass tourism (UMT) is the result of the continued development of the tourism that, in absence of restrictive regulation, exceeds the carrying capacity and the environmental and sociocultural limits of acceptable change in a destination; not Scotland’s case as here mass touris m is rare due to lack of land access to Europe and other continents and the mass tourism ‘trend’ is far behind.Traditionally, tourism sustainability is seen as a set of principles, political prescriptions and management methods that establish a path to develop tourism in conjunction with the protection of environmental, cultural and infrastructure resources of tourist destinations for the future (Lane, 1994). From this position, Hunter (1997) sees sustainable tourism as an adaptive paradigm depending on the circumstances of the environment in which it develops.He proposes four alternatives of sustainable development through: â€Å"tourism imperative†, â€Å"Product-Led tourism†, â€Å"Environment-Led tourism†, and â€Å"Neotenous tourism†. Of these four alternatives, ‘‘Sustainable development through Product-Led Tourism’’ is the focus here. In order to surmount the prescriptive limitations of the life cycle model whe n establishing the objective of sustainable development in island destinations, the teleological model proposed here can be used in a complementary manner. . 2Scotland’s unique early cycle stages *Fig. 1: Panoramic view of Culloden Viaduct *Fig. 1: Panoramic view of Culloden Viaduct The exploration stage represents the beginning of the cycle and it is assumed that there would be no specific facilities provided for visitors. Contacts between visitors and local residents is very often, which of course it might be beneficial if the locals are welcoming with strangers and also the visitors are keen to experience the local culture and traditions.Because this stage is mostly present nowadays in those unexplored or feared corners of the Earth, roughly called by many â€Å"Third World† countries, tourists take high risks when getting in contact with the residents as can never really anticipate the local’s behaviour and openness to tourists. Not all Scotland has lived th is stage in the same time. The tourist industry of the north and west of Scotland, which is today a major economic and social force in the area, can be traced back more than 2 centuries to the intrepid travellers such as Penant (1772) and Johnson (1876).The economic base and infrastructure did not become established until approximately a century later. Youngson (cited in Butler 1973, p. 373) notes that â€Å"In the first half of the century [eighteenth] nobody visited the Highlands for pleasure or out of a sense of scientific curiosity† and visitors â€Å"tended to speak of the country almost with horror, as a black howling wilderness, full of bogs and boulders, mostly treeless, and nearly unfit for human habitation†. Unlike Southern or Eastern Scotland, wheeled vehicles were uncommon in the Highlands around 1750 due to poor, almost inexistent transport infrastructure.Another impediment to travellers at the time was the linguistic ‘stubbornness’ of Scottis h people at the time to communicate in Gaelic, English still being considered only appropriate for the upper class. In 1812 the Duke of Gordon advertised shooting in â€Å"The Times† and rented Glenfeshie next to what it is known today as Glenmore Forest Park for ? 70. The popularity of the activity continued unabated and received powerful stimulation for various reasons. One was the great popularity of the artist Edwin Landseer, whose paintings of deer stalking were widely regarded, ncluding his best known work, â€Å"Monarch of the Glen,† originally commissioned for the Houses of Parliament. After Thomas Cook’s promotion of Southern Scotland in 1846 and construction of the Highland Main Line Railway in 1856, all Scottish regions were accessible by ground and the first tourist waves started to emerge. Another major influence was the enthusiastic support and participation by the Royal Family. Victoria and Albert first visited Scotland in 1842, and Albert partici pated in stalking at Drummond and in Glen Tilt.In 1848, they took a lease on Balmoral Castle, eventually purchasing it in 1852, and built a new residence which was completed in 1855. Their annual visits were a highlight of Victoria’s life. They cherished Scottish uniqueness. Butler states that If the first contact with visitors is peaceful and the local attractions present high potential interest for future tourists, the local residents can enter the involvement stage and begin to provide facilities primarily or even exclusively for visitors.The very purpose of a journey to Scotland was to find foreignness; it was the fact of Scottish distinctiveness which allowed the country to play its role as a counter to the modern world. The gesture gave social approval to the idea of a summer estate in the Highlands of Scotland, and the numbers of visitors increased steadily from that date, thus at the end of the nineteenth century there were approximately 170 inns and hotels in the are a.In all, Scotland held out three categories of attractions to tourists: natural ones, such as an outdoor environment which enabled visitors to envision a world untouched by industrialisation; historic ones, which suggested that the past was uniquely accessible in Scotland; and human ones, particularly the men and women of the Highlands and Western Isles, who sightseers believed preserved an ancient way of life in a changing world.While the Highlands and Isles of Scotland were building land transit infrastructure connections to the Britannic Island, the population of Southern Scotland exploded, especially in the two major cities of Edinburgh (from 103,143 in 1811 to 269,407 in 1891) and Glasgow (from 202,426 in 1831 to 658,073 in 1891). After the appearance of automobiles, the famous A9 road was constructed, connecting Southern Scotland to Inverness and Wick using approximately the same route as the Highland Railway.It is still the longest road in Scotland (273) miles. Unfortunately , an equally gradual spread of visitors to all part of Scotland was delayed by restrictions imposed during the Second World War. While the Highlands and Isles of Scotland were building land transit infrastructure connections to the Britannic Island, the population of Southern Scotland exploded, especially in the two major cities of Edinburgh (from 103,143 in 1811 to 269,407 in 1891) and Glasgow (from 202,426 in 1831 to 658,073 in 1891).This demographic growth played a vital role in the following years in the increasing demand of labour for the service sectors after the war. 4. 3Scotland’s tourism development and consolidation â€Å"As the consolidation stage is entered the rate of increase in number of visitors will decline, although total number will still increase, and total visitor numbers exceed the number of permanent residents† (Butler 2006, p. 7). Scotland is not a low cost, rapidly growing emerging mass tourism destination.Exponential increase in visitor number s and value has come to an end. Scotland is an attractive and popular destination which nevertheless is in the stagnation phase of the destination life cycle where tourism is a cash generator for the economy but growth is low and variable from year to year. It might even be on the cusp between stagnation and decline. â€Å"Surprise yourself† is the latest VisitScotland promotional campaign launched in March 2011 targeting the UK and Ireland market.With this campaign, VisitScotland tries to re-enforce its existing icons and people of Scotland. In fact, the main goal of â€Å"Surprise yourself† is to exit the post-stagnation stage in which it is as a domestic destination through the rejuvenating alternative illustrated in the following illustration model. *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's TALC Vol. 1 *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's TALC Vol. 1 There are a number of factors which are specific to the UK which are likely to impact negatively on visitor trends in Scotland over t he next few years.These include: threat of a â€Å"double dip† recession, Government Spending Review in the UK and Scotland, proposed introduction of increased air passenger duty, VAT increase, increasing fuel prices, threat of terrorism perceived or real and currency fluctuation. Possible impacts of such changes might lead to: reduction in overseas visitor numbers; conversely, reduction in the propensity for UK residents to take holidays as costs increase and levels of disposable income reduce; a net overall reduction in visitor spend ;and negative impact on levels of investment in tourism in Scotland, as well as reducing VisitScotland and VisitBritain budgets.The industry in Scotland also recognises the following as threats: Global recession Cost increases Increased competition from UK and overseas; England is in a position of competitive strength for overseas markets given the overwhelming global profile of London and the reality that the major international gateways are l ocated in south east England; decline in air and sea transport links to Scotland Increasing bureaucracy; public sector weaknesses – infrastructure, support and regulation; attitudes – people service, complacency, apathy.International events e. g. conflict or health scares could also reduce overseas visitor numbers. Scotland has a number of major opportunities to increase the value of tourism over the next few years.These include: A number of major international events including: Tall Ships Race 2011 (Greenock and Lerwick), The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Game, Spin offs from the 2012 London Olympic Games, The Ryder Cup in 2014, Homecoming 2014, Rugby World Cup in 2015 (England and Wales); potential for growth in key sectors of the economy in which Scotland has â€Å"centre of excellence† credentials, such as renewable energy and biotechnology with consequent increases in business and conference tourism; potential for improved access to Scotland ; and development o f major new infrastructure projects such as the national indoor arena, EICC extension, Trump development and the proposed V;A in Dundee. Scotland remains an attractive international destination within a number of well-developed and mature overseas markets. Mature markets probably offer limited scope for future growth in visitor numbers but they may be lucrative in value terms, especially based on areas such as golf, culture, and heritage and business tourism.There is some growth potential in international markets: Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Eastern Europeans and Russians now travel regularly and many are high spending visitors with expectations of the highest standards and quality; emerging destinations are leading global growth resurgence (Brazil, Russia, China); Chinese citizens are increasingly wealthy and represent the world’s biggest future tourism market; and most importantly the number of US citizens with passports has doubled since 2003. 5. 0Ho mecoming Scotland: Attracting the American market 5. 