An Analysis of Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall apart, Okonkwo was considered a tragic hero. He used to be a great wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams in Umuofia. Shortly after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo accidentally killed someone in a funeral ceremony. He and his family were sent into exile for seven years. Nevertheless, when he returned to Umuofia, he found himself unable to adapt to changing time as the white men came to live among the village. Okonkwo realized that he was no longer able to function within his changing society. Consequently, he committed suicide by hanging himself for his final tragedy. His tragic end was led by his character flaws, a betrayal of his clansmen, and the colonization. Okonkwo was impulsive; he acted before he thought without considering the consequence. Furthermore, he isolated himself by exhibiting anger through violent, irrational behavior. He was quick to anger. During the annual week of peace before planning time, tradition permitted no one to speak a hash word to other person in the village. However, one day during this week, Okonkwo beat his youngest wife, who went to a friend’s house to braid her hair and forgot to prepare Okonkwo’s meal and feed her children. Even he was reminded of the ban on violence, he didn’t stop the beating. However, his fear of weakness and failure also was his tragic flaw. Consequently, he didn’t take the advice that not to participate in the murder of Ikemefuna. Therefore, he actually killed Ikemefuna because he was afraid of being though weak. Moreover, Okonkwo was a man of action. He did things without considering the consequence. This flaw brought him a serious consequence at the end of the story. After the release from jail, Okonkwo thought about his revenge. He hoped Umuofia will wage war on the intruders. If they didn’t, he would take action on his own. In the next morning, the clansmen were lead to a meeting which was about took action against the unwanted strangers to rid themselves. During the meeting, five court messengers approached the group and said that the white man ordered the meeting stopped. Without a second thought, Okonkwo used his machete to sever the messenger’s head. However, his impulsiveness drove him to this deplorable condition. The betrayal of the clansmen contributed Okonkwo’s tragedy. As well as things had changed among the village, many people in Umuofia were not entirely unhappy with the white men’s influence on their village. However, the white men brought wealth to the village as they built a trading store for traded palm oil and palm nut kernels. The clans could gain great economic benefit from the trading store, hence the money flowed into the village. Therefore, not everyone in the village was united against the white men since they had provided a new way for the villagers to profit. With this opportunity, they were willing to accept the white man's rule because they weren't willing to sacrifice the new trading community to fight for their independence. People would rather choose peace and money instead of going to the war to against the white men. This change of the clan displeased Okonkwo. His return was not what he had hoped. Moreover, when Okonkwo killed the messenger in the meeting, no one tried to stop the other messengers from escaping. The clansmen were afraid, and someone even asked why Okonkwo killed the messenger. At that time, Okonkwo realized that the clan would never go to war and the Umuofia would surrender. He wiped his machete and walked away. Nevertheless, everything had fallen apart for Okonkwo. He failed alone. The colonization mainly contributed Okonkwo’s tragedy because they were unfamiliar with Umuofia’s culture. However, Enoch unmasked an egwugwu in the ceremony; his action was determined as a great crime and killed the ancestral spirits. Therefore, the egwugwu went to kill him, but he took refuge in the church compound. Mr. Smith, who was intolerant in fanaticism, tried to protect Enoch and asked the egwugwu to leave. Rather than hunt Enoch down and kill him, they burn the church. When the District Commissioner returned from trip and heard about the burning of the church, they asked six leaders of the village, including Okonkwo, to meet with him in his office. As one of the leaders began to tell about Enoch’s unmasking of an egwugwu, they were handcuffed and thrown in jail for several days. However, the DC said the leader would be treated well in the prison, and would be released after paying five or two hundred bags of cowries. Nevertheless, the guards repeatedly mistreated them in the prison. Okonkwo suffered insults and physical abuse there. The way the messenger mistreated him was humiliated. Therefore, he was put into fighting mood. His motivation for wanting revenge and his humiliation in jail were deeply personal. However, the DC was ignorant because he didn’t know the Umuofia’s culture; and he only listened to one side. If Okonkwo was tolerant and acted with considering the consequence, he might avoid his tragedy. Moreover, if Mr. Brown was not breaking down in health, he would still stay in Umuofia. Then, Mr. Smith would not take over his place. Consequently, the consequential outcome would not happen. Besides, if the District Commissioner could listen to both sides’ explanations or understand the Umuofia’s culture more, Okonkwo would not be put in the prison tragically. Then, he might avoid killing the court messenger. Furthermore, it might help preventing his tragedy from happening.

