Olympics Racism

A Greek triple-jumper and a Swiss soccer player were both banned for separate offensive comments, and a Lithuanian fan was arrested because of his aggravated behavior during a basketball game. Even the London Olympics is not immune to racism. Whenever nations all over the world compete, racial discrimination rears its ugly head. For some reason, when it is displayed in the context of sports, it is seen as more acceptable. Switzerland’s Michel Morganella, who was sore about losing to South Korean soccer team was expelled from the games for calling them a â€Å"bunch of mongoloids† that â€Å"can go burn. It was under the terms of the International Olympic Committees’ code of conduct that athletes must show mutual respect, and tweeting those insensitive words clearly showed disrespect for the basic Olympian value. Another was Greece’s Voula Papachristou who never even made it to the games because of her twitter post that read, â€Å"So many Africans in Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food. † She apologized for the â€Å"unfortunate and tasteless joke. Her coach George Pomaski complained that the punishment had been too harsh, but the triple jumper’s tweet was indeed more abrasive than the penalty itself. The last one was the arrest of a man who was making Nazi gestures and monkey chants during the game between Lithuania and Nigeria at the basketball arena. His lawyer said on a trial that he believed his gestures and behaviors were acceptable at sports matches, and later on was fined ?2,500 for the incident. Sports, when mixed with the hyper-passionate supports of people’s favorite teams or national squads, turns into a volatile mix of ugliness. The unsportsmanlike conduct and ugly behavior by some players and fans have overshadowed the positive nature of the games. Sports are the greatest equalizer in this world. It is where the color of our skin, culture, and beliefs does not matter, and all that counts is the ability and the color of jersey. Racism is still an issue even in the grandest event in the world. Discriminatory acts should be strongly and rapidly condemned in all domains, especially in sports.

Food Security

Kirsten Highsmith February 1,2013 Eng & Humanities 2-1 Etymology Imperialism 1. (Noun): A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force; (Noun) The system, policies, or practices of such a government; (noun) an instance or policy of aggressive behaviour by one state against another 2. Imperialism originated in 1826 in a Napoleonic context, â€Å"advocacy of empire,†also of Rome and of British foreign policy, from imperial and -ism. At times in British usage with a neutral or positive sense relating to national interests or the spread of the benefits of Western civilization. . Imperialism is still in use. 4. Although Imperialism originated in 1826 it was first recorded 1878. It was picked up in Communist jargon by 1918. The term Imperialism applied to Western political and economic dominance in the 19th and 20th centuries. (etymonline. com) 5. A modern, interesting use of the word is that â€Å"Imperialism† is the name of a turn- based Strategy video game. Matrix 1. (Noun): An environment or material in which something develops; (Noun): A mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals, or fossils are embedded; (Archaic)The womb; Archaic)The formative cells or tissue of a fingernail, toenail, or tooth; (Noun) A rectangular array of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations 2. Matrix originates from the Latin, female animal used for breeding, parent plant, from matr-, mater. Its first known use is 1555. Its also from the Old French word matrice. 3. Matrix is still in use, except for the third definition listed above. 4. â€Å"Matrix† is the Latin word for womb, and it retains that sense in English. It can also mean more generally any place in which something is formed or produced. The term â€Å"matrix† for an rray of numeric or algebraic quantities subject to mathematical operations was introduced in 1850 by James Joseph Sylvester. (ualr. edu) 5. A modern or interesti ng use of the term â€Å"Matrix† is that â€Å"Matrix† is the name of the brand new 2012 Toyota sports Car Sugar 1. (noun): A sweet crystalline substance obtained from various plants; (noun):Used as a term of endearment or an affectionate form of address; (noun): A psychoactive drug in the form of white powder 2. Sugar first originated in the late 13 century, â€Å"sugre†, from Old French. Its Medieval Latin word was succarum, and its Arabic word being sukkar 3. Sugar is still in use. . Sugars Old World home was India and it remained exotic in Europe until the Arabs began to cultivate it in Sicily and Spain; not until after the Crusades did it begin to rival honey as the West's sweetener. 5. A modern or interesting use of the term sugar is that it is the name of a American alternative rock band which was first formed in 1992. Necromancer 1. (noun): A person who practices necromancy; a wizard or magician 2. Necromancer originated in c. 1300, from the Old French w ord nigromansere, 3. Necromancer is still in use. 4. The word necromancer is adapted from the word necromancy meaning a form of magic nvolving communication with the deceased. The word â€Å"necromancy† is adapted from Late Latin necromantia. Early necromancy volved from shamanism, which calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of ancestors. 5. A modern or interesting fact about the word necromancer is that in the popular video game Guild Wars a necromancer is a playable character who can call on the spirits of the dead, and even death itself, to overpower enemies and assist allies. Works Cited 1. â€Å"Dictionary. com. † Thesaurus. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 2. â€Å"Etymology. † Behind the Name:. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 3.EtymologyAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc. )Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 4. â€Å"Online Etymology Dictionary. † Online Etymology Dictionary. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 5. Dictionary. com. Dictionary. com, n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. Kirsten Highsmith February 1, 2013 Humanities II 2-1 Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa Food Security can be translated into many different definitions. Webster’s definition of it is, â€Å"Food security refers to the availability of food in sufficient quantity in a safe and nutritious form and one's access to it for a healthy and active life. This definition for food security clearly sets out the different sections involved when discussing food security, globally. These sections include many different aspects of food security. For example: the physical availability of food, and economic access to food, and the sustainability of these aspects to deliver adequate levels of food security. â€Å"In Sub-Saharan Africa today, almost 33 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lack sufficient food security†( â€Å"Achieving Food Security in Africa: Challenges and Issues†1). The region of Africa as a whole remains constant to frequent food crises and famines hich are triggered by droughts, floods, and economic downturns. Food Security in sub-Saharan African households has been lowered because of the countries inability to produce the right resources to import food. Sub-Saharan Africa is dependent on agriculture which is most vulnerable to climate change making many methods of development futile but few methods supply satisfactory results. The use of agriculture can improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa by changing to different farming techniques such as using mulching, composting and crop rotation. Mulching in Africa can help improve food security in a multitude of ways. Mulches are materials placed over the soil surface to maintain moisture†(treesaregood). By using mulching plants and vegetables are able to contain moisture even under extreme weather conditions. This is beneficial to Sub-Saharan Africa because of the many droughts they get, it is har der for plants and vegetables to grow and soon end up dying. By maintaining water plants are able to grow healthier and stronger. Water conservation is not the only thing mulching can help with. â€Å"Coupled with conserving moisture mulching prevents the compression and crusting of the soil aused by watering, and rain†( Russell). Because of the unpredictable rain in the Sub-Saharan, the soil is compressed and losses water which leads to the drying out and crusting of plants. By using mulching it helps stops moisture from traveling up through the soil, and leaving behind the dissolved minerals as a crust which would have blocked the plants from growing to the surface. Mulches also provide food for earth worms. â€Å"Earthworms are a valuable resource in the garden, Earthworms tunnel deep into the soil allowing air and water to easily reach plant roots†( mulchingaround).By mulch attracting earthworms plants are able to obtain water and oxygen easier which allows the soi l to become richer and grow faster, which is exactly what the soil in the Sub-Saharan needs. Mulching helps improve food security by allowing plants and vegetables in the Sub-Saharan to grow at a faster rate which can be harvested and available more to different parts of the region. Tons of waste is generated through Africa and usually ends up in wastelands or turned into open dumps. Composting is an easy way of getting rid of waste in the Sub-Saharan and at the same time helping the environment. Composting is to fertilize with a mixture of decaying organic matter. †(Dictionary). Compost decomposes all the organic material and creates soil. By creating soil, it allows for a lot more room to plant and grown food making it widely available and easy to access. . â€Å"Small-scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire African continent can improve yields by up to 100% through combining fertilizer micro dosing and manures application†( New Farming Techniques Help Impr ove Food Security). By adding different types of compost together farmers in the Sub-Saharan can help improve soil and plant growth by 00%, this percentage can drastically help improve food security all over the African region by using organic materials to help create compost. By using compost, Africa’s plant growth can improve by enriching the soil that it gets its nutrients from. â€Å"Compost also has the benefit of adding organic matter to the soil†( The New Vision for Agriculture: Transforming agriculture through collaboration). By adding organic material to soil it gives it the nutrients it needs to grow faster and helps contain water. There have also been new methods of composting called a â€Å"Compost toilet†. Composting toilets are toilet systems which treat human waste by composting and dehydration to produce a useable end-product that is a valuable soil additive†( What is a Composting Toilet? ). Compost toilets allow waste entering the toilet t o be evaporated into the atmosphere through the vent leaving amount of soil to be used as a natural fertilizer. As helpful as compost toilets are they are quite expensive which makes it harder for Sub-Saharan to use and can slowly but surely improve the food security issue. Crop rotation in sub-Saharan Africa isn’t anything new and has been allowing a more diverse roup of foods to grow which expands the choice of food. â€Å"A crop rotation is a series of different crops planted in the same field following a defined seasonal order† (merriam-webster). There is a wide diversity of cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa. â€Å"A three years' trial was held in a farmers' field in Ghana to study the effect of sole crops â€Å"crops that are grown alone† compared to conventional crop rotation†( Magdoff). The studies showed that crop rotation allowed a faster growing and more diverse choice of food by using crop rotation. Through rotations, labor is educed and b etter distributed throughout the year allowing for a more organized labor structure. â€Å"Crop rotation can also balance the production of residues by alternating crops that produce few and or short-lived residues†(Toensmeier). This allows a lesser amount residues left over and allows them to be removed. With more residue removed it easier to grow more plants as well. â€Å"Many crops may have positive effects on succeeding crops in the rotation, leading to greater production overall†(Kroeck). Because of the positives effects of crop rotation sub-Saharan Africa has made it one of its number one food security support methods.By allowing greater production crop rotation allows for better access to food and availability which increase the amount of food security in the Sub-Saharan and other counties. There are many different reasons why Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from low food security one of them being the effect of greenhouse gases on the environment. â€Å"Greenhouse gas emissions per person from urban waste management activities are greater in sub-Saharan African countries than in other developing countries, and are increasing as the population becomes more urbanized†( waste management through composting in Africa). As Africa becomes more rbanized the waste becomes greater and harder to contain. The waste from greenhouse gasses effects the agriculture making it hard to grow food, which lowers its food security even more. Climate change also plays a huge role in agriculture. â€Å"African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of their dependence on rain fed agriculture, high levels of poverty†(Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture). Because of the ever changing climate and the dependence on rain, it makes agriculture hard to become fully sufficient, if the crops aren’t getting enough rain and minerals needed.Manpowered labor is a necessity in increasing food security through agriculture. â€Å"It is to be expected that the HIV/AIDS epidemic will cause serious damage to the agriculture sector in those countries, especially in countries that rely heavily on manpower for production. †( V. IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE). Because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic many farmers and workers have become ill and unable to produce crops which leads to declining yields and agriculture production. The reduction of production because of HIV/AIDS in Africa has led to food insecurity. After researching the food security situation in sub-Saharan Africa and food security in ther countries the research shows that they cannot improve if more attention and support is not given to agriculture development. By using crop rotation, mulching and composting, farmers can cultivate their farms and use the same plots in repeatedly. Crop rotation allows for a more diverse choice of food and greater production overall. Mulching conserves moisture and improves the fertility and health of the soil. Composting is used as a soil conditioner and natural fertilizer. One major benefit of these farming methods is that it allows people to stop using slash and burn cultivation.Agriculture can be the basis for solid and diversified economic growth. Works Cited 1. â€Å"Agriculture and Food Security | World Economic Forum – Agriculture and Food Security. † Agriculture and Food Security. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 2. â€Å"Compost. † Organics South Africa. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 3. â€Å"CSIRO. † Facing Africa's Food Security Challenges. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 4. Devereux, Stephen, and Simon Maxwell. Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa. London: ITDG, 2001. Print. 5. â€Å"Economist Intelligence Unit. † Global Food Security Index. N. p. , n. d.Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 6. â€Å"New Farming Techniques Help Improve Food Security. † New Farming Techniques Help Improve Food Security. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 7. â€Å"New Farming Techniques He lp Improve Food Security. † Solomon Times Online RSS. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 8. â€Å"SECTION I: SOIL COMPACTION-CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES. † Soil Compaction: Causes, Effects, and Control. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. 9. â€Å"Reusing Organic Solid Waste in Urban Farming in African Cities: A Challengefor Urban Planners. † Urban Agriculture in West Africa. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.