1Scottish Ancestry in North America Scottish Americans (Ameireaganaich Albannach) or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States and Canada whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. They are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate their common heritage. North America offered Scots the opportunity of farming their own land as well as employment possibilities in the cities.Some of the jobs on offer were those for which Scots already had experience, such as stonemasons and weavers. Once Scots from a particular area had made the move, their letters to back home encouraged others to join them. In recent studies, it is stated that there are about 30-40 million Americans who claim Scottish or Scotch-Irish heritage in the United States. But the region with most Scottish ancestry and also very much Scottish ancestry pride is Nova Scotia (New Scotlan d). New Scotland was founded by Sir William Alexander and King James of Scotland in the early 1600s. At that time, New Scotland consisted approximately of the Atlantic Provinces as they are known today, and the Gaspe Peninsula.Sir William Alexander with King James devised a settlement scheme of granting the title â€Å"Baronet of Nova Scotia† to any who would purchase large grants of land in New Scotland (Nova Scotia), secure and settle those lands. Following defeat at the Battle of Culloden, life and times became very difficult in the Highlands. The people were forbidden to speak their language (Gaelic), play the Bagpipes (considered instruments of war) or to wear their Highland dress. After the economy went from bad to worse, and the atrocities committed on the Highlanders by Butcher Cumberland and his followers the Highlanders, if they could, left. The first Highlanders to migrate to Nova Scotia arrived on the Ship Hector at Pictou in 1773.Through the years, up to and espe cially during the Highland Clearances, shipload after shipload of Highland emigrants crossed the difficult seas to Nova Scotia. The main ports of entry were Pictou, followed by Sydney, Halifax and others. Pictou became rightly known as the Birthplace of New Scotland. 5. 2Scotland’s markets in the changing US society *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland Scottish Americans are, of course the target US market, but focusing only on this particular market would lead Homecoming Scotland to extinct. Even if they would have Scottish ancestry, they might not have any interest at all in Scotland. The stratification of the US market has to be demographic and social.The population of USA is approximately 298 million people, of which approximately 12 has Scottish Ancestry. They are widespread around the states, but unequally. Fortunately, for an expensive experience such as visiting Scotland from the US, high Scottish ancestry concentration s are in the wealthier corners of the United States like North-West, Central-North-West, North-East and Central-South-East. One of America’s weaknesses, it citizens average education is still to be desired and higher education is increasingly expensive. In order to have an awareness and interest in your possible Scottish ancestry, you need to have quite a decent education.So therefore, education directly influences American’s level of interest in places like Scotland. *Fig. 4 Adapted from clanstirling. org *Fig. 4 Adapted from clanstirling. org As of the American generations, Scottish tourism is open to almost all of them expect for the pre-depression generation who are predisposed to physical accidents, thus travelling over such long distances would be an impediment for them (not for their UK homologues though). The depression generation is known as very keen to activity and adventure tourism. Scotland’s advanced adventure and activity tourism developed in West ern Scotland, such as Forth William and plentiful of sport events might be an important advantage.But the most suitable American generation to visit Scotland are the â€Å"Baby Boomers†. Boomers are higher income, higher education and are a strong market for anti-aging products, travel and financial services. They are desperate to evade from routine and relax in a wonder untouched corner of the Earth, but also are aware of their ancestry, thus open to visit their homeland. Reaching the Xers however, is a tougher challenge because they have matured in a busy, overcrowded learning and working environment, so reaching them requires special attention to the media. This is in fact where VisitScotland comes at hand the most. 5. 3Homecoming Scotland 2009 and 2014: Stagnating nationally, developing internationallyThe campaign represents a stubbornness to return to the Butler’s development phase of the cycle: a reflection of a well-defined tourist market area, shaped by heavy a dvertising in tourist-generating areas. One of the most likely tourist-generating areas for Scotland is without any doubt, North America, due to its powerful Scottish ancestry. 2009 was the first year of the campaign and it is seen as an economic success for Scotland. Homecoming Scotland 2009 was a Scottish Government initiative, delivered in partnership between EventScotland, the national events agency, and VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation. Homecoming was allocated a core budget of ? 5. 5 million from the Scottish Government.Research by EKOS, an economic and social development consultancy reveals some very impressive achievements of Homecoming Scotland 2009: generated ? 53. 7 million in additional tourism revenue for Scotland, exceeding the ? 44 million target by 22 percent; attracted 95,000 additional visitors to Scotland; and generated ? 154 million of positive global media coverage. Homecoming has established an important database of Scots interest groups around the world. Only VisitScotland. com has received 344,207 additional newsletter subscribers. The year launched over the Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary, Scotland’s national bard and cultural icon. Also in 2009, because of Homecoming’s heritage promotion, the country’s biggest ever co-ordinated St Andrew’s Day was held.In order to have at least a similar success, Homecoming Scotland 2014 has to be predeceased by 3 ‘preliminary years’, each focused on a particular theme: 2010 for Food and Drink, 2011 for an Active Scotland, 2012 for a Creative Scotland, and finally 2013 Natural Scotland. Homecoming 2014 will take place in the year that Scotland hosts the Commonwealth Games, the 2014 Ryder Cup and marks the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. Conclusion Scotland, like any other destination is travelling its destination life cycle. This post-stagnation phase however, represents the most vital one, and it is here where tourism des tination development is mostly put into practice.The uniqueness in which it travels makes Scotland one of the most challenging, yet exciting destinations to promote nationally, and especially internationally. References Ashworth G. and Goodall B. , 1990. Marketing Tourist Places. New York: Routledge; Brewer, T. , 1994. The Marketing of Tradition: Perspectives on Folklore, Tourism and the Heritage Industry. Enfield Lock : Hisarlik; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Applications and Modifications. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , Hall, C. M. , Jenkins J. , 1998. Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas.Chichester: John Wiley ; Sons Ltd. ; Cooper, C. et al. , 1993. Tourism Principles and Practice, 3rd Ed.. Essex: Pearson; Crouch D. , Jackson R. , and Felix T. , 2005. The Media ; The Tourist Imagination. New York: Ro utledge; Durie, A. J. , 2003. Scotland For The Holidays: Tourism in Scotland c1780-1939. East Linton: Tuckwell Press Ltd. ; Grenier, K. H. , 2005. Tourism and Identity in Scotland, 1770-1914: Creating Caledonia. Burlington: Ashgate; Heath, E. and Wall, G. , 1992. Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach; Kolb, B. M. , 2006. Tourism marketing for cities and towns. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; Swarbrooke, J. , 1995.The Development ; Management of Visitor Attractions. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; BBC NEWS, 2010. Travel industry faces difficult voyage. [online]. London: BBC News. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-11362694. Accessed 13 December 2011; BUTLER, R. W. , 1973. The Tourist Industry in the Highlands and Islands: Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 12, pp. 371-391. HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009, 2010. Report for Homecoming Scotland. [online]. Available from http://www. homecomingscotland2009. com/what-was-homecoming -scotland/ancestry/default. html. Accessed 13 December 2011; RODRIGUEZ, J. R. O, PARRA-LOPEZ, E. nd YANES-ESTEVES, V. , 2008. The sustainability of island destinations: Tourism area life cycle and teleological perspectives. Tourism Management. Vol. 29, pp. 53-65. THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2010. Second Homecoming in 2014. [online]. Available from http://www. scotland. gov. uk/News/Releases/2010/05/25113855. Accessed 13 December 2011; TOURISM MATTERS, 2011. Maximise VisitScotland’s â€Å"Surprise Yourself† Campaign. [online]. Available from: http://www. tourismmatters. co. uk/2011/03/maximise-visitscotlands-surprise. html. Accessed 12 December 2011; VISITSCOTLAND, 2011. Visit Scotland: Surprise Yourself. [online]. Available from http://surprise. isitscotland. com/? gclid=CLKB_6C-5aoCFQEf4Qod3Ckq6g. Accessed 11 December 2011; Bibliography Ashworth G. and Goodall B. , 1990. Marketing Tourist Places. New York: Routledge; Brewer, T. , 1994. The Marketing of Tradition: Perspec tives on Folklore, Tourism and the Heritage Industry. Enfield Lock : Hisarlik; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Applications and Modifications. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , Hall, C. M. , Jenkins J. , 1998. Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas.Chichester: John Wiley ; Sons Ltd. ; Cooper, C. et al. , 1993. Tourism Principles and Practice, 3rd Ed.. Essex: Pearson; Crouch D. , Jackson R. , and Felix T. , 2005. The Media ; The Tourist Imagination. New York: Routledge; Durie, A. J. , 2003. Scotland For The Holidays: Tourism in Scotland c1780-1939. East Linton: Tuckwell Press Ltd. ; Grenier, K. H. , 2005. Tourism and Identity in Scotland, 1770-1914: Creating Caledonia. Burlington: Ashgate; Heath, E. and Wall, G. , 1992. Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach; Kolb, B. M. , 2006. Tourism m arketing for cities and towns. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; Swarbrooke, J. , 1995.The Development ; Management of Visitor Attractions. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; BBC NEWS, 2010. Travel industry faces difficult voyage. [online]. London: BBC News. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-11362694. Accessed 13 December 2011; BUTLER, R. W. , 1973. The Tourist Industry in the Highlands and Islands: Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 12, pp. 371-391. HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009, 2010. Report for Homecoming Scotland. [online]. Available from http://www. homecomingscotland2009. com/what-was-homecoming-scotland/ancestry/default. html. Accessed 13 December 2011; RODRIGUEZ, J. R. O, PARRA-LOPEZ, E. and YANES-ESTEVES, V. , 2008.The sustainability of island destinations: Tourism area life cycle and teleological perspectives. Tourism Management. Vol. 29, pp. 53-65. THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2010. Second Homecoming in 2014. [online]. Available from http://ww w. scotland. gov. uk/News/Releases/2010/05/25113855. Accessed 13 December 2011; TOURISM MATTERS, 2011. Maximise VisitScotland’s â€Å"Surprise Yourself† Campaign. [online]. Available from: http://www. tourismmatters. co. uk/2011/03/maximise-visitscotlands-surprise. html. Accessed 12 December 2011; VISITSCOTLAND, 2011. Visit Scotland: Surprise Yourself. [online]. Available from http://surprise. visitscotland. com/? gclid=CLKB_6C-5aoCFQEf4Qod3Ckq6g. Accessed 11 December 2011;

