Culture similarities and differences in early East Asian history Essay

Culture refers to people’s way of life. Culture is transmitted from one generation to another. Culture is leaned. Culture is a means through which society share values, beliefs, customs, behavior and artifacts. Tradition refers to the process of doing an action more than once. For example, repeating an action now and again makes it be a tradition. Going home to celebrate festivals together as a family could become a tradition if every festive you go home. Culture in the Asian countries rotates around art, beauty, medicine and cuisines. Chinese culture In the Chinese society, there are five necessities that define their culture. These necessities are: Food, clothing, housing, transportation and education. Chinese cooking is of two types. That is, Northern and Southern cooking styles. Northern dishes have a lot of oil and garlic and vinegar are usually pronounced. Pasta is valued in the Northern style of cooking. In the Southern cooking styles, chili peppers are valued. Rice and rice products are usually used as accompaniments. In Chinese cooking, color, smell and taste are given same value in meal preparation. Most of the time, a meal will include three to five colors. Most valued during cooking is the preservation of the fresh natural taste of the spices. The three properties of color, aroma and taste are not only the issues valued in Chinese cooking, but nutrition is of great importance. According to Shang dynasty(Chinese culture 16th to 11th B. C ) Yi Yin, he related the five tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, piquant and salty to the nutritional needs of the five major system organs of the body( the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys) and emphasized their function in maintaining good physical health. Most of the vegetables used in Chinese cooking such as garlic, dried lily buds, tree fungus have components that help in preventing and alleviating diseases. Chinese culture believes that food and medicine share the same origin. Chinese culture has got certain restrictions associated with eating. That is, meals taken while seated, sitting arrangement is based on age and gender. The dishes are arranged per table basis with a table capturing around ten to twelve people. Chinese dressing symbolizes a meaning of its own. The main types of Chinese traditional dressing are: pien-fu, long robe and shen-i. The pien-fu is a ceremonial costume in which one had to wear a tunic like top that extends to the knees and a skirt that touches to the ankles. A pien is a cylindrical cap. Similarities between these clothing are wide cut and voluminous sleeves with straight lines. They are also made more attracting by adding ornaments onto them such as doing embroidery along the edges, decorated bands, draped cloths and silk. In the traditional Chinese clothing, dull colors were favored to light colors. Bright colored clothes were used by common people around the houses. Chinese culture associated certain colors with specific times such as green symbolizes spring, white representing autumn, black for winter and red for summer. Traditional Chinese housing is characterized by a rectangular- shaped unit space that is joined into a house. The Chinese structures combine rectangular patterns of different sizes and positioned in order of preference, with every stage clearly distinguished. In the traditional buildings, the principle of balance and symmetry is taken into consideration. The main building is the axis with the other buildings being joined to the sides to form wings on both sides serving as the main room and yards. All other Chinese structure such the church, residential houses, palaces and official structures follow the same design. The interior space is allocated in away that it defines the Chinese social setting and ethics. For instance the main room is for the master, elder members of the master occupy the backyard of the main room while the junior members live in the right and left wings with the most senior occupying the left wing and the others right wing. Certain pronounced features of Chinese structures are its wooden structural frame with pillars and a beam, and mud made walls surrounding the three faces. The main doors and windows are constructed on the front face of the building. Woods is used in Chinese structures because they believe that wood represents life which is the essence of their culture. Chinese people build houses that have deep and over hanging roofs. Because of this, they came up with their own way of giving the roofs support. This invention is called ‘tou-kung’, which goes up stage by stage from pillar to pillar. The tou-kung gives support to the structure and at the same time acts as a unique and attractive ornamentation. The significance of using wood in the Chinese construction is that the size of the rooms depends on the wooden frame used. Again, color is applied to prevent the wood and third is the skill of building a structure on a platform to prevent moisture. The use of various colors in Chinese buildings has both symbolic and aesthetic meaning. In the transport system, china did not have any kind of wheeled vehicles until importation of the chariot was done from central Asia in the period of 1200bc. Scholars also ague that early Bronze Age china did not own the skills of the chariot and never invented any other means of transportation such as wheelbarrows or carts. For example, Edward Shaughessy found out that during the Shang periods, â€Å"there is absolutely no artifactual evidence for other types of wheeled conveyance†. In the 19th and 20th centuries, rickshaws became most popular but were later overtaken by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. Bicycles today are so many in china that, they cause traffic jams. Today china use both railways and waterways as modes of transportation. Education system in china is socialist oriented with a classroom having a capacity of about 50 students. Learning is always through group work to promote team spirit and cooperation among the students. Chinese value education because they believe it is a stepping stone to success. In china excellence is the main purpose for education. This is because they aim at producing responsible citizens who can give quality service to society. That is, a student excels to benefit the country but not him or her. Japanese culture Japanese culture is largely borrowed from china but Japanese culture is mainly influenced by its language. Japanese language is a combination of subset languages that are borrowed from china. That is, hiragana, katakana and kanji. Japanese usually have different types of traditional foods for various seasons such as osechi-ryori foods for New Year, kabochi on winters, weeding foods and mother dinners. Japanese also use spices in food preparation so as to make it tasty and give an appetizing smell. Japanese have got eating manners that they expect people to adhere to when eating. These tips on how to eat varies from one meal to another. Their dishes include sushi, tempura and teriyaki. Japanese performing art is characterized by costumes, mask and stylish gestures. Their four theatres are noh, kabuki and bunraku. Japanese way of building is also an important aspect of their culture. It was heavily influenced by the Chinese architecture and examples of these are seen in the temples, shrines and castles. In terms of clothing, Japanese wear kimono. Kimono implies â€Å"something to wear. † Initially Japanese used the word kimono to refer to all types of dressing but today it only implies long dress that is worn by men, women and children. Kimono is available in different colors with men prioritizing dark colors and women prioritizing brighter colors. The summer kimono is light and it’s called yukata. In the world of sports, methods that were used to train warriors in the past have been organized into sports. For example, kenjutsu, kyudo, and sumo. Again, Japanese popular culture presents a link to the past. Favorite films, television programs and music are all established from the traditions. Japanese also have got aculture of making sculptures. The oldest sculpture made is known as Amitabha in the Zenko-ji temple and it is made of wood. Japanese value wood and it has been used in Japan as one of the main materials by architectures. Other materials that have also been used are stone and pottery. They also have a flower arrangement art known as Ikebana which emphasizes on harmony, rhythm and color use. Comparison between the two cultures However there are certain variations in the two cultures. That is, in Japan buildings are structured around grand palaces while in china, they are based on the concept of walled cities. In terms of food, their primary dish is rice even though the mode of preparation is different. In their concept of beauty, Japanese considers beauty as a concept that is temporary to life. They use a symbol known as sakura (cherry blossom) to express the fleeting property and wilting nature of beauty. But in china, beauty is part of nature and this explains the common paintings of lions, cats and tigers. Musically, Japanese love more vocal music that takes its routes from dramatic styles such as Noh, Kabukl, and Bunraku while Chinese traditional music is dominated by instruments such as the flute and oboe. Traditionally the two societies do not like each other. Japanese have a collective kind of culture than Chinese. Both Chinese and Japanese up hold respect for tradition, family and beauty but Japanese tend to be consistent with the practice. Taking the above discussion into consideration, I wish to conclude that the two cultures are different even though Japanese culture was influenced mainly by Chinese culture, References Chinese culture and tradition. The five necessities of Chinese culture. Retrieved. December 15, 2008. from, http://www. chinatownconnection. com/chinese_culture. htm eHOW, How to distinguish between Japanese and Chinese culture. Retrieved December 15, 2008. from, http://www. ehow. com/how_2081085_distinguish-between-japanese-chinese-cultures. html