When Is It Important For Innovators To Protect Their Intellectual Essay

When Is It Important For Innovators To Protect Their Intellectual Property - Essay Example Any innovation or improvement calls for investment in terms of time, funds and labour. Protection of this property is necessary to ensure recognition of work and encourage economic, cultural and social progress. Protection for intellectual property leads to a healthy competition and enhances value and quality of products, thereby promoting economic growth by means of technological development and enriched cultural advancement. It opens fresh trade avenues and enhance standard of living. The governments have to act and ensure implementation of intellectual property system to sustain businesses in a theft free environment to enable steady growth (Sebban, Guy 2005). Intellectual property is the name given to any new product or design or process and creative work of art or literature. Any invention or innovation involves dedicated effort on the part of an inventor who spends long hours in research and development. In addition, a significant amount of expenditure is also incurred towards development of new and innovative products or designs. If not protected and free copying is allowed, the inventor or innovator would soon get de-motivated, bringing stagnation to further development. Thus, protection of intellectual property assumes paramount importance. Intellectual property protection is essential to all businesses to exploit their new ideas and articles in the market and prevent piracy and theft by others. All art works also need to be credited for their creativity to enhance cultural growth (Sebban, Guy 2005). The protection methods can be broadly classified as 'formal or institutional' and 'strategic'. Formal protection methods include patent, trade secret, trade mark, and copyright, while strategic methods cover agreements of confidentiality, secrecy, lead and complexity (Iandiorio, Joseph S 1995). In the subsequent paragraphs, we would discuss, in detail, two formal methods, namely, patent and copyright, and one strategic method, namely, confidentiality agreement, bringing out differences, merits and demerits of each. Patent A 'patent' is a grant from a country's government that provides security or protection to a new invention or innovation by an individual or a group (in case of a company) for a limited period of time, extending up to a maximum of 20 years (Richer, David L 2000). The grant gives the inventor, the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention covered under the patent (Berreth SP 1996). The patents can be divided as 'utility' or 'design' patents. Utility patents are granted to primarily protect an invention. The invention refers to any of the following (Iandiorio, Joseph S 1995):- A new process, machine and composition of matter or A new improvement in a process or machine or New and useful utilization of old machines or devices or New combination of old and well-known parts of machines or processes. Utility patents may further be classified as chemical (related to compounds), electrical (covering all electrical components and circuits), and general or mechanical (including gears, shafts, and propellers etc for motor engines and machines). Award of utility patents require implementation of a new and useful idea followed by presentation in some physical form. Design patents are also awarded to new ideas, however, these cover only appearance, that is, ornamental aspect of

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months Essay

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months - Essay Example The decisions will be important in determining one’s sexual health and the future. Studies have shown that realizing one’s HIV status helps take actions that will protect their health, as well as their partners and relatives. With respect to Sherman, a respected scholar on health issues, it is only through testing that one may realize as being positive, in such a situation the victim will seek medical intervention in time. People live healthy, long, and fulfilling lives upon getting the HIV test. It is important to safeguard your health once you get the HIV test regardless of whether you test negative or positive. According to the cdc website, knowing your HIV status makes one stronger than before. You also need to seek medical attention immediately you get or feel unwell. Many people do not realize the HIV virus is within them because they feel fine with no complications. HIV, however, will attack the T-cells or CD4 cells that defend the body against attacks. The attack of the cells leads to a weak immune system. If one gets the virus and does not seek medical treatment, it destroys many CD4 cells to the extent that body becomes weak and cannot fight even the slightest infections. In such a situation, the HIV virus graduates to AIDS. Go for the HIV test as often as possible. For those who get positive results, am sorry but you should seek medical treatment immediately. Cdc further stresses that, although there is no cure, proper medical care can control the virus. Please go for the HIV tests to avoid the saying of â€Å"I wish I knew.† It is important to maintain every part of our bod y in the right state of health. According to Womenhealth.org, getting an HIV test will prevent health complications that may exceed your financial abilities in future. It will make you honest to your own feelings. The virus spreads even in unthinkable ways. HIV spreads through some simple means which people may tend to neglect or

Remedies to Reduce Causes of Unproductive Conflict Essay

Remedies to Reduce Causes of Unproductive Conflict - Essay Example This essay stresses that  the manager of the store, Janice, never delegates responsibilities, and does not communicate policies from the corporate headquarters. There is also an unfair distribution of merit bonuses, which reflects discrimination at the workplace. This indicates poor communication, poor delegation of responsibilities, and unfairness at the workplace which cause high level of conflict at the workplace.  According to the report findings  to reduce the causes of conflict, it is important to delegate responsibilities effectively and given junior managers an opportunity to participate in decision making. This can be achieved by providing supportive infrastructure and power structure. In terms of supportive infrastructure, the company should encourage good budgeting approach, confidentiality, value alignment, top management support, and effective feedback mechanism. The power structure should also be improved to include delegated power, disbursed decision making, and collaborative task performance.  The problem experienced at Main Street Bakeries, store seventy-five is that the top management is not supportive. Janice fails to provide fair bonuses and support at the workplace. The changes made are not communicated, and employees fail to understand the need for such changes.  Supportive infrastructure should be developed to resolve this problem. The upper management should develop values and virtues that guide responsibilities in every organizational level.

Project management- reflection and development Essay

Project management- reflection and development - Essay Example Project management ensures successful completion of a project while meeting the constraints of time, cost and quality. It brings together the resources needed to complete the project which includes the project members’ technical skills, interpersonal capabilities, collaborative efforts, material facilities like information systems, and funding. The main task of project managers is to choose appropriate PM tools to make the project work advance efficiently, assess project information and supervise project team activities (Hill 56). Project management focuses on the completion of the project’s life cycle that includes initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing of the project. If these main phases are broken down into detailed ones, then, as asserted by Lock (9), the project’s life cycle includes original concept, feasibility study, business plan, risk assessment, public enquiry, authorization, organization, planning, design, procurement, fulfillment, test, handover, economic life, and disposal. Project management makes sure that each and every of these phases are properly dealt with. However, in this report, I will discuss the main phases of project management. Technical and interpersonal skills both combine to take care of project parameters which include specifications (quality), budget (cost), and schedule (time) (Haynes 7). According to Haynes (7), â€Å"a successfully managed project is one that is completed at the specified level of quality, on or before the de adline, and within budget.† Technical skills, which are the project-task-related skills, are a pre-requisite for the project management phases. For the team members and the project member, alongside possessing required educational qualifications, it is important to be fully equipped with the necessary information and guidelines that will lead the project toward completion. Knowledge about the latest tools and equipment, hardware and software, and the