Asnwer the qutions for articel reading Assignment - 2

Asnwer the qutions for articel reading - Assignment Example They used indicators such as the rate of child death and the competition that children have in schools in assessing the extent to which the countries are achieving particular economic and social rights (Fukuda-Parr, Randolph and Lawson-Remer 4-48). They found out that increasing the amount of public spending, use of public policies and programs that are effective towards improving social and economic rights should be encouraged. They found out that in low-income countries, the donors should increase the amount of the financial aids they give, therefore, enabling those countries in financing those policies and programs that influence their realization. The problem with their estimation approach is that they only focused on the fulfillment of human rights and neglected the levels to which the rights are violated. They failed to capture and integrate some aspects of human rights that are being violated, such as high levels of discrimination, lack of transparency and freedom of participation. Some of the indices they used in their estimation failed to look at the right to health hence giving poor performances towards measuring the economic and social rights. Constitutional rules have always been acting as the devices towards ensuring that that there are greater provisions and commitments in the various aspects of the human life. However, some constitutions are interpreted and enforced differently to others while others undergo writings and publications and constructions have the image of an enforceable law. They used empirical studies in finding out the effects of constitutionalizing the rights. Here they tend to find the magnitude of the effects on following the constitution on both the economic and political basis. They compare the amount of spending in those governments that follow the constitution to the letter

Computer Forensics Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Computer Forensics Assignment 2 - Essay Example That demands setting up evidence storage container or lockers. Such lockers ensure security of evidence stored and restricted access by authorized staff. Locks installed should be of high quality and have limited possibilities of distribution of duplicate-keys. Evidence storages should be subject to regular inspections to ensure only current evidence are kept therein and closed cases’ evidence are relocated to secure locations in an off-site facility. The evidence container should be in a position restricted to authorized staff members and the number of people granted access should be minimum. Furthermore, only authorized staff members should inspect lock combinations. In case the investigations use intel-based PCs, computers are necessary. There is need to acquire the right Operating Systems (OS) and other applications. Computer forensics software package should form part of the software acquired (Nelson, Phillips & Steuart, 2009). Specialized software are similarly important. They include software such as Peachtree. Disk-editing software are also necessary for evidence analysis (Nelson, Phillips & Steuart, 2009). Computers may contain incriminating evidence including DNA but professional curiosity has a potential to destroy evidence. It is, therefore, imperative to properly document, collect and package the evidence from a crime scene. The U.S DOJ standards for seizing digital evidence are applicable (The Office of Legal Education, 2011). In the case of a drug dealer’s computer, the following process should be applicable. The investigator should seize the computer together with other peripherals found at the scene. Peripherals include cell phones, scanners and cameras. Printers CDs, DVDs and USB devices should also be seized. After that, the investigators should recognize information that can serve as evidence from the scene of crime. The next stage is to document the evidence

Do you think that juvenile offenders who have committed a homicide Essay

Do you think that juvenile offenders who have committed a homicide should be tried as adults - Essay Example ne has done; so a young offender should at least be evaluated on the matter of psychological abnormality and must be provided with special mental treatment along with some legal measures of punishment like a short sentence in prison. The main question is whether children are capable of acknowledging their actions and their consequences. Thus the claims concerning lack of brain development in kids doesn’t justify any criminal actions that children may do. If it was so, then any juvenile offender would be excused just because it was not his fault for commiting the crime, but it was lack of brain development which made him act cruelly. Such excuses would let children do whatever they want and no one could have blamed them for anything. However, a great argument was stated by representatives of the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Offenders who reasonably noted in one of NY Times articles concerning this issue: â€Å"While juvenile advocates often note that a youth’s brain is still developing, we all learn from an extremely early age that killing is wrong† (Kozlowska n.pag.). The statement definitely makes sense as it is difficult to imagine a child who wouldn’t know that killing is a bad thing to do. Thus it means that when a juvenile offender was about to make a crime, he had already known that the action was extremely bad and illegal. Moreover, it is obvious that if someone close to a child died, the child would feel grief, because one would know that death is a bad thing, especially when people kill each other. Doesn’t this mean that kids’ brain is developed enough to understand moral standards and discern good from bad? Although when a child kills a human, for some reasons people say that children’s brains are not developed enough, so they shouldn’t be charged for anything. The situation creates a kind of double standard regarding the issue. As far as an action must be evaluated according to a person’s acknowledgement of what is good

Accountability in Public Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accountability in Public Sector - Essay Example Accountability refers to the answerability, liability, expectation and blameworthiness related to account giving by an entity or a sector. Accountability in the public sector also refers to the same and acts as a key component of governance and ethics in the public sector entities. The public sector is tightly regulated through different policies related to reporting and governance, administration and implementation processes associated with the scope of employment position and role and also encompassing the mandate to explain, report and remain answerable to the different criteria and consequences of reporting. Accountability in the public sector is ensured through the development of suitable policies formulated and implemented for accounting, corporate governance practices and administrative practices . Impacts of concepts like New Public Management on the accountability framework in the modern democracyAccountability generation has always been one of the main objectives of Public sector Management (PSM). Public sector management has experienced several transformation over the past decade with new system of governance and managerialism like the public administration policies related to New Public Management (NPM) being introduced in this sector . The New Public Management (NPM) is established for facilitating improvements on the traditional public sector administration systems. While the traditional public sector management system was oriented towards adhering to the structure and tenure of the hierarchical authority.

Disaster Preparedness & Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disaster Preparedness & Response - Essay Example This phase also tries to minimize the effects of disasters. Because of this, they are not dealing with the disaster directly, and have time to make long term plans and programs that are best suited for them to carry out. These plans include things such as making building and zoning codes, which this phase is mot adept for because of the time they have not during the crisis to plan out these codes. You wouldn't send in a quick recovery team to try to figure out planning codes. This phase is also best for planning out and figuring out which areas are vulnerable to disaster, and analyzing this data and figuring out what can best be done about it. And lastly, the Migation Phase can best handle public education, as they have the time when there isn't a disaster going on to help educate the public about emergencies. The Preparedness part of the cycle is just as important, but can best handle its own inner workings. If is best left to making the preparedness plans, as they are going to be the ones using them and putting them into action. They are also the best to handle the warning systems, as they know how to best set up a system that can be ready to go and prepared to help people if an emergency is to happen. The Response Team has its own activities that it is best at.