Define Industrial Revolution

Explain the problems faced by historians in defining the term Industrial Revolution. Historians face many problems when it comes to using the term â€Å"Industrial Revolution†. There is much debate and difficulty when is comes to defining it. It opens up many questions and there are many contributing factors and areas to consider. Can it be considered a revolution when it occurred over quite a long period of time? When did it start? What were the causes of it? Many historians have differing opinions on each question. A revolution can be defined as â€Å"a sudden or grand change† (oxford dictionairies. om). Wordiq. com defined the Industrial revolution as â€Å"the massive social[->0], economic[->1], and technological[->2] change in the 18th century[->3] and 19th century[->4] within Great Britain,† This indicates that it was a grand change but not a sudden one. It was spread out over two centuries. There are two approaches that historians either support. The first is the revolutionary approach. Writers, such as Deane and Cole (1967) saw the industrial revolution as a period of great expansion, and they said that there certainly was a rapid growth of production in leading sectors. They therefore supported the revolutionary approach. Rostow (1960) used the term â€Å"take off† when defining the industrial revolution. He believed that there was a take off phase within the country at the beginning of the industrial revolution. The other approach is the gradualist approach. This approach obviously indicates that ii wasn’t has rapid and debates that it was more gradual. Crafts (1985) believed that it was a time of slow improvement therefore supporting the gradualist approach. He believed it was slower, particularly socially; standards of living and wages did not improve. He also claimed that modernisation in Britain was sluggish, because demand and consumption only grew very slow during the claimed period. Wrigley (2004) is also of the gradualist school of thought. He argues that fundamental changes did occur in certain areas but that it wasn’t seen all over the country. A further debate concerns when the industrial revolution started. Most historians agree that it occurred during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century but no one date can actually be pinpointed as to when it all commenced. So was it the causes that started the industrial revolution and what were they? Factories were being built and they were certainly on the up rise during the late eighteenth century. Cotton and textiles in general moved more to the factory setting and away from the domestic system. Hobsbawn (1968) is quoted as saying â€Å"that whoever says industrial revolution says cotton†. Foster (1974) claims that the revolution began because of factories being built. To counteract Foster, Rule (1986) said that factories had existed before 1750 in isolated examples, which was pre-industrial revolution. This still doesn’t explain why the number of factories increased during the industrial revolution and whether they were the cause of the revolution. Another possible explanation as to why the industrial revolution occurred is that it was during a time when inventions were popular. John Kay invented the Flying Wheel in 1733; this speeded up the process of weaving. In 1765 James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny; that made spinning more efficient. They were still manual items and they took time to be introduced to manufacturers and potential factory owners. Methods of powering them were invented next. Richard Arkwright was first to use a water frame to mechanise spinning. He opened up a factory in 1771 and was able to produce material at a much larger scale. They certainly contributed to the increase in factories at the time but did they cause the revolution? Other historians believe it was steam power that caused the revolution. Inventors James Watt and Thomas Newcomen introduced the concept of steam to power machinery. They used coal to produce the steam. This made the machinery more efficient and increased production furthermore. Factories were also able to move away from sources of water and nearer places were coal was present. This method was put into action around 1785 when it was used to operate a spinning mill. So both water and coal and their use played a vital part in the revolution. Regardless of what caused the industrial revolution there were some great innovations that contributed to its onset; but do they help us define the industrial revolution? Rule (1986) states that â€Å"to most people the essence of an industrial revolution lies in the transformation through technology of manufacturing and it’s reorganisation into the new factory mode. There are plenty of other areas to discuss about the industrial revolution, which can open up further debate. Other areas to consider include why it started in Britain first, did it occur in other industries? What changed socially for the people? Population increased rapidly over the period discussed. Did the industrial revolution occur to meet their n eeds? The debates can go on and on and thus explains why historians will always face problems when it comes to defining the term ‘the industrial revolution’. Bibliography Crafts, Nicholas F. R. 1985) British Economic Growth During the Industrial Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press .Deane and Cole (1962) cited in Wrigley E. A. (2004) Poverty, Progress and Population. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Foster (1974) Class Struggle and the Industrial Revolution. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London .Hobsbawn (1968) Industry and Empire. Penguin group, London. Industrial revolution. http//www. wordiq. com/definition/industrial_revolution. Date accessed 14/10/2011 Revolution definition. http://oxforddictionaries. com/definition/revolution. Date accessed 14/10/2011 Rostow (1960) cited in Wrigley E. A. (2004) Poverty, Progress and Population. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Rule (1986) The labouring Classes in Early Industrial England 1750-1850. Longman Group, Harlow Wrigley E. A. (2004) Poverty, Progress and Population. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [->0] – http://www. wordiq. com/definition/Social [->1] – http://www. wordiq. com/definition/Economic [->2] – http://www. wordiq. com/definition/Technology [->3] – http://www. wordiq. com/definition/18th_century [->4] – http://www. wordiq. com/definition/19th_century

Japanese Automobile Manufacturers as Multinationals Essay

Japanese Automobile Manufacturers as Multinationals - Essay Example Strategies created by Japanese experts were used by Toyota and other Japanese automobile manufacturers to achieve the imposing in the markets and the business development. Japanese strategy called KAIZEN is widely famous for using by Toyota and other major producers. According to Funaru this strategy includes continuous improvement and its impact on the product quality’s level (Funaru M. 2010). This strategy is considered to be integrative and cross-functional in meaning it involves all staff in the gradual improvement, management and business activities for increasing company’s productivity, quality of the products and competitiveness of the business. Speaking of Toyota’s product strategy, it’s built on the following: new innovative technologies development, highest quality, discovering of new sources for creativity and focusing on research. Toyota Company is one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the world. The designs of the products are quite impressive thereby commanding lots reliance by several customers around the globe. However, it is of crucial significance to note that there are a number of problems that face the Japanese Automobiles in general. Some of these problems may include the issue of globalization and its associated implications, stiff competition, striking a balance between marketing and branding as well as dealing with pressure to attain efficiency and maintain sustainability in the markets and production. These have presented major challenges to a number of automobile industries thereby compromising their competitive advantages over the other world producers.

Financial Markets Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Markets Master - Essay Example In comparison to their peaks at the end of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index and the DAX index have dropped almost 50% in value. Considering recent events many investors have reconsidered the concept of fair value of a stock and the efficiency of techniques used. In addition to this, the approach applied by many academics on Technical and Fundamental Analysis1 and of Efficient Market Hypothesis theory, rather than on how to forecast, has induced us to base the structure of this essay on a similar approach. Therefore in Section 1, 2 and 3 after providing a brief overview of FA and of TA the EMH theory, we have explored alternative views and discussed the validity of the statement in object. After illustrating the need for analysts to create efficiency in Section 4 we have explored the extent to which FA, TA or EMH may be essential to achieve market efficiency. Finally, after examining in Section 5 the Stiglitz-Grossman paradox, in Section 6, we have explored anomalies and i nvalidities of EMH and presented our conclusions. FA found its existence in the firm-foundation theory developed in the 1930s though it was later popularised by Graham. Its purpose is to find and explore all economic variables measuring different economic circumstances and influencing the future earnings of an economic asset. Clearly the philosophy behind FA is that in the end, when enough traders realize that the market is not correctly pricing the asset, the market mechanism of demand/supply, will force the price of the asset to converge to its fundamental value. Early writers on the subject of security analysis assumed that the essence of investing was to determine the "true," "intrinsic," or "fundamental" value of a security and that this value could differ from the current market price. Graham and Dodd (1934) first highlighted the concept of the intrinsic value of a security as a function of the future earnings of a company, rather than "book value". Implicit in their approach to the evaluation of securities was the assumption that some investors have better information than others and therefore can accumulate underpriced securities without a significant and self-defeating impact on the market price of the stock. This assumption turned out to be critical in understanding both the development of the EMH and the recent literature on market-making mechanisms. This approach tries to generate an abnormal return by analyzing fundamental factors of a company to be able to draw a comparison between the theoretically justified fair value and the actual stock market price2. These fundamental factors are derived by analysing public information, on the ground of which the FA can generate an abnormal return, because all public information is already correctly processed by the stock market and therefore correctly reflected by the actual stock market prices3. 2. TA: theory overview and statement assessment A second approach to choosing securities is termed TA or "charting", which plots the history of past prices and tries to discern some predictive pattern for future price movements as illustrated by Exhibit 1. This theory, developed at beginning of the

Introduction to health behaviour change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to health behaviour change - Essay Example Prochaska and Velicer (1997) state that â€Å"health behavior change involves progress through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination.† The first two stages often prove to be the most difficult for the smokers to cope with. The preparation and action stages can be implemented with some difficulties but through commitment, these can be overcome. Maintenance and termination are quite easy once the war against quitting smoking has been won. There are quite a number of benefits that can be achieved from health behaviour change in society and individual. Behaviour change among individuals who smoke is advantageous in that they will reduce the risks of contracting smoking related diseases such as lung cancer. For any smoker, it is never too late to quit smoking since this is the only strategy that can guarantee good healthcare. Behaviour change among smokers is also important to the society at large. Non smokers are affected through passive smoking so if smoking is eradicated, this means that the health of the nonsmokers is not negatively impacted by substances from tobacco smoke. There is growing evidence that both active and passive smoking are harmful to health in Hong Kong. According to McGhee et al. (2006), â€Å" In the Hong Kong population of 6.5 million in 1998, the annual value of direct medical costs, long term care and productivity loss was US$532 million for active smoking and US$156 million for passive smoking†¦Ã¢â‚¬  These statistics paint a gloomy picture over the state of healthcare system in the Hong Kong. Therefore, concerted efforts need to be taken in order to address this problem in society. Positive behaviour change has been identified as the best solution that can help address the problem. There are many advantages of adopting this strategy. The TTM significantly assists in changing the behaviour of the smokers in many ways. For instance, it is known that it

Case study, a road map for natural capitalism Study

, a road map for natural capitalism - Case Study Example The term ‘Natural Capitalism, stresses on the weakness of industrial capitalism as it is practiced in contemporary society. It’s is perceived as unnatural and the one that lacks logic in all aspects. The article What should we do: A Road Map for Natural Capitalism (2007), Harvard Business Review, Lovins, A.B., Lovins, L. H. & Hawken, P. Jul/Aug 2007, Vol. 85 Issue 7/8, p. 172-183 provides an insight of what for years has been ignored and the dangers that the ecosystem is in and humankind in the long run that is often ignored. One fundamental idea, that the article offers, is the need for companies and government to rethink their operations that hurt the ecosystem (Lovins et al., 2007). The companies and the government should set a strategy rooted in these principals and global work consistently towards their eventual implementation. Furthermore, the key to the community successfully employing these practices need our governments and companies to start placing a value on earth’s natural capital or ecosystem services. Simply put, economy is always dependent and fed by the same earth’s natural environment and for many of these services there exist no replacement. According to the article, by quantifying the expenses of the ecosystem and having them in their company balance sheets, firms can begin to minimize their wasteful depletion of the resources and eventually seek innovative ways to make changes in their production processes that will not lead to stretching these natural resources more than ever imagined. The perceived shift to this modern paradigm give a competitive edge to industry and lower expenses by increasing their bottom line and assist to start to stabilize the endangered earth’s climate while starting to replenish the earth’s biosphere. Through this the article claims that it is a win-win situation for both the humankind in the future and the ecosystem. The articles

How does Barthes' The Death of the Author help illuminate the themes Essay

How does Barthes' The Death of the Author help illuminate the themes of Goodnight Desdemona(good morning Juliet) - Essay Example It does not have to be necessary that both texts are in the same category or addressing similar subjects. The most important thing to note is that they give the audience the ability and opportunity to understand various concepts better than if they did not bother reading them both. Ideas of two authors can be either similar or contracting with each other, but still, drawing reference between them remains a good reason why two texts can be read together. The advantages of reading two texts together and drawing references cannot be underestimated, as revealed by two texts, Barthes’ â€Å"The Death of the Author† and â€Å"Goodnight Desdemona (good morning Juliet)†. ... She came into this conclusion after she realized that if wise fools had been used in the plays instead of the real fools who had been used, they would automatically lose their tragic element. Although she is clever enough to realize the fools in both the two texts, she does not realize the fool in in the death of the author, the author points out that there are those readers who will properly understand the every word and the duplicate as well as hear the voice that the characters are speaking in the text. By this he meant that the most effective leaders are those that can read in between the lines and understand the hidden meanings of the author without any hardship. An effective reader can make out the culture of the characters, their behaviors and the kind of relationship that they exhibit even without these details having to be revealed in open by the text. This definition perfectly suits the character of Constance, who deductively comes into a conclusion that the characters in t he two tragedies by Shakespeare were fools (Barthes web). In drawing her conclusion therefore, she feels that a change of the characters would significantly change the type of the texts. From this analysis, the definition of a reader by Barthes effectively helps in the illumination of the theme of reading my MacDonald. Another theme that can effectively be illuminated by the text the death of the author is the theme of criticism. Criticism can be defined as positive or negative close scrutiny of a text or a book to reveal the effectiveness of the author in addressing the particular topic in his mind. Positive criticism looks at the positive side of the text and where the author successfully tackled their point while negative

Economic Development in East Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economic Development in East Asia - Essay Example Many countries started the modern economic growth post Second World War while some other countries chose to start them according to their preference. The biggest developer Japan decided to use the modern economy from 1985, where as china implemented it from 1980s. It followed the economy policy and preferred market economies over central economy. From then it has been a growing stage for each country as well as the East Asia as a whole. Globalization created so much impact on all the countries and only some could withstand the era of Globalization. East Asian countries did not face this problem. They were strong enough to accept and change towards globalization, and from then there has been a continuous growth in all the countries. As politics played a major role in the development of a country, many countries could not improve their economic standard immediately. They had to cooperate with the government and abide by their rules and regulations. The growth and development was seen in starting up new industries and inventing new things.(Nabende 2003). Import and Export underwent a transformation. Countries like Japan and China started to manufacture their own products instead of importing them from other foreign countries. This in turn resulted in exporting goods manufactured by them to the other countries. Manufacturing companies started to produce textiles, technological products and other industrial and home appliances. The shares of each country were based on their development and some of them had a tough time due to the massive improvement of China and Japan. (Sycip 1996).There was also a growth on the education and employment, which gradually improved the economy. After some years, the government started providing monetary support to the countries, which made the development easier. The trade and its market started to improve; import and export decided a countries role to develop other nations. Though East Asian countries were experiencing growth, in the 1980s there was a setback which the countries found it difficult to cope up with. Some of them reported zero growth and import and export were affected. This condition improved after years of struggle and fight. Japan was leading in the development stage and it faced a severe competition with the improvement of United States. The value of dollar and Yen kept in fluctuating. There was a tough competition between them. Financial Crisis Financial crisis disturbed and turned down the improvement of almost all the countries in the world. East Asian countries were the worst hit by the financial crisis. There was a drop in their currency value too. (Greenwood 2005).The U.S dollar continued to dominate and countries like Japan and China had their currencies floating. The recovery from this crisis took some time and improvement seemed to be tough. Due to this crisis, trading operations totally came to a halt. Countries with good economies could manage, where as smaller countries started to suffer. Investment went down and they found it difficult to tide over the situation. But then after sometime the countries started to recover and the recovery was rather a shock to the other countries. With the help of the government, countries gained financial support and their trading, import, export and investment seemed to improve. Trade assignments between the East Asian countr

Islamic Civilization and Byzantium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic Civilization and Byzantium - Essay Example This small group moved to Medina under the command of Allah, where many Muslims already resided. This became the first Muslim State (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 302-305). Despite this, the Muslims in Medina were attacked by those in Mecca several times. Due to their status as idol-worshippers and the breaking of a peace treaty, Mohammed decided it was time to conquer Mecca, where many of those living there were converted into Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 301). From here, Islam began to flourish under the Prophet Mohammed until his death in 632AD, as the people of Mecca were converted and no longer provided a threat (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 318-322). Despite this, Islam would face several challenges following the death of the Prophet Mohammed (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 308-335). As with many religions, there was a split in Islam reflecting an internal conflict; the Sunni sect, who hold Mohammed’s life up as an example of purity and are said to follow tradition, and the Shi’a sect. who follow the word of Imams as they believe they are directly descended from Mohammed and he appointed this lineage as his successors (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). ... Sufism is slightly different to the Shi’a/Sunni split, as followers of Sufi can identify with a separate sect whilst still following Sufi Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). Islam refers to the people of the book (referring to those of other religions that follow similar ideals to those within Islam, like Christians and Jewish people) as dhimmi (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). These peoples are allowed to live in the Muslim State and can be exempted from some parts of Sharia Law. The dhimmi are afforded the utmost respect in Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335), as the teachings of Allah and the Prophet Mohammed suggest they should be. Additionally, the constitution of Medina suggests that those who follow religious and good lives should be treated as equals. Additionally, being an Abrahimic religion, there are many similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. All three religions worship one God, in contrast to many of the smaller religions th at were around in the area at the time of Mohammed (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). There are also many similar guidelines and practises within Islam when compared with those found in Christianity and Judaism. What circumstances brought Abd al-Rahman I to Iberia? Discuss his efforts to establish the Umayyad dynasty in Iberia. How do these efforts impact Jews and Christians during his rule and afterwards? In what ways did language (Arabic) and culture impact the Jews and Christians of Iberia? What were their respective reactions? Relate and discuss examples of these reactions. What happened to the Umayyad dynasty under Abd al-Rahman III? Abd-al-Rahman I first came to Iberia as a result of having to flee the old Umayyad dynasty, found in Damascus, as the Abbasid were coming to power in the

Macbeth Analysis Essay Example for Free

Macbeth Analysis Essay How is one able to control his or her emotions when the surrounding environment is influencing one personally? Lady Macbeth finds the answer to this simple; impossible. Lady Macbeth continues to be controlled by others subconsciously whether it is through her own control, other actions or pure guilt. The actions of characters and events that occur in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth affect the life and mental wellness of Lady Macbeth directly and cause her to digress from dominant to voyeur, and then finally to victim, causing the play to be more enticing. To start, Lady Macbeth is a dominant, deceiving and determined woman. For example, Lady Macbeth’s dominance and control are shown when she and Macbeth are discussing the plan for King Duncan’s murder. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"Your hand, your tongue; look like th’innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under’t.† (1.5.64-65). Lady Macbeth’s control is revealed when she says this because she is openly manipulating Macbeth and telling him how to act and what to do. Also, Lady Macbeth’s dominance is shown while she and Macbeth discuss the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"We fail?/ But screw your courage to the sticking-place† (1.7.59-60). When Lady Macbeth says this she shows the audience that she is able to overpower her husband’s courage with her own. Another example of Lady Macbeth’s persona is when she uses her ability to deceive while talking with Duncan upon his arrival to her castle. Lady Macbeth says to Duncan, â€Å"All our service,/ In every point twice done then done double† (1.6.16-17). Her deception is proved when she says this because she is acting like a pleasant host to Duncan’s face but her motives are much less than pleasant. The deception Lady Macbeth shows while talking to Duncan is successful when Duncan falls for it with no suspicion. This is proved when Duncan says, â€Å"Give me your hand;/ Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly/ and shall continue our graces towards him./ By your leave hostess.† Duncan allowing Lady Macbeth to hold his hand indicates that he has a trust in her and does not have a doubt upon the person he see Lady Macbeth as and has no idea about the motives of his host and hostess. Lady Macbeth is able to use her deceptive abilities after the murder of Duncan is committed. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"[Her] hands are of [his] colour, but [she] shame[s] to wear a heart so white.† (2.2.62-68). This quotation means that Lady Macbeth still bares the innocence she had before the deed to the eye of others, hence, having a heart so white. This proven to be true because everyone looks at Lady Macbeth as innocent and pure, as if she could do no harm, but the truth is the total opposite. Also, Lady Macbeth’s determination shows through when she calls upon the dark spirits to give her the courage and strength of a male figure and to relieve her of the womanly kindness she possesses. Lady Macbeth asks for this by saying, â€Å"Come you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull/ Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood† (1.5.39-42). The determination of Lady Macbeth is shown in this quote because she is doing something as drastic as calling upon the dark spirits to assist her in committing murder. As a result, Lady Macbeth’s dominating personality is able to pursue to her plan of murdering King Duncan successfully, without resistance from her husband. Secondly, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s roles switch, leaving Lady Macbeth standing off, with less control and becoming more of a voyeur to the plans of Macbeth. To start, Lady Macbeth is first being stripped of her control right after Duncan’s death is discovered and Macbeth has killed the guard in order to remove suspicion from him. The audience is aware of this deed when Macbeth says, â€Å"O, yet I do repent me of my fury/ That I did kill them.† (2.3.102-103). Lady Macbeth begins to lose control over this because she had no idea or warning of Macbeth’s killing of the guards. This act also takes a toll on Lady Macbeth’s physical state when it causes her to faint. Lady Macbeth fainting is a sure sign of her losing the control she had earlier because not only are other characters leaving her out but also, her own body is causing her to be in that state as well. Next, Macbeth kills Banquo upon his intuition that Banquo has suspicion towards him in the case of Duncan’s murder. Lady Macbeth was ill-informed on this matter which is yet another sign that she is losing control over the characters that she had control over previously and is now watching the action happen. Also, at a dinner, which Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were hosting together, Lady Macbeth first could not get Macbeth the welcome his guests. This is proved when Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth, â€Å"My royal lord,/ You do not give the cheer; the feast is sold/ That is not often vouch’d while ‘tis a-making ,/ ‘Tis given with welcome. (3.4.33-36). She (Lady Macbeth) als o loses more control over Macbeth at this dinner when she is unable to calm him down when he sees the ghosts of Banquo and Duncan. In this situation Lady Macbeth attempts to gain some control by saying to him, â€Å"You have displac’d the mirth, broke the good meeting/ With most admir’d disorder.† (3.4.109-110). The acting-out of Macbeth leaves Lady Macbeth both astonished and over powered. These two instances especially show Lady Macbeth losing control over, not only situations but other characters themselves. Lastly, Macbeth kills Macduff’s wife and children upon suspicion without Lady Macbeth’s push or permission and neglects to inform her of the deed directly and chooses just to imply it during conversation with her. As the two (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) are talking Macbeth says, â€Å"Come, we’ll to sleep. My strange and self-abuse/ Is the initiate fear that wants hard use;/ We are yet but young in deed.†(3.4.143-144). When Macbeth says this it has the implication of the commitment of another foul deed which Lady Macbeth is only aware of at this point. Macbeth’s drastic actions cause Lady Macbeth to fall uncontrollably uninformed and into the background. Finally, Lady Macbeth ends the play being dominated by her feelings of guilt and the consequences of Duncan’s murder and ultimately becomes a victim to it. To start, Lady Macbeth begins to sleep walk and admits her affiliation in Duncan’s murder. Proof of Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking is proved when the Gentlewoman (a spectator of the situation) says, â€Å"Ay, but their senses are shut.† (5.1.23). She says this after the doctor (the second spectator of the situation) mentions that Lady Macbeth has her eyes open. The Gentlewoman’s line lets the audience know she is indeed sleep walking for her eyes may be open but there sense is disabled. Also in this scene Lady Macbeth’s self control is shown to have weakened further, when she speaks of Duncan’s murder. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"Out, dammed spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ‘tis/ time to do’t. Hell is murky, Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier,/ and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when/ none can call our power to account? Yet who would/ have thought the man to have had so much blood/ in him?† (5.1.31-36) and also when she says, â€Å"The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What,/ will these hands ne’re be clean?† (5.1.38-39). These quotes both prove that she knew and was involved in the murders of Duncan and Macduff’s family and shows that these events are the reason for her stress, guilt and sleep walking, hence being dominated/ being victim to these emotions. Next, Lady Macbeth is being dominated by her feelings of guilt when she is seen washing her hand continuously during her sleep walking. While she is doing this she says, â€Å"Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of/ Arabia will not sweeten this litt le hand. O, O, O.† (5.1.44-45). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth is overcome by her guilt because she mentally imagines the blood still being there, following her, her mind lets her believe she is still covered in the blood when in reality the blood is just representing the guilt she is feeling. A second example of Lady Macbeth being dominated by her guilt symbolically is when she is dreaming of/ replaying the scene in while sleep walking. Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"To bed, to bed; there’s knocking at the gate. Come,/ come, come, come, give me your hand; what’s done/ cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.† (5.1.58-60). This quote directly shows the audience that it is indeed the murder of Duncan which Lady Macbeth is stressing over as it is a deed which â€Å"cannot be undone†. Lastly, Lady Macbeth shows that she is becoming victim to the outcome of events, and more directly herself when she commits suicide. The audience discovers her death when Seyton (another Thane) informs Macbeth of the incident. Seyton says, â€Å"The queen, my lord, is dead.† (5.5.16). Lady Macbeth becomes victim to herself in the way that she sees the only option to relieve her of her painful emotions is to kill herself. Therefore, Lady Macbeth is ultimately dominated and falls victim to the guilt she feels caused by the actions of herself and others. To conclude, the mental state and physical well-being of Lady Macbeth is influenced by the dominance and control of both herself and other characters in the play. Lady Macbeth went from being dominant, deceiving, and determined to being uninformed during the murders Macbeth commits to being over some by her emotions that had built up inside her during all of this. Therefore, Lady Macbeth’s life as the audience knows it is dependable on the outcome of events that Lady Macbeth herself is involved in and/ or witnesses. Temptation was the base of all Lady Macbeths problems; it is said â€Å"temptation is the Devil.† What would you risk to get what you want?

Legal Defenses in Criminal Law

Legal Defenses in Criminal Law In criminal law, offenses are clearly defined. Some require a proof of the criminal act and others require proof of intent to commit the crime. Under the law; individuals may have performed illegal acts but still not be found guilty of a criminal violation because of a legally recognized justification for the actions or because legally they were not responsible for their actions (Neubauer Fradella, 2010, p. 48-49). Legal defenses in criminal law come from the way crime is defined. There are numerous defenses that are seen in criminal cases. Self-defense is the most commonly seen legal defense. Others include duress or compulsion, infancy or immaturity, mental impairment or insanity, and necessity. To be held responsible for a crime, a person must understand the nature and consequences of his or her unlawful actions. Under certain circumstances, a person who commits a crime lacks the legal capacity to be held responsible for the act. Defenses based on justifications rely on a claim t hat the accused party did take certain action now being labeled criminal but had no other choice in order to minimize their own losses or those of someone else. A justification defense deems conduct that is otherwise criminal to be socially acceptable and non-punishable under the specific circumstances of the case. Justification focuses on the nature of the conduct under the circumstances. Excuse defenses focus on the defendants moral culpability. An excuse defense recognizes that the defendant has caused some social harm but should not be blamed or punished for such harm. Justification and excuse defenses apply to all crimes. Some defenses, however, pertain to just one or a few crimes. For example, legal impossibility is a common law defense to the crime of attempt. Justification, excuse, and offense-modification defenses all relate to the defendants culpability or to the wrongfulness of conduct. There is a difference between justification defense and an excusable defense. Self-def ense and necessity are justifiable reasons and duress and insanity are excusable reasons. Self-Defense The general rule is that a person is privileged to use force as reasonably appears necessary to defend himself or herself against an apparent threat of unlawful and immediate violence from another (Pollock, 2009, p. 90). The general rule is that a person is privileged to use force when a person reasonably believes that it is necessary to defend oneself or another against the immediate threat of danger or use of unlawful force. However, a person must use no more force than appears reasonably necessary in the circumstances. Force likely to cause death or great bodily harm is justified in self-defense only if a person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. In thinking about a self-defense case, attorneys need to consider police use-of-force training and standards. Attorneys will need to know a moderate amount of technical information about firearms, gunshot wounds, knife wounds, blood splatter evidence and crime scene reconstruction in or der to review and challenge the prosecutors experts (Steele, 2003, p. 659). Attorneys investigate eyewitness memory and how the client, the deceased and any innocent bystanders were affected by the stress of the incident. If the act was committed in self-defense, then the crime is not punishable. The right to protect oneself, family, and home is recognized by the common law. Model Penal Code shows that use of force is justifiable when it is used to protect and prevent against harm. To prove self-defense, one must show proof that there was a reasonableness of fear of physical harm to oneself or another and reason to perceive an imminent danger. The amount of force used must be reasonable and related to the threat and he or she who is claiming self defense cannot be the cause of the incident. Duress In criminal law, duress is a defense to a crime if the defendant was pressured or compelled to commit the crime by another. If there was a threat of serious imminent harm to the defendant or others and no reasonable escape available, then duress or compulsion can be claimed if the crime is of a lesser magnitude than the harm threatened. The common law recognized duress as a defense for crimes but not murder. Nowadays, Under the Model Code, the defense of duress is not established simply by the fact that the defendant was coerced; he must have been coerced in circumstances under which a person of reasonable firmness in his situation would likewise have been unable to resist (Pollack, 2009, p. 83). Compulsion refers to the forcible persuasion to an act. It also means the act of forceful and uncontrollable impulse to do something in the state of being persuaded. Duress or compulsion can take many forms other then physical force. It can be threats used under the heads of obedience to ord ers, martial pressure, and necessity. Duress excuses criminal behavior where the defendant shows that the acts were the product of threats inducing a reasonable fear of immediate death or serious bodily injury (Pollack, 2009, p. 83). Committing a crime because of fear of immediate danger allows state laws to excuse the criminal conduct. Duress excuses criminal culpability only if the defendant is in imminent fear of bodily harm by another with no escape and the crime cannot be any serious personal violent crime, such as homicide. To be cleared by reason of duress, the defendant must not have also been reckless in putting themselves in harms way. Although not universally recognized, woman will use the defense of battered woman syndrome. This is to say that that assailant, typically female, becomes helpless because of constant abuse and is forced to commit crime because they fear there is no escape. Infancy Infancy and immaturity is a legal defense and has been seen in criminal cases. Infancy means the state or period of being a minor and is a lack of legal capacity to be held responsible for a crime due to the age of the perpetrator. Infancy, in this case, means only that the child does not have the capacity to determine right and wrong, the age of infancy is set by case law or statute (Pollack, 2009, p. 70). The legal defense of infancy is a form of defense known as an excuse so that defendants falling within the definition of an infant are excluded from criminal liability for their actions, if at the time they have not reached an age of criminal responsibility. According to the common law, a child under the age of seven is clearly not responsible for their actions even if the child confessed to the act. A child between the ages of seven and fourteen is still considered infant and is not responsible but some cases can be overturned. The Model Penal Code establishes that any individual under the age of sixteen is to be tried in juvenile court but any individual older than sixteen but younger than eighteen at the time of the incident can be tried in adult criminal court if the juvenile courts wave jurisdiction. The exact age at which a person is no longer considered a juvenile, and can this be prosecuted as an adult, differs from state to state (Neubauer Fradella, 2010, p. 49). Most of the state courts that have addressed the issue have declared that the infancy defense is inapplicable to juvenile court prosecutions because it was intended to guard children from the harshness of the adult penal system and therefore has no relevance to a rehabilitation-oriented juvenile court system. In the criminal law, each state will consider the nature of its own society and the available evidence of the age at which antisocial behavior begins to manifest itself. Juvenile delinquency is a form of immaturity and a childs criminal violations. Common crimes include theft, burglar y, sale or possession of drugs, and criminal damage and vandalism to property. Insanity Insanity is a legal defense where a defendant claims to have been under mental impairment during the time of the crime. It is a legal term and refers to any mental illness that meets the legal threshold for incapacity. Defendants claiming insanity plead that they are not to be held responsible for their actions. In common law, courts held that if the defendant had no understanding or memory to know what he was doing was wrong, he was like an infant or world beast and, therefore, not culpable (Pollack, 2009, p. 73). Daniel MNaghten was a woodworker who believed he was the target of a conspiracy involving the pope and British Prime Minister Robert Peel. In 1843, MNaghten traveled to 10 Downing Street to ambush Peel, but mistakenly shot and killed Peels secretary. During the ensuing trial, several psychiatrists testified MNaghten was delusional. A jury agreed, declaring him not guilty by reason of insanity. This was the first case seen with the defense of insanity. To determine pure ins anity of a defendant, certain rules are followed such as MNaghtens Rules and a right and wrong test is administered because insanity is an affirmative defense. To establish criminal incapacity under this test, a defendant must introduce at least some evidence to show that, as a result of his mental condition, he did not know the nature and quality of his act or did not know that the act was wrong (Pollack, 2009, p. 75). The defendant must show burden of proof and competency to stand trial. In some cases, when the defendant is not declared legally insane, diminished capacity defenses are used such as premenstrual syndrome, post partum depression syndrome, intoxication, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and battered woman syndrome. Necessity Similar to duress, necessity is a defense used when the pressure that makes the defendant commit the crime comes from an outside source. In this case, the factors that affect the defendant come from the physical forces of nature instead of another human being. Necessity is sometimes referred to as the Choice of Evils. The evil sought to be avoided must be greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense (Pollack, 2009, p. 87). Necessity excuses criminal conduct when it is done only to avoid an even greater harm. If one believes that they or another is about to suffer significant bodily harm and there is no other reasonable legal alternative to engaging in the criminal conduct, then one may claim this legal defense and not be held responsible. For example, if you are being chased and enter a random home without permission to seek shelter and contact the police, then it is excusable and you will not be charged with trespassing although you did not have permissio n. But here, your actions would probably be excused as being done out of necessity. Necessity is another legal defense that must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. An example is the possession of marijuana as a medical necessity. The defense of necessity excuses criminal actions taken in response to exigent circumstances, and is based on the premise that illegal action should not be punished if it was undertaken to prevent a greater harm. The test for necessity requires that the defendant faced with a choice of evils choose the lesser evil; it does not require that the evil perceived must be illegal under the law. (Graybiel, 1994). Conclusion Justifications and excuses represent exceptions to those generally applicable prohibitory norms, precluding conviction and punishment in certain defined circumstances even where an actor has engaged in prohibited conduct or caused a prohibited result. A justification centers on the external, objective circumstances that surround an otherwise criminal act and seeks to determine whether, on balance, the act has benefited (or at least not harmed) society. In contrast, an excuse generally focuses upon an actors individual characteristics and subjective mental state and aims to determine whether he can justly be held accountable.

Carl Rogers :: essays research papers fc

Eventually I am going to briefly explain the important parts of these chapters because I need to take up some room and I am not quite sure about what to write. So here is a little description of what, like it or not, this paper is going to contain. I’ll start of with my thoughts and feelings about the structure and uniqueness of The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child, then get into the actual body of the book and talk about what I thought was interesting and what I think is still used today. Of course using my petite knowledge about the psychology of today and modern-day institutions and therapy. After that I am going to delve into Way of Life and do the same thing. The Way of Life section will probably be considerably shorter because of my limited interested in the book and my blatant laziness. Plus we had to have two sources and I decided to pick the two books that he wrote near the beginning of his career and near the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were a few stylistic things about the book that impressed me enough to include them into this paper. First off, it was written in 1939 when the study of psychology was in its infancy. At the end of every chapter or section throughout the book there is a bibliography showing every source that was cited. I think this is a very clever way to let people know that there is a science behind psychology and it is not all blind conjecture. I think that was very insightful and very much a slap in the face to everyone that didn’t believe in psychology (of course if they put no stock in psychology they would not have read the book, but hey he tried). Preface   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The primary purpose of this volume is to describe and discuss the variety of treatment skills actually used in clinical work. These ‘ways of practice,’ which have been evolving over a score of years, are set forth in organized fashion, in hope that their presentation will lead to a better understanding of treatment techniques and a more critical consideration of their use.† This guy seems to genuinely want to establish psychology as a science and I think it is neat how easily he can simultaneously write to an audience of professionals in their field to someone like me with absolutely no background in psychology.

Japanese Internment in Canada Essay -- essays research papers

The core of the Japanese experience in Canada lies in the shameful and almost undemocratic suspension of human rights that the Canadian government committed during World War II. As a result, thousands of Japanese were uprooted to be imprisoned in internment camps miles away from their homes. While only a small percentage of the Japanese living in Canada were actually nationals of Japan, those who were Canadian born were, without any concrete evidence, continuously being associated with a country that was nothing but foreign to them. Branded as â€Å"enemy aliens†, the Japanese Canadians soon came to the realization that their beloved nation harboured so much hate and anti-Asian sentiments that Canada was becoming just as foreign to them as Japan was. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Canadians lost almost everything, including their livelihood. Their dignity as a people was being seriously threatened. Without any proper thought, they were aware that resistanc e against Canada’s white majority would prove to be futile. Racial discrimination had its biggest opportunity to fully reveal itself while the Japanese silently watched the civil disdain take action, the time slip by throughout the evacuation and internment, and their daily lives simply fall apart at the seams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The term â€Å"Canadian† offered no redemption as the Japanese Canadians were involuntarily regarded as potential treats to national security by their own fellow citizens. In a country they knew only as home, the â€Å"yellow† race was a culture many felt they could never accept with open arms. In essence, as the prejudice impelled the Japanese to enclose themselves in a separated society, they were decidedly doomed to remain a permanently alien, non-voting population. As visible minorities, the Japanese were easy targets for discrimination in every social aspect of their lives. In 1907, a race riot took place in a district called â€Å"Little Tokyo† in Vancouver. There, an estimated five thousand racist Canadians sought to destroy the homes and stores of the Asian community. By 1928, W.L. Mackenzie King proposed that one hundred fifty Japanese immigrants be permitted to enter Canada each year to prevent future mishaps. The bombing of Pearl Ha rbor was merely a trigger point for the public distaste to truly emphasize itself. With such close relations with the United Sta... ... to all those who disliked them, and soon that same conception was being adopted by the Japanese minority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Japanese Canadians had no other option but to endure the constant assaults to their social welfare. As aliens, they could only do so much in a country that was populated mostly by the white race. However, little did it upset them in the beginning, since they were still proud to be Canadian. When the public scorn, evacuation and internment took place, the Japanese were compelled to remain in a stagnant state as all they had earned through much labour became stripped away. After Pearl Harbor, their small and restricted world so abruptly collapsed that nothing would ever be the same again. The government lacked the courage and political will to refuse public opinion in British Columbia, and so chose the path of least resistance. Consequently, the Japanese became subjected to serious limitations of their civil liberties as citizens, and more importantly, human beings. The passing years, have brought overdue regrets and apologies, but the memory of the internment a cts as a reminder that the denial of an entire race’s rights is never the solution.

Jihad: Moving Beyound Cultural Biases and Misconceptions Essay

The concept of Jihad was not widely known in the western world before the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Since then, the word has been woven into what our media and government feed us along with notions of Terrorism, Suicide Bombings, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and now, Jihad. Our society hears exhortations resounding from the Middle East calling the people to rise up in Jihad and beat back the imperialist Americans. Yet, if we try to peel back all of these complex layers of information we can we attempt to find out what Jihad really means. Webster’s Dictionary defines Jihad as â€Å"a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty or a crusade for a principle or belief† (1). Often, media depicts Jihad in the same manner—as a vicious clash between two very different peoples, each of whom believes that righteousness, and in many cases God, is on their side. From this interpretation and our daily media intake, one may re asonably assume that Jihad refers to nothing more than violent acts, or â€Å"holy wars.† While there is no precise definition of the term, the meaning of Jihad is far more complex. In fact, the term Jihad generally refers to the struggle one must undertake as one â€Å"strive[s] in the path of God† (Church 110). That struggle is defined both externally and internally. As so, they are classified in terms of an external struggle with enemies or non believers, or an internal struggle with oneself to reject greed and temptation. While popular opinion has been misconstrued to see Jihad as a malevolent, violent action; a serious investigation of the term’s historical and religious background reveals a multi-defined word. An examination of the Jihad’s etymological context will lend a k... ... As Americans, we must approach Jihad with sensitivity, an admission of our ignorance on the subject, and an earnest attempt to properly educate ourselves. Works Cited Church, Kenneth. â€Å"Jihad.† Collateral Language. Ed. John Collins and Ross Glover. New York: NYU Press, 2000. 109-123. Engineer, Asghar Ali. â€Å"The Real Meanings of Jihad.† December 2001. 1 October 2003.Husaq, Nina. E-mail to the author. 19 October 2003. Juergensmeyer, Mark. Terror In The Mind Of God. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (6th Edition) Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1999.Rogers-Melnick, Ann. â€Å"Jihad Misused, Misunderstood.† Post-Gazette 23 September 2001. 2 October 2003. The Qu’ran. LXI:11, p.398; IX:41, p.149. Witham, Larry. â€Å"Muslims See Wordplay as Swordplay in Terrorism War.† The Washington Post. 24 July 2002. 3 October 2003.

Meaning of life †Human Essay

I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place? That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something concrete. Something greater. How could there not be? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe.

Introduction To Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Engineering Essay

The planetary aircraft fabrication industry can be separated into two cardinal sections. Military and infinite application and civil or commercial aircraft. Commercial Aircraft comprises of little and big traveler aircrafts and even the lading aircrafts. The big aircraft fabrication is chiefly done by Boeing company of the United provinces of America and Airbus company of the European brotherhood. In the yesteryear, Boeing has been achieved success in taking over Martin Marietta and McDonnell Douglas, both had besides been in the industry of aircraft fabrication. Presently, the big aircraft fabrication industry is an oligopoly, dominated by Airbus and Boeing, which are in a ferocious competition against each other. There are other big makers besides, for illustration there is one in Russia but its consequences were irrelevant because its clients were limited to air hoses from Vietnam, Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. The universe aircraft industry has gone under a really steady growing. Boeing estimates that the worldwide aircraft market would be deserving 5.4 trillion US dollars by 2024 to counterbalance a 5.2 % addition in world-wide air travel. It is estimated that 12,000 to 15,000 will be needed by 2020 to run into the turning demand. PESTLE AnalysisPoliticalLiberalization of travels between the European Union and the United States has resulted in demand of more aircrafts. The Aircraft Industry is a duopoly industry comprising of Airbus ( EU ) and Boeing ( US ) . If there are to be viewed from political consensus they are bipartisan political system. Anthony Downs proposed a authoritative theoretical account in the political scientific discipline that suits the state of affairs in the perfect manner. His proposal reversed the conservative connexion between party political orientations and elections. He said that alternatively of parties accomplishing triumph in the elections on the footing of the rightness of their docket, his findings give elections pre-eminence, with innuendo that all actions taken by the party are aimed at maximizing ballots. Harmonizing to Downes, both parties will seek to resemble each other every bit much as possible. Both parties will maintain their policies modestly different from each other. Besides bulk of electors merely want to see minor changes in authorities functionality. The Market of big and mid size aircrafts works on the same political orientation. There is an huge consensus among market participants to what an attractive merchandise comprises, that is, an economically efficient and safe aircraft. But there are besides some involvement cabals that have wagered in merchandise design, merely as there are much possible groups within a democratic system. A The Government of the United States and its Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) are considered to be influential as they look upon the largest air conveyance market in the universe. Regulations laid by the European and United states authorities will turn out to be a major drive force for orders of new aircraft in the coming old ages. In the similar manner, the deregulating of European air hoses, which begun in 1990 ‘s, promises to spread out the markets for smaller regional jets. Trade of big commercial jetliners has been tariff free under the understanding of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) . The high grade of political intercession has consequence on the purchase of aircraft. The determination of purchasers to purchase which aircraft depends on the political grounds because the support and intervention from the authorities could consequence the hereafter of purchasers. For Example, soon Boeing ‘s biggest market is China and is estimated to be for following twenty old ages. As a consequence China ‘s purchase of boeing aircrafts has led to batch of political influence in the United States.EconomicAir traffic in US and UK is likely to increase as they have merely recovered from the recession. The commercial aircraft is estimated to lift deserving US $ 2 trillion in the approaching 20 old ages, which will ensue into demand of 16,600 new aircrafts ( estimated ) . The largest demand is expected to come from air hoses from China, US and India. Huge sum of growing is expected from the Middle East states. It is expected that China entirely will necessitate 2,200 new a ircrafts to run into its travel demands. Besides, international cargo sector is estimated to turn by 253 % in the following 20 old ages. China being the biggest emerging market and sing its population size, the growing in air riders is likely to hit up which would ensue in increasing demand for new aircrafts. High Oil monetary values: looming oil monetary values have elevated the operating cost of air hoses. In the twelvemonth 2007, the world-wide air hose industry had to pay 136 billion US dollars for fuels, its a 300 % addition compared to what they had to pay in 2003. Even in 2008, when petroleum oil monetary values fell dramatically, it still accounted for 32 % of the operating disbursals. Global GDP- the primary factors in finding the demand of aircraft and growing in the industry is the GDP, which is expected to turn by 3.2 % by 2030 The planetary recession: The recession which impelled a theatrical bead in load factors in the center of 2008. In response, air hoses have been seting aircrafts out of service and rethinking programs to order replacing for the bing aircrafts. In the 3rd one-fourth of 2008 24 air hoses went bankrupt. The loses during this period were estimated about 4-8 billion US dollars. The recognition crunch: The recognition crunch in combination with the above mentioned factors, has made it difficult to buy new aircrafts, air hoses are happening troubles to finance new aircrafts. Despite of the recognition crunch, orders for concern and commercial jets have seen addition at the beginning of 2008, but the recognition crises has resulted in holds and recesss and failure to take bringing of many aircrafts.SocialRecent alterations in society have led to increase in air travel. Besides alterations in life manner of people and the point of view of air journey being a executable option. Demand of air travel is driven by convenience. However, the tendency is altering as the consumers travel determinations is chiefly based on monetary value. Rising cost and competition produced by low-priced bearers is impacting bulk of Airlines. Business travels, one time a stalls of income, now is a behavior by corporate travel guidelines. As a effect, air hoses are uniting their webs to use economic systems of graduated table, minimise environmental impact and offer smaller markets with new and improved services. The noise generated and CO2 emanation near the airdrome is besides a thing of higher concern as people populating near the airdrome are supercharging governments to alter thier operating manner.TechnologicalIn the commercial air power industry, there are immense sum of costs connected with Research and development for the development of a new aircraft. European Union authoritiess sustain European engineering R & A ; D sector, merely as the united provinces authorities does, though FAA, NASA, Department of Defence ( DOD ) and plans that reliefs export revenue enhancement. Though United provinces has three times more support than the European brotherhood. The Aircraft industry is really demanding with really high measure of clip and money dedicated to inventions and R & A ; D. Now a twenty-four hours ‘s C fibre is used for the building of an Aircraft organic structure. ( illustration: A350 XWB with 50 % C fiber organic structure ) Concentration on development on doing more fuel efficient engines for longer scopes. Use of alternate beginnings of fuel to antagonize raising oil monetary values The development of supersonic aircraft is besides a opportunity because it will take to creative activity of whole new market section. Commercial bearers will purchase these aircrafts to run into clients demand of making the finish rapidly and on clip. The largest and cost efficient promotion for commercial aircraft industry is the faster designing of planes. The augmented fabrication clip will salvage aircrafts makers clip on labour and assist them to break utilize resources. For Example: Boeing 777 used computing machine to plan a paradigm, this saved them the cost of constructing a existent paradigm. In today ‘s competitory universe, automatons are besides considered an effectual tool for the fabrication of aircraft.LegalThere are many limitations when it comes to come ining the market but due to globalization fortunes have changed and besides due to US unfastened skies understanding. Open skies understanding has led to smooth flow of national and international flights in and out of US, promoting Tourss and concern activities, bettering productiveness and creative activity of occupation chances and economic growing. United province ‘s unfastened skies policy has been proved really effectual in air hose globalisation. It enabled the air hose bearer ‘s limitless entree in the spouses market and right to travel to all center and beyond points. This understanding has offered the most operational flexibleness for air hose alliances. This understanding has been successful in accomplishing over 100 spouses from every portion of the universe and every degree of economic growing. Besides there is IATA ( International Air Transport Association ) . Its purpose is to supply aid to air hoses to diminish complexness of their procedure and increase rider convenience, diminishing costs and develop efficiency. The open uping simplifying the concern strategy is critical in this country. Furthermore, IATA ‘s primary precedence is safety and its purposes to continuously better safety criterions via IATA ‘s Operational safety audit ( IOSA ) .EnvironmentalEnvironment factors by and large include ecological facet of clime and conditions alteration, which in bend can act upon industries such as insurance, touristry and agriculture. Today, there is an consciousness of clime alteration in the heads of people, which is going a make up one's minding factor on how companies function and what are their offerings, because it can take to formation of a new market or devastation of the present market. ACARE is an European group of airdromes, eurocontrol, air hoses, makers, universities and members of EU and EU committee. Its primary challenges are – safety, sensible, quality, environment and security. Some of their aims are to cut down air accidents to 80 % , 15 minute less wait clip on airdromes for small distance finishs and 50 % less clip needed to market. One of most popular purpose of ACARE was to cut down specific CO2 discharge by 50 % , the discharge of NOx by 80 % , and to diminish the exterior noise of fixed wing aircraft by 10 dubniums per operation. For example- Boeing is a major component of the commercial air power industry. It is put to deathing some new programs to better its aircrafts environmental public presentation. Compared to show It besides claims that it will cut down its nursery gas emanations by 25 % by 2020. The intent of ACARE clearly reflects the demand of society, particularly in the country of security and stableness of environment. Besides, their purpose reflect the demands of aircraft operators, which are major driver for invention in engineering. The ACARE aims reflect demands which are demanded by society, peculiarly in the countries of environmental compatibility and security. On the other manus, the ACARE aims besides reflect the demands of aircraft operators, which are an of import driver for technological betterment. On the other manus, the mounting force per unit area from society sing emanations, noise around airdromes are impacting air hose operations. In add-on, with increasing force per unit area from society as a whole, every bit good as from local communities around airdromes, noise and local emanations have an impact on air hose operations.

Culture and Special Education Essay

In this paper we concern ourselves with the ways in which schools in general and special education procedures in particular tend to not be successful for those of our students who are from a different culture. (While we focus on Canadian Aboriginals, we also extend our thinking to those children who come from different races, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. ) We outline the stories that have brought us to this place. We then go on to suggest that the adoption of different understandings and approaches could lead to the academic success of children from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. We conclude with some direction for change. In this paper we, two white educators, concern ourselves with the education of those students of Aboriginal descent who are seen by the school system as special. Our concerns are based on the stories we use to understand ourselves and our actions – stories of mistold history, socio-political issues, racism, the misuse of science – and the ways those stories disadvantage those who are different. Our hope is that we can begin to explore different more hopeful and empowering stories. There are many reasons to be concerned about the existing state of special education, particularly with our Aboriginal students. Currently the following are common; 1. Our special education classes are top-heavy with Aboriginal and disadvantaged students. 2. We tend to focus on the deficits in other children rather than on the possibilities. We could embrace the position of William Glasser (1986): we choose to be whom and what we, and others, believe we are. [1] 3. We do not concern ourselves with the differences brought to school by children from other than the dominant culture. [2] 4. We are asking all small school children to do the pretty much the same thing at pretty much the same time and to meet some arbitrary standard of what they should or should not be able to do. We act despite current research concerning physiology and early childhood experience, which suggests that children are not ready for the same task at the same time. 5. The tests that we give children to determine the reasons for failure at school tasks are fallible and culturally insensitive and subjective. 6. A label tends to freeze a child in the definition attached to the label. 7. We have a tendency to blame the victim or to blame the social background rather than look at ways we can change. Clearly we need to find another way of viewing children and their learning. We are hoping to uncover stories that currently mediate, impair and colonize our special education practices, thereby beginning a dialogue concerning alternative stories of strength, knowing and power. Stories that Get in the Way History Stories Malia Kan’iaupuni (2005) tells us how archeologists and historians have accepted a theory of accidental migration from Polynesia to the Hawaiian Islands to explain a 2200-mile voyage on the open seas. This in spite of evidence to the contrary, which makes it clear that the early Polynesian explorers did indeed have the sophisticated system of navigation needed for a planned and successful voyage. Malia Kan’iaupuni’s point is that the assumption of a people with no learning, no culture, no anything but maybe good luck, made it possible for colonizers to take on – in their own minds – the mantle of rescuer. Iseke-Barnes (2005) is also concerned about the misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science. She wants us to challenge those assumptions that the colonizers found a people in need of saving from their own ignorance. Paulo Freire (1971, 1997) has spent many years studying the impact of oppression on the colonized. In the name of saving a backward people from themselves the colonizers were able to perpetuate acts of cultural genocide and worse. The use of this story continues to impact on how the dominant cultures act out their oppression. History is written by the winner, therefore we need to be highly critical of the history we read. While more blatant misrepresentations of the history of Canada are beginning to disappear, the whole story of colonization is not being told or written or disseminated. Instead, we are still trying to save lost Aboriginal souls. History stories mediate, impair and colonize special education practice, which we will illustrate by describing a socio-political and a scientific rigor story. A Socio-Political Story This is a story of the purpose of education. We suppose schools are places where children are educated. But what are children educated to do or be? Gitlin (2005) gives a disturbing answer to this question: [Public education is] not intended to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence †¦Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim †¦is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States†¦ and that is its aim everywhere else. (p. 22) Many may disagree with this disturbing answer, suggesting that school graduates, for the most part, go on to become productive citizens. But citizenry becomes problematic when referring to Aboriginal peoples – it seems clear that, for the most part, people of Aboriginal heritage do not go on to become productive citizens within the dominant culture. A lack of successful citizenry by Aboriginal peoples seems to justify special education programs that are top heavy with Aboriginal students. But success is politicized. Skovsmose (2005) outlines how schools practice both classic[3] and progressive[4] racism. Such practice allows us as educators not to have to take any responsibility for the failure of the child, as clearly the child brings the cause for his or her weak performance into school. Therefore: Many deficiency theories (theories of the deprived child) follow the approach of racism in explaining away the socio-political dimension of school performances, by privatizing and personalizing the causes of such performance. (p. 5) So: The epistemic interpretation of learning obstacle is not the only one possible. However, processes of exclusion in education can be dressed up in such a way that their political dimension becomes hidden and ignored. It could appear that exclusion is not imposed on students. Instead, exclusion may appear as a consequence of some students’ so-called low achievement. (p. 4) He goes on to say that this leads to a particular way of organizing teaching/learning processes in ways that prevent students from acting like learners. In other words our story leads to actions that support the story. A Scientific Story A scientifically rigorous story dominates special education practice. The story, in brief, is that learning disability can be attributed to biological and environmental factors. Current models of abnormality are often based on the premise that a person will have a biological disposition toward a disorder, but that the presence of a disorder will also depend on environmental factors (Wortman, Loftus, & Weaver, 1999). Brain function consists of biological processes involving genetic tendencies, chemical levels and electrical activity. Normal brain function can be delineated according to normal biological processes. In other words, we assume that learning disability is at least partially caused by excessive deviation from a normal range of biological processes. These biological processes can be measured in terms of genetic profiles, chemical levels (e. g. , hormones found in blood) and electrical levels in the brain. Hence, it is assumed that learning disability can be measured using physiological properties of the brain. These ideas are supported by a dominant scientific culture, where scientific evidence generates facts that cannot be refuted. Special education for children of Aboriginal heritage has been colonized by this scientific rigor story. In schools, we identify learning disabilities as follows: A teacher identifies a student who appears to be struggling, and refers the student to a team of specialists. The specialist tests, diagnoses, labels and sets out a remediation program. The teacher implements the program. It seems like a perfectly reasonable system of trying to help those with disabilities, based on scientifically rigorous knowledge. But the story is flawed in three ways. First, the story of scientific rigor is told by a dominant culture. The colonizers write the books of knowledge, thereby attempting to establish without doubt what is true and what evidence is required to make a truth claim. Culturally laden epistemology certainty invades special education. For example, based on research literature generated by the dominant scientific culture, there is currently little scientific evidence to support a biological cause or disposition for most disorders of the brain (Wortman, et. al. , 1999). It is assumed that biological roots exist that accurately captures a disability label. There is no scientific rigor in labels. The assumptions have pervaded special education and are taken as scientific fact. This is a writing of special education knowledge by colonizers. Second, this scientific rigor story is based on behaviour and biology, while special education practice is based solely on behavior. Teachers, resource teachers, special education consultants and school psychologists base their labels on observing behaviour. Medical technologies are not used to detect genetic make-up, chemical levels or electrical activity in the brain, generating a diagnosis based on deviations from a normal range. We assume that our interpretation of behavior correctly identifies mental disability. But as we are caught inside stories that get in the way, we should not accept our interpretations of behaviour without question. Third, this scientific rigor story is enacted in contradictory ways. To see the contradiction, we need to set the stage by describing physiological and behavioural evidence generated by scientific research. Studies of the physiology of the forebrain and hindbrain have shown that the slow processing of learning cannot occur during a moment of fear (Kalat, 1988). Based on this physiological evidence, educators might wonder about school and classroom environment. If a child is afraid, or afraid to learn, then they will not learn. Researchers have found connections between emotional states and learning (Zimbardo & Gerrig, 1996). Evidence of a connection between learning and emotion is accumulating to such an extent that there is a branch of psychological and educational research concerning emotional intelligence (EQ). For example, researchers have found correlations between EQ and ability to learn (Goleman, 1998). It is concluded that emotions should be nurtured as part of intellectual growth. Moving from physiology to behaviour, psychologists have found evidence to support a strong connection between emotion and behaviour. Notable among this research is Glasser’s (1986) claim that as learners we need to have the mental image of ourselves doing that task, we need to know we can do it. For children if we firmly believe that a child could do something and bring them to the same belief, then learning previously thought impossible takes place. We suspect other teachers, based on their personal experiences, have similar beliefs concerning the potential of children to learn. Coupling the physiological and behavioural evidence above suggests that a label is as much responsible for a child’s learning success as any other biological or environmental factor. The stage has been sent for noticing a contradiction in the scientific rigor story within special education. We are colonized to believe the scientific truth that disability is biological and behavioural. Hence, we label disability in hopes of solving the problem. But the same scientific culture generates the truth that labeling at least partially causes the behaviors associated with a disability. We label behaviour, not noticing that our stories mediate, impair and colonize our interpretations of behaviour. Conceptualizing Change There is no doubt in our minds that we are working with the best of intentions. We are not setting out to further disadvantage those who come to us from already established positions of disadvantage – impoverished backgrounds, different cultures, stressed families. We are doing the best we can with the knowledge and resources we have. What gets in our way is lack of imagination. We assume that the way we do things is the way to do things. We may be comfortable with some tinkering. But we see ourselves as educated people who are neither racist nor biased, and who are working in a good system, but with damaged and/or deficient people – this story concludes that systemic changes are not required. We have a rigid educational system that states that success is measured in yearly doses and in each of those