Hispanic Population in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hispanic Population in the United States - Essay Example Hispanic, from the Latin word for "Spain," has the broader reference, potentially encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasizing the common denominator of language among communities that sometimes have little else in common. One of the natural causes which attribute to the increase in the Hispanic population in the United States is the fertility rate in the Hispanic women which is 2.4- higher than the national rate of 2.1, which also represents the natural replacement level. The Hispanic baby boom is transforming the demographics of small-town America in a dramatic way. Similarly, while the number of live births per 1,000 Hispanic women is 96, the total U.S. rate is only 64.2, or more than 30 points lower. The Census Bureau's 1990 data report 22.3 million Hispanics. By 2003, that number increased to 39.9 million. To put it short, one can say that births fuel the growth of Hispanic population. In fact, the number of births is outpacing immigration as the key source of growth. This natural increase, which is also because of the fact that the number of births is more than the number of deaths, is quickening because they are younger than the US population as a whole. According to research reports, currently , 34.1 percent of Hispanics are younger than 18(compared with 25.1 percent of the total U.S. population). This has created a scenario where the Hispanics are having an impact that far outlasts their initial entry into the country. Immigration Another significant cause for this staggering growth of Hispanic population in the United States of America is quite obvious. It is nothing but immigration. Immigration has always been a cause for the growth of population in general, but the degree is higher in the case of Hispanic population. The United States of America has been the dream place for many people outside the US to live in since God knows when! And the Hispanics are no exception. The Hispanic immigration has its origin in the year 1942 with Braccro Program, a secret government project that was designed to quell the labor shortage caused by the Second World War. When the War was finished and the work completed, some people continued to stay in America. This population eventually multiplied and now the result is not very impressive. In fact America is a place occupied mostly by immigrants than the natives. The doors of America are open to almost everyone who would like to relocate. The most crowded of all the communities that have immigrated to America, is the Hispanic community. The Hispanic minority is perhaps the largest in America numbering 41.3 million at last count and is expected to constitute the majority by the year 2030. Availability of better jobs There are many reasons as to why people choose America and the myriad of employment opportunities is one of them. There is a job available to every Tom, Dick and Harry ranging from hauling goods, driving trucks and working in factories for meager

The effects of ergonomics, health and safety on productivity in hotels Dissertation

The effects of ergonomics, health and safety on productivity in hotels - Dissertation Example The current economic climate in Ireland poses many challenges for businesses entities in the country. Many have had to reduce costs drastically. One of the highest costs for any employer is staffing and a reduction in staff numbers has become the main criteria for cutting costs. With a reduced number of employees and a larger work-load, a high level of labour productivity is essential. Some may argue that the level of productivity from an employee depends on their attitude towards the job, the job rewards, and the way in which a manager motivates the employee, all of which have been proven to be true. But today, employers are under more pressure to ensure that maximum level of productivity is achieved which necessitates finding new ways to achieve this. Fraser, 1994, makes a point that the level of work productivity depends on basic human abilities, enhanced by education, training, selection, and direction. Education and training transform an individual’s basic abilities into skills. Selection and direction ensure that these skills are matched to the most appropriate tasks. But if the tasks, the working environment and job factors are not suited to the worker, the resulting mismatch can lead to poor work quality, worker fatigue, and reduced productivity. Traditionally, projects focusing on the improvement of working environment were based on energy-saving. ... Productivity can be defined as â€Å"output to the labour hours used in the production of that output† (Bureau of Labour Statistics). In more simplified terms, it is a measurement of work produced within a given time. Attention to productivity levels is particularly important in Ireland as the cost of labour is very high in comparison to other countries. Hotel managers must ensure that the high rate of pay is justified. An emphasis on productivity in hotels over the past few years with the economic decline has meant that employees have had to work harder and some employees have lost their jobs. An article by James R. Brown of Cornell University suggests that a hotel's size, its service orientation, its ownership arrangement, and its management arrangement affect productivity. His research also found that large hotels use their labour more productively and generate the most income from their capital investments. Upscale hotels are inclined to be more productive than mid-market hotels, while hotels operated by branded management companies use their capital and labour resources more efficiently than do hotels operated independently or by independent management companies. Finally, company owned properties tend to employ their labour more productively than do franchised hotels. (Brown, 1999). Currently hotels in Ireland are focusing on reducing labour costs while maintaining sales. Concentrating on the reduction of labour costs as a percentage of sales may achieve short term productivity targets but can also jeopardise long term viability due to the erosion of service standards. Poor service affects customer satisfaction, which in turn influences sales and

Jerusalem Today Essay Example for Free

Jerusalem Today Essay Three criminals were crucified today, including the rabble-rouser Jesus Christ, who has been instigating a great deal of controversy of late. After months of hotly contested debate, the execution was eagerly awaited by the priests and the people, notwithstanding Jesus’ many followers. Despite Jesus’ proclamations, speeches, and promises, God did not come to save him. The suspect was arrested in Gethsemane following dinner and charged with claiming to be the â€Å"King of Jews. Sources at the scene said that during his final dinner with his disciples, Jesus shocked everyone present by announcing, â€Å"I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me† (MAT 26:21). These sources revealed that Jesus believed his betrayer would be a man named Judas Iscariot, who promptly left the table. Judas appears to have felt great remorse for his alleged betrayal, hanging himself before morning. Jesus was quickly brought before the high priest Caiaphas to be accused. After much debate, the priests decided to bring him to the governor to confer a sentence of death upon him. Jesus was brought before the governor Pontius Pilate who deferred to the will of the people and sentenced him to be crucified. The thief Barabbas, who was also arrested, was granted a reprieve at the people’s request. When asked to comment, former disciple Peter denied Jesus, claiming to have no knowledge. Two thieves and Jesus Christ were taken to the â€Å"Place of the Skulls† for execution. Jesus was dressed in a purple robe for the journey; however, he was stripped at the scene. Once he was placed on the cross, he was treated to a great deal of mocking and derision from bystanders. After six hours, Jesus said his final words, â€Å"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? † (â€Å"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? †), and succumbed to his injuries. He was stabbed through the side to ensure he had reached his final rest and his body ran with blood and water. He is to be buried in a private tomb at the request of his disciples. Sources inside the Pilate government had no immediate comment. Interviews â€Å"I try not to think about it,† Nicole Canter said after being asked what she thought of the current economic crisis. â€Å"I mean, it just makes my stomach queasy. The 22-year-old Santa Ana resident works as a waitress at two local restaurants. A republican, Nicole was hesitant to blame the situation on former President Bush, but admitted that there were clearly areas that could have been improved. â€Å"It’s affecting everyone,† she said. â€Å"I still have a job, but my hours have been cut and business is poor in general. † Nicole worries that when she finishes college, there won’t be any jobs for her to take, but hasn’t followed any of the activity of President Obama but has hope that â€Å"someone will do something. † She just wants to see an improvement and isn’t picky about where it comes from. I hope for the best,† she said, â€Å"and I try not to imagine the worst. † At age 72, Geoffrey Simonson should be set for life after a lifetime of saving for his retirement. But he’s worried that his investments won’t last long enough now that the economy has fallen. â€Å"My portfolio has lost 40% of its value. It makes me very angry. † When asked what he thinks caused the crisis, Geoffrey is quick to excuse Bush. â€Å"It was a lack of oversight by congress,† he says, claiming that under President Clinton, the democrats passed the Glass Steigel Act which only made the problem worse. The democratic majority had the opportunity to police the banks but they didn’t and instead took big ‘donations’ to look the other way. † His frustration is obvious, and his anger at the democrats â€Å"passing the buck† onto Bush is evident as well. â€Å"[Bush] was not the problem,† he insists. As for how the situation is affecting him, â€Å"Well, my son lost his job and had to move to Dallas so I can’t see him or my grandkids anymore. † His sadness is apparent. Many of his neighbors and friends have lost their job along with his son. The economy is a mess right now,† he concedes, â€Å"but Bush didn’t do it. † After the rescuing of the banking and automotive industry, Geoffrey believes the administration is hemorrhaging money at a huge cost to the children. â€Å"Spiraling inflation is imminent. Hopefully they make some changes soon that make sense. † That’s all anybody can ask for. Fullerton resident Charles Gothart, 42, lost his job as a marketing manager last April and has not been able to find a new one. â€Å"It’s been over a year and it’s discouraging. I have some savings, but my capital is dwindling. It’s a tough market. Charles blames the current economy on a â€Å"catastrophe of management† on the part of the Bush administration, naming late intervention, poor credit management by the banks and the people, and the fact that the banks were not only allowing people to live beyond their means, but encouraging it. â€Å"I was downsized after fourteen years on the job. They’re being brutal, cutting all the way across the board. Sad to see. † Charles worries daily about the market and the economy. â€Å"I’ve lost about 20%, not as bad as some, but that doesn’t include my pension which has taken a bruta l hit. The measures that Obama has passed haven’t done nearly enough, he’s following in Bush’s footsteps. † As for how he feels, Charles’ anger emanates from him. But he hasn’t completely given up hope. â€Å"Obama’s still new, maybe something will change. † We can only hope. â€Å"Life on disability is always hard, but lately, it’s been worse. † 36-year-old Huntington Beach resident, Catherine Rigley is gloomy. â€Å"Living on a fixed income is always frustrating, but now I can’t even supplement it with outside work. There just isn’t a market. † Catherine blames the poor policy making on the part of the Bush government and the lack of regulation in the banking industry. â€Å"They should have intervened sooner, they just should have. Although,† she concedes, â€Å"they probably would have done the wrong thing anyway. † After months of escalating unemployment, Catherine’s sister, boyfriend and mother all lost their jobs. â€Å"I can’t be laid off, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect me. † Catherine admits to being scared about the return of the economy, believing it’s going to take awhile. I don’t think they’re doing enough for the unemployment rate. † But they have made some positive steps. Catherine has hope that things will turn around. â€Å"It all depends on the markets; when they do better we do better. Let’s just hope they start doing better. † Caregivers never make enough money, but when you add a faltering economy, you create a tenuous position for the largely under appreciated part of the workforce. Darlene Tonter, 56, a Fountain Valley resident, has worked as a caregiver for the past 25 years and recently lost her job due to a client’s death. After having a difficult time finding new employment, Darlene found herself expressing her frustration with the Bush administration. â€Å"The economy is always a mess when a republican is in office. Always has been, always will be. † Her daughter has also lost her job. â€Å"Denise has been unemployed for nearly six months and hasn’t gotten an interview yet. She’s really good and has wonderful recommendations, but there are a lot of people who are willing to work for less. † She shrugged her shoulders, a tear running from her eye. â€Å"I hope the stimulus works, I hope something works. † She sighs heavily. â€Å"I just want to feel secure again. †