Analyzing current Fallacies; Peer Counseling on Writing Assignment

Analyzing current Fallacies; Peer Counseling on Writing - Assignment Example This is a situation whereby when one is associated with somebody or is used to someone, he is thought to be like that person and embraces his ideology. â€Å"People think that epilepsy is divine simply because they dont have any idea what causes epilepsy. But I believe that someday we will understand what causes epilepsy, and at that moment, we will cease to believe that its divine. And so it is with everything in the universe† This is a superstitious argument and thus fallacious based on ignorance. I am not confident with this example. â€Å"We have reached a point today where labor-saving devices are good only when they do not throw the worker out of his job.† This is fallacious based on the lack of understanding or misconception. I am confident with this example of fallacy. â€Å"I had become too accustomed to the pseudo-Left new style, whereby if your opponent thought he had identified your lowest possible motive, he was quite certain that he had isolated the only real one. This vulgar method, which is now the norm and the standard in much non-Left journalism as well, is designed to have the effect of making any noisy moron into a master analyst.† This is ad-hominem arguments and thus fallacious. I am not confident with this example. â€Å"Psychobabble attempts to redefine the entire English language just to make a correct statement incorrect. Psychology is the study of why someone would try to do this.† This is a self-justification and thus tagged fallacious. I am confident with this example of fallacy. The following is an example of the fallacy of association; ‘The Republicans are big on this, as when they recently tried to make Barack Obama out to be an extremist because he is associated with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. If a person knows somebody with extreme views, the implication goes, then that person must be an extremist as well (www.emagill.com/rants/eblog114a.html). Rupert Murdoch: â€Å"Maybe most Moslems [are] peaceful,

The Secret by Petrarch Essay Example for Free

The Secret by Petrarch Essay During the Middle Ages, European thinkers began to examine the world of humanistic thought.   While this way of thinking was not new and humanism was pondered by ancient thinkers thousands of years earlier, the thing that made this line of thought so unique in Europe during this time was the strong influence of the Church.   Thinkers like the Italian Francesco Petrarch and borrowed many philosophical elements from the Church and classical humanism, trying to synthesize the City of God with the City of the World.    However, because of their rejection of the synthesis between these two worlds, the Church did their best to ensure that such acceptance of humanistic thought had no place in Church doctrine, and Petrarch was caught between his deep love of faith and his passion for reason. Despite his love of God and his desire to live a life ruled by adherence to reason, Petrarch must seemingly choose between the two and sacrifice his free will for his religious faith, but he instead chooses to attempt to synthesize them; Petrarch’s basic teachings in â€Å"The Secret† seek to reflect that a synthesis between faith and reason is possible and both the City of God and the City of the World knowable, reflecting an emerging line of humanistic thought of his age that increasingly caused tension between the thinkers of the time and the Church.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Petrarch was a renowned fourteenth-century poet and scholar, and his contributions to European culture could end with these accomplishments.   What he contributed to the world of Christian humanism would also go onto inspire generations that followed and lead to the Renaissance.   In his â€Å"Secret Book† Petrarch brings up the classical argument that God gave humans the intellectual potential to figure out the world for themselves. Because of their ability to understand the world through philosophy and reason, Petrarch’s beliefs conflicted with the Church doctrine that human intelligence and capability is limited by God’s will.   Much like the thinkers Marcus Aurelius of Ancient Rome and St. Augustine, Petrarch’s â€Å"Secret Book† sought to explore his faith and his knowledge as it relates to the City of God and the City of the World. Borrowing the spirit of St. Augustine, and with truth as his guide, Petrarch created dialogues that examined his relationship with the worlds of God and man.   The book begins with Petrarch introducing the extent of his spiritual and humanist struggles and how they relate to the afterlife: â€Å"Often have I wondered with much curiosity as to our coming into this world and what will follow our departure† (Petrarch).   The information that he cannot know torments him and he relays his questioning in the form of a dialogue between he and St. Augustine. Petrarch is unhappy and St. Augustine suggests his unhappiness may be caused by his acceptance of the City of the World and his neglect for the City of God.   St. Augustine recalls the words of classical philosopher Cicero: â€Å"They could look at nothing with their mind, but judged everything by the sight of their eyes; yet a man of any greatness of understanding is known by his detaching his thought from objects of sense, and his meditations from the ordinary track in which others move† (Petrarch). Petrarch experienced this detaching as a man of greatness of understanding, and the parallel between his time and thought with the ancient philosopher help show that human intelligence and reason continued to evolve.   The dilemma comes in trying to figure out whether this knowledge is attained by man himself or given by God, and whether the material world and the senses are as valuable as the promise of an afterworld. One of the main problems that Petrarch experiences in his â€Å"Secret Book† is the place of free will within faith.   Augustine reminds Petrarch that he chooses free will even with his faith: â€Å"No man can become or can be unhappy unless he so chooses† (Petrarch).   Petrarch comes to realize that it his choice for things in the City of the World, including his love for women and material things, and the only thing that makes these bad is that they prevent him from knowing the eternal City of God. To both Augustine and Petrarch, reason did not necessarily need to erode faith in God, but could go a long way in reinforcing it and in essence proving it correct.   His equal love for both and his desire to retain them as significant aspects of his life were keys to understanding his position in his writing.   In his book, Petrarch sought to synthesize his worldly thoughts and action with those of his faith, and his humanistic views were largely frowned upon by the Church, though they were nothing more than a precursor for the thought that would come to dominate Europe. The basic teachings of Petrarch not only borrow from Christian and humanistic thought from the past, but attempt to show that God granted men the ability to reason and free will to be pursued if they so choose.   While man may pursue with passion the many elements of being free, including worldly pleasures outside of faith, they run the risk of alienating themselves from God’s world, which was portrayed by the Church as the only singular dictator of human action.   By stating humans have free will within the confines of religious faith was an extremely controversial and revolutionary line of thinking for his Petrarch’s time, and reflected the growing tension within society. Though the Church’s power was fully realized and would not be relinquished, many people would use Petrarch’s arguments about free will to help liberate them from the often oppressive doctrines of the Church, while still managing to retain the love of God and their religious faith.   Prior to Petrarch’s work, this concept of synthesizing faith with reason was not only frowned upon by church leaders, but almost unheard of in a highly Christianized world. As the lone authority on matters of faith, morality, and will, the Church would continue to fight against any and all lines of thought that remotely challenged the sovereignty of its rule over the citizenry of Europe, but the growing humanism after the Black Death made many men like Petrarch question humanity’s place and purpose in the universe. Because of the legacy of the Church and the importance of religious thinking, there was really only one place such thought could begin from, and religious scholasticism was the foundation for all thought that would eventually supplant it, much like the line of thought espoused by Petrarch.   While Petrarch was seen as challenging the authority of the Church, and even the authority of God as the lone dictator of human freedom, he was also stating that the free will humans enjoyed was granted by the very same God. Petrarch was a devout Christians that also contributed greatly to the growth of humanism.   His personal dilemmas were centered around his beliefs that the City of the World must be known as much as the City of God, and his love for each was too strong to deny one for the other.   While too much knowledge of the City of the World could lead people to avoid learning about the City of God, it was also important to understand the world and the people in it as a way of understanding God’s truth.   Petrarch was also alive during a strange time of great tension, where the Church was largely corrupt and in turmoil, Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages, and the growing humanism was slowly changing the ideas of all people. Petrarch believed in the goodness and potential of people, and had faith in man’s ability to understand the world, which is all he sought to do.   The rejection by the Church of the synthesis of the City of the World and that of God is related to its fear that people will not follow its doctrines, and is nothing more than the last gasps of a power structure that could not hold a monopoly over the will and the faith of men and women across Europe. For men like Petrarch, humans can have a relationship with God and learn his truths by using their own reason and intellect.   The rejection of the synthesis of the two cities is nothing more than an attempt by the Church to keep control over the masses of people.   But, with the help and inspiration of men like Petrarch, people would eventually realize the benefit and power of their own free will and seek to understand the City of God and the City of the World alike. Works Cited: Petrarch, Francesco. â€Å"Petrarch’s Secret.†Ã‚   Francesco Petrarch – Father of Humanism.   Trans. William H. Draper. 1911. 7 Mar 2008. http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/secretum.html.

