Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Advances in Research on Instruction essays

Advances in Research on Instruction essays After reading this article I decided that I would keep this and refer to it every time I felt that I was not reaching my students. I found it to be very helpful. I think that as we get older, we forget how children learn. We might even forget how we ourselves learn material. Everything comes so natural to us and we forget that we go through many different processes in order to understand new material. I thought back to some of the teachers I have had and I realized that the teachers whom I learned the most from followed the guidelines set forth in the article. With this, I found some very important key components to teaching material to children. They are presenting new information in small steps with cognitive strategies and lots of practice and review, providing help for student processing, and, helping students organize their knowledge, Presenting information in small steps seems so common sense; yet, people forget how crucial it is. All people remember information better when it is split into chunks and practiced before moving one to something else. For example, I feel that one of the reasons that some children dont like math is because they were not given enough time to understand the basic foundations. More than likely, they were taught a lesson, did the homework wrong, handed the homework in and before they even got their homework back, were taught a new lesson. The cycle would start all over again because the student had to understand the last lesson before they could do the next. Teaching in small steps will help the student and the teacher. The students gain a better understanding bigger, more complex information and the teacher can assess each student before moving on. This way the teacher can see exactly what step the child didnt process and re-teach it before its too late and the child is left behind. Helping students process information is just a ...

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Frankenstein loneliness essay Essays - Fiction, Creative Works

Frankenstein loneliness essay Essays - Fiction, Creative Works NAME: JACK MELVIN TEACHER: TP UNIT 3 / 4 ENGLISH DATE: 20/4/19 FRANKENSTEIN : It is the thirst for knowledge that leads Frankenstein, the creature and Walton astray. Discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The modern Prometheus is a gothic novel published in 1818. The novel incorporates the theme of knowledge throughout a range of key ideas and characters , Mary Shelley wrote the novel at a time where the world was experiencing industrialization in full effect, this - as well as increasing findings and discoveries by scientists - may have motivated her to include the ideas of knowledge, and ultimately dangerous knowledge that leads Frankenstein, the creature and Walton astray. The pursuit of knowledge leads to a range of consequences in Frankenstein, Shelley includes the thirst of knowledge and the repercussions of it by incorporating similar writers, through literary allusions including the poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner' telling the story of a man who challenges nature and suffers the consequences for doing so. Shelley's novel is a direct reflection on her opinion that the sudden rush of technological improvements brought on by the desir e to gain more knowledge would result in disaster. The full title of Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein: The modern Prometheus emphasises the idea that Victor reaching beyond what man should be capable of and is playing god. In Greek mythology, Prometheus created man , Prometheus loved his creation of man - unlike Victor's relationship with the monster - and steals fire from the gods in order to bless man with this gift. Prometheus challenged the gods and li mitations set by them and was punished for doing so, he was forced to endure the pain of having his liver eaten by an eagle every day, forever. This is similar to Frankenstein, in the pursuit for human advancement and knowledge, Victor challenges the capabilities of man by forming a creature out of dead parts, bringing the dead back to life - a feat that was thought to be unachievable by man and only by the supernatural. This decision to defy the abilities of mankind results in Victor being punished for the rest of his life as the creature murders those who mean mos t to Victor. Victor's pursuit of the monster and obsessive disgust for his creation ultimately leads him to his death. Victor recognises the consequences of acquiring excessive knowledge and becoming "greater than his nature will allow". His reckless choice to pursue the monster destroys himself, his family, and anyone he loves. Victor, once a knowledgeable scientist progresses to a man fu ll of hatred for his own creation, lead from his home town in Geneva to the North Pole , where he was met with death. Incorporating this transition allows the reader to recognise how Victor's thirst of knowledge led him astray. Shelley suggests that the quest for knowledge is often rationalised by the thought that one's actions will benefit humanity. This rationalisation of impromptu decisions poses as a facade for the obsession for greatness and recognition that comes with discovering new things . Something that Walton desired, recognition. Walton, a narcissistic captain of a ship that aim ed to achieve the further discovery of the Arctic regions of the world , delineates his adventure as "one man's life or death [being] a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which [he] sought". This shows his obsession for knowledge, that he is able to overlook the death of someone in pursuit for recognition. Victor knows that Walton's desire discovery is a dangerous commitment and warns Walton of his potential fate. Walton realises the possible consequences of his actions and decides to end his voyage. This shows that Walton has recognised the dangers of know ledge and took action as not to suffer the potential repercussions furthering his voyage. The monster also participates in a quest for knowledge, not in a scientific and exploration way like Victor and Walton but in a philosophical understanding of its own identity. After the bewildering first encounter with Frankenstein, the monster aims to assimilate itself into modern society only to realise it is different and unaccepted universally. As the monster grew in knowledge it came to think that the DeLacey