B Wordsworth

â€Å"B. Wordsworth† is the creation of V. S. Naipaul about the story of a boy and a man who felt like being a poet but, unfortunately, could never be one. As one of the most widely read and perhaps interpreted writers of Caribbean descent, V. S. Naipaul presents a poetic view of the challenges of being part of Caribbean society during that time. It reflects the impact that a foreign culture and a foreign language had upon the natives. Yet, it does not condemn this fact but rather embraces it in an unfamiliar way.The main character, B. Wordsworth, is a tramp, a vagabond who resides in a very simple one room hut that is surrounded by weeds, trees and bushes that are overgrown. He not only lives a life of modesty and simplicity but he also has an unusual appreciation for nature. This is shown by his comments on the stars and during the time when he shows the young boy the different trees. The thing that made him different, however, was the fact that while he was a man of simple means he spoke English in a peculiar, unnatural manner.It is this fact which draws the attention of the young boy and invites the scorn of his mother. A critical analysis of the circumstances and the events that transpire in the story will reveal that there is an internal struggle that the characters have to face. The misplaced English that the boy speaks as compared to the flawless English of B. Wordsworth mirrors the social climate in the Caribbean during that time.This contrast also reveals the irony that exists in the life of not only the boy but also the vagabond as the realization of having a dream but not the capacity to pursue such dawns upon him in the twilight of his years. B. Wordsworth and perhaps the boy who followed his dream wanted to be poets but could never be one. The seemingly poetic language of the boy and the poetic nature of B. Wordsworth show that the poetry existed not in language but in his lifestyle. The magically garden that existed amidst the concrete jun gle is a testament to this but is sadly one that was torn down only to exist in the boys memory.