Elijah The Prophet In The Bible Religion Essay

Elijah The Prophet In The Bible Religion Essay Faierstein, Morris. Why do the Scribes Say That Elijah Must Come First? Journal of Biblical Literature. 100.1 (1981), pp. 75-86. Print. This resource would be vital for research as it looks at the controversy surrounding Elijahs accession to heaven and its meaning. It provides a different approach to the understanding of some of the most vital events surrounding Elijahs life. Penninger, Harold. Walking with God. New York: TEACH Services, Inc., 1996. Print. Elijahs story is well explored by the author of this book; Harold Penninger. Although the author discusses in depth the experiences of some of the icons in the Bible who, as the author puts it followed in the Gods footsteps, the Elijahs story is well explored in two parts; Part I and Part II giving the reader a vivid insight into his life and works (Penninger 51). The author stirs interest into this story by quoting important events both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament which would trigger any serious bible student to look into the life of Elijah. First, he quotes that he appeared in the New Testament during the transfiguration of Jesus, and secondly, Elijah is among the few people in the bible who were taken from this world before seeing death. Among other events surrounding Elijahs death, the writer looks into all including his miracles, his fight with King Ahab and the rise of Baal. Of the controversial aspects about Elijah, the writer points out the view of the bible students who view him as a prototype of john the Baptist. The description the bible gives regarding Elijah fits almost the same as the description given for John the baptism (Penninger 57). Part II of the Elijahs story gives mainly the encounters of Elijah and the Baal prophets and King Ahab. This book would be quite useful for anyone doing research work as it not only explores Elijahs life, but it is also provides a critical review raising important insights which might be useful for deeper understanding. Wood, Norman. Bible Characters for Your Weekly Bible Study. Virginia: Weekly Bible Study Resources. 2010. Web. This is a Christian website intended to help readers of the bible in bible study. It does not give an overview of Elijahs life or work but is rather specific to some aspects of his life. Although based on the bibles scriptures, this source gives wide information regarding Elijah and Elisha and some of the details from the historical books not necessarily included in the bible. It also explores other aspects of the Israel culture as mentioned in other scriptures which would be very beneficial for any reader seeking to understand the bible well (Wood  ¶ 21). For instance, Elisha asked for a double portion from Elijah as he was about to depart to heaven. This was according to the Israel traditions where the father gave the first born son double share of his possessions since he was supposed to be the successor as mentioned and elaborated earlier in Deuteronomy. This website reveals much about Elijahs relationship with Elisha and the events surrounding the succession of Elijahs work. The fact that this source mentions and quotes materials from other sources and other writers including published papers and journals like Christian Science Sentinel and Christian Science Journal makes it an ideal material for anyone doing research project on the topic (Wood  ¶ 21). It does not focus on merely exploring Elijahs work and life, but seeks to bring out the best understanding of Elijah as a person and as a prophet clearly interpreting all the mysteries and events surrounding his work. Elisha, being his successor is also mentioned and their interaction detailed clearly. The reader is not only gains explanations, but is also allowed to think, consider and challenged to reconsider his/her stand and understanding.

The role of the family in education

The role of the family in education The family is the most important primary group in society (C.N.Sharkar, 1990, p.392).. Every one is a member of family and has duties to make our self to become a person who have responsibility and value. Also, family has responsibility in teaching children as its contribution in a building human resource for society. Member of family has right to get the body prevent, take care, and human right from parents. Member of family need meal, clothes, home, education, health prevention, and safety. To complete this needs, the parents try to do anything to raise and complete all needs (MoEYS, 2009, p.186). The family also has function to provide formal and informal education to children or member of family. So function of family is very important to educate children to become human resource in society. Focusing on Cambodia, family has also been considered as an important agency in education. As already stated in the Education For All National Plan: 2003-2015 (EFA) stated that the sharing responsibility of parents, and local community people (MoEYS, 2004, p.4). In order to study this topic deeply, a literature review related parents function in educating children in Cambodia has been conducted in purpose to answer two main questions as following: What does MacIvers theory explain about family function in education? What does family function provide education to children in term of Cambodia social and cultural context? II- Literature review: The family as a social institution performs several functions. There are many scholars provide many functions of the family likes Kingley Davis has of four main function of the family: Reproduction, Maintenance, Placement , and socialization. Similarly, Ogburn and Nimkoff have mentioned six major functions of family: Affectional, Economic, Recreation, Protective, Religious and Educational ( C.N.Shankar, 1990, p.395). But I would like to interest in MacIvers theory, he has describe two function of the family: The primary function or Essential function and The secondary function or non essential function ( C.N.Shankar, 1990, pp.395-397). The primary function or essential function: There are six major functions in the primary function or essential function including firstly, Stable satisfaction of sex need refer to sex drive is powerful in human being and sex need make human try to do anything to develop their livelihood. Secondly, Reproduction relates the result of sexual satisfaction is reproduction. Reproduction is a function of family to reproduce a new birth for social. Thirdly, Production and Rearing of the child relevant the family provides the individual life and a chance to survive. We owe our life to the family. The child which is helpless at the time of birth is given the needed protection of the family. So family is a function par excellence for the production and rearing of children. The fourthly, Provision of home connect the family provides the home for its member. Home is a place that provides opportunity for member meeting to educate each other. Children are born and brought up in home only. Though, often children are born hospitals, clinics, m aternity homes, etc., they are nursed and nourished in the homes only. The fifthly, Family-An instrument of culture Transmission refer to the family transmits ideas and ideologies, folkways and more, customs and tradition, beliefs and values from one generation to the next. So children or members of family had to learn the field by parents. The sixthly, Status Ascribing function relate the family also performs a pair of functions status ascription for the individual, and societal identification for the individual people recognize us by our names and our name are given to us by our family. The secondary function of family or non-essential function: There are four major four functions in family, the firstly, Economic Functions: relevant to the previously member of family work together in farms for the production of goods. Member of family think about relationship to provide individual needs each other. They cooperate and help to correct, teach about process of economic. But now the situation has changed. The family member does not work together at home. They are engaged in different economic activities out side the home. The secondly, Educational functions relate the family provides the basic education to children. The member of family teaches children how to speck, how to organize, etc†¦ The member of family helps to develop children motor skill, intelligent etc. Today preschool has instead of family function. The thirdly, Religious function relate the family is a centre for the religious training of the children. The children learn from their parents various religious virtues. The family used to teach the children the rel igious values, moral precepts, way to worshipping God, etc. The fourthly, The Recreational Functions: connect with the recreation was largely family based. It fostered a close solidarity. Reading aloud, visiting relatives, family reunions, church socials, singing, dancing, playing indoor games, etc., brought together the entire family. Elders would organize their own recreation among themselves or together with other children. Both the primary function and Secondary function play a very important role in education, but secondary function seems to be more important function than primary function because it shapes children personality, help them able to communicate with others, and household financing supports that help to build childrens capacity.. Unlikely, primary function just focuses on sex needs, reproduction of generation, provide home or we can say primary needs that all family has lost. III- The Cambodia Context: Religious Education: All Cambodian are influenced by Buddhism. The function Buddhism is to educate and to assist in the society for people to become good. Buddhism educates people, family, women, and children to know the right way. What is right for the individual is right for society. As individuals you have to think about your feeling and that to obey parents and elders. You need to find the right way to educate the younger generation. (Janet,2006.p94).The family plays a very important role to education children. As we know, parents are key member in family, they educate children about daily activities like to educate children to respect older people, help parents to prepare food and flowers for monks, wearing appropriate clothes when children go to pagoda (Chantal, 2000, p.3). Support family education: Although Cambodia is a poor country, but parents have participated to support children both emotion and material. To relate the economy, they support both direct and indirect costs of schooling. Direct costs include those which are met by providers of schooling plus the additional costs which are met by parents for uniforms, books, transport and related items. Indirect costs include the opportunity costs of income forgone when children attend school rather than engaging in other activities. The indirect costs are a major burden for some parents, particularly the poorest, and can be a significant determinant of whether, or not a child attends school (Mark and Seng, 2005, p.1). To sum-up, most parents in Cambodia have participated to provide supporting, push their children in education sector. It show that function of family in Cambodia have responsibilities to provide education to children in formal school. Home-learning: Parents remain the childrens first and primary educators. It is in their family that children have their first learning experiences, explore and discover the world, and develop.(Claire,June 2009, p55) A young children needs to be supported by his or her family. It is there that the first learning experiences occur, and where social rules are acquired. Very soon, language is learned, the body is controlled, relationships develop and the child becomes an integrated member of the community (Claire, June 2009,p8).For example, when children enjoy with their mother during cooking, they ask many questions about new things they see then the mother gives answers. The questions and the responses of their mother help children to develop their intelligence. (Chantal,2004,74).Therefore, parents play very importance to educate children. IV- Conclusion: To sum-up there are two functions of family as primary function and secondary function in MacIvers theory. Although the primary function refer to stable satisfaction of sex need, reproduction or procreation, production and rearing of the child, provision of home, family-an instrument of culture, status ascribing function, and affectional function, but the secondary function is more important because it a function that help children to develop their capacities to access in primary school. Focusing on Cambodia, family also has three function to education children, like religious function, education function, and home-learning. The parents are key educator to provide health, nutrition, sanitation, safety, education, socialization and emotional life and seeking to stimulate all aspects of development as physical, intellectual, emotional, social to their children, because children early start to learn from their family.