Growth Rate Flattens Essay Example for Free

Growth Rate Flattens Essay The reality of software development in a huge company like Microsoft – it employs more than 48,000 people – in that a substantial portion of your work involves days of boredom punctuated by hours of tedium. You basically spend your time in an isolated office, writing code and sitting in meetings during which you participated in looking for and evaluating hundreds of bugs and potential bugs. Yet Microsoft has no problem in finding and retaining software programmers. Their programmers work horrendously long hours and obsess on the goal of shipping product. From the day new employees begin work at Microsoft; they know they’re special and that their employer is special. New hires all have one thing in common- they’re smart. The company prides itself on putting all recruits through a grueling â€Å"interview loop,† during which they confront a barrage of brain-teasers by future colleagues to see how well they think. Only the best and the brightest survive to become employees. The company does this because Microsofties truly believe that their company is special. For instance, it has a high tolerance for nonconformity. Would you believe that one software tester comes to work every day dressed in extravagant Victorian outfits? But the underlying theme that unites Microsofties is the belief that the firm has a manifest destiny to change the world. The least consequential decision by a programmer can have an outsized importance when it can affect a new release that might be used by 50 million people. Microsoft employees are famous for putting in long hours. One program manager said, â€Å"In my first five years, I was the Microsoft stereotype. I lived on caffeine and vending machine hamburger and 20 hour workdays. †¦. I had no life. I considered everything outside the building as a necessary evil.† More recently, things have changed. There are still a number of people, who put in 80 hours weeks, but 60 and 70 hours weeks are more typical and some even are doing their jobs in only 40 hours. No discussion of employee life at Microsoft would be complete without mentioning the company’s lucrative stock option program. Microsoft created more millionaire employees, faster, than any company in American history- more than 10,000 by the late 1990s. While the company is certainly more than a place to get rich, executives still realize that money matters. One former manager claims that the human resources’ department actually kept a running chart of employee satisfaction versus the company’s stocks prices. â€Å"When the stock was up, human resources could turn off the ventilation and everybody would say they were happy. When the stock was down, we could give people massages and they would tell us that the massages were too hard.† In the go-go 1990s, when Microsoft stock was doubling every few months and yearly stock splits were predictable, employees not only got to participate in Microsoft’s manifest destiny, they could get rich in the process. By the spring of 2002, with the world in a recession, stock prices down and the growth for Microsoft products slowing, it wasn’t so clear what was driving its employees to continue the company’s dominance of software industry.

How Celebrity Culture Affects Society Cultural Studies Essay

How Celebrity Culture Affects Society Cultural Studies Essay As we can see that today, the news about celebrities is full on all kind of media. They appear on all kind of communication media from printed media: newspapers, magazines, to television and online media like internet. It can be said that we are living in the century of media innovation together with the development of celebrity culture. For many years ago, if some child was asked about his dream, it would be teacher, pilot, or lawyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ however, today, most of the answers will be to be famous. It is just only one of many impact of celebrity culture on us or even our generation. The significant development of celebrity industry also contributes on those effects. As people see how easy to be or to do something, they will consider it a target to achieve. This is absolutely right with the many ones dream to become celebrities. Furthermore, when the celebrity content becomes daily, it also effects on all of us, especially the young. Their life styles, their behaviorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are often imitated. They are the reasons why I choose this topic: celebrity culture. Of course it a very wide topic to do research, so I decide to narrow it and concentrate on the reason and how does celebrity culture affect our behaviors. I determined my three objectives: 1. To examine the rising tide celebrity culture on newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet. 2. To explain why many people want to be celebrities. 3. To research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour Section B: Analysis of Findings Objective 1: To examine the rising tide celebrity culture in newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet Together with the media explosion, celebrity culture has become a rising tide on all field of communication industry. Moreover, celebrity content has been foundation to the news of media in the recent century. From the nightly television programmes to mass market magazines to the online edition of newspapers, celebrity news has proved its efficiency to attract attention and to impulse consumption (G.Turner, 2010). In the past, celebrity news might have been limited to a specific range of television outlets and print, it is now a sort of content that can be found right across the media series. The development of new media has leading new ways of introducing, producing and consuming celebrity while online magazines and news which are especially grown as an additional form of the tendency print media has also had an expansive effect (G.Turner 2010). According to Robert van Krieken (2010) said in his article, celebrity which is usually seen as a frothy and unreal topic is also a measure of how superficial contemporary culture has become. However, the celebrity production industry has never ever significantly developed like it today. Also, there is no signal that the limits of the spread of celebrity culture have been reached (G.Turner, 2010). The continuously operating apparatus of celebrity industry along with the growth of digital media has made them the perfect partners who contribute in the expansion of each other. The production of reality TV shows, the rise of Idol, Master Chef, Australias got Talent and others take us to a point that all television formats are produced depending on exploiting people interest in the chance to become a celebrity (G.Turner 2010). It is the celebrity industry which first creates celebrity through the process called celebritisation (G.Turner 2010). For example, the reality TV shows like Idol that many contestants try to express themselves to be recognised through the performance process. This is one among many TV shows which offer people the opportunity to prove themselves to become famous. That is a very first step of the process of transformation (G.Turner 2010). Then, the expansion of digital media the producers and distributors of content through printed and electronic forms magazines, newspapers, television, and now with the development of the various kinds of on-line media would help the celebrities to hold their fame (G.Turner 2010). Those all contribute in the fact that news of celebrities is now full of magazines, newspaper, internet and other kinds of media. William Shakespeare wrote All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players. It is true for movie stars and TV hosts and other celebrities who are famous for being famous (W.Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1600). Objective 2: To explain why many people want to be celebrities It is obvious that the development and efficiency of the media machine help to create a celebrity easier. That means many peoples dreams now easier to be real. Especially, the growth of the reality TV shows make people have more opportunity to appear on TV. Therefore, there are a lot of celebrities who are production of this type of celebrity production industry. A phenomenon called Susan Boyle is an example. A 47-year-old single woman has been the worldwide star just after only one appearance on TV. She had sung the song I dreamed a dream in the TV show Britains got talent (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Then it was like her dream come true when the video of her performance got more than 100 millions views on YouTube. After that, her first album I Dreamed a Dream sold more copies than any others. The story named Susan Boyle like a fairy tale has spread over the world about a talent woman and how easy to become a celebrity (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Furthermore, if someone is the winner in a show, wi th the support of many kinds of media, he could become a celebrity without doubt. What seems to come next to fame? It is wealthy. Statistics show that actors can be paid nearly $US20 million for making a single film (S.Bunbury 2009). But it is not the only source of their income. They are also paid to appear on advertising or to represent a brand. For many years, Australian celebrities efforts are trying to sell us things like hair replacement, air-conditioning, alcoholic drinks, house-and-land packages and fast food. Sarah Murdoch hustles for undies; Gwyneth Paltrow endorses cosmetics; Celine Dion used to represent a car company, Bruce Willis hawks vodka (C.Middendorp 2010). Hence, they can earn millions of dollar from these advertised campaigns (C.Middendorp 2010). Another example is Kylie Minogue who is a famous singer in Australia. She is also known as actress, childrens book author, underwear designer and perfumer. As a result, her net wealth in 2006 is approximately $55 million, according to James Thomson-the editor of BRWs Entertainer Rich List (D.Ziffer, L .Dubecki 2006). However, the obvious prices that most of them have to pay for the fame are their own privacy. The fact is that the celebrities always use media for their self-promotion. So, some people argue that it is unfair for them when the media reports some thing which they want to keep secret. Nevertheless, other said that celebrities take advantage from media to create the ideal figures of them no matter how inaccurate they are, so it has right to tell the truth (B. Haywood 2004). Therefore, some famous celebrities are always followed by the paparazzi and their privacy is exposed on magazines, newspapers. Objective 3: To research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour It is obvious that in a society that is obsessed by media and celebrity culture, celebrities have a great impact on everyone. From fashion trends to life style or political views, peoples behaviours, interests and beliefs are strongly affected by celebrities. Furthermore, these celebrity-culture-obsessions usually begin at an early age, therefore, other than adults, teenagers and children are most impressed. They often think of famous people as role model and try to become those figures (C. Shaffer, 2010). For example, there was a research done by the UK research organisation YouGov in 2005 which surveyed a group 800 of 16-19-year-age young people (Cassidy 2006). It showed that 10% of teenagers would leave school to appear on TV if they had opportunity. Sixteen in 100 of them believed they could find success through celebrity industry. Meanwhile, 9% think being famous is the best way to achieve wealthy without qualifications. The positive affects of celebrities are social and environmental effects. Many environmental topics and issues such as global warming, wildlife animal protectionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ could approach the publicity thanks to the celebrities. Tom Hanks, Al Gore, and Leonardo DiCaprio strongly believe in living green lifestyle (C. Shaffer, 2010). These advocacy-celebrities can positively influence people as they would live more eco-friendly and do good thing for environment protection. Furthermore, many celebrities campaigns concerning social issues like charity, helping poor people, HIVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ also have good impacts on people recognition. One example is that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had adopted 3 orphans from different countries (Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam). However, the bad effects also be accompanied by the good effects. The public, with so much exposure to celebrities, could strongly be influenced by their behaviour or even misbehaviour. The fact is that people are imitated by the behaviour associating with success and fame. So, that is the reason why they can have impacts on people, especially the young. Meanwhile, young celebrities can easily affect young people. However, two thirds of 1,007 people in a weekend USA Today Poll believe Hollywood stars are no more likely to get into trouble than other young people (K. Thomas, 2007). Paris Hilton and Linsay Lohan are example. Both of them had to go to jail because of using drugs and driving when they got drunk. Other scandals of the young celebrities concerning with sex, drugs, drunk, clubs, partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are exposed daily on many kinds of media. Hence, the downgrading lifestyles of celebrities are seriously affects on young people in general and the next generation in particu lar. No parents want those bad figures to become their childrens role but they could find no way to get rid of their effects. Section C: Self-evaluation Research skills/Procedure Actually, at first, I choose the topic concerning with technology because it seems to be hot and there are plenty of articles and books writing about it. However, I decided the topic celebrity culture because I found I am interesting in it. It is just because of my habit to go online and read news everyday. I was not sure there are any research or articles concerning with this topic, but I had finally chosen what I am interesting in not others are. After the hardest work- choosing topic, I have to determine how I could approach it. I focused on how does celebrity culture affect our behavior, with three objectives: to examine the rising tide celebrity culture on newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet; to evaluate the cost to be a celebrity; to research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour. However, on the process I did the research, I had to change my second objective to to explain why many people want to be celebrities, which seems to be more suitable to my way of approaching the topic. Unfortunately, I could not find any printed resource in Taylors library which could help my research. So, I had to find everything on the Internet. I used google.com and others scholar website on Study Smart to find most of my references and articles. Oral communication skills In the oral presentation, I have chosen to talk about my two first objectives. I think I did well in the oral presentation. I had done this many times before so I did not feel nervous any more when standing in front of crowed. Furthermore, I also control my body language well. I used the outline on cue cards and the power point for my presentation. I did not learn it by heart because I wanted to make it as naturally as I could. Hence, I received good comments from the teacher about those skills. He also commented well about my tied-up-point. Actually, I came to my mind when I was on tram to school. However, I need to improve my pronunciation and concentrate more on plural endings. Also, because I did not practice my presentation enough time, so I was overtime- 8 minutes. So, I have to practice more to improve my English in general and my pronunciation in particular. I also have to learn to handle the time allowed in next time I do presentation. Organisational skills At first, I found it not too hard to meet the deadlines. Because most of my resources for the research project are from Internet, so it was easy for me to collect everything. Then, the hardest and most time-consuming step is to read all of them and classify which articles; journalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are suitable for which objective. Unfortunately, I was sick and absent 3 days from school, so, I could not hand in the second objective on time. Therefore, I did really hard to catch up with other friends and the deadlines also. From this part, I have learnt a lot about time management: to arrange work, to do the schedule, to catch upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. I think this very important for my future study in university. Also, this is the first time I write the reference list, so I found it is quite difficult. I had to do it many times and asked the teacher to make sure that I was on the right way. Thanks to him, I could finally finish it. Now I feel more confidence to write the reference list next time. To sum up, I have learnt many new things when doing this research project. They are not only academic, but also social and communicational skills: to do the oral presentation, to manage time, to arrange work, to write a report, to do a bibliography, to overcome unexpected problemsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Those skills are always important in both my study and my life in future. Section D: Reference List Elliott, T. 2010, Celebrity is a growth industry, The Age, 29 May, viewed 01 August 2010, . Bunbury, S. 2009, Like a prayer: Celebrities and religion, The Age, 07 April, viewed 01 August 2010, . Shaffer, C. 2010, How do celebrities influence people?, eHow Contributor, 28 June, viewed 01 August 2010, Cadwalladr, C. 2010, Celebrity: The sadness of Susan Boyle, The Advertiser, 26 June. Funnel, N. 2010, Responsibility goes with the celebrity, The Age, 21 June. Haywood, B. 2004, The Price of Fame, The Age, 08 November. McDonald, B., Loughlan, K. 2010, Fame is like the real thing, Sydney Morning Herald, 06 May. Middendorp, C. 2010, Celebrity may earn millions in ads, but look decidedly cheap, The Age, 14 January, p.15. Thomas, K. 2007, Young Hollywood: What has gotten into them?, USA Today, 06 June. Ziffer, D., Dubecki, L. 2006, What next for Kylie?, The Age, 09 December. Turner, G. 2010, Approaching celebrity studies in Celebrity Studies, Volume 1, p.11 20.

Faulkners A Rose for Emily Essay -- American Literature William Faulk

1. - Theme. 2. - Conflicts, tensions and ambiguity. 3. -Symbolism. 4. - Narrative elements: point of view, tone and narrative structure. 1. - Theme. The main theme of the Faulkner's short story is the relationship between the past and present in Emily Grierson, the protagonist. She did not accept the passage of time throughout all her life, keeping everything she loved in the past with her. The story shows Emily's past and her family story. This information explains her behaviour towards time. Firstly, her father's lack of desire to move on into the future and his old-fashioned ways kept Emily away from the changing society and away from any kind of social relationship: "None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such."(pp. 123). "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away." (pp124) Emily accepted this imposed role as a recluse in her own house and a woman dependent on one male figure, her father. When he died, Emily did not allow taking the corpse to the authorities. She did not want to admit her father's death. After his funeral, Emily kept herself away from changing time in her house until she met Homer Barron. They started to date and she even thought about marriage, but when he tried to leave her, she poisoned him and maintained his dead body for years in order to keep him by her side, away from the passing of time. But at the end, after many years of attempting to defeat time, Miss Emily felt victim of it. She met the same fate as her father and Homer Barron. Throughout the short story "A Rose for Emily", time is a continuous theme represented by the character of Emily Grierson, a product of her own environment, who rejected the time's changes into the future. 2.... ...ver, in the first and fifth sections the chronological order is a complete mess, moving from present to past and vice versa. Finally, to sum up, "A Rose for Emily" is a very complex short story which could be analysed from many different points of view and by different theories of literary criticism. For example, a psychoanalytic analysis would study the mental illness of Emily, or the feminist criticism would analyse how Emily spent all her life depending on male figures. Although, I have chosen the new critical method because it offers a very close analysis of the text and because makes possible the appreciation of the great variety of literary recourses which Faulkner used in "A Rose for Emily". Works Cited Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy. New York: Harpers Collins, 1991.

Using Technology to Cope with Terrorism :: War Terror Essays

Using Technology to Cope with Terrorism Each one of us has our own unique story of where we were when we learned of the attack on the World Trade Center towers. It’s a story we’ve told to friends and a story we’ll continue to tell as this event transforms from a living reality to a historical one. Some were awoken by roommates, others informed by colleagues passing through the hall, and others happened to turn on the television and watch with horror as the World Trade Center towers burned and finally collapsed. As word spread, though, Americans became united in their need to know exactly what had happened. We turned on the television, we paused to listen to radios filtering out of cars, we visited Internet news sources again and again, clutching and grasping for facts, hoping that some sort of clarity would calm us. Hour after hour we sat by the television trying to make sense of it all. Unconfirmed reports were treated as facts by frantic news anchors, sketchy reports of hijacking were announced and t hen confirmed. The news changed by the minute. A nation in shock began calling loved ones across the country, just to check in and to share the horror together. Cell phone networks were inoperable in many areas of the country, not just in New York. Web-traffic became so congested that viewing CNN’s web page became virtually impossible. We used these fleeting news sources as a way to grasp reality. But for many it didn’t become a reality until we saw it the way our parents and grandparents had in years past; black and white banner headlines announcing the tragedy in a format that couldn’t be refreshed, revised, or corrected. It was permanent, and it was true. The unimaginable had happened. And for those of us outside of New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. we used the technology around us to begin to comprehend. Trying to understand what it was like when the building collapsed, we listened to and read countless witness testimonies. Though weary with despair we felt that it was our duty to experience the agony of watching the collision and the collapse over and over again, as if we could alleviate some of the New Yorkers’ suffering by taking some of it on as our own. We watched around-the-clock coverage from ground zero; we contributed to discussion boards and listservs on the Internet, we held countless discussions among family members and friends.

“Forrest Gump” Film Review Essay

Forrest Gump, a movie that not only informs the audience and the people who interact with Forrest, about the life of a very simple man (Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks). It also teaches morals and the way life is perceived in the beautiful mind of a simple man. Forrest Gump, throughout the movie narrates the story whilst he is sitting at a bus stop telling the people who sit next to him about his past experiences in his life (the storyline and set up of the movie). Most of the people waiting for their bus aren’t convinced and don’t believe Forrest and his stories, how he met Jenny Curran, his first ever real friend who ends up marrying him, how he met Bubba (played by Mykelti Williamson) and became the richest shrimp operator in America with Lt. Dan Taylor, his Lieutenant in the Vietnam War and how he was the Pin Pong champion for the army. The movie and stories told by Forrest all interact with events which actually occurred and impacted on the American society.The special effects in Forrest Gump are used uniquely and widely throughout the movie. One of the most creative effects used in movies which when used appropriately can have an entire different effect on the movie. There was great use of special effects when Forrest throughout the movie meets several presidents of America which some have been assassinated, with the use of special effects it enables and makes the audience think that Forrest was in that time period and able to meet them in person. A technique that is used to show emotions or reactions of characters which is used throughout Forrest Gump. Close Ups are used to give brief explanations of the way the character thinks, feels, etc. It makes the audience feel the emotions created by the character at the time/place. It also gives them a perspective of the characters character/personality. This technique is used when Forrest is a young boy and he is getting his leg braces on. There is a Close Up of his face showing the pain he is being put through in order for him to have a straight back when he is older. This Close Up makes the audience see and feel the pain Forrest is going through, it also shows that he is not a very physical/strong boy because he is not coping with the pain. A technique that is greatly used to create mood or atmosphere which can have a huge impact on the audiences view of the film. This technique is used greatly in Forrest Gump in order to set the time and place of specific  scenes. It is used in the opening scenes when there is a feather which is floating through the sky and around the city. There is music played while this is occurring, the music is soft, calm, basic and emotional which gives the audience the feel and setting of the movie. A technique which is used to involve the audience in the action of the movie so it gives them the feeling that they are involved in the specific scene. This technique is used throughout the movie especially when Forrest is a young boy and he begins to get chased by the class bullies. There is tracking used when the boys start to chase Forrest and Jenny tells Forrest to run and the camera follows him making it seem you are running with him. It shows the speed of Forrest as he is beating the boys who are on push bikes ands later on in the movie the scene is repeated but they are all older and they are chasing Forrest in a car and he still managers to get away. Bubba Forrest’s best friend, one of which is of the same intelligence as Forrest, both being simple minded people. They met in the army where their friendship formed. A man of his word, true to his family beliefs, growing up to one day own a shrimp boating business. Bubba is a man who has a goal and will do anything to succeed in what he hopes to achieve in, which contributes to the meaning of the film that as long as you stick to your goals you can achieve highly. Mrs GumpA woman who has a strong up bring amongst Forrest, she is very strong on her beliefs and will do anything for her son, which is shown in the movie. A woman of high intelligence, kind heart and willing to help people in need which is also shown throughout the movie. Lt. DanA man from a background of war torn history, which for him is a major thing to live up for. Being very angry with Forrest, who saves his life. Forrest is treated in a unique way, both being through hell and back together, which has built their friendship. Lt Dan is a very wise man and also strong on his beliefs and stands by his word, which is shown when he tells Forrest that he will join him on his shrimp boat. Forrest Gump can be portrayed in many different styles of films but it is mainly showing the beautiful mind of a simple man who is taken advantage of in many aspects of his life due to his simplicity and generosity, during the adventures and achievements he achieves throughout his life. In the movie he is portrayed a simple man who achieves in ways the normal man would not achieve which gives the message that anything is possible as long as you have a dream and continue to work at it. Another message is if you help people hopefully the favour will be returned as long as you stay a good, honest person. The director of the film Robert Zemeckis achieves these messages created by posting that feeling of isolation of society which Forrest receives but still managers to be a successful person.

Orphanage Essay

There are times in everyone life when the person introspects himself and wish to do something for the happiness and satisfaction of soul. I also had such moment and then a thought of doing something for the good cause evolved in me. I wanted to do something selflessly for someone and help the society which eventually will satiate my soul and give me peace. I joined an organization which helps poor children by providing them education and teach them to cope up with life as an orphan. Government provides them support but that is not enough. In my view, they need more care and a guide who can hold their hand and show them the right path. My part of betterment of society would include teaching computers to such students. I feel that computer education is necessary for everyone in current times and thus by utilizing my skills and utter dedication towards helping the needy people, I would teach them to stand face to face with the current technological needs. I am seriously excited about my involvement in the society. Helping someone selflessly and seeing that you can be of value to someone is truly satisfying. The thing which my soul is seeking is the happiness, the sparkle of achievement in the eyes of those children when they would gain knowledge and would be able to make their life worthwhile. Though, I am nervous too about the extent by what I will be able to provide what they seek from me. Every person has expectations and even those students would have some expectations from me. I wish to fulfill their expectations and want to support them and affect their lives in a positive way. This experience will help me too and give me a chance to explore the horizons of society. I would be able to expand my world and learn about my own limits by which I can be worth in a society. This would also give me a chance to experience the life, the experiences and everything what those orphans have faced. It would take me to their world which surely would make me a person who would be sensitive and would see the world in a better way. Journal Entry 2: Initial Reactions Thinking about volunteering and helping the needy people is one thing and helping in reality is a different world altogether. The expectations, the thoughts and the planning would help, but only to an extent as the things are totally different on paper and in actual. Before I started volunteering my thought was that I would just go and teach computers to the children and they would simply learn things as it happens in the school. Well, it did not happen this way. I was really shocked and amazed by the way things turned up. I never actually gave a thought that an orphanage is not a school and it is a different world where each child lives in his or her own mini world too. It is easy to deal with the children who came to orphanage when they were infants though, the children who came to orphanage after few years of start of their lives, it is really difficult and not a normal task. They all carry some emotional baggage which may be because of their past memories or the things which have happened in their lives before. Teaching them straight is not the way it was expected. It was like a challenge standing in front of me to connect myself emotionally to them and be their friend, which will help them be comfortable with me and learn what I intend to teach them. I needed to make a place for myself in their lives, their hearts and then have a connection which would act like a bridge between us. Journal Entry 3: Delving into the Culture An orphanage is a place where happiness is not seen a lot of times. The children are emotionally unsecure and always look for solace through someone or something. The children from different kinds of societies, regions and countries stay in orphanage. Again, this difference is inexistent in the children who came here when they were infants as whatever they learned has been through the orphanage only. But, there are some children who are from various parts of the world and who have different cultures imbibed in them since birth which cannot be washed easily. What I have felt is that the language of words is not important if you wish to connect with the students. It has never been a problem to me as children connect through emotions rather than words. Thus the language of feelings is more important than language of words. I have had experiences with teaching children who do not speak English, but still I was able to connect to them emotionally and helped them understand things which my language skills could not do. Yes, there are some limitations because of the language barriers but both children and me put efforts together and surpassed this limitation. The orphanage is a mini world where you would find children of different religions, regions and some students do carry their past life with them, which inculcates different culture in them. I as a person did not pay attention to the differences but the similarities and the factors which joined us as a person. This is the culture which I faced in the orphanage which I learned by seeing the children of different cast and creed joined by the hearts. This humanity, this innocence is what separates them from the real world outside this orphanage where people are ready to fight for their religion, their region and are busy in enmity to an extent that they don’t have time for love. I really felt happy that because of my volunteering and the thought of helping the society, I have seen different aspects of life and each day is a new experience for me. The organization which I have joined is the reason behind this chance which has changed my outlook towards the life. The organization is â€Å"One World 365† which helps people all over the world through its belief that a world can be a better place if we consider it to be ours and work towards joining hands rather than cutting them. It is a business group who has a huge volunteer group worldwide and helps the society by providing benefit options to the needy people. They are into this noble cause from past 25 years and have always been upfront to help the needy and serve the world. They have their supporters all over the world and people who volunteer are present in each major city in every country which is their actual power by which they stand tall. They have only one mission, â€Å"Unite the world and make it a better place†. They aim towards eradicating the geographical and religion differences in this world and helping the needy people by providing them with their needs. Since 25 years, they are putting complete efforts towards their goals and have achieved success each day to fulfill it. There are various projects running all over the world which help people in one way or the other. Each volunteer works selflessly and devote himself 100% towards the noble cause for the society. The best part about this NGO is that they do believe everyone as a part of their family. Each volunteer is their family and no one is a boss. We all are family members who are out there to help people with equality among us. This kind of environment has given each volunteer a sense of ownership and it enhances the dedication which we have and the motivation which makes us serve the society. Journal Entry 4: Health and Human Services I am really happy to join â€Å"One World 365† because I feel that their vision and beliefs are matching my visions and beliefs. I have always been thoughtful about overall development of the society and I think that if we need to make the world a better place to live in, we need to work from all of the directions so that no aspect of the world is left behind. In this world, there are three most important things which society needs to make the world a better place. First is food, which is important to stay alive. Second is education which would uplift the minds of each individual and thus the world as a whole. Third and last would be health. Each person needs proper health and medical assistance from time to time. There is nothing more important than being healthy; if you are not healthy, you cannot do anything else even if you intend to. My this belief is shared by â€Å"One World 365† fully and they have various health and well being programs all over the world which provides medical assistance, emergency services and guidance to people. They have affiliation with many hospitals all over the world who serve the society and the world by providing health care to the  needy people who are not able to get the assistance which they deserve. â€Å"One World 365† is a complete help oriented organization which provides medical services ranging from emergency services, critical illness treatments, organ donations, blood banks, epidemic services and medical schools. They serve the people by not just one way of treating them and providing medical assistance. They also provide education to the students who wish to become doctors, nurses and other medical technicians because it is very important to support the students who wish to help the needy and serve the people by providing them better health. Another very important aspect which the organization covers is the awareness and educating the society about health and medical issues. As per various reports, there are many myths about different illnesses and medical conditions in the world. Moreover, many diseases are caused by the lack of knowledge and unawareness about some facts. Thus educating and guiding people is really important which helps people live a healthy life style and save their good health for a long time. A volunteer organization has a true aim to serve the society and provide a better life to people in the world. It is a perfect platform for people who wish to help selflessly and commit themselves towards the betterment of people around them. These kinds of organizations act as a team which joins hands and work effectively to provide great things to the society and eradicating the ill aspects which are prevalent in the world. Though it is seen as a noble cause and everyone loves being a part of it, but still there are many obstacles which people face traversing the path of nobility. As per my experience there are many obstacles such as some government rules which collide with the practical situations and which suppress our power to help the needy. The second obstacle which I faced was more of a trust factor which does takes a time to build up between the needy and the provider. It took me some time to build the trust between the children and me but eventually this obstacle was broken down. Journal Entry 5: Post-Volunteer Processing The whole volunteering task was an enlightening process for me. It helped me introspect and break the boundations of my thinking and beliefs which were limited before this project. I did teach the orphan children computers and gave them the knowledge which they needed to survive in the society and face the world when they come out of the orphanage. The world is a cruel place with a lot of competition in each field and education is the weapon which helps every person to fight and win the war against it. I played the role of provider of that weapon which they hold proudly and are gearing up for the battle. I added value to their lives in the form of education and the knowledge which would help them make their lives better and can enable them to progress in their lives. The volunteering process was a beautiful one and it really gave me peace which I would not have got by any other way. Yes there were challenges but no challenge is as big as the willpower. I faced a challenge of emotional disconnect with the children as they used to see me as an outsider to their world and stayed aloof. Gradually, the things changed and there was a sense of emotional attachment which made us overcome this obstacle and we shared the world where they gained the knowledge and I gained solace through helping them. The whole thing was not as I pictured it of being a simple teaching like a school. It made me see a different world altogether which I never perceived. Each child was different and dealing with them was different which made me analyze the world, the feelings of people and the emotions and their role in people’s lives which I never could have imagined before. The assumptions of a fair world where people are just the same broke into pieces through this volunteer task. The task was selflessly chosen and I never expected anything in return other than the peace which I would get through it. I did not get any scholarly awards or any recognition by this help but it has given me the most important gift, the gift of high thinking. During this volunteer project, I had learned a lot about the people, the world and the things which I always tend to oversee. This is not a short term benefit but indeed is a benefit  which would help me my whole life. The way I think has changed and I can analyze in a better way which would help me in my career and my personal life too. This experience has taught me a lot of things and I am definite that I would always be volunteering in one way or the other. Helping the society is all it takes to be at peace and to develop a feeling of pride. I would want to volunteer again and in a better way possible. I do not want to limit myself to only education, I want to expand my horizon and help the society in as many was as possible.

Mcdonalds in India – Case Study

WALMART Group GMITE – Batch 6 Abhishek Agrawal Ajit Varghese Brijesh Chauhan Karthikeyan Palani Manendra Jain Nalukurthy Rajeshbabu Satish kumar Dosapati Sushma GN McDonald's India A Locally Owned Company: McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 locations serving approximately 64 million customers in 118 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. In India, McDonald's is managed by two Indian entrepreneurs. Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. owns and spearheads McDonald's operations in West & South India. Hardcastle Restaurants was appointed Development Licensee for McDonald's in India in 2010, a progression from Joint Venture partner. Vikram Bakshi, MD and Joint Venture Partner, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited, owns and operates McDonald's in North and East India. Celebrating over 15 years of leadership in food service retailing in India, McDonald's now has a network of over 235 restaurants across the country. Local Sourcing Is Key for Truly Indian Products: McDonald's India is committed to sourcing almost all of its products from within the country. Prior to its launch, the company invested six years to develop its unique cold chain, which has brought about a veritable revolution in food handling, immensely benefiting the farmers at one end and enabling customers to get the highest quality food products, absolutely fresh and at a great value. McDonald's India today has developed local Indian businesses, which can supply the highest quality products required for its Indian operations. Respect for Indian Customs and Culture: McDonald's worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect to the local culture of each market it operates in. In line with this respect for local culture, India is the first country in the world where McDonald's does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald's has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit the Indian palate and has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements of vegetarians. Special care is taken to ensure that all vegetable products are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. This separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. So much so that the mayonnaise and soft serves are also 100% vegetarian and McDonald's uses only vegetable oil as a cooking medium in India. An Employer of Opportunity: McDonald's India is an employer of opportunity, providing quality employment and long-term careers to professionals across the country. The average McDonald's restaurant employs 60-80 people from crew to restaurant manager. McDonald's invests in its employees, leveraging world class-training inputs to create ambassadors of the brand and creating food service professionals with global attitudes. The brand currently has over 8000 employees in India. Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value McDonald's is driven by the philosophy of Quality, Service, and Cleanliness & Value for Money. This translates into a commitment to provide customers high quality products, served quickly with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment at an affordable price. This effectively means that the McDonald's menu is priced at a value that the largest segment of the Indian consumers can afford while at the same time ensuring that quality is not sacrificed for value – rather McDonald's leverages economies to minimise costs while maximizing value to customers. Major issues ? NUTRITION Type of high fat, low fiber diet promoted by McDonald's is linked to serious diseases such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The sort of diseases that are now responsible for nearly three-quarters of premature deaths in the western world. McDonald's respond that the scientific evidence is not conclusive and that their food can be a valuable part of a balanced diet. Some people say McDonald's are entitled to sell junk food in exactly the same way that chocolate or cream cake manufacturers do: if people want to buy it that's their decision. But should McDonald's be allowed to advertise their products as nutritious? Why do they sponsor sports events when they sell unhealthy products? And what on earth are they doing opening restaurants in hospitals? ? Ecological Sustainability Vegetarians and animal welfare campaigners aren't too keen on McDonald's – for obvious reasons. As the world's largest user of beef they are responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cows per year. In Europe alone they use half a million chickens every week, all from windowless factory farms. Is it acceptable for the food industry to exploit animals at all? Again, McDonald's argue that they stick to the letter of the law and if there are any problems it is a matter for government. They also claim to be concerned with animal welfare. ? Deep Market Penetration In order to grow McDonald’s needs to expand to other cities and towns in India rather than concentrating in Delhi. Mumbai & few other cities, For expansion to succeed, McDonald’s can no longer depends on its processing & distributions centers in and around Delhi & Mumbai, Given India’s poor transportation and road facilities, the logistic bottleneck of transporting food item from one place to other will add to the cost of its products, it needs to build new processing & distribution centers in other cities for operational efficiency, this would require additional investment and cost can not be easily passed on to the consumers. Price increase is the last thing that McDonald’s can afford if it wants to succeed in India, Already for most of the people McDonald’s is associated with high proices. ? Adaptability of portfolio towards local needs Given India’s fragmented regional culture where no single food preference predominates, McDonald’s need to develop new product on regular basis. Developing new products adds complexity & cost and raises the risks of errors. It also runs counter to McDonald’s culture and history. Yet if McDonald’s does not do it on regular basis, Company’s popularity will be short lived. It will be difficult for company to meet the range of different competitors, most notably the homegrown food chains which offers a variety of products at reasonable prices. ? CULTURAL SENSITIVITY( I feel this is a major issue) India is country with varying cultural diversity. The diversity reflects in eating habits with majority of population is vegetarian still a section of people with non-vegetarian food preference. India is land of spices. Indians like spicy food and prefer satellite joints as roadside food stalls. Usually home cooked food is preferred and dining out option is primarily reserved for special occasions. The food habits are also driven by the religious sentiments. In May 2001, a class action lawsuit1 was filed against the world's largest fast-food chain McDonald's, in Seattle, US. The lawsuit alleged that the company had, for over a decade, duped vegetarian customers into eating French fries2 that contained beef extracts. Minor issues ? ADVERTISING McDonald's spend over two billion dollars each year on advertising: Using collectable toys, television adverts, promotional schemes in schools and figures such as Ronald McDonald the company bombards their main target group: children. Many parents object strongly to the influence this has over their own children. McDonald's argue that their advertising is no worse than anyone else's and that they adhere to all the advertising codes in each country. But others argue it still amounts to cynical exploitation of children – some consumer organizations are calling for a ban on advertising to children. Why do McDonald's sponsor so many school events and learning programs? Is their Children's Charities genuine philanthropy or is there a more explicit publicity and profit motive? ? ENVIRONMENT One of the well-known and sensitive question about McDonald’s is: are they responsible for the destruction of tropical forests to make way for cattle ranching? McDonald's say no. Many people say yes. So McDonald's sue them. Not so many people say yes anymore, but does this mean McDonald's aren't responsible? They annually produce over a million tons of packaging, used for just a few minutes before being discarded. What environmental effect does the production and disposal of all this have? Is their record on recycling and recycled products as green as they make out? Are they responsible for litter on the streets, or is that the fault of the customer who drops it? Can any multinational company operating on McDonald's scale not contribute to global warming, ozone destruction, depletion of mineral resources and the destruction of natural habitats? Recommendation for Growth New Business Channels – Home Delivery, breakfast, extended hours and Drive-Troughs. As per estimates, home delivery can increase store sales about 15% and drive troughs by 50%. Attract College Crowd (Youth) – Similar to KFC â€Å"StreetWise† menu, which offers products to college students at affordable price. Employees and Customers – In India, McDonald’s employ 5,000 people and serves half a million customers a day via its 169 family restaurants. McDonald’s has 85,000 employees and serves 2. 5 million customers a day in the UK. Local Vegetarian Menu: In India, McDonald’s does not offer pork or beef-based products. Its menu is more than 50 per cent vegetarian. The fast food retail chain has separate production lines and processes for its vegetarian and non-vegetarian offerings. McDelivery Online – In India, McDonald’s first launched home delivery of meals in Mumbai in 2004. McDonald’s now has plans to launch web-based delivery service in India (across 75 McDelivery cities) in 2010, a pilot for which has already been tested by it in Hyderabad. The company hopes to add 5 per cent to sales via Web delivery. McDonald’s web-based delivery model will be based on serving the customer quickly wherein the drive time does not exceed seven minutes because its food has to be eaten within ten minutes of preparation. The footfalls in India are amongst the highest in the world, but the average bill is amongst the lowest. At present (March 2010), Domino’s Pizza (operated by Bhartia Group-promoted Jubilant Foodworks under a master franchise agreement) has a 65% market share in the home delivery segment. MFY (Made for You) food preparation platform – MFY is a unique concept (cooking method) where the food is prepared as the customer places its order. All new upcoming McDonald’s restaurants are based on MFY. This cooking method has helped McDonald’s further strengthen its food safety, hygiene and quality standards. McDonald’s has around 10 MFY restaurants in its portfolio.

The Golden Age of Islam

The golden age of Islamic (and/or Muslim) art lasted from 750 to the 16th century, when ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and woodwork flourished. Lustrous glazing was an Islamic contribution to ceramics. Islamic luster-painted ceramics were imitated by Italian potters during the Renaissance. Manuscript illumination developed into an important and greatly respected art, and portrait miniature painting flourished in Persia.Calligraphy, an essential aspect of written Arabic, developed in manuscripts and architectural decoration. This paper will examine the Islamic literature, music and philosophers. The most well known work of fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales told by the Persian Queen Scheherazade. The epic took form in the 10th century and reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to a nother.All Arabian fantasy tales were often called â€Å"Arabian Nights† when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in any version, and a number of tales are known in Europe as â€Å"Arabian Nights† despite existing in no Arabic manuscript (L. Sprague de Camp, pg. 10). This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Many imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali Baba.However, no medieval Arabic source has been traced for Aladdin, which was incorporated into The Book of One Thousand and One Nights by its French translator, Antoine Galland, who heard it from an Arab Syrian Christian storyteller from Aleppo. Part of its popularity may have sprung from the increasing historical and geographical knowledge, so that pl aces of which little was known and so marvels were plausible had to be set further â€Å"long ago† or farther â€Å"far away†; this is a process that continues, and finally culminate in the fantasy world having little connection, if any, to actual times and places.A number of elements from Arabian mythology and Persian mythology are now common in modern fantasy, such as genies, bahamuts, magic carpets, magic lamps, etc (John Grant and John Cute, pg. 52). When L. Frank Baum proposed writing a modern fairy tale that banished stereotypical elements, he included the genie as well as the dwarf and the fairy as stereotypes to go. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history.Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan. A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance (love) is Layla and Majnun, dati ng back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layli and Majnun to an extent. Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel.Ibn Tufail wrote the first fictional Arabic novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus) as a response to al-Ghazali's The Incoherence of the Philosophers, and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel Theologus Autodidactus as a response to Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus. Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) who were autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story.However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in Philosophus Autodidactus, the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert isl and setting in Theologus Autodidactus, developing into the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming an early example of proto-science fiction (John Grant and John Cute, pg. 52). Theologus Autodidactus, written by the Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is an early example of proto-science fiction.It deals with various science fiction elements such as spontaneous generation, futurology, and the end of the world and doomsday. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the scientific knowledge of biology, astronomy, cosmology and geology known in his time. His main purpose behind this science fiction work was to explain Islamic religious teachings in terms of science and philosophy through the use of fiction.A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work, Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. These translations later inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, regarded as the first novel in English (James Thurber, pg. 64). Philosophus Autodidactus also inspired Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, The Aspiring Naturalist (James Thurber, pg. 64).The story also anticipated Rousseau's Emile: or, On Education in some ways, and is also similar to Mowgli's story in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book as well as Tarzan's story, in that a baby is abandoned but taken care of and fed by a mother wolf. Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, considered the greatest epic of Italian literature, derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter directly or indirectly from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology: the Hadith and the Kitab al-Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before (James Thurber, pg. 4) as Liber Scale Machometi, â€Å"The Book of Muhammad's Ladder †) concerning Muhammad's ascension to Heaven, and the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi. The Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peele and William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's The Battle of Alcazar and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Titus Andronicus and Othello, which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century (Nazami, 1980).A number of musical instruments used in classical music are believed to have been derived from Arabic musical instruments: the lute was derived from the al'ud, the rebec (ancestor of violin) from the rebab, the guitar from qitara, naker from naqareh, adufe from al-duff, alboka from al-buq, anafil from al-nafir, exabeba from al-shabbaba (flute), atabal (bass drum) from al-tabl, atambal from al-tinbal, the balaban, the castanet from kasatan, sonajas de azofar from sunuj al-sufr, the conical bore wind instruments, the xelami from the sulami or fistula (flute or musical pipe), the shawm and dulzaina from the reed instruments zamr and al-zurna, the gaita from the ghaita, rackett from iraqya or iraqiyya, the harp and zither from the qanun, canon from qanun, geige (violin) from ghichak, and the theorbo from the tarab.A theory on the origins of the Western Solfege musical notation suggests that it may have also had Arabic origins. It has been argued that the Solfege syllables (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti) may have been derived from the syllables of the Arabic solmization system Durr-i-Mufassal (â€Å"Separated Pearls†) (dal, ra, mim, fa, sad, lam). This origin heory was first proposed by Meninski in his Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalum (1680) and then by Laborde in his Essai sur la Musique Ancienne et Moderne (1780). See as well the gifted Ziryab (Abu l-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Nafi‘). Ottoman military ba nds are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching band in the world. Though they are often known by the Persian-derived word Mehter. The standard instruments employed by a Mehter are: Bass drum (timpani), the kettledrum (nakare), Frame drum (davul), the Cymbals (zil), Oboes and Flutes, Zurna, the â€Å"Boru† (a kind of trumpet), Triangle (instrument), and the Cevgen (a kind of stick bearing small concealed bells).These military bands inspired many Western nations and especially the Orchestra inspiring the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Arab philosophers like al-Kindi (Alkindus) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Persian philosophers like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) played a major role in preserving the works of Aristotle, whose ideas came to dominate the non-religious thought of the Christian and Muslim worlds. They would also absorb ideas from China, and India, adding to them tremendous knowledge from their own studies. Three speculative thinkers, a l-Kindi, al-Farabi, and Avicenna (Ibn Sina), fused Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, such as Kalam and Qiyas.This led to Avicenna founding his own Avicennism school of philosophy, which was influential in both Islamic and Christian lands. Avicenna was also a critic of Aristotelian logic and founder of Avicennian logic, and he developed the concepts of empiricism and tabula rasa, and distinguished between essence and existence. From Spain the Arabic philosophic literature was translated into Hebrew, Latin, and Ladino, contributing to the development of modern European philosophy. The Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, Muslim sociologist-historian Ibn Khaldun, Carthage citizen Constantine the African who translated ancient Greek medical texts, and the Muslim Al-Khwarzimi's collation of mathematical techniques were important figures of the Golden Age.One of the most influential Muslim philosophers in the West was Averroes (Ibn Rushd), founder of the Averroism school of philosophy, whose works and commentaries had an impact on the rise of secular thought in Western Europe (Nawal Muhammad Hassan, 1980) He also developed the concept of â€Å"existence precedes essence†. Another influential philosopher who had a significant influence on modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. His philosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, translated into Latin as Philosophus Autodidactus in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa, nature versus nurture, condition of possibility, materialism, and Molyneux's Problem. European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include John Locke, Gottfried Leibniz, Melchisedech Thevenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens. George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers, and Samuel Hartlib(Nawal Muhammad Hassan, 1980).Al-Ghazali also had an important influence on Jewish thinkers like Maimonides and Christian medieval philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas. However, al-Ghazali also wrote a devastatin g critique in his The Incoherence of the Philosophers on the speculative theological works of Kindi, Farabi and Ibn Sina. The study of metaphysics declined in the Muslim world due to this critique, though Ibn Rushd (Averroes) responded strongly in his The Incoherence of the Incoherence to many of the points Ghazali raised. Nevertheless, Avicennism continued to flourish long after and Islamic philosophers continued making advances in philosophy through to the 17th century, when Mulla Sadra founded his school of Transcendent Theosophy and developed the concept of existentialism.Other influential Muslim philosophers include al-Jahiz, a pioneer of evolutionary thought and natural selection; Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), a pioneer of phenomenology and the philosophy of science and a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of place (topos); Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel; Shahab al -Din Suhrawardi, founder of Illuminationist philosophy; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of inductive logic; and Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the philosophy of history and social philosophy. Despite a number of attempts by many writers, historical and modern, none seem to agree on the causes of decline.The main views on the causes of decline comprise the following: political mismanagement after the early Caliphs (10th century onwards), foreign involvement by invading forces and colonial powers (11th century Crusades, 13th century Mongol Empire, 15th century Reconquista, 19th century European colonial empires), and the disruption to the cycle of equity based on Ibn Khaldun's famous model of Asabiyyah (the rise and fall of civilizations) which points to the decline being mainly due to political and economic factors.References 1. L. Sprague de Camp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy, p 10 ISBN 0-87054-076-9 2. John Grant and J ohn Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, â€Å"Arabian fantasy†, p 52 ISBN 0-312-19869-8 3. James Thurber, â€Å"The Wizard of Chitenango†, p 64 Fantasists on Fantasy edited by Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski, ISBN 0-380-86553-X 4. NIZAMI: LAYLA AND MAJNUN – English Version by Paul Smith 5. Nahyan A. G. Fancy (2006), â€Å"Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafis (d. 1288)†, pp. 95–101, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of Notre Dame. [3] 6. Dr. Abu Shadi Al-Roubi (1982), â€Å"Ibn Al-Nafis as a philosopher†, Symposium on Ibn al Nafis, Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait (cf. Ibnul-Nafees As a Philosopher, Encyclopedia of Islamic World). 7. Nawal Muhammad Hassan (1980), Hayy bin Yaqzan and Robinson Crusoe: A study of an early Arabic impact on English literature, Al-Rashid House for Pub lication.