Accountant

How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 10 hours per day and to work overtime to finish some special tasks in my previous Job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. 2. How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than happy to learn in the work place because I value the process of continuous improvement. As long as I was instructed to handle something new in my previous ob, I felt excited and satisfied. The double-loop learning process benefits me from applying new knowledge and techniques to work-related areas and self-reflecting the aspects that I can improve. In addition, I am actively pursuing academic success outside work place. For example, I am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 3. Can you deal with the income volatility that you will be facing during the first few months? I have no financial problem preventing me from accepting a Job if the income is low at the beginning. I worked as a no pay intern during the first two months in my previous Job. Since I am still young, I never put salary as the top priority in searching for a Job. The thing I concern more is whether this Job can help me to develop my competitive edge or not. 4. How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 10 hours per day and to work overtime to finish some special tasks in my previous Job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. . How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than happy to learn in the work place because I value the process of continuous improvement. As long as I was instructed to handle something new in my previous Job, I felt excited and satisfied. The double- loop learning process benefits me from applying new knowledge and techniques to work-related areas and self-reflecting the aspects that I can improve. In addition, I am actively pursuing academic success outside work place. For example, I am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 6. Can you deal with the income volatility that you will be facing during the first few months? I have no financial roblem preventing me from accepting a Job if the income is low at the beginning. I worked as a no pay intern during the first two months in my previous Job. Since I am still young, I never put salary as the top priority in searching for a Job. The thing I concern more is whether this Job can help me to develop my competitive edge or not. 7. How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime 8. How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than session. 9. Can you deal with the income volatility that you will be facing during the me to develop my competitive edge or not. 0. How comfortable are you working long some potential risks and problems that I found. 11. How eager are you to keep on youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 12. Can you deal with the income 13. How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 10 hours per day and to work overtime to finish some special tasks in my previous Job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. 14. How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than happy to learn in the work place because I value the process of continuous improvement. As long as I was instructed to handle something new in my previous Job, I felt excited and satisfied. The double-loop learning process benefits me from applying new knowledge and techniques to work-related areas and self- reflecting the aspects that I can improve. In addition, I am actively pursuing academic success outside work place. For example, I am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 15. Can you deal with the income volatility that you will be facing during the first few months? I have no financial problem preventing me from accepting a Job if the income is low at the beginning. I worked as a no pay intern during the first two months in my previous Job. Since I am still young, I never put salary as the top priority in searching for a Job. The thing I concern more is whether this Job can help me to develop my competitive edge or not. 16. How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 10 hours per day and to work overtime on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. 7. How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than happy to learn in the work place because I value the process of continuous improvement. As long as I was instructed to handle something new in my previous Job, I felt excited and satisfied. The double-loop learning process benefits me from applying new knowledge and techniques to work-related areas and self-reflecting the aspects that I can improve. In addition, I am actively pursuing academic success outside work place. For example, I am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 18. Can you deal with the ncome volatility that you will be facing during the first few months? I have no financial problem preventing me from accepting a Job if the income is low at the beginning. I worked as a no pay intern during the first two months in my previous job. Since I am still young, I never put salary as the top priority in searching for a Job. The thing I concern more is whether this Job can help me to develop my competitive edge or not. 19. How comfortable are you working long hours to achieve success? Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 0 hours per day and to work overtime to finish some special tasks in my previous job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. 20. How eager are you to keep on learning to stay ahead of the curve? I am more than happy to learn in the work place because I value the process of continuous improvement. As long as I was instructed to handle something new in my previous Job, I felt excited and satisfied. The double-loop learning process benefits me from applying new knowledge and techniques to work-related areas and elf-reflecting the aspects that I can improve. In addition, I am actively pursuing academic success outside work place. For example, I am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 21 . Can you deal with the income volatility that you will be facing this Job can help me to develop my competitive edge or not. 22. How comfortable are to finish some special tasks in my previous Job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found. 23. How eager are you am the youngest CMA candidate in my CMA session. 24. Can you deal with the edge or not.

Neoclassicism in Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Neoclassicism in Music - Essay Example Neoclassicism as a musical term was not coined until sometime after its supposed development began. Rather than a style of composition, the term initially referred to a conception or reaction to a musical historical event. That is, Neoclassicism represents a way of viewing music history as a reaction to the contemporary trends in fin-de-sicle France that regarded the current musical trajectory as one that was defined for the most part by German musical historical conceptions and aesthetic trends. Namely, the music of Wagner was perceived by a growing number in France as, decadent and unduly romantic. However, the original use of the word "neoclassicism" did not refer to originally to a reaction to the German Romantics, but a somewhat derisive term to refer to writers and other artists, who parroted Greek and Roman themes as a kind of sterile, lifeless, pastiche-rather than a reinvigoration of the classical spirit that perhaps one might envision such a term connoting. Thus, the neocla ssical style in music was more correctly labeled at the time Nouveau Classicisme. Messing then explicates the role that composers such as Saint-Saens, Debussy and Ravel whose interests in composers before Beethoven such as Mozart, Bach, Handel and even earlier such as the work of the Couperin family played out in some of their compositions. Messing technical analysis of the musicological comparisons between the work of these new classical French composers and their classical counterparts reveals a rhythmic and structural similarity. Yet that similarity did not extend across the new classical scene, rather the particular inspiration that the above composers chose was modified and developed so as to make any comparison between say Saint-Saens and Debussy much more tendentious. Therefore, Messing notes to place this musical aesthetic ideal under some uniform stylistic rubric called "neoclassicism" was invalid. In another chapter, Messing deals with post-war neoclassical analysis through the work of Igor Stravinsky and the eventually polemic that developed between his followers and the Arthur Schoenberg and his revolutionary serialist style. Moreover, as Messing suggests neoclassicism as a distinct music style with specific gestures did not congeal until after the war and its juxtaposition with the work of Schoenberg. It seems according to Messing that the intervening war caused a radical shift in understanding of the term and its followers from one which represent a musico-historical reaction to Wagner in France, to a theoretical shift in composition. The disparate influences of the earlier neo-classicists seemed to have been conflated together in the comparison to the work of Schoenberg and his prodigious number of students. Moreover, it can be seen that Stravinsky's music, which was supposedly indicative of this specific style was no so radically different from the work of Schoenberg, a nd thus suggesting that only are the differences between neoclassicism and serialism overwrought and artificial. It also reveals that to conceive of neoclassicism in

LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LAW - Essay Example Being suspicious of a person is reason enough to warrant the officer asking questions of the individual but searching violates the Constitution. Others cite the safety of the officer as reason enough to allow them to search anyone they deem to be acting in a suspicious manner and if something illegal is found, it should be admissible evidence in court. The Supreme Court overwhelmingly agreed with the latter opinion. A detective on duty in Cleveland saw two men walking back and forth in front of a store, staring in the store’s window then speaking with a third man. The men were observed repeating this action about two dozen times. The detective thought these men may be ‘casing’ the store and intended to rob it at a later time so he approached them, had them turn around, raise their hands and ‘patted them down.’ Two of the three were found carrying weapons, Terry and Chilton, who were arrested and charged with concealed weapons violations. The seemingly simple case that more likely would have been settled in a municipal court became a test of the U.S. Constitution. At the trial, the defense argued that the facts of the case did not satisfy the definition of probable cause therefore the weapons were illegally seized, a violation of the Fourth Amendment, and should not be allowed as evidence during the trial. Of course this would have lead to an immediate dismissal of the case. The prosecution countered that the detective was within his full legal right to ‘frisk’ the men, that the evidence satisfied the definition of reasonable cause and the officer’s safety was dependent on this interpretation of the law. The court decided that the officer did have reasonable cause to believe the suspects were armed and were within his legal right to search them. It also declared that stopping an individual for questioning did not require the level of probable cause that is needed prior to making an arrest,

MGMT305 U4 IP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGMT305 U4 IP - Essay Example This whole process involves about 29 labour intensive and time consuming steps to manufacture the boards. To enhance efficiency and attract more customers, Firewire moved from the multifaceted production process to the CAD system that allows it to customize boards to elite customers. Furthermore, it uses a ShapeLogic NX software that allows its customers to feed the CAD, experiment with the designs, and integrate it with the computer numerical control (CNC) process. This software also provides its customers with an online system for customization that has advanced CAD tools and a web-based interface feature. This is Firewire’s most essential logistical infrastructure. A customer generates the model through the system which is directly transmitted to the factory for the manufacture. The major operations of Firewire are the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of the surfboards. However, much of this is done online. The company thrives on innovation having engineered the first main change in the composition of surfboards for about 40 years. The materials used comprise of expanded polystyrene foam and epoxy resins. Distribution and sale of products entails the customers making modifications to the intended designs and even sharing with fellow surfers to seek their opinions before ordering for the same. This is attained through interactive communication among customers who after using the products reports the same to friends and colleagues who then visit the company’s website thus, leading to the creation of a marketing buzz for boosting of sales. Basically, the company’s marketing and sale of the surfboards is made through an online-based social networking process that allows for the sharing of the unique design files among various customers. The main form of technology used for production of the surfboards is a computer-aided design (CAD) that has been integrated with a

