Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essays

Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essays Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essay Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essay Essay Topic: Maus Human rights prevent any discrimination against minority groups in communities. They make sure people can speak and meet openly, ensure that people are not tortured or imprisoned without trial. Human rights allow anybody and everybody to live life without discrimination against who and what they are. Some say human rights are the right to: Basic guarantees of life To self-determination and cultural identity Participate in decision-making within the community Dissent Personal dignity Religious freedomThe term Human Rights is not mentioned in the Bible because it is a modern term. However, there are many teachings in the Bible that are related to human rights because they are about treating each other equally. Christians refer to sources of authority for further understanding of the term Human Rights. There tends to be an order of authority, which means that the teachings of some are more important than others.The order of importance, from most important to leas t, is God(through prayer), the Bible, the Church, the Pope and various other religious leaders. Christians believe that teachings from the Bible are important because they are Jesus words. The teachings of Jesus tell Christians to treat each other equally. This is because life is sacred and in the eyes of God everyone is equal. Christians should always remember the sanctity of life. The teaching that life is God given. (Genesis 1:27). As a result of this All life deserves respect. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Not respecting a life would be similar to not respecting God.As God went to so much trouble to create life it would be wrong to destroy it, so Life should not be destroyed. (Exodus 20.13). It should also not be destroyed because Human life is precious. (Luke 12:6-7). As human life is so sacred, Jesus teaches to Love your neighbour as you love yourself. (Mathew 22:39). This means that Christians should treat others the way that they would want to be treated themselves. Christians sh ould try to love the unlovable, which is agape. Agape is Christian love and is when people should love one another and treat each other equally, no matter who they are. Help others to ensure that they are not being denied of their human rights so that one day if they themselves are put in a similar situation people will try to help them.This teaching is similar to Love your enemies. (Mathew 5:44). This again is teaching agape. Fromthis Christians should learn not to treat people differently because they do not like them. If people disobey this commandment then they are not treating people equally and are discriminating against them, therefore denying them of their human rights.Jesus says Do not judge and you will not be judged, because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get. (Mathew 7:1). This is related to the idea that it is important to help people in need. Do not show hatred towards certain people because of something they have done wrong. Do your best to help t hem and not judge because then if you yourself are put in the same situation others might help you.A well-known teaching in the Bible is I give you a new commandment. Love one another, as I have loved you. (John 13:34). This is an addition to the 10 commandments. Jesus loves everyone, treats them equally and does his best to show this love and help them. This quote teaches that Christians should love people in the same way, showing agape. This way people are not denied of their human rights.Jesus said I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of the brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mathew 25:31-46). By making them happy, showing them love and respect, Christians believe they are doing the same to God. In everyday life Christians try to help those less fortunate than themselves. They remember what Jesus said. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).This shows genuine action for those in need. When someone is in need, Christians should help him or her without thinking about the costs to himself. Just like Jesus who lay down his life to forgive us of our sins. Jesus is a great example to everyone of how a Christians life should be lead. Jesus was a selfless person. On the walk to Emmaus he walked beside people to encourage them to keep going. They did not know who he was and he did not tell them.He did not feel that it would make any difference because he believed he was no more important than the person he was walking alongside. Christians learn from this to help those in need without selfish reasons. When Jesus fed the five thousand he only had five loaves of bread and two fish. When provided with this food he did not give it to those who he felt deserved it more than the others because to him everyone deserved it equally. He did his best to ensure that everyone was treated equally. It is clear that Christians cannot perform miracles like Jesus but should try their very best to not treat some people better than others. Christians follow Jesus example and help everyone.The parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37). No matter who and what people are, learn to forgive them and help those in need. Help them in whatever way is possible because Faith without action is dead. (James 2:17). This means that it is good to be concerned with human rights and to believe it is wrong to deny people of them, but if nothing is done then that belief is not worth so much. Action needs to be taken to ensure people are given the right to dignity, freedom and respect. This does not mean acting in violent ways but simply telling people about what you think and what should be done to change what is happening.The Church gives teachings about Human rights, which should be followed. Pope John XXIII taught Each individual is truly a person with a nature that is endowed with intelligence and free will, and rights and dutiesthese rights and duties are universal and inviolable. Another teachi ng is that No rights are possible without the basis guarantees for life, including the right to adequate food, guaranteed healthcare, to decent housing.'(World Council of Churches). This was probably based upon the Bible teaching If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.Some Christians feel that it is necessary to go to extreme lengths to fight for human rights. May Christs sacrifice give us the courage to offer our own bodies for justice and peace. Oscar Romeo. As Jesus sacrificed his life for us, Christians should do the same. Not necessarily die but take action without selfish reasons. Mother Teresa agrees and says Make us worthy Lord, to serve those throughout the world who live and die poor and hungry.Christians are taught to not judge people and look down upon them. If they have what is needed to make a difference, then they should try their best to help. Camilo Torres adds his own views. Only by revolution, by changing the conc rete conditions of our country, can we enable men to practise love for each other. He teaches that action should be taken to ensure that people are not denied of their human rights. J. Robert Nelson follows on from that, saying that Christians should secure, extend and enhance human freedoms. He teaches that Christians should ensure that people have the right to freedom in everyway.All of these teachings mean that Christians are taught to be concerned with human rights. They can learn from Jesus, the Bible and many other people that by acting in the right ways they can give people the freedom of speech, the right to basic guarantees of life, to self-determination and cultural identity, to participate in decision-making within the community, to dissent, to personal dignity and to religious freedom.

Magical Realism - Definition and Examples

Magical Realism s Magical realism, or magic realism, is an approach to literature that weaves fantasy and myth into everyday life. What’s real? What’s imaginary? In the world of magical realism, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and the magical becomes commonplace. Also known as â€Å"marvelous realism,† or â€Å"fantastic realism,†Ã‚  magical realism is not a style or a genre so much as a way of questioning the nature of reality. In books, stories, poetry, plays, and film, factual narrative and far-flung fantasies combine to reveal insights about society and human nature. The term magic realism is also associated with realistic and figurative artworks  -   paintings, drawings, and sculpture  -   that suggest hidden meanings. Lifelike images, such as the Frida Kahlo portrait shown above, take on an air of mystery and enchantment. Strangeness Infused Into Stories There’s nothing new about infusing strangeness into stories about otherwise ordinary people. Scholars have identified elements of magical realism in Emily Brontà «s passionate, haunted Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) and Franz Kafka’s unfortunate Gregor, who turns into a giant insect (The Metamorphosis). However, the expression â€Å"magical realism† grew out of specific artistic and literary movements that emerged during the mid-20th century. Art From a Variety of Traditions In 1925, critic Franz Roh (1890-1965) coined the term Magischer Realismus (Magic Realism) to describe the work of German artists who depicted routine subjects with eerie detachment. By the 1940s and 1950s, critics and scholars were applying the label to art from a variety of traditions. The enormous floral paintings by Georgia OKeeffe (1887-1986), the psychological self-portraits of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), and the brooding urban scenes by Edward Hopper (1882-1967) all fall within the realm of magic realism. A Separate Movement in Literature In literature, magical realism evolved as a separate movement, apart from the quietly mysterious magic realism of visual artists. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) introduced the concept of â€Å"lo real maravilloso (the marvelous real) when he published his 1949 essay â€Å"On the Marvelous Real in Spanish America.† Carpentier believed that Latin America, with its dramatic history and geography, took on an aura of the fantastic in the eyes of the world. In 1955, literary critic Angel Flores (1900-1992) adopted the term magical realism (as opposed to magic realism) to describe the writings of Latin American authors who transformed â€Å"the common and the every day into the awesome and the unreal.   Latin American Magic Realism According to Flores, magical realism began with a 1935 story by Argentine writer Jorge Luà ­s Borges (1899-1986). Other critics have credited different writers for launching the movement. However, Borges certainly helped lay the groundwork for Latin American magical realism, which was seen as unique and distinct from the work of European writers like Kafka. Other Hispanic authors from this tradition include Isabel Allende, Miguel ngel Asturias, Laura Esquivel, Elena Garro, Rà ³mulo Gallegos, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mrquez, and Juan Rulfo. Extraordinary Circumstances Were Expected Surrealism runs through the streets, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mrquez (1927-2014) said in an interview with The Atlantic. Garcà ­a Mrquez shunned the term â€Å"magical realism† because he believed that extraordinary circumstances were an expected part of South American life in his native Columbia. To sample his magical-but-real writing, begin with â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and â€Å"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.† An International Trend Today, magical realism is viewed as an international trend, finding expression in many countries and cultures. Book reviewers, booksellers, literary agents, publicists, and authors themselves have embraced the label as a way to describe works that infuse realistic scenes with fantasy and legend. Elements of magical realism can be found in writings by Kate Atkinson, Italo Calvino, Angela Carter, Neil Gaiman, Gà ¼nter Grass, Mark Helprin, Alice Hoffman, Abe Kobo, Haruki Murakami, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, and countless other authors around the world. 6 Key Characteristics of Magical Realism It’s easy to confuse magical realism with similar forms of imaginative writing. However, fairy tales are not magical realism. Neither are horror stories, ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, paranormal fiction, absurdist literature, and sword and sorcery fantasy. To fall within the tradition of magical realism, the writing must have most, if not all, of these six characteristics: 1. Situations and Events That Defy Logic: In Laura Esquivel’s lighthearted novel Like Water for Chocolate, a woman forbidden to marry pours magic into food. In Beloved, American author Toni Morrison spins a darker tale: An escaped slave moves into a house haunted by the ghost of an infant who died long ago. These stories are very different, yet both are set in a world where truly anything can happen. 2. Myths and Legends: Much of the strangeness in magic realism derives from folklore, religious parables, allegories, and superstitions. An abiku  -   a West African spirit child  -   narrates The Famished Road by Ben Okri. Often, legends from divergent places and times are juxtaposed to create startling anachronisms and dense, complex stories. In A Man Was Going Down The Road, Georgian author Otar Chiladze merges an ancient Greek myth with the devastating events and tumultuous history of his Eurasian homeland near the Black Sea. 3. Historic Context and Societal Concerns: Real-world political events and social movements entwine with fantasy to explore issues such as racism, sexism, intolerance, and other human failings. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie is the saga of a man born at the moment of India’s independence. Rushdie’s character is telepathically linked with a thousand magical children born at the same hour and his life mirrors key events of his country. 4. Distorted Time and Sequence: In magical realism, characters may move backward, leap forward, or zigzag between the past and the future. Notice how Gabriel Garcà ­a Mrquez treats time in his 1967 novel, Cien Aà ±os de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude). Sudden shifts in narrative and the omnipresence of ghosts and premonitions leave the reader with the sense that events cycle through an endless loop. 5. Real-World Settings: Magic realism is not about space explorers or wizards; Star Wars and Harry Potter are not examples of the approach. Writing for The Telegraph, Salman Rushdie noted that â€Å"the magic in magic realism has deep roots in the real.† Despite the extraordinary events in their lives, the characters are ordinary people who live in recognizable places. 6. Matter-of-Fact Tone: The most characteristic feature of magical realism is the dispassionate narrative voice. Bizarre events are described in an offhand manner. Characters do not question the surreal situations they find themselves in. For example, in the short book Our Lives Became Unmanageable, a narrator plays down the drama of her husbands vanishing: â€Å"†¦the Gifford who stood before me, palms outstretched, was no more than a ripple in the atmosphere, a mirage in a gray suit and striped silk tie, and when I reached again, the suit evaporated, leaving only the purple sheen of his lungs and the pink, pulsing thing Id mistaken for a rose. It was, of course, only his heart.† Dont Put It in a Box Literature, like visual art, doesn’t always fit into a tidy box. When Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro published The Buried Giant, book reviewers scrambled to identify the genre. The story appears to be a fantasy because it unfolds in a world of dragons and ogres. However, the narration is dispassionate and the fairy tale elements are understated: â€Å"But such monsters were not cause for astonishment†¦there was so much else to worry about.† Is The Buried Giant pure fantasy, or has Ishiguro entered the realm of magical realism? Perhaps books like this belong in genres all their own. Sources Arana, Marie. Review: Kazuo Ishiguros The Buried Giant defies easy categorization. The Washington Post, February 24, 2015.   Craven, Jackie. Our Lives Became Unmanageable. The Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Prize, Paperback, Omnidawn, October 4, 2016. Fetters. Ashley. The Origins of Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Magic Realism. The Atlantic, April 17, 2014. Flores, Angel. Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction. Hispania, Vol. 38, No. 2, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, JSTOR, May 1955. Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Buried Giant. Vintage International, Paperback, Reprint edition, Vintage, January 5, 2016. Leal, Luis. Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature. Lois Parkinson Zamora (Editor), Wendy B. Faris, Duke University Press, January 1995. McKinlay, Amanda Ellen. Block magic : categorization, creation, and influence of Francesca Lia Block’s Enchanted America. UBC Theses and Dissertations, The University of British Columbia, 2004. Morrison, Rusty. Paraspheres: Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction: Fabulist and New Wave Fabulist Stories. Paperback, Omnidawn Publishing, June 1, 1967. Rà ­os, Alberto. Magical Realism: Definitions. Arizona State University, May 23, 2002, Tempe, AZ. Rushdie, Salman. Salman Rushdie on Gabriel Garcà ­a Mrquez: His world was mine. The Telegraph, April 25, 2014. Wechsler, Jeffrey. Magic Realism: Defining the Indefinite. Art Journal. Vol. 45, No. 4, The Visionary Impulse: An American Tendency, CAA, JSTOR, 1985.

Kant and Mill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kant and Mill - Essay Example Kant does not disregard practical anthropology in the Foundations because he believes it is unimportant.As we know,Kant did discuss practical anthropology in numerous works on ethics and education.However,in order to understand moral action in the empirical world,Kant contends that moral action as such has to be understood first. Thus Kant ventures into a study that tries to supply the principles of moral action as such, or tries to supply the principles for "rational beings in general," which we can interpret in this context as moral subjects. One can found the same tension in Kant's ethical writings. In fact, I would say the tension is more pronounced in Kant's ethical writings, because Kant never corrects the tension in this area by rewriting any of his ethical texts. Particularly, I have found the tension between what I could call a phenomenological approach and a strict transcendental approach in Kant's two main texts on morality, viz., the Foundations of the Metaphysics of Mora ls and the Critique of Practical Reason. In order to perform the phenomenological reading, I want to look at Kant's text entitled the Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals. The purpose of the phenomenological reading is to see if it is possible to sight within moral phenomena the essence of morality as expressed by Kant. This reading constitutes a constructive interpretation of Kantian morality.What is important to note here is that both ethics and physics have their empirical and rational parts, or their posterior) and a priori parts. Kant's concern in the Foundations is with ethics, and particularly ethics in its a priori character. In other words, Kant is not concerned with moral actions as they occur in the everyday world. Instead, Kant is concerned with what constitutes moral action as such, which Kant refers to as pure moral philosophy, a mode of ethics freed from any social and practical anthropology that would only study ethical behavior as it manifested itself in specific human interactions. The basic idea then is that "the ground of obligation must not be sought in the nature of man or in the circumstances in which he is placed" (Kant , 64). Instead, the ground for obligation must be sought within moral consciousness. This idea of seeking for the ground for obligation in moral consciousness has phenomenological overtones. Kant wants to bracket the natural standpoint, place it under suspension, to come to the structures of consciousness that constitute morality. Precisely what is bracketed is practical anthropology, which is the way of understanding morality in our everyday world. Once Kant has bracketed the natural attitude, he can then direct his attention to moral consciousness. The aspect of consciousness that presents itself for investigation in moral consciousness is the will. In the Foundations, Kant wants to understand what constitutes a good will, which I understand as moral consciousness. Moral consciousness is consciousness of what I ought to do, or, as Kant states, it is consciousness of what is good without qualification. Understood this way, moral consciousness is intentional; it is "consciousness of what is good." If Kant concerns himself with moral consciousness, then I could call Kant's investigation a study of moral intentionality. Within such a study, I am interested in looking at my actions in terms of the willing and the willed as such. The willing and the willed as such correspond to the noetic and noematic elements of moral consciousness. Within this structure of investigation, I am not concerned with an act as it is considered in the natural standpoint, which would consider the act in terms of its actual consequences or empirical manifestation. Both actual consequences and empirical manifestations are transcendent senses of a moral act, i.e., an act immersed in the world of facts and affairs". Instead I am looking both at the moral subject's act of willing and at what is willed in the how of its