years students are expected to master a particular body of knowledge. It is an expected linear progression to success. Certain cultural imperatives are in place so that children from the dominant culture will more likely be successful. If you are not successful you are treated. The process of treatment takes away from your sense of competence as a learner, particularly in the school setting. Here we want to become specific. The focus of this paper is on the teaching of Aboriginal learners, and what stops us from being successful. The linear model used in our factory model schools gets in our way. The assumption that we have the one right way gets in our way. History gets in our way. Racism gets in our way. Scientism gets in our way. We are not noticing alternative stories. Previously we wrote (Betts& Bailey, in press) about using a different metaphor for education, one that was not linear. We suggested that we use the metaphor of fractal geometry (and all that means in terms of quantum mechanics and chaos theory). In fractal geometry the smallest part is a reflection of the whole. For example a twig is really a little tree. In Aboriginal cosmology the basic unit is the Medicine Wheel, by definition a circular model so nothing is more important than anything else, all is of equal value. Each member of the community is an essential part of the whole. Earth, flora, fauna, human are all part of the circle of life required for existence. Education was a part of the whole, an on-going component of life (Courtney, 1986, Graveline, 1998, Regnier, 1995). We illustrated that a non-linear and holistic story of education was tell-able within ultra-modern Western thinking and within the ancient wisdom of Aboriginal cosmologies. We saw with alternative stories. To see education for children, all of whom are special, rather than special education, as non-linear and holistic seems a place to begin. We also see that a starting part is not enough to catalyze change. It is clear to us that the foreground must be that Aboriginal peoples have been and are oppressed and colonized. We do not need to go into the history of the subjugation of an entire race practiced over the years by the European colonizers. We all know the steps that were taken to destroy any vestige of the civilization that was in place at the time of contact. We get confused as to what to do about it now. After all, it was our ancestors, not us. [5] We see what we are doing now in schools as an extension of that destructive process. Our governments are slowly beginning to allow for the full participation of Aboriginals in our world. But in many small and highly destructive ways we continue to contribute to the marginalization of that population. The world of special education is one place where we continue to do so. Knowing that a high proportion of the identified special population is Aboriginal, we continue to act as we always have, even in the face of evidence that the actions we take are not effective. Paulo Freire (1971) suggests that it takes several generations for a culture to overcome the impact of oppression. Certainly we can see the truth of that statement as we watch many colonized peoples re-learn how to care for and govern themselves. In Canada, Aboriginal peoples are slowly, and over generations, learning how to be who they are, and to be successful in both cultures. This will not happen quickly, but it will happen surely. In the meantime there is no question that our Aboriginal population is dealing with serious problems and some of those impact on the ability of their children to learn, especially using the mores of another culture. Our typical reaction as white educators is to want the Aboriginals to change. All would be right if only kids would come to school and on time. All would be well if their parents would stop drinking. All would be well if so much money wasn’t being squandered on band council trips to Las Vegas. All of which may be factual, but does not excuse us from doing what we can to better the situation for the special children. The current reality of an oppressed population does not give us the right to blame the victim. Rather, as Skovsmose points out: †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"meanings of learning,† â€Å"meanings for students,† and â€Å"each student’s meaning production† must be investigated and interpreted with reference to the dispositions of the student (including their background and foreground). Meaning production takes place in terms of what the students see as their opportunities, including motives, perspectives, hope and aspirations (p. 8). Therefore in conceptualizing change we of the dominant culture need to place that conceptualization in hands other than ours, in the hands of those who know and honour their unique history and ways of being, who can best find the organic ways of empowering themselves and their children. Having said that we do have some notions of what white educators can do. 1. Overcome our own racism. Get facts and information. Use our intelligence and face ourselves. 2. Accept the conditions. Things are as they are. Oppression has happened. It will take, according to the Bible and past experience, seven generations for the sins of the fathers to be expiated. In the meantime we have been given the task of teaching the children of oppression. What changes can we make to be more successful at that task? 3. Resist labels. Resist the push to find something wrong with the victim, rather change how we do things, how we approach the task. 4. Give our special kids the confidence to learn. Teachers are in positions of authority. Children really do think we know what we are talking about. If we consistently make it clear to children that they are capable of succeeding at the tasks we give them, sooner or later they will believe us. But first we have to genuinely believe that what we say is true. We cannot be faking it. From there we need to practice power-with rather than power-over. [6] 5. Thus we give our special kids the power to learn. We work with them so that they are taking charge of their own learning; we give them agency. This is a difficult task for us to undertake. It means giving up some control, it means not taking the linear approach that gives us comfort and assurance through its familiarity. But difficult is not impossible. 6. Above all be patient. We are not going to get it perfect ever, but we will get better at working with rather than doing to, and the students will get better at taking responsibility and determining what they need to be successful. [7] 7. Then celebrate when a child tells you that they can finally do it because no one ever told them they could before. Maybe the best suggestion we found came from a Native Hawaiian educator, a member of a population that is also dealing with the fall-out of oppression. Malia Kan’iaupuni (2005) strongly advocates for using the heritage and knowledge of the children’s culture: As others before me have done, I end by calling for a new framework that brings to the fore Native Hawaiian strengths that have been too long misinterpreted, misrecognised, and undervalued. (p. 32). In his work he makes a convincing argument for strengths-based education, for using a structure that by definition builds on the knowledge and strengths the children bring into the classroom and at the same time begins to change the socio-political conditions. First let’s be clear that by strengths based, I do not mean glossing over problems in favour of a rosy picture. Strengths-based research, in my view, begins with the premise of creating social change. In contrast to the expert-driven, top-down approach assumed by deficit models, it means treating the subjects of study as actors within multi-layered contexts and employing the multiple strengths of individuals, families and communities to overcome or prevent difficulties. It is also about empowerment, where the purpose of strengths-based research and evaluation is to benefit the people involved in the study by giving them voice, insight, and political power. †¦ As such it means empowering communities. (p. 35) It would seem obvious that such could be done here for those children who are the fruits of colonial oppression. The work of understanding, telling different stories and taking action continues. Conclusion We are not naive. We know that the process of labeling is the result of the need for funding. We know that with classrooms of more than 20 that kind of individual attention is very difficult. We know that you will be surrounded by administrators, other teachers, parents, even the special children who will tell you to get the testing done and treatment program in place. We know that in the process of de-colonization the oppressed can take on the qualities of the oppressor. But we can become resistors, working with a sure knowledge that we know what doesn’t work and that it is way past time to try something radically different. It is clear that the past hundred years or so of schooling directed at Aboriginals has not been a big success. Indeed rather than educating Aboriginals to be successful in the dominant culture, we have an abysmal history of abuse and cultural genocide through education. Many of the abuses of the past are in the past. However, with kindness and deep concern we are using the special education system to continue to marginalize and discredit a large number of Aboriginal children[8]. We are suggesting that maybe things could be better. References Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: Breaking the cycle of oppression. Fernwood Publishing; Halifax Bloom, B. (1981). All our children learning: A primer for parents, teachers and other educators. McGraw-Hill: New York. Courtney, R. (1986). Island of remorse: Amerindian education in the contemporary world. Curriculum Inquiry, 16(1), pp. 43-65. Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder: New York Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of Freedom. Rowman & Littlefield: New York. Gitlin, A. (2005). Inquiry, imagination, and the search for a deep politic. Educational Researcher 34 (3), pp. 15-24. Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in the classroom. Harper and Rowe: New York. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York. Bantam Books. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming Eurocentric consciousness:Halifax: Fernwood. Iseke-Barnes. J. (2005). Misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science: Public broadcasting, the internet, and education. Discourses: studies on the cultural politics of education 26 (2), pp. 149-165. Kalat, J. (1988). Biological psychology (3rd. ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Malia Kana’iaupuni, S. (2005). K’akalai Ku Kanaka: A call for strengths-based approaches from a Native Hawaiian perspective. Educational Researcher 34(5), pp. 32-37 Regnier, R. (1995). The sacred circle: An Aboriginal approach to healing education at an Urban high school. In M. Battiste & J. Barman (Eds. ), First nations Education: The Circle Unfolds (pp. 313-330. (Vancouver: UBC Press) Skovsmose, O. (2005), Foregrounds and politics of learning obstacles. For the learning of mathematics 25 (1), pp. 4-10. Wortman,C. , Loftus, E. , & Weaver, C. (1999). Psychology (5th ed. ). New York: Harper Collins College. Zimbardo, P. & Gerrig, R. (1996). Psychology and life. New York: Harper Collins College. ———————– [1] Bloom (1981) believes that the intellectual potential of all students is pretty much the same. The difference is in history. Malia Kan’iaupuni (2005) is concerned that if you focus on a deficit-based approach to education then you often miss the expertise that exists in communities and families, viewing instead outside experts as the only ones capable of â€Å"fixing† our problems. [2] Including Aboriginal, Black, Hispanic, recent immigrants and the poor. [3] Classic racism assumes that the obstacles to learning are to be found in the child. [4] Progressive racism assumes that any weakness in the child is the result of social background. [5] In July 2005, the descendants of the colonizer who razed an Indian village at Clyaquot Sound returned to the village to apologize for the deeds of their forefathers. [6] Anne Bishop in Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression (2002), explicates the difference between power-over and power-with, although we tend to think the concept is somewhat self-explanatory [7] Children also fall into the patterns of self-excuse – I have already been told that I can’t read so why would I work at it. Don’t you know I can’t do that. [8] We do believe that this is the case with all children designated special needs. We may not have the answers but we are pretty clear that we do have a considerable problem that we are not prepared to look at squarely.