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Democratization of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Democratization of China - Essay Example in 2011 sparked public outrage as the government was criticized sharply through blog sites in China with around 200 million followers (Ahlquist and Erik 449). The examples shows how democracy in China is being fought for at a price and they show that the country is soon to experience the independency of the civil societies thus illustrating that the countrys political regime is now facing the challenge of making China a democratic state (Liu and Dingding 41). Also, over the last few decades, academicians especially from the western countries have always used some typical terms to refer to the political situation in China where terms like authoritarian resilience, rightful resistance, and illiberal adaptation have been used to describe the countrys democratic future (Liu and Dingding 43). However, the situation is fast changing where China is now moving closer to modernization that states that economic development is the basis for democratization. Therefore, there is hope for democracy in China as this essay outlines the country’s struggle to become a pure democratic state and also the challenges that may confront the Chinese in their question to become democratic. One of the major problems with the Chinese economic geography is that resources are more concentrated on the urban areas where most of the affluent population lives (Wang 409). However, there is the imminent marginalization of the poor population who lives in the rural areas. In effect, there is an unequal distribution of resources, and this forcing the Chinese to pile pressure on the government for economic democratization (Liu and Dingding 41). The implication is that the unequal distribution of resources brings with it some political consequences where more visible inequality makes the population be disconnted with the political situation. On the other hand, inequality has become a significant political issue in China as more rural dwellers are moving to cities to access apartment buildings,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Investment Banking in 2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Banking in 2008 - Essay Example This paper demonstrates the result of deregulatory measures initiated by the authorities of the United States in the decade of 1990s.The reason for such hype of the deregulatory measures has been primarily the universal bank model. The deregulatory measures allowed the investment banks to participate in the depository functions. The supporters of the deregulations believed that modern day clients preferred to do all of their business ranging from life insurance to commercial lending, from mergers and acquisition advisory to retirement planning, under one roof. And only a deregulated market could allow this to happen. Therefore, replacement of Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (which prevented depository and brokerage functions) by the Gramm-Leach Bliley in 1999 opened a whole lot of opportunities for the bankers. With the approval to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, investment banks, insurance companies and commercial banks were equally placed in respect to the products and the markets. This led to the concentration of financial power in fewer hands and soon the investment banks were being absorbed by the commercial banks. The deviation led to the rise in pressure on investment banks to create return on equity compared to the universal banks like Duetsche Bank and as a result investment banks laid more emphasis on the traditional services like M&A, underwriting, sales and trading. Also, the intense competitive pressure led to the withdrawal of Net Capital rule. and SEC allowed unlimited and unregulated leverage (in way of debts) to their brokerage units which proved to be fatal in the long run. Remaining Competitive Against the Trend From the analysis of the case, it appears that Goldman Sachs (and also Morgan Stanley, if not others) could have surely remained competitive without increasing its leverage to boost its return on investment. In fact, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were honest enough at the outset and had written down the losses in residential mortgages and leveraged loans and tried to avoid the excessive exposure to the mortgage industry. But as Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley faced increasing pressure from the investors as their profits eroded and return on equity subsided. Consequently, they decided to be the bank holding companies (under FED regulations) and initiate the depository functions which would allow them to play as commercial banks and have diversified banking operations apart from invest banking functions, which in turn would help them to stay competitive. Collapse of Lehman Brothers but Bear Stearns Saved For the purpose of bail out of Bear Sterns , Federal Reserve lent JP Morgan Chase $ 30 Billion out of which JP Morgan Chase agreed to assume responsibility for $ 1 Billion leaving the charge of other $ 29 Billion to the U.S. tax payers. But when the Lehman Brothers, which had almost 75% higher valuation of the assets (compared to Bear Sterns as on 30/11/2007) approached Federal Reserve they did not get the nod. The prime reason of such a decision by Fed is believed to be the political dominos. The decision makers hesitated to take another bail-out measure

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Nutrition and Stress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutrition and Stress - Essay Example According to the report findings the majority of foods consumed in such situations are but ‘convenience foods’ considered a quick fix to nullify the condition, at least in part. The ‘quick fix’ theory is, however, false, as the resultant flaw that result in the eating habits in times of stress inflict even more stress on the body, compounding other problems that combine to pose a further threat to the physical and mental health. To be more certain, most of the unhealthy food intake consumed in times of stress consist of consists of fast foods that more often than not replaces healthy meals.As the discussion stresses  poor eating habits has its consequences,   for   they encourages growth hormones that result in weight increases; a problematic condition that inhibits the body system from working effectively to control sugar levels in the blood, thus, creating a harmful imbalance. Accordingly, it is recommended that foods containing B vitamins, proteins and minerals be taken in a well-balanced diet to help the body to cope with stress. Proteins are, in fact, a necessary part in any food diet, for it assists in the growth and repairs of worn out tissues in the body. Foods rich in vitamin A and C, on other hand, help in rectifying poor vision and strengthening the immune system respectively. Minerals such as magnesium are necessary ingredients for muscle relaxations, which also combats stress; such foods include fish, eggs, meat, seeds, cheese, oil, milk, fruits, apple, green leaved vegetables among other cereals.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Factors That Influence Organizational Change Commerce Essay