Throughout the Great Depression, the unemployed in the United States Essay

Throughout the Great Depression, the unemployed in the United States remained a dispirited and disorganised mass that made li - Essay Example The U.S is one of the nations that believe on job creation as one of the most effective way of boosting the national economy. Its politicians from several parties have included the issue of job creation in their agendas to win more votes but forget it the moment they ascend to power2. It would be unfair to place the entire blame on the politicians alone since the issue of unemployment in the country is every one’s responsibilities. For instance, it is more than evident that the U.S citizens opt for less demanding courses like social and art based courses whose fields are already crowded. They leave the foreigners to major in technological, medical and natural science courses which are still marketable in the job markets. After the graduations, the U.S would always absorb the foreigners who majored in complex courses and provide attractive salary packages while the U.S citizens who majored in less demanding courses remain jobless3. Politicians in the country do not deserve any blame in this scenario. Every student is always presented with equal opportunities to pursue any course depending on the students’ abilities. However, some blame would be directed to the politicians. For instance, the 2007 global financial crisis that saw more than 500,000 U.S citizens from both private and governmental sectors lose their jobs. The legislators ordered various financial institutions to offer some unsecured loans to the real estate department only for the loans to remain unpaid due to some sort of reasons4. The government had to withdraw some amounts from the national treasury to settle such loans. In the event, the national and global economy was compromised and this saw several people lose their jobs among other effects. The human rights activists have been advocating for the increase in employment rates. There have been several instances when the human rights mobilize the unemployed U.S citizens to demonstrate in major streets with posters portraying the nee d for rise in employment rates. Such claims have also been portrayed in different platforms like websites, internet pages, national broadcasting channels, and national newspapers and through road campaigns among others. However, the government through the national and homeland security is always keen whenever more than 10 U.S citizens gather to raise their claims with regards to increased unemployment rates5. This is because whatever starts like a simple and peaceful demonstration usually turn up to be violent and some sort of chances to loot from major stores in the country. It is believed that this is one of the government strategies to keep the nation silence despite the increased rates of unemployment. Top U.S politicians have also ordered fro the arrest or even assassination of top human rights activists advocating for increased employment rates. Political analyst lament that such claims can make the citizens lose trust in a certain government and call for revolutions, just as it happened in Egypt and Libya among other nations. Several business reports indicate that illegal U.S immigrants form the greatest percentage in the national job market. This is because they are provided with more reduced salary packages among other benefits. The illegal immigrants are always desperate for employment opportunities for sustenance. Furthermore, their employers are always relieved of some labor regulations like insurance among others. It is

Samsung Group Essay Example for Free

Samsung Group Essay The name â€Å"Samsung† according to the founder of the group Lee Byung Chull a migrant of a large land owning family in Uiryeong county to a city called Daegu where he founded Samsung Sanghoe explained that it means â€Å"tristars† or â€Å"three stars†; the word â€Å"three† represents something big, numerous and powerful. The â€Å"stars† represent â€Å"eternity†. Samsung has undergone lots transformation before being the giant Samsung it is today and it has proven to withstand the test of time where most Asian companies have dissolved during the Asian financial crisis. Its first product was a black-and-white television set. In the 50’s, when the Korean War broke out; Lee was forced to leave Seoul and start a sugar refinery in Busan[-gt;1] named Cheil Jedang[-gt;2]. After the war, in 1954, Lee founded Cheil Mojik and built the plant in Chimsan-dong, Daegu. It was the largest woollen mill ever in the country and the company took on the aspect of a major company. After the founders death in 1987, Samsung Group was separated into four business groups – Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Shinsegae (discount store, department store) was originally part of Samsung Group, separated in the 1990s from the Samsung Group along with CJ Group (Food/Chemicals/Entertainment/logistics) and the Hansol Group (Paper/Telecom). Today these separated groups are independent and they are not part of or connected to the Samsung Group. In the 1980s, Samsung Electronics began to invest heavily in research and development, investments that were pivotal in pushing the company to the forefront of the global electronics industry. Our main purpose in this section is to declare what kind of tools we are going to use to analyze the competitive advantage of one of Samsung Group’s subsidiaries – Samsung Electronics. Any company in the business world would want to maintain and achieve competitive advantage if it intends to really survive the scheme of its rivals. One of these ways is to conduct a strategic analysis of the company. This enables us to adjust and monitor the position of the company, exploit new opportunities, and prepare for rainy days. There is one way of doing that- conducting a strategic evaluation of the company. According to Peter Drucker â€Å"unless strategy evaluation is performed seriously and systematically, and unless strategists are willing to act on the results, energy will be used up defending yesterday. No one will have the time, resources, or will to work on exploiting today, let alone to work on making tomorrow†. In other words, strategic evaluation gives the company a feel of or connection to the business environment it is operating in. Strategic evaluation is vital to the organization’s well being. Strategic evaluation includes three basic activities: examining the underlying basis of a firm’s strategy, comparing expected results with actual results, and taking corrective actions to ensure that performance conforms to plans. Samsung Electronics is the worlds largest mobile phone maker[-gt;8] by 2011 unit sales and worlds second-largest semiconductor chip maker[-;gt;9] by 2011 revenues (after Intel Corporation[-;gt;10]). It has been the worlds largest television manufacturer[-gt;11] since 2006 and the worlds largest maker of LCD panels for eight consecutive years. It has the largest market share worldwide in memory chips[-;gt;12]. The company is the worlds largest vendor of smart phones[-gt;13] since 2011. Samsung has also established a prominent position in the tablet computer[-gt;14] market, with the release of the Android[-gt;15]-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab[-gt;16]. This section of the paper is meant to access and assess the strategies they have been applying since their existence and to advise them on the strategic options available to them now and in the future. In this paper we would use the following analyses: SWOT analyses, PEST analyses, Porter’s Five Forces, Strategic Group and the VRIO model analyses. SWOT is the acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats surrounding the business in its environment. In other words, it guides you to identify the positives and negatives inside and outside your organization. SWOT analysis is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organization’s resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates. In other words, it is the foundation for evaluating the internal potential and limitations and the likely opportunities and threats from the external environment. The strength and weaknesses give you an insight of your internal advantages relative to other companies and disadvantages relative to other companies, in other words, it measures the competitive advantage. They are usually the factors that you have control over. The opportunities and threats are considered to be the external factors that you have no control over; it could be technological change, legislation, socio-cultural change, etc. The opportunities and threats give you an insight of the factors that the organization can exploit to it advantages and the factors that could cause trouble for the business. Pestel is an acronym for political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal analysis. It describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management.  ·Political factors are basically to what degree the government intervenes in the economy.

Canada :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Canada Hi my name is insert your name and I’ll be writing about Canada. Canada is the greatest country in the world and it has been voted the best country in the world to live in for the past 3 years in a row by the United Nations. Canada consists of ten provinces and three territories, the newest territories is Nunavut. Nunavut is the land of the Indians (Natives). The capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit and it is located on Baffin Island.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada has many professional sports teams in all the major sports except football. Some people say that the CFL is a professional football league but the players are mostly NFL rejects. Our sports teams for the NHL include the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple leafs, Ottawa Senators, and the Montreal Canadians. Canada’s most successful NHL team has been the Montreal Canadians, they have won an astonishing 23 Stanley Cups. Two NHL teams have left Canada because they were located in small markets, Canada has lost the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix and we have also lost the Quebec Nordiqs to Colorado. Losing NHL teams to the U.S is a growing epidemic because players are demanding more and more money and the ticket prices are going up to accommodate the players demands. Another reason that we are going to lose more NHL teams is that the Government taxation on the Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadians alone have paid more taxes in a ye ar than all the American teams combined, the Government has to let NHL teams pay less taxes then they are right now if anyone ever wants to see hockey in the small markets in Canada. The last reason hockey teams are being lost to the U.S is the declining Canadian dollar and the players wanting their money in U.S funds. I think that Canada is going to lose the Senators, the Oilers, and the Flames in the next ten years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Canada also has two NBA teams and they are the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors. They are both relatively new teams, thee Grizzlies are going to build their team around Shareef Abdur-Rahim a young small forward and the Raptors are going to build their team around Vince Carter a young power forward.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, Canada has two MLB (Major League Baseball) teams, the teams are the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Expos.

Shell Case Study

The Case Study on â€Å"Organizational change at Royal Dutch/Shell† This case study on â€Å"Organizational Change at Royal Dutch/Shell† deals with the organizational change that the world’s largest non-state-owned oil company made to respond its operating environmental changes in 1990s (Hill, C 2005, pp. 476-477) While there are a few different structures of global organizations such as worldwide area structure, worldwide product divisional structure and global matrix structure, the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch/Shell (hereinafter Shell) decided to be structured with a matrix structure from the 1950s until 1994.Under the matrix structure, the head of each operating company reported to two bosses; one boss was responsible for the geographical region or country and the other was responsible for the business activity worldwide (Shell’s business activities included oil exploration and production, oil products, chemicals, gas and coal). There were two major benefits that Shell enjoyed from this matrix structure for about 40 years. First, their decision making process was based on the consensus building between the two bosses. Because of its side effects such as slow and cumbersome process, it might be not proper for some organizations.However as the nature of Shell’s business environment is that most big decisions are long-term ones that involve huge capital expenditures and as a result they could review thoroughly all the big decisions, this decision making process was beneficial to the company. Second, this slow decision making process caused substantial decentralization by default to the heads of the individual operating companies. Thanks to this decentralization, Shell could respond to local differences in government regulations, competitive conditions and consumer tastes.Even though there were drawbacks such as slow and cumbersome process, the matrix structure fit the environment of the global oil and chemical industries in the 1980s. In the 1980s, Shell sought to grow through acquisition. It bought out the remaining 30% shareholding in Shell Oil in 1985 to consolidate its American operations. While the oil price plummeted in the winter of 1986 when the price fell from $31 per barrel to $10, Shell managed its budget by half: the company had to work much harder to develop new projects more cheaply. As a esult, Shell could make huge improvements in drilling techniques such as slim-hole drilling and directional drilling. The use of 3D seismic became widespread. (from Shell’s official homepage; 1980s to the new millennium). All of these activities worked well under the matrix structure of Shell until the end of 1980s. There was a huge environmental change in 1990. It’s the Gulf War. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, partly prompted by the low price of oil, led to uncertainty about production and prices spiked. Iraq wanted to gain control of the world's third largest oil producer to give it more control over the world market.Following the Gulf war to liberate Kuwait, crude oil prices entered a period of steady decline, reaching their lowest level in 1994 for 21 years (BBC, Why the oil price keeps rising, June 2008). As the oil prices declined, naturally there was pressure on Shell’s profit margins. Although it had traditionally been among the most profitable oil companies in the world, its relative performance began to slip in the early 1990s as its competitors adapted rapidly to the environment changes. As a result, this suggested that the Shell senior management team review its strategy and the fit between strategy and organizational structure.In 1995, Shell abandoned its 40 year old matrix structure and adopted divisional line structure based on its new strategy to lower the operating costs just as its competitors did. Under the new divisional line structure, Shell now operates with five global product divisions- exploration and production, oil products, chemical, gas and coal. The difference between the organization after 1995 and that before 1994 is that the power of the each global division will increase and the responsibilities of the country (or regional) chefs are reduced.The Shell’s change led to enhanced fit between operating environment, strategy and organizational architecture. As mentioned earlier, Shell's operating environment changed in the early of 1990s with continuing slack demand for oil and weak oil price which caused pressure on profit margins. In order to overcome the challenges, Shell changed its strategy to lowering operating costs by a sharp reduction in head office overhead and the elimination of unnecessary duplication of facilities across countries.This new strategy could be achieved via the change of its reorganization in 1995 from matrix organization to divisional lines structure. As a result of the change, Shell could reduce the need for a large head office bureaucracy and eliminated unnecessary duplicatio n of facilities across countries. Eventually, production may be consolidated in lager facilities that serve an entire region, rather than a single country, with which it could enjoy the greater scale economies. In summary, Shell’s organizational structure change in 1995 could contribute its business strategy changes which were driven by the operating environment changes.

Explore Walkers Portrayal of Female Identity †The Color Purple Essay

â€Å"Teach only the boys. â€Å"1 (Page 146) In many cases this term would be considered sexist: However, when reading The Color Purple it becomes evident that the men as well as the boys are the ones who are in need of education. This education is not confined to the academic sense, but Walker rather emphasises their need to acquire the understanding of equal rights. The women may not receive any academic education but they were still equal to men in their ability to work, as Walker shows through several strong female role models throughout The Color Purple. The things that the women have experienced have taught them things about life that no man would ever understand: The gift of tolerance, understanding and a positive mind. Celie has to undergo a lot of traumatic experiences throughout The Color Purple. Walker uses this to mould her into the â€Å"stereotypical† submissive woman. Walker then continues to develop Celie’s stereotypical role of mother and wife by forcing her into another destructive relationship, both emotionally and physically. This relationship affected her attitude towards men but also her self-confidence towards women and children who possess the confidence she does not. Although Walker has portrayed Celie as a weak individual, Mr calls her â€Å"You black, you pore, you ugly, youa woman. † Quotations like this show just what level of racism and sexism Celie and maybe Walker herself had to compete with. Walker may have portrayed Celie in this way to exaggerate the fact that she is also filled with courage. She tries to stand up to Mr ____ , and claims she will † curse him† until â€Å"you[ he] do right by me†. Mr ___, claims Celie is â€Å"nothing at all†. Despite this abuse Celie has the courage to carry on and live her life despite its restrictions. Walker uses each character to reflect all the different elements of female identity. Celie is portrayed as weak, Sophia is portrayed as powerful, Nettie educated and Shug leads the glamorous life every women dreams of. Walker seems to use a variety of different characters to provide comparison and influence in all of the female characters lives. The ongoing influence is the typical 1930s society. Society is responsible for imposing the status quo, which heaven forbid Celie would ever rebel against. â€Å"I don’t fight; I stay where I’m told. But I’m alive. â€Å"(Page 22)She has lost her sister, her freedom and her self respect; she can’t lose her life as well. Sophia however is an excellent example of a powerful woman in society. Not only powerful in body, but also in mind. In the beginning of the book she seems to show no fear and determination no to be moulded by society. Unfortunately this is a short lived dream. Even though Sophia is a powerful woman, she is still victim to discrimination due to her sex and race which results in hr being moulded into the typical stereotypical woman. After being thrown out of Celie’s house by Mr ____, Nettie finds refuge in the home of a missionary couple, who teach her the importance of god and educating others. She abandons the role of housewife and takes on a role more favourable which benefits others and not just her self. Shug Avery abandons all traces of the female stereotype. Her life revolves around the finer things. Her music offers the passion and yearning for the glamorous life, especially for Celie, whose life is made up of orders and abuse, whereas Shug is a woman who doesn’t take orders and on many occasions’ is the one who makes them. Parts of the prejudice society of the 1930’s were the men. In Celie’s mind, men have a kind of meanness that women don’t possess. Women, though they may scream and swear, are not harmful in the way men like Pa are Mr_____ When she was younger the only male she knew was Alphonso, who she then believed to be her father. Although she was treated poorly by her â€Å"father†, she listens to the bible and â€Å"Honor[s] father and mother no matter what. † (page 43-44). This even included forgiving him for the constant sexual abuse. By obeying the Bible she had to obey her father, no matter what the consequence was. The dramatic betrayal of someone she could trust had been destroyed and therefore jeopardised her relationship with any other man, instead of feeling love or respect, she only felt fear. â€Å"That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them. † Although Mr_____ is her husband,their relationship appears to be one of convenience. When he first approached Alphonso it was to marry Celie’s sister, Nettie. Alphonso however refused. Claiming that Nettie was too pretty and that he should have Celie instead. Compared to Nettie, Celie was hardly the trophy wife that Mr___ desired. â€Å"She ugly. †¦.. But she can work like a man. † (pg. 18. ) Mr ____ only wanted a wife to look after his kid and to satisfy his own selfish needs. Walker portrays Celie as an object only to be used and abused by men. Walker shows a very dysfunctional relationship between Sophia and her husband Harpo; however it is not abusive as all of Celie’s relationships have been. It is a true relationship that was built on a love and not on necessity. Another factor that Walker has used to create the couple is the reversal of personas. So Walker has created her to be the â€Å"man† of the house, as she is stronger than Harpo in more ways than one. This is alien to Celie and she advises Harpo that Sophia needs to be â€Å"taken down a peg† (Page 35) so he can become head of the house again. Nevertheless Sophia refuses to accept this treatment and fights back. Although Sophia managed to defeat one member of society, it was her second and final confrontation that would finally destroy the confidence that Celie so desperately wanted.

Medieval Christmas Traditions

Medieval Christmas Traditions Among the Pagan traditions that have become part of Christmas is burning the yule log. This custom springs from many different cultures, but in all of them, its significance seems to lie in the iul or wheel of the year. The Druids would bless a log and keep it burning for 12 days during the winter solstice; part of the log was kept for the following year when it would be used to light the new yule log. For the Vikings, the yule log was an integral part of their celebration of the solstice, the julfest; on the log, they would carve runes representing unwanted traits (such as ill fortune or poor honor) that they wanted the gods to take from them. Wassail comes from the Old English words waes hael, which means be well, be hale, or good health. A strong, hot drink (usually a mixture of ale, honey, and spices) would be put in a large bowl, and the host would lift it and greet his companions with waes hael, to which they would reply drinc hael, which meant drink and be well. Over the centuries some non-alcoholic versions of wassail evolved. Other customs developed as part of Christian belief. For example, Mince Pies (so called because they contained shredded or minced meat) were baked in oblong casings to represent Jesus crib, and it was important to add three spices (cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg) for the three gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi. The pies were not very large, and it was thought lucky to eat one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas (ending with Epiphany, the 6th of January). Food Traditions The ever-present threat of hunger was triumphantly overcome with a feast, and in addition to the significant fare mentioned above, all manner of food would be served at Christmas. The most popular main course was goose, but many other meats were also served. Turkey was first brought to Europe from the Americas around 1520 (its earliest known consumption in England is 1541), and because it was inexpensive and quick to fatten, it rose in popularity as a Christmas feast food. Humble (or umble) pie was made from the humbles of a deer the heart, liver, brains and so forth. While the lords and ladies ate the choice cuts, the servants baked the humbles into a pie (which of course made them go further as a source of food). This appears to be the origin of the phrase, to eat humble pie. By the seventeenth century, Humble Pie had become a trademark Christmas food, as evidenced when it was outlawed along with other Christmas traditions by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan government. The Christmas pudding of Victorian and modern times evolved from the medieval dish of frumenty a spicy, wheat-based dessert. Many other desserts were made as welcome treats for children and adults alike. Christmas Trees and Plants The tree was an important symbol to every Pagan culture. The oak, in particular, was venerated by the Druids. Evergreens, which in ancient Rome were thought to have special powers and were used for decoration, symbolized the promised return of life in the spring and came to symbolize eternal life for Christians. The Vikings hung fir and ash trees with war trophies for good luck. In the middle ages, the Church would decorate trees with apples on Christmas Eve, which they called Adam and Eve Day. However, the trees remained outdoors. In sixteenth-century Germany, it was the custom for a fir tree decorated with paper flowers to be carried through the streets on Christmas Eve to the town square, where, after a great feast and celebration that included dancing around the tree, it would be ceremonially burned. Holly, ivy, and mistletoe were all important plants to the Druids. It was believed that good spirits lived in the branches of holly. Christians believed that the berries had been white before they were turned red by Christs blood when he was made to wear the crown of thorns. Ivy was associated with the Roman god Bacchus and was not allowed by the Church as decoration until later in the middle ages when a superstition that it could help recognize witches and protect against plague arose. Entertainment Traditions Christmas may owe its popularity in medieval times to liturgical dramas and mysteries presented in the church. The most popular subject for such dramas and tropes was the Holy Family, particularly the Nativity. As interest in the Nativity grew, so did Christmas as a holiday. Carols, though very popular in the later middle ages, were at first frowned on by the Church. But, as with most popular entertainment, they eventually evolved to a suitable format, and the Church relented. The Twelve Days of Christmas may have been a game set to music. One person would sing a stanza, and another would add his own lines to the song, repeating the first persons verse. Another version states it was a Catholic catechism memory song that helped oppressed Catholics in England during the Reformation remember facts about God and Jesus at a time when practicing their faith could get them killed. (If you would like to read more about this theory, please be warned that it contains graphic descriptions of the violent nature in which Catholics were executed by the Protestant government and has been refuted as an Urban Legend.) Pantomimes and mumming were another form of popular Christmas entertainment, particularly in England. These casual plays without words usually involved dressing up as a member of the opposite gender and acting out comic stories. Note:Â  This feature originally appeared in December 1997, and was updated in December 2007 and again in December 2015.

Thugs or Thuggees of India

Thugs or Thuggees of India The Thugs or Thuggees were organized gangs of criminals in India who preyed upon trade caravans and wealthy travelers.   They operated like a secret society, and often reportedly included otherwise respectable members of society.   The leader of a Thuggee group was called a jemadar, a term that means essentially boss-man.   Thugs would meet travelers along the road and befriend them, sometimes camping and traveling with them for several days.   When the time was right, the Thugs would strangle and rob their unsuspecting travel companions, burying the bodies of their victims in mass graves not far from the road, or throwing them down wells. The Thugs may have come into existence as early as the 13th century CE. Although members of the group came from both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds, and all different castes, they shared in the worship of the Hindu goddess of destruction and renewal, Kali. Murdered travelers were considered as offerings to the goddess.   The killings were highly ritualized; the Thugs did not want to spill any blood, so they usually strangled their victims with a rope or a sash. A certain percentage of the stolen goods would also be donated to a temple or shrine honoring the goddess. Some men passed down the rituals and secrets of the Thugs to their sons.   Other recruits would apprentice themselves to established Thug masters, or gurus, and learn the trade in that way.   Occasionally, young children who were accompanying a victim would be adopted by the Thug clan and trained in the ways of the Thugs, as well. It is quite strange that some of the Thugs were Muslim, given the centrality of Kali in the cult.   In the first place, murder is forbidden in the Quran, excepting only lawful executions:   Do not kill a soul that God has made sacrosanct... Whosoever kills a soul, unless it be for murder or for wreaking corruption in the land, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.   Islam is also very strict about there being only one true God, so making human sacrifices to Kali is extremely un-Islamic. Nonetheless, both Hindu and Muslim Thugs continued to prey upon travelers in what is now India and Pakistan through the nineteenth century.   British colonial officials during the British Raj in India were horrified by the depredations of the Thugs, and set out to suppress the murderous cult. They set up a special police force specifically to hunt the Thugs, and publicized any information about Thuggee movements so that travelers would not be taken unawares. Thousands of accused Thugs were arrested.   They would be executed hanging, jailed for life, or sent into exile. By 1870, most people believe that the Thugs had been destroyed. The word Thug comes from the Urdu thagi, which is taken from the Sanskrit sthaga meaning scoundrel or cunning one. In southern India, the Thugs are also known as Phansigar, signifying strangler or user of a garotte, after their favorite method of dispatching their victims.

Occupational Health and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Occupational Health and Safety - Essay Example Marvin Schneiderman’s approach to work-place safety is unrealistic and impractical because he takes a position which largely ignores the dynamics of the workplaces themselves. Teachers and office personnel very rarely, if at all, are required to handle or come into close contact with dangerous or hazardous material. Therefore the level of protection required of employers in classrooms and offices are minimal when compared to workers who are exposed to hazardous situations on an ongoing basis in the workplace. This is not meant to suggest that once the job involves continuous risks of harm, no measures should be taken to safeguard against them. The reality is, when there are certain hazards, there is always a risk of harm, regardless of safety measures involved. The higher the risk of harm, the more likely it is that harm will occur, regardless of safety measures taken. There are two principles of safety that makes it virtually impossible to implement a safety standard across the board that will produce the same safety record for all workers, as those reported by the review from England and Wales. These principles are â€Å"safe-persons† and â€Å"safe-place.† (34) In order to facilitate a safe-place a number of initiatives are required with respect to the workplace. This includes â€Å"engineering controls or process changes† which are necessary to â€Å"reduce exposure to noise or airborne toxic contaminants.† (34) In addition, tools and â€Å"office equipment designed with attention to basic principles of ergonomics† will have to be purchased. (34) There is an obvious difference in the level of workplace safety that can be facilitated at minimal costs in a factory or on a construction sight as opposed to an office. Purchasing tools and safety gear for employees exposed to heights and hazardous materials can only provide limited protection, regardless of expenditure. Nose and