ed norton :: essays research papers

Edward Norton achieved instant stardom in his feature film debut in the 1996 Primal Fear. Norton was credited for saving a rather mediocre film with his portrayal of a Kentucky altar boy accused of murdering a Chicago Arch Bishop. This role earned Norton Golden Globe and Oscar Nominations for best supporting actor. With his instant fame Norton proved that he could go on and further his acting talents. Norton was born in Boston on August 18, 1969. He was raised in Columbia, Maryland and even in his early years Norton was known as an extremely smart and serious individual. He is the son of a former federal prosecutor and an English teacher. He became interested in acting at the age of five and made his stage debut at the age of 8 in a local production of Annie Get Your Gun. Norton enrolled in the Orenstein's Columbia School for Theatrical Arts, and after high school he studied history at Yale, while staying active in the university's theater program. After graduating from Yale with a degree in hstory, Norton spent a few months in Japan, then moved to New York. In New York he worked at the Enterprise Foundation, a group dedicated to ending urban decay. Norton still acted whenever possible, and finally decided to presue acting full-time. After appearing in several off-Broadway plays Norton won his role in Primal Fear after being chosen from 2,100 hopefulls. After stunning nearly everyone who saw his performance Norton continued to amaze in movies like Everyone Says I Love you and The People vs. Larry Flint. 1998 was a big year for Norton who turned in two great performances in Rounders and

What the Genome Revolution Could Mean for Me and the Rio Grande Valley :: Argumentative Persuasive Biology Essays

What the Genome Revolution Could Mean for Me and the Rio Grande Valley With technology advancing more quickly than even our own minds can comprehend, the effects of these advancements cannot be measured in our time, as they are just beginning to reveal themselves. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of biotechnology, where researchers are changing the way people look at themselves as individuals with imperfections. The newly mapped human gene sequence provides scientists with the tools needed to manipulate, 'fix', or alter the human genetic code to create a person with any specifications desired in a human. Just the idea of a person engineered to specific criteria boggles the mind with questions about the implications on society, not to mention the unforeseen consequences that could lurk in the nearby future. In a world as populous as today's, the sense of self, rooted within each person, becomes more important than ever. As time passes with more hi-tech advancements, people will have to deal with the outcomes of the human genome project, some of which can be investigated before work begins on implementing research into everyday healthcare and others that still wait to be stumbled upon. The first problem includes the laws of all types, including those that have yet to be passed concerning the use of DNA in altering negative characteristics and adding favorable ones. First, developers must explore the ethical law that asks whether it is morally correct to change what it is that makes us people: the fact that we are all different and have flaws, and maybe these should be cherished rather than changed. If everyone was the same, we would become like ants, just one of a million, and lose the meaning of us being here: sharing different ideas and personas that enrich our lives and give us fulfilling relationships. Does making similar people interfere with the law of nature, which before now was the only factor in determining who we are? Then comes the legal matters that appear with the application of this knowledge. When people alter the natural cycle of life that has been in place for millions of years, there are going to have to be rules in place so that this sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands, become misused, or have the huge negative impact on society that it has the possibility of having.

Resource Leveling

Resource Leveling Resource leveling is the process that ensures resource demand does not exceed resource availability. The ideal scenario would be a build up of resource usage at the beginning of the project and a reduction at the end of the project. However, the approach to resource leveling will also depend on whether resources are dedicated to a particular project or shared across several projects and whether there is a need to keep all resources fully utilized. Introduction: Resource leveling is a technique in project management that overlooks resource allocation and resolves possible conflict arising from over allocation.When project managers undertake a project, they need to plan their resources accordingly. This will benefit the organization without having the face conflicts and not being able to deliver on time. Resource leveling is considered one of the key elements to resource management in the organization. An organization starts to face problems if resources are not alloc ated properly i. e. some resource may be over allocated whilst others will be under allocated. Both will bring about a financial risk to the organization. The Two Key Elements of Resource Leveling:As the main aim of resource leveling is to allocate resource efficiently, so that the project can be completed in the given time period. Hence, resource leveling can be broken down into two main areas; projects that can be completed by using up all resources which are available and projects that can be completed with limited resources. Projects which use limited resources can be extended for over a period of time until the resources required are available. If then again, the number of projects that an organization undertakes exceeds the resources available. Then it's wiser to postpone the project for a later date.Structure of Resource Leveling: Many organizations have a structured hierarchy of resource leveling. A work based structure is as follows. * Stage * Phase * Task/ Deliverable All of the above mentioned layers will determine the scope of the project and find ways to organize tasks across the team. This will make it easier for the project team to complete the tasks. In addition, depending on the three parameters above, the level of the resources required (seniority, experience, skills, etc. ) may be different. Therefore, the resource requirement for a project is always a variable which is corresponding to the above structure.Establishing Dependencies: The main reason for a project manager to establish dependencies is to ensure that tasks get executed properly. By identifying correct dependencies from that of incorrect dependencies allows the project to be completed within the set time-frame. Here are some of the constraints that a project manager will come across during the project execution cycle. The constrains a project manager will face can be categorized into three categories. * Mandatory: These constraints arise due to physical limitations such as experi ments. * Discretionary: These are constraints based on preferences or decisions taken by teams. External: Often based on needs or desires involving a third party. The Process of Assigning Resources: For resource leveling to take place, resources are delegated with tasks (deliverables) which needs execution. During the starting phase of a project, idealistically the roles are assigned to resources (human resources) at which point the resources are not identified. Later these roles are assigned to specific tasks which require specialization. Leveling of Resources Resource leveling helps an organization to make use of the available resources to the maximum. The idea behind resource leveling is to reduce wastage of resources i. . to stop over allocation of resources. Project manager will identify time that is unused by a resource and will take measures to prevent it or making an advantage out of it. By resource conflicts, there are numerous disadvantages suffered by the organization, su ch as: * Delay in certain tasks being completed * Difficulty in assigning a different resource * Unable to change task dependencies * To remove certain tasks * To add more tasks * Overall delays and budget overruns of projects Resource leveling Techniques: Critical path is a common type of technique used by project managers when it comes to resource leveling.The critical path represents for both the longest and shortest time duration path in the network diagram to complete the project. However apart from the widely used critical path concept, project manager's use fast tracking and crashing if things get out of hand. * Fast tracking: This performs critical path tasks. This buys time. The prominent feature of this technique is that although the work is completed for the moment, possibility of rework is higher. * Crashing: This refers to assigning resources in addition to existing resources to get work done faster.Associate with additional cost such as labor, equipment etc. Conclusion : Resource leveling is aimed at increasing efficiency when undertaking projects by utilizing the resources available at hand. Proper resource leveling will not result in heavy expenditure. The project manager needs to take into account several factors and identify critical to non critical dependencies to avoid any last minute delays of the project deliverables. Why is there a need for resource leveling? If resources are not leveled, resources are either over allocated or under allocated (or both).Overallocation means the scheduled work is not likely to occur (or the resource may be annoyed, overworked or burned out). Under allocation means suboptimal utilizing and billing of resource, lowering of profitability. Lastly, your schedule won’t be accurate, unless resources are correctly loaded. Over-allocation can occur as the result of various events: * Increased work on a task that causes the finish date to overlap with another already assigned task. * A forecasted finish that c auses a task to slip also delaying a successor dependency to start late. Full time assignments to tasks that start and end at the same time or overlap. In the perfect world of dedicated project resources, resolving these conflicts is more a decision of whether the project schedule has sufficient slack to accommodate leveling or whether the current schedule is not constrained by hard finish dates. In organizations that share resources across projects the contention for critical resources and trying to ensure that they are aligned with most important initiatives often leaves project plans with over-allocations that are not only impossible to meet but also impossible to deliver. Read also: Conveyor Belt Project

Ethics Essay Essay

There are different systems in which an individual or a company could make ethical decisions. They can vary depending on the issue at hand and they relate and different in certain ways. In this writing I will compare the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. I will include a description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. And I will give a personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. Ethical systems based on abstract values are described as virtue theory. Virtue theory is based on character ethics. It is the viewpoint that in living one’s life one should try to cultivate excellence in all they do and in all that other do. This is the system that would address ethics and morality from the perspective of living with high values and with great character (Boylan, 2009). Quoting Boylan (2009) from our book, â€Å"Utilitarianism is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative† (pp. 153). Utilitarianism focuses on what is best for the group or team as a whole. This theory asks, â€Å"What ethical decision will profit the most for the largest amount of people?† Deontology is a moral theory that emphasizes one’s duty to do a particular action just because the action, itself, is inherently right and not through any other sorts of calculations (Boylan, 2009). Calculations like what the consequences of that action might be. Deontology is a duty-based theory when addressing ethics and morality. In comparing these three, a utilitarian working for ATT might overlook a bad credit report to make a deal because the deal would help the company and the  client. Therefore it’s a win-win. A deontologist might make the same decision based on the fact that the client needs a cell phone to be able to take care of business in order to take of her children. The simple fact that the action is inherently right regardless of the consequences is the bases for the deontologist. And to the contrary only a virtuous worker would have integrity and do what was in the best interest of the company. A personal experience of mine to relate these topics would be a girlfriend of mine just got out of a bad relationship where she was not married, but had a child with this man. She lived with the father of her child for many years although he was abusive and was providing home that was unsafe and insufficient for her and her child. She stayed for many years making decisions as a utilitarian until one day she changed to a deontologist. She chose to leave the state and ignore the rights of the father on the grounds that he was abusing both her and her son. She valued her and her son’s health over anything. She was virtuous in that she rose above the desire to retaliate and pursued only their protection. And all of her actions where based on her moral concepts, according to her beliefs and understanding. In conclusion, there are many different theories and ways to make ethical decisions. I have related and compared the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontology. I have also shared a personal experience to relate virtue, values, and moral concepts to one of these theories. Life and business are about making decisions and these concepts and theories are a foundation to a healthy life and a healthy business. References Thompson, S. (2014). What is the relationship among virtue, values & moral concepts in individual and business contexts?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/relationship-among-virtue-values-moral-concepts-individual-business-contexts-69097.html Boylan, M. (2009). Basic Ethics. : Prentice Hall.

Gender Bias in the Religion Essay

The term â€Å"religion† refers to a human spiritual approach which comprises of practices, beliefs, and symbols which have a supernatural quality or significance. This gives a follower of a given religion the meaning to the life experiences in reference to the truth. The question of whether there is gender bias in the religion has triggered many debates and discussions in the past and in the modern society. In order to determine whether there is gender bias in the religion, one requires knowing about the history of the major religions that exist and the state of women and men in the religions. The claims that gender bias exist in the religion emanates from the opinion that women seems to be oppressed in the religion. However, some argue that gender bias has been promoted by application of religious beliefs in a negative way. Every religion has defined roles of both men and women and these differences have played an important role in promoting gender bias. In all the religions, gender bias is linked to the dominant role that men play in the religion and in the society. The religious perception of who men and women are and their role determines is an important factor in determining whether gender bias in the religion exists. In this paper, the question of whether religion bias exists in the religion will focus on some of the most popular religions in the world; Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Arguments on why each of these religions is considered to have gender bias will be presented. In addition, the beliefs in the religions that speak against gender bias will be discussed Discussion Gender bias in Christianity Christianity is a religion whereby the religious beliefs and practices are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians are expected to follow the teachings and the religious beliefs that were taught by Jesus. In Christianity, gender bias is linked to the dominant role of men in the religion and the society as compared to that of a woman. According to the Bible in Genesis1:26-28, both man and woman were created equal and in God’s image. Contemporary criticism of Christianity has been attributed to its gender bias. According to the Bible, the origin of sin is considered to have come from the woman. Some people have used this religious teaching to consider women inferior to men. Another argument that is presented to justify gender bias in Christianity is that almost all the writers of the Holy Scriptures were men, with the exceptions of the book of Eshter. Only a few women participated in the writing of the scriptures. However, women have a strong presence in the Holy Scriptures. These women include, Eshter, Naomi, Deborah, Rachel, Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin Mary. Christian beliefs and attitudes have varied based on the societies within which the Christians have lived. Because Christianity through its holy scriptures prescribe gender roles for both women and men, lack of involvement or minimal involvement of women in church leadership is considered to be gender bias in the religion. Women until the second half of the twentieth century were not allowed to take part in ecclesiastical and pastoral office duties. Only men were allowed to undertake religious duties in these offices. This traditional stance of Christianity still remains influential in some Christian denominations (Gilbert, 2006). For instance, the Eastern Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic and the Complementarian Protestants still have men dominating the church leadership. Although women may participate in church leadership, their role is minimal as compared to the men’s dominant role. For example, the top leadership positions such as those of bishops, archbishops, and priests are reserved for men while women play a minor role in top leadership. The fact that women have a little role to play in the religions’ top hierarchy is considered to be gender bias in Christianity The role of women in the church is considered to have been overlooked, downplayed or denied throughout the Christian history. The minimal participation of women in religious duties contributed to the domination of men in the society and in government leadership. During the Patristic age, only men were allowed to take the religious teachings offices and sacramental ministry. The Christian society for a long time has not considered it right to have women serve in the church top leadership However, in the early centuries, the Eastern church allowed women to participate in church leadership to a limited extent by ordaining women as deaconesses. The Western church reserved the position of deacon for men only. In the ancient churches such as the Roman Catholic, Coptic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, church leadership continued to be reserved for men only. Up to date, these churches have the position of the pope, bishop, archbishops, and priests strictly reserved for men. Women serve the church as nuns. Another argument that is presented to support gender bias in Christianity is the selection of all Jesus’ apostles as men (The Good News Bible, Mark 3:13-35). Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God who suffered, died, and resurrected for their salvation. Jesus is considered to be the Christians’ model of a virtuous life, a physical incarnation of God, and a revealer of God’s message. The New Testament gospel is a written account of Jesus life. According to Christianity, Jesus had twelve disciples who were all men whom he appointed to be the leaders of the church. This is viewed as the reason why church leadership is often reserved for men. Because priests represent Jesus, then having male priests is considered to be right. Women are not ordained as priests in Christian churches which still hold the traditional stance of having church leadership received for women. Gender bias in Christianity is attributed to lack of ordination of women as priests. Women can only work as nuns but cannot be elevated to the positions of priests, bishops or pope in religious hierarchy (Roman Catholic). In the ancient Christian societies, only men served as priests. In early Christianity, the religious law makers or the Pharisees applied religious laws that discriminated women . According to the Good News Bible in John 8:1-6,the Pharisees brought an a woman to Jesus who they claimed had committed adultery. According to the Pharisees, the law of Moses required them to stone her to death. Jesus told them that the only one to stone the woman would be the one who had never committed a sin. None of the Pharisees stoned the woman. Jesus showed mercy to the woman due to the injustice that was being done to her since no punishment was being given to the woman’s sexual partner. Apart from such treatment against women by the traditional Jewish societies, rules that were put in place portrayed women as inferior to men. For example, men were not supposed to speak to women publicly. Modern Christianity teaches against such treatment based on Jesus’ teachings against the discrimination of women. Christianity advocates for men as the head of the family (McGrath, 2006). A woman who was created from man is meant to be a companion and a helper to a man, a belief that has made man to be viewed as superior to a woman . The application of this belief has promoted gender bias in the church and in a Christian society. The superiority of man over a woman which is supported by the scriptures has continued to influence the perception of women. The doctrine of Holy trinity in Christianity has been used to argue that men are the best suited in representing Jesus who is the son of God, who is also considered to be â€Å"Him† just like in Islam and Judaism. Although Christianity has been criticized for promoting gender bias, it has also spoken openly against ill treatment of women. In the story of creation, man and woman were created differently but they were supposed to work together as equals. A man and a woman in a marriage are meant to love and respect each other (The Good News Bible, Ephesians 5:31-33). The early Christian society which discriminated women (the Pharisees) was criticized by Jesus. In addition, Jesus preached against injustice on women and showed compassion towards them. Christianity is said to acknowledge the important role of a woman because Jesus who is the Christians’ model of a virtuous life accepted women, including those who were seen to be sinners. In the early church, women were depicted to be teachers, leaders, and apostles (Rebecca, 1997). The New Testament through the letter of Paul to Timothy preaches against discrimination. Apostle Paul asks Christians to treat each other well with respect, and the younger women with absolute purity. In Galatians 3:38 the Bible states that â€Å"there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus† . These teachings oppose roles that promote gender bias. The church has continued to promote the important value of women through the Virgin Mary. However, the issue of gender bias in the church has led to the formation of women’s movements with the aim of changing the role of women in the church. For example, the â€Å"Christian feminism† movement is trying to challenge some traditional Christian interpretations of the Holy Scriptures which define the role of women. The modern debate on gender has promoted Christian feminism and Christian egalitarianism arguments. Gender bias in Judaism Judaism is based on the Hebrew Bible which is also referred to as the Torah. The Hebrew Bible is the first section of Tanakh and it comprises of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deutronomy. Some Jewish laws are not written in the Torah. Those that have been derived from the textual hints are referred to as Oral Torah. The religion just like in Christianity has defined roles for men and women (Elyse, 2008). Women are not allowed to become religious leaders in Judaism. In addition, priests are supposed to marry pure women (Leviticus 21:13-14). The Talmud passage in Reboot 61a-b indicate that priests should not marry a woman who is barren unless he has a wife and children. A barren woman is considered to be a â€Å"faithless wife†. Women do not participate in church leadership although various women such as Miriam (prophetess) and Rachel are recognized in the religion. In the traditional Jewish societies, the women were allowed to play the roles of prophetesses and Nazirites despite their minimal role in the religious matters. Jewish women were expected to participate in religious rituals. Orthodox Judaism portrays gender bias when women were exempted from studying some advanced Jewish texts although the evolutions of the orthodox society has resulted changes in such practices. Traditional Orthodox rabbis in the contemporary society oppose the change of Judaism accepted norms of observance to promote gender equality. These changes include the modern Orthodox Judaism support for more advanced education for Jewish women. Furthermore, the issue of whether women should study Talmud is still controversial in modern Orthodoxy. In traditional Orthodox Judaism, women are not allowed to serve as witnesses in a rabbinical court. The traditional exclusion of women testimony as advocated by Judaism is seen as discrimination against women. Jewish women are not ordained as rabbis, although rabbi – like positions for Orthodox women have now been created despite many followers opinion that ordaining women as rabbis goes against the Jewish law. The Torah in the book of Exodus 21:10 support polygamy which is considered to be gender bias against women (Rabinowitz and Harvey, 2007). Despite the gender bias in Judaism, several women are recognized as role models in the scriptures. Modern Judaism has now allowed active participation of women in reading the Torah, serving as a cantor, and being part of the Minyan. Gender bias in Conservative Judaism has triggered changes that aim at including mixed seating and promoting synagogue corporate leadership. Reform Judaism now promotes equality of women and men, encouraging women to participate in religious rituals earlier reserved for men. Gender bias in Islam Islamic teachings are based on the teaching of Prophet Muhammad, where the Muslims are required to observe the five pillars of Islam. Theologically, Islam promotes equality of men and women. The Muslim society however is seen to establish a distinction between men and women. According to the Islam teachings in Al-Baqarah, 2:228 â€Å"and women shall have rights, similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable†, women are equal to men. However, the different status and responsibilities for men and women in Islam depends on the religious interpretations. According to the Quran 49:13, Islam promotes equal treatment for both men and women (Stowasser, 1996). Gender bias in Islam is attributed to the Sharia law due to its promotion of practices that are to the disadvantage of the women. The Sharia law prevents the mixture of both men and women at the places of worship and the traditional interpretations of Islam are considered to allow polygamy for men. This is seen by some as against the equality of both men and women. Muslim women are not allowed to take religious leadership positions in Islam and a suggestion for women to become imams is criticized and disputed by many. Medieval Muslim women had problems accessing religious education as compared to the men. Women cannot be allowed to lead mixed prayers in the mosque since worshipping at the mosque is done with women and men in separate places. The women’s’ freedom of movement and travel is limited by the Sharia law, and women should only travel together with a male relative (Mumisa, 2002). For instance, the prohibition of women to drive in some Muslim societies is considered as the Sharia law discrimination against women. Although this was a move to promote a woman’s safety, Muslim women are sometimes prohibited from driving. Some Muslim women have been discriminated against due to extremist Islam beliefs. For example, in Afghanistan women have in the past been denied access to education and job opportunities. Islamic law has also undermined the involvement of women in leadership and it promotes gender –biased inheritance rules which are considered to oppress women . When giving evidence in a court according to Sharia law, a women’s evidence is counted as half that of a man’s evidence. Islam support polygamy and Shiite Islam is criticized for allowing mota or Sigheh where men can exercise a temporary marriage, and women are expected to submit to such practices. Muslim men are allowed by the Sharia law to marry non – Muslim women, while the same does not apply for Muslim women. Muslim women under Sharia law should not interact with men who are not their relatives unless in presence of a male relative. This is viewed as discouraging social interaction of women with other members of the society (Safi, 2003). Despite the ill treatment of women in Muslim societies that promote Sharia law, Islam promotes equal rights and dignity for both men and women. It has been argued that gender bias is linked to Islam not because the religion is biased but due to the practices that exist in Muslim societies. Islam provides women with an equal status to that of men in theory and in practice. The women are assured of financial security through inheritance whether it’s during marriage or in case of divorce and widowhood. Islam recognizes a woman’s’ role as a wife and as a mother, and it does not prohibit her from seeking employment. Islamic teaching defines men and women as recipient of† divine breath† due to their creation with the same human-spiritual nature and both men and women are acknowledged by Allah as His trustees on earth (Yvonne et al, 2006). Gender bias in Buddhism Buddhism is a religion whose teachings are based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism comprises of two branches, Mahayana and Theravada. Buddhists uphold the four noble truths (Eliot, 2003). Women Buddhists can easily integrate with other members of the society and are given an honorable place in the society. Buddhist women even in the ancient times were able to access religious knowledge and participate in religious ceremonies. However, womens’ religious roles differ from those of men. For example, religious women are not able to perform religious duties similar to those of the monks. Buddhism teaches that a marriage is a contract between equals. Gender bias is portrayed in the doctrine of Karma and rebirth in Buddhism which supports inherent male superiority. Furthermore, gender bias in Buddhism can be seen in the domination of men in religious leadership. Though Buddhist nuns can hold important religious positions, they are categorized as a group than can occupy a niche in the religious realm and secular world. Buddhism considers women as religiously insufficient hence they have to depend on men to make merit. The religion allows multiple spouses for a man and only one for a woman Both men and women in Buddhism are able to realize nirvana equally, although the paths of realizing it vary. Gender equality is promoted in Mahayana Buddhism since it allows the ordination of women to serve in religious duties as Bhikkhunis. Bhikkhunis are also referred to as Buddhist nuns. Buddhism promotes spiritual equality for both men and women a belief that prevents supremacy of males in the religion. This had Buddha acknowledge the spiritual potential of both women and men. For instance, the order of Bhikkhunis or nuns represents the important role of a woman in Buddhism. The Sasana is comprised of Bhikkus (Monks), Bhikkhunis (Nuns), laymen, and laywomen. This ensures that women are not segregated from religious activities. Unlike in Hinduism, funeral rites in Buddhism can be conducted by a widow or a daughter hence the birth of daughters only is not considered as a misfortune. However, male offsprings are preferred in Buddhist societies due to the ideology of male superiority. Gender bias in Hinduism The most authoritative text of Hinduism is the Vedas. The position that is given to both men and women depend on the specific text and context of the Vedas. For example, positive reference to women is given in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, while restriction on the role of women is given by the Manu smriti (Michaels, 2004). Gender bias in Hinduism is seen in the religious practices. For example, the birth of daughters with no sons becomes lamentation due to the importance of a male offspring in funeral rites. When a father dies in a Hindu community, only male offspring are allowed to assure a family of its happiness by carrying out funeral rites. A wife without a son is therefore superseded by a second or third wife. Male children in this case are highly regarded unlike the female children. The religious practice of Sati is criticized for discriminating and giving harsh treatment to women. The sati in Hinduism encourages the immolation of women after their husband’s death. Although women willingly take part in sati, many cases result from societal inducement or compulsion. Examples of women who are mentioned in Hindu Holy Scriptures to participate in Sati Vasudeva’s wives (M Bh. Mausalaparvan 7. 18) and Madri (M Bh. Adiparvan 95)). The Hindu religious practices promote discrimination of females due to the culture of payment of dowry, which makes female children to be viewed as a burden to the family. The religious customs of having the bride’s family pay dowry to the groom’s family has had many female children looked down upon with cases of female infanticide being witnessed . In Manu VIII 416-417,the ownership of property by women is restricted and alienation of Hindu widows from the society has also been attributed to female infanticide. Marriage of females at a very early age and denial of women to marry again after the death of a husband are gender bias religious practices that are still witnessed in some Hindu societies. Apart from the above arguments that support gender bias against women in Hinduism, the religion supports the participation of women in religious rituals. In addition, both men and women can learn about the sacred texts of the religion and women have been appreciated due to the representation of some deities in the religion as females (Williams, 2005). Conclusion Whether there is gender bias in the religion is an issue that has triggered heated debates from the people all over the world, especially the religious leaders. In various societies, gender bias has been witnessed. While some gender bias has been attributed to the religious beliefs and practices of the society members, some bias has been attributed to the culture of the people and not the religion. Various arguments have been presented to prove whether there is gender bias in the religions that exist. Some arguments support the notion that there is gender bias in the religion. In all religions, the beliefs, traditions and values that are advocated for greatly influence the way of life of the followers. Therefore,the role that different genders play in the society and in fulfilling religious duties are linked to the religious beliefs and traditions upheld by the members of a given society. This is why gender bias that exists in the society is related to the religion. 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