The Factors That Influence Organizational Change Commerce Essay There are different factors which influence organizations change. These factors can be external (technology, Government policies, social pressure, cost of raw material etc) or internal (change leadership, decline in profit, union action etc).in this era of globalization the most commonly seen organizational changes are implementation of new technologies, mergers and downsizing. To survive in the market with the increased competition it is very tough for the employees of the organization to accept the change. In this kind of situation the management should ensure the acceptance of change at every level. Change Management is defined as organizations ability to implement and maintain change for the survival. For the survival of the organization change management is the best option. Figure : Phases of change If organization is not in a constant phase of change management and continually assessing and adjusting then business may be at best average within its industry. For some organizations this means they may be going backwards and eventually bankrupt. Only those companies can survive which can adapt to changes. This change management model follows all other change management models and theories. Every organization can be summed up to be a combination of these three elements which includes the structure, the people and the strategy. Any change in any area of an organization will affect at least one or all of these elements. Figure : Three elements for change The structure of the system is the process that provides the strategic objectives of organization with physical resources. Change management specialists will review management operating system (MOS) with complete and proper structure. The people involved in this process are stakeholders, resourced people, and management team. All people involved in this process should be well informed and should pay attention to the right things. They should communicate with each other. Figure : people involve in change management To achieve the target for the continued existence of the organization strategy is the best method. Change management provides the guidelines for the growth of the firm. The Skill of Change Management Managing change in the workplace while ensuring the operations strategy is on the right path. This can be achieved by the support of people and structure elements towards achieving the organizations corporate strategy. Phases of Change Organizational change involves the fear of loss inherent in this process, and this loss is mostly felt by employees. The Kubler Ross Grief Model addresses the emotional issues associated with change. The four emotional states experienced throughout the change process may be expressed by employees in behaviors that are obstacles to the process of change. This model consists of four stages given below: Denial The first emotional state during change is denial. This is the stage in which employees dont believe this is happening to them. They have certain fears and these fears should be addressed during this phase. This fear can be reduced by taking them in confidence. Fear and mistrust need to be replaced by acceptance. Resistances to change The second emotional state is resistance to the change process. Resistance is natural reaction to change. Eric B. Dent and Susan Galloway Goldberg (1999) gave the idea that managers and leaders of the organization must reduce the resistance to compete with other organizations. Kurt Lewin, the social psychologist, introduced the term resistance to change as a systems. As we know that people of any organization are generally resistant to change. According to Scott Jaffe resistance is a stage that ends as individuals begin to separate from the past become more confident of their capability. They play their role by their participation to reduce resistance to change. For example, competition might force a business to organize work around processes to improve operating efficiencies. Functional departments involved in these processes would be combined. Employees might not see a need for this change. The reasons for change must be fully explained so that employees understand why it is nece ssary to embrace the change. Chew (1990) studied the case of Machinists Mutiny. In his study he revealed that due to poor planning and implementation the change is stopped due to employee resistance. This article also includes expert opinions that organization should adopt so they have better implementation of change For the implementation and maintain change satisfaction of the people is very important. The response to resistance is very important. Forcing compliance may increase resistance. Those affected by the change probably know a lot about what is required to implement something new, and their input is important to the change process. The degree to which employees will support your new initiatives depends on how many of their recommendations are used. Explorations The third emotional state encountered is exploration. employees will search new roles if they are incapable to stop the changes. In this stage both individual role as well as the group role are defined. it is important that unresolved issues that continue to surface be addressed during this stage. One should be ready for the negative reaction of the employee. Those individuals should be warned at the first sign of falling back to old behaviors. This negative reaction can be changed to the positive if trust can be created among groups. Commitments The final emotional state is commitment to the change initiative. Mutual commitment is established for the change effort. Obstacles have been removed and the focus is on successful implementation of the changes. Models of the change process After years of failed change efforts, researchers are saying that knowledge of the change process is critical. To thrive we need to know successful change during and before the change process. There are five most popular models of the change process(Lewins three-step change model, Kotters eight-step plan, Harriss five-phase model, Fullans change themes set, and Greiners six-phase process).But in this report we will discuss only two of them. Lewins Three-Step Change Model Change involves a sequence of organizational processes that occurs over time. Lewin (1951) suggests this three step process. These steps mostly involve reducing the forces acting to keep the organization in its current condition. Figure : Three step model Unfreezing: This is the first step which is accomplished by introducing new information that points out failure in the current state. Crises often arouse unfreezing. This crisis can be due to increase in employee, demographic shifts, and an unexpected strike. This is not necessary that during unfreezing crisis always occur. For determining problem creating zones in organizations financial data, climate analysis and enrollment projections can be used. Moving: Once the organization is unfrozen, it can be changed by moving. This step generally involves the change in structure, development of new standards, attitudes, and behaviors. Some changes may be minor and involve a few members. Refreezing The final step is refreezing which involves stabilizing the change. In this step mostly the changes in organizations policy, organizational culture, or modification in organizational structure often accomplishes. (Fred C. Lunenburg, 2010) Kotters Eight-Step Model John Kotter (1996) of Harvard University developed a more detailed model for managing change which was based on Lewins three-step change model. The steps involved in this model are given below. Establish a sense of urgency: Unfreeze the organization by creating a convincing reason for change. Create the guiding coalition: Create a cross-functional, cross-level group of people with enough power to lead the change. Develop a vision and strategy: Create a idea and strategic plan which leads to the change process. Communicate the change vision: Produce and implement a communication strategy with the employees about the new ideas and strategic plan. Empower broad-based action: Eliminate barriers to change, and use target elements of change to transform the organization. Encourage risk taking and creative problem solving. Generate short-term wins: Plan for and create short-term wins or improvements. Recognize and reward people who contribute to the wins. Consolidate gains and produce: The guiding coalition uses credibility from short-term wins to create more change. Additional people are brought into the change process as change cascades throughout the organization. Attempts are made to reinvigorate the change process. Anchor new approaches in the culture: Reinforce the changes by highlighting connections between new behaviors and processes and organizational success. Develop methods to ensure leadership development and succession. Types of Change Change can be categorized into four categories, structural change, cost change, process change, and cultural change. As the organizational structure of the company changes the structural change takes place. This change in structure is due to the merger of the company. The improvement in the organization can be achieved by changing its long established structure into more flexible form. This can be done by small teams. In order to improve performance and efficiency by reducing cost, cost changes are the best option. This can be done by reducing budget, reducing unnecessary activities and by shifting employees according to the need. Process changes are applied in the organization to improve the efficiency. This change takes place in production department where these products are formed, packed and shipped. Cultural changes are the least substantial of all the types of change. If an organization tries to adopt a more participative style this requires a shift in many organizational activities. Mainly the relation of employees and mangers suffer with the change in culture IMPLEMENTING CHANGE The proper implementation is based on number of steps. The first step in implementing change involves people of higher management and executives. For instance, an organization wants to install new system of computers in its areas. Then they major personal are not only top management but managers with lower ranked will supervise the employees for the use of the new technology. In cost cutting change different personals are involved. If a company wants to reduce its budget in a particular department then the managers of that department should be involved in cutting the cost. As the important personnel have been identified, the second step involved is implementing change properly. For the implementation of the change the successful change in plan is required. This plan defines the responsibilities of the key personals. The third step in implementing change. This change supports the plan. Implementation involves the management. This key step involves facilitating employees to accept the change. The organization should provide the basic support to the employees like training, reward system etc. if organization does not provide this kind of support there are chance for the failure of the plan Change process is the final step of booming change implementation. Communicating with the employee about the change and its importance will be very helpful through out the process. As we know that change can create fear in employees and to relax them increased communication can help a lot. Managers should carefully listen to all their question and their advises to overcome their fear. Creating opportunities for employee like giving them positive feedback or holding meetings may facilitate change more successfully. (Wendy H. Mason ,2003) Abrahamson (2000) gave the view of Change without Pain. The main theme in this article was change must take place, but change does not always have to be disturbing to the organization. The author calls this tinkering and kludging. By placing small changes between large changes, companies can manage change through active stability. The goal of dynamic stability is to create a change which can be sustained long term, not just in the short term. To achieve dynamic stability the big and small changes must be done at the right time, at the right pace and the organization must tinker and kludge. Tinkering is taking a current process and making small changes to it. This is done at a low cost to the company and the results are often very quick. Kludging, on the other hand, is tinkering but on a larger scale. Kludging looks at outside resources for improved parts or processes and looks at the unused resources within the company. Many companies do not realize they have resources not being used because the processes using the resources are to slow to fully utilize the capacity of the resource. CASE STUDY This case study was based on a company called Trail Manufacturing which produces cable crane components. This study was done by Chew(1990).The company was a mid-sized company set up to run high volume jobs on manual equipment. But with todays economy and competition, Trail determined the best money was in low volume jobs. The President of Trail decided to bring in new technology to replace the old machines. He researched the new machines and decided to bring in eight flexible manufacturing cells which would replace twenty-eight old six-spindle screw machines. Since this was new technology and training would be needed a plan was laid out to set up teams, one for each cell, and the company would phase in the new machines. Each team would be trained and then they would construct and run their own cell. Once one cell was on-line a new cell team would start up until all eight cells were on-line. The first five teams went through the process fine, but at team six the company had a problem. Team six consisted of men who had been at the company many years. The team went to the president and told him they refused to switch over to the new machines. They felt the old machines were running fine and the new machines did not show the expected improvements, so they wanted to continue working on three six-spindle screw machines. At this point the president had to determine if he wanted to keep going with the project or alter it to keep some of the old machines. Some management personnel felt that if the new cells were going to work, a clean break had to be made from the old machines. Others felt that since the productivity gains were not being seen yet by the new cells, the possibility of keeping the old machines for a short time might be a good idea. The case ends without a decision being made by the company. Four experts in operations management give their opinions on the situation. Only one out of the four said the company should continue on with the original plan and if t he members of team six leave the company then it is the price to be paid for progress. The other three are quick to point out the president made a wrong assumption in the planning. He assumed that by bringing in new technology productivity would improve. This is a wrong assumption because technology is only as good as the company and how the company works. One of the experts points out truly understanding how the whole system plays together, and not just implementing the latest technique, means bridging the gap between the emotional and the technical. The president did not see that by bringing in new technology it would change the culture of the shop floor. Men who had years of experience on the old machines and were in seniority would be at the same level or lower than the younger more computer literate employees. This would be a big culture change for the employees. Most of the experts suggested slowing down the remainder of the cell startups and specifically addressing the concer ns of the men on team six. If team sixs concerns are not addressed there could be more problems with the rest of the teams. This article showed a good picture of how a company has to go about major changes, especially ones affecting the culture of the company. The expert opinions enhanced the article and I would highly recommend this article because it is an example of a case that is played out in companies all over. CONCLUSION Today change is the necessary for carrying business and survival of the organization. Organization or firms should under go change with the passage of time otherwise will survive. This change along its success also brings fear of employees. This leads to resistance to change. In this situation top management and leadership can play a vital role. The success of the organization depends on management team that how efficiently they resolve the issue. They can take help by reviewing past model of change and replacing them with new ideas. The good communication process is very important for the smooth process of change. RECOMMENDATIONS Following are some recommendations. Managers should improve their interpersonal and communication skills so that they could help their staff overcome the pains associated with change. Tell people the truth and give as much information as you can. Keep giving information as soon as possible. Give them time to digest the news. Give them time to vent there might be anger because this is normal reaction. Listen to staff and their concerns dont interrupt them so they can reduce their fear. REFRENCES Abrahamson, E. (2000). Change Without Pain. Harvard Business Review, 75-79. Chew, W. (1990). The Case of the Machinists Mutiny. Harvard Business Review, 4-8.) Dent, Eric B., and Susan Galloway Goldberg. Challenging Resistance to Change.' Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (March 1999): 25. Fred C. Lunenburg. (2010). Approaches to Managing Organizational Change. international journal of scholarly academic intellectual diversity volume 12 Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York, NY: Harper Row. Oliver Recklies Managing Change Definition und Phases in Change Processes www.themanager.org/strategy/HYPERLINK http://www.themanager.org/strategy/change_phases.htmchangeHYPERLINK http://www.themanager.org/strategy/change_phases.htm_HYPERLINK http://www.themanager.org/strategy/change_phases.htmphasesHYPERLINK http://www.themanager.org/strategy/change_phases.htm.htm. (accessed on 12 of November) Supreet Ahluwalia and Vivek Joshi (2008)managing Change in an Organization. http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC707/fc707.html (accessed on 13 of November) Wendy H. Mason (2003) ManagingChangewww.referenceforbusiness.com (accessed on 12 of November) http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-cm-basics-who-mod2.htm (Accessed on 13 of November)

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The Teaching of Saint Gregory Essay -- Christology, God, Creation

A. â€Å"The Teaching of Saint Gregory† contains many theologically concepts as God and Creation, Christology, human Sin and salvation, eschatology and resurrection. Owing to the limited space, I will only explore some key elements which I think are worthy to be discussed. First, Gregory depicts the God’s attributes – it begins with the faith of Trinity- God created the world and humankind, the Son saved humankind and the Spirit sustained the world (259, 263, 362). There is no one before God and there is no creator (259). God is incomprehensible and almighty (259, 366). God created two kinds of creatures: visible (the creatures in the world) and invisible (angels, include the evil â€Å"Follower behind†) (262, 278). Second, man was created in God’s image–which gave man rational mind and independent will so that man will be aware of God. (273), praise God (261) and live in a good life with God. (Enoch’s life 294). Third, in Christology, Gregory emphasizes the incarnation of the Son is not a sudden idea, not a phantom (402) but an eternal redemption plan of God. All the prophecies was foreshadowing Christ (342) and concerning Christ (377). Gregory skims the life and teaching of Jesus but emphasizes much in Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus humbled Himself to the indignity of death (385, 587-595), came to bridge the separated, to build up what was destroyed (591). In Gregory’s view, the cross of Christ is the anti-type of the tower of Babel. The tower stands for scattering, represents God’s wrath of human’s sin; the cross stands for gathering that Jesus redirects people back to God (584, 585). With the promise of God’s spirit dwelling in the believers, Gregory further insists the Martyrs live and intercede for men (596-597) which ... ...however, find a light to solve the problem of illiteracy. Armenians is the only nation who maintains Christianity as the national religion to recent decades. Reasons for success are many, like a distinct geography, recurred prosecutions, and the martyrs linked with national pride could be the dominant factors; but also, the book of Teaching of St. Gregory is definitely a significant reason to keep the Armenians’ faith in the long history. Its â€Å"non-difficult,† comprehensive, systematic way explaining God’s demand, human’s sin & responsibility, God’s protection with whom in prosecution; provide reason, strength and faith for Armenians to live their lives faithfully. Another important thing the church can do is to adopt new technology, A-V computerized aids to polish the traditions of Christian faith and provide a fresh expression of Christianity to our neighbours.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Christmas and Women Essay

â€Å"It was not the hard work which he hated, nor the punishment and injustice. He was used to that before he ever saw either of them. He expected no less, and so he was neither outraged nor surprised. It was the woman: that soft kindness which he believed himself doomed to be forever victim of and which he hated worse than he did the hard and ruthless justice of men. † (Faulkner 158) In William Faulkner’s Light in August, Joe Christmas’s misogynistic view towards women has reason behind it, based on his negative past with significant female characters. The above quote emphasizes his feelings towards women, describing how Joe is able to handle the harshness of a man, but cannot stand the weak and nurturing nature of a woman. Moreover, he believes women are only out to make him cry, as we see with his attitude towards the dietitian and Mrs. McEachern. Over the course of his life, beginning with the absence of a mother, Joe has been impacted by several female influences, from a brief stint with an orphan girl, Alice, up to his lack of a relationship with his mother, Millie. These women have led to Joe’s distrust and pure hate of femininity. Alice, a twelve year-old girl from the orphanage, is his first encounter with a maternal figure. Joe relies on Alice as a supportive comfort, as he does not have a mother or any adult figure to turn to, for that matter. â€Å"He had liked her, enough to let her mother him a little; perhaps because of it. And so to him she was as mature, almost as large in size, as the adult women who ordered his eating and washing and sleeping, with the difference she was not and never would be his enemy. One night she waked him. She was telling him goodbye but he did not know it. He was sleepy and a little annoyed, never full awake, suffering her because she had always tried to be good to him. He didn’t know that she was crying because he did not know that grown people cried, and by the time he learned that, memory had forgotten her. He went back into sleep while still suffering her, and the next morning she was gone. Vanished, no trace of her left, not even a garment, the very bed in which she had slept already occupied by a new boy. He never did know where she went to. † (Faulkner 127-8) When Alice leaves, Joe is confused and feels lost. He then has no one to rely on, learn from, or be close to, in such a setting. With this experience, he feels as if women are unpredictable and will leave at any given point. There is not consistency in relationships with them and, therefore, they cannot be trusted. â€Å"The incident speaks volumes of what the child at the orphanage had lacked, the lack that was to warp him away from womankind† (Brooks xxiii). It is understandable that this â€Å"abandonment† could have such an impression on a young mind with no real stability in his life. The Freudian theory applies here, with the idea that childhood experiences mold an individual most significantly and they determine the attitudes and perceptions of said individuals in their futures. (Hamblin and Peek 303) Also at the orphanage is the dietitian, who is another female influence, contributing to Christmas’s misogynistic attitude. After Joe has been caught consuming pink toothpaste, he expects punishment. However, she does not reprimand him immediately and he agonizes over the anticipation. â€Å"It never occurred to her that he believed that he was the one who had been taken in sin and was being tortured with punishment deferred and that he was putting himself in her way in order to get it over with, get his whipping and strike the balance and write it off† (Faulkner 115). This is when he first gets the idea that women are only out to make him cry. He believes that the dietitian is intentionally torturing him by not immediately carrying through with a punishment for his wrongdoings. The action which â€Å"adds salt to the wound† is when the dietitian, believing that the boy will convey his knowledge of her amorous actions to an orphanage authority, tries to bribe him with money. Therefore, Joe becomes confused and unsure of what to do. This only emphasizes the notion that women are unpredictable and hard to read, and that they possibly represent temptation. When Joe leaves the orphanage, he moves into the country with Mr. and Mrs. McEachern. It is possible that he would have responded positively to Mrs.  McEachern’s nurturing manner had he not dealt with those negative incidents with female figures at the orphanage. However, whenever Mrs. McEachern tries to show kindness towards Joe, he retaliates with acts of cruelty, such as when she offers him food and he dumps it on the floor angrily. Later, Joe says to himself: â€Å"‘She is trying to make me cry,’ he thought, lying cold and rigid in his bed, his hands beneath his head and the moonlight falling across his body, hearing the steady murmur of the man’s voice as it mounted the stairway on its first heavenward stage; ‘She was trying to make me cry. Then she thinks that they would have had me’† (Faulkner 158). By relying on her, Joe thinks that he would show weakness. He can handle McEachern’s harsh ways, but the weakness of Mrs. McEachern disgusts him. He fears displaying weakness, perhaps because he is weak in not knowing his past and not understanding who he is through his adolescence. Because he does not know his parentage, he struggles not only with his racial identity, but his personal identity as well. And, â€Å"the more Mrs. McEachern attempts to mother Christmas, the further her pushes her away† (Schisler 2008). Throughout Joe’s young adult years, he has relationships with several women, namely prostitutes (or â€Å"waitresses†). He routinely tells them of his racial status, either to shock or disgust them or to test their feelings toward him. With these reactions, he travels from woman to woman to find his identity. However, his first real love is with the waitress, Bobbie Allen. Joe’s initial attraction is to her manly features, such as her masculine hands. He tells her that he is part Negro to test her love for him. He sincerely opens up to her often, but when she ultimately rejects him, he is crushed. She could have been the one to â€Å"save† him from his hatred of women and his hateful past. A contribution to their relationship is Joe’s distance from nature. He is far from nature, the natural representation of femininity (Brooks xvii), and he does not accept the natural processes of life. Thus, he gets frightened and frustrated and runs away. â€Å"In the notseeing and hardknowing as though in a cave he seemed to see a diminishing row of suavely shaped urns in moonlight, blanched. And not one was perfect. Each one was cracked and from each crack there issued some liquid, death-colored, and foul. He touched a tree, leaning his propped arms against it, seeing the ranked and moonlight urns. He vomited† (Faulkner 208-9). These urns are a metaphor for women and femininity, in relation to Greek literature and the Bible (Bleikasten 286). Their cracked state and oozing liquid represents that Bobbie is no longer alluring and it shows Joe’s perception of women and how he expects them to be perfect, when he subconsciously knows that they are not. The feminine atmosphere has caused him to vomit, as he is disgusted by Bobbie and the natural processes of life. Furthermore, there is probably the most influential female role in the novel, Miss Joanna Burden. Miss Burden is Joe’s strongest lover emotionally. Again, he is attracted to her masculine qualities, not only physically, but personality-wise. During her first encounter with Joe, she takes her rape â€Å"like a man† and does not struggle or put emotion into it. She is predictable and follows a routine, much like a man, which Joe admires. Burden’s struggling betrays â€Å"no feminine vacillation, no coyness of obvious desire and intention to succumb at last. It was as if he struggled physically with another man for an object of no actual value to either, and for which they struggled on principle alone. † Also, she is a social outcast and is a pariah from the community, sharing a man’s alienation, much like Joe Christmas (Brooks xvi). In Burden, Joe could have stability to support his shaky lifestyle and troublesome past. However, their relationship is ruined because they both believe the only way it can end is in murder. Hence, Joe must kill Joanna in self-defense, fear, and love. This is the end of Joe’s amorous relationships for the rest of his life. Furthermore, Joe has been impacted by a woman who was not even there throughout the course of his life. His mother, Millie, influenced his heritage by having relations with his father. This determines his entire struggle for identity and the issues with his race in the novel and his complete lifetime. In addition, her absence as he grows up gives him no maternal love or comfort as a young child. Perhaps if she had shown him that he could have healthy relationships with women, he could see that many females can be beautiful and trustworthy people. Overall, Joe’s misogynistic attitude has been shaped by years of emotional abuse and love lost. His absence of a maternal figure when he was young and the abandonment of Alice, the only person he ever truly trusted and went to for comfort, taught him that women were unpredictable. His amorous relationships with Bobbie and Joanna taught him that, while a woman may appear attractive with masculine and predictable qualities, she is ultimately still a woman, and, therefore, untrustworthy and weak. All of these elements combine Joe and who he is, his outlooks of life, and the course his life takes.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Harun Al-Rashid Abbasid Caliph Profile

Harun Al-Rashid Abbasid Caliph Profile Harun Al-Rashid Was Also Known As Haroun ar-Rashid, Harun al-Raschid or Haroon al Rasheed Harun Al-Rashid Was Known For Creating a fabulous court at Baghdad that would be immortalized in The Thousand and One Nights. Harun al-Rashid was the fifth Abbasid caliph. Occupations Caliph Places of Residence and Influence Asia: Arabia Important Dates Became caliph: Sept. 14, 786 Died: March 24, 809 About Harun al-Rashid Born to the caliph al-Mahdi and the former slave-girl al-Khayzuran, Harun was raised at court and received the bulk of his education from Yahya the Barmakid, who was a loyal supporter of Haruns mother. Before he was out of his teens, Harun was made the nominal leader of several expeditions against the Eastern Roman Empire; his success (or, more accurately, the success of his generals) resulted in his earning the title al-Rashid, which means the one following the right path or upright or just. He was also appointed governor of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, which Yahya administered for him, and named second in line to the throne (after his older brother, al-Hadi). Al-Mahdi died in 785 and al-Hadi died mysteriously in 786 (it was rumored that al-Khayzuran arranged his death), and Harun became caliph in September of that year. He appointed as his vizier Yahya, who installed a cadre of Barmakids as administrators. Al-Khayzuran had considerable influence over her son until her death in 803, and the Barmakids effectively ran the empire for Harun. Regional dynasties were given semi-autonomous status in return for considerable annual payments, which enriched Harun financially but weakened the power of the caliphs. He also divided his empire between his sons al-Amin and al-Mamun, who would go to war after Haruns death. Harun was a great patron of art and learning, and is best known for the unsurpassed splendor of his court and lifestyle. Some of the stories, perhaps the earliest, of The Thousand and One Nights were inspired by the glittering Baghdad court, and King Shahryar (whose wife, Scheherazade, tells the tales) may have been based on Harun himself. More Harun al-Rashid Resources Iraq: Historical Setting Encyclopedia article on Abbasids Harun al-Rashid on the Web Harun al-RashidInformative collection of data at NNDB. Harun al-Rashid (786-809)Brief overview of Haruns life at the Jewish Virtual Library. Harun ar-RashidConcise bio at Infoplease. Harun al-Rashid in Print The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the books page at one of the online merchants. Harun Al-Rashid and the World of a Thousand and One Nightsby Andre Clot Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate(Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)by Tayeb El-Hibri

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

What are the Romance Subgenres (And How to Pick One)

What are the Romance Subgenres (And How to Pick One) What are the Romance Subgenres? (And How to Pick One) You might think you know how a romance story goes. Boy meets girl. Boys fails girl. Boy gets girl. Seems simple enough, right?Not so fast. The landscape of romance is extremely rich and diverse, with many branches of subgenres and subcategories. And, though that elusive Happily Ever After is a staple in romance, how the couple gets there is a fascinatingly different story in each subgenre.This post will break all of the romance subgenres down for you - and give you some extra tips on how to find the one that’s the perfect match for you as a writer. So if you’re ready to see all of the various ways that the course of true love doesn’t run smoothly, let’s begin. Everything you wanted to know about romance subgenres - and more! Then all that’s left is to put pen to paper and get started creating your Happily Ever Afters! Good luck, and remember: love will make the world (and the genre) go round and round.Do you have a favorite subgenre of romance - and if so, what is it? Tell us in the comments below!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Role of the Mother Tongue in Second Language Learning Essay

The Role of the Mother Tongue in Second Language Learning - Essay Example The impact of the first language on the second language can bring problems especially in intercultural communication where the speakers use a lingua franca such as English or another language, hence causing misunderstandings and problems in communication. This research argues that contemporary linguistic theory demonstrates that primary language interference necessitates that second language instructor increasingly explore bilingual instructional strategies for teaching second language acquisition. The second language is any language that a person learns in addition to his/her first language. The term can also be used to refer to learning a third, fourth and subsequent languages. Second language acquisition is, therefore, the process by which people or learners study that language. The majority of linguists agree that errors made by second language learners originate from the speech of their first language. This occurs as a result of the influence of language transfer from the first language. The errors are mostly lexical or phonological. Still, the traditional approach to second language instruction has rigidly kept first and second languages rigidly separate. While instruction methods may be appropriate to keep a separate area for each language, linguistic theory demonstrates that bilingual instruction strategies are necessary. Rather than language learning existing in a vacuum, the learners’ mother tongue influences the way the second language vocabulary is learned and recalled for use. Learners at their disposal compensate their lack of knowledge by constructing difficult lexical items that are characterized by errors emanating from their first language. How the mother tongue helps or hinders learning is dependent on language distance, that is, the learners’ knowledge of the second language. Of course, there are also external aspects to language acquisition. Breen (135) and Prabhu (158) note that language is a social phenomenon. Most people seek to learn a language  to dialogue with the target language speakers and participate in their institutions.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Ocean Life and the Impact Of Humans. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico Research Paper

Ocean Life and the Impact Of Humans. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico - Research Paper Example However, due to the crucial economic importance of aquatic resources, there has been an upsurge of human activities including tourism, mining, fishing and other industries in these habitats. These human activities have regrettably diminished ocean life through unsustainable practices such as overexploitation of the resources and introduction of pollutants. This paper explores ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico, with special focus on the effects of human activities on the diversity and conservation measures in the region. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important oceanic habitats in Northern America and has one of the richest aquatic diversity in the world. In addition, it has rich reserves of petroleum deposits making it one of the biggest oil producing regions in the world. The rich ecological diversity offers numerous social and economic opportunities, including tourism, navigation, recreation and mining of petroleum and gas that contribute sig nificantly to the gross domestic product of the United States and Mexico. The entire Mexican gulf covers an area of about 600,000 squares miles, extending from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico to Florida Keys in the United States (Weber, Townsend and Bierce, 1992). A recent biological survey of the biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico undertaken by GMP (2010) recorded 15,419 species that belong to 40 phyla. The marine life ranges from single cellular organisms to plants, seaweeds and fungi, in addition to a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrates animals. The rich biodiversity is distributed across three major habitats, including the shoreline or the coast, the shallow sea and the open or deep ocean. The coastal region consists of important habitats, including beaches, sand dunes, estuaries, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and tidal flats. The gulf of Mexico coastline offers a wide range of aquatic plants including the mangrove, diverse varieties of plants and algae including turtle , manatee, shoal and widgeon grasses in addition to sargassum sea weeds. The coastline forms an important habitat for aquatic near shore animals, including corals, sea turtles, dolphins and various species of whales, fish and sharks (GMP, 2010). NOAA (2006) classifies species of animals found in the Gulf of Mexico according to the water depths that they mostly occur. From this classification, there are near shore and offshore animals. The habitat of near shore animals ranges from the estuarine waters to the edge of continental shelf and it covers a distance of less than 200 meters from the shelf edge. Offshore animals occupy deep waters that lie beyond 200 meters from the continental shelf. However, this animal distribution varies depending on the seasons because of migration between these areas for various reasons including reproduction and depending on food availability, water temperatures and strength of ocean currents (NOAA, 2006). The aquatic plants and animals in the Gulf of M exico have established important biological relationships in the ecosystem. Aquatic plants and algae are the primary food producers in the marine ecosystem providing sustenance for a wide variety of marine animals (Allan and David 2007). For instance, turtle grass in the Gulf of Mexico is common source of food to sea turtles. Through photosynthesis, the aquatic plants and algae produces oxygen that dissolves in water. The dissolved oxygen is used for respiration by the wide diversity aquatic animals in the gulf. In addition, anaerobic bacteria use the dissolved oxygen in the decomposition of organic matter in the water bodies. Similarly, aquatic animals provide the plants with carbon dioxide as a by-product of respiration