Human Resources in Business Strategic Aspects Of Reward and Variable Essay

Human Resources in Business Strategic Aspects Of Reward and Variable Pay - Essay Example Looked through the employer’s perspective employees are rewarded for their skills (potential and output), for their input (presenting competencies). From the employee’s point of view being rewarded means that they are treated as stakeholders and that the expectations of the management have been met. Rewarding also entitles employees to bargain their wages with labour unions and to seek consultations via work and staff councils. As a statistical summary, it can be said that in the last 5 years, 60% of the companies have introduces new reward systems into their organizations. As a general rule every employee has to be advised before starting work about the payment structures, the salary progression, the monthly benefits (if/after the target is reached), and incentive plans. Not all organizations have a delegated Human Resource department. Smaller businesses prefer to allocate the role to the owner/manager. Therefore, employees have a direct access to the management and can try to negotiate their pay progression. In a bigger company though, employees have more benefits – bonuses, training programmes, social events. In traditional organizations for example in Japan, the progression of the salary depends on the length of service. These are centralized policies, and usually they have very cautious response to the economic market pressures. That is why in traditional organizations job evaluation is widespread and there are small performance rewards, but mainly aimed to the senior employees. Leading organizations have strong emphasis on performance and there payment is directly linked to individual performance. They exercise decentralized policies and have more flexibility in teamwork and line management. Leading organizations have different reward system for the various departments and they do not automatically apply the same rewards for everybody. Usually there is a basic

Golden Rule Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Golden Rule - Essay Example It was not meant as a guide to practical choice separate from all other principles of conduct. It has nothing to say about specific choices, nor does it vouch certain moral principles, ideals, or virtues. The golden rule relates, rather, to a perspective thought vital to the exercise of even the most basic morality: that of trying to put oneself in the place of those affected by one's actions, so as to counter the instinctive tendency to moral shortsightedness. It instructs listeners to treat others with the respect and understanding they themselves would wish to come across, and not to cause misfortunes on others that they would detest to have caused upon themselves. The golden rule put emphasis on the ethic of empathy: treat others as you would like them to treat you. Empathy relies on understanding that the other person senses pains as you do or will feel gladness as much as you do if they are properly dealt with. If another person is mourning, you feel his/her grief and offer consolation. If another is hurt, you go out of your way to extend help and you treat the injured person with support to prevent further suffering. Empathy, however, is not equally present among human beings, nor is any person incessantly empathetic for others. Some are deficient in empathy and are selfish, irresponsible and do harm to others with out feeling any remorse. The natural tendency is to treat only a number of other people, immediate members of a select group, and to be distrustful of and unreceptive to everyone else. Empathy can stimulate on in one circumstance and hold off in another situation. Once a particular group labels that non-members are threats, empathy is switched off and group members treat outsiders as though they were intruders. Actual situations may well affect how we relate the golden rule by looking at the practical significance of differences between experiences such as: observing another, how one would feel in the situation of another, what is the feeling of another, what is the world from the perception of the other, the impact of an action on the other, how the other would judged the fairness of another's act, and taking the other's viewpoint clearly into consideration in moral decision-making. Imagining oneself, however, in the situation of another is not plainly required by the golden rule, nor is it a requirement or adequate state for sound moral judgment. At times one acts it but stays unenlightened because of unawareness or self-deception, and occasionally one comprehends intuitively what is to be performed without any definite act of imagination. We normally presuppose that we understand others intuitively, that we empathize truly, that our expressions of sympathy are appropriate. Despite our usual dependence on empathy to enlighten us about another, our emphatic feeling of others often gives the wrong impression. The golden rule instructs us to treat others as we want others to treat us, thus implicitly advancing the assumption that there are important shared aims or similarities between the self and another. Over dependence on commonalities can dull receptiveness to dissimilarity just as much as being overly impressed with dissimilarity can make people blind to empathy. If the golden rule is to be understood as encouraging complacency about empathizing with others, then the rule would seem

Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Poem - Essay Example The author of the poem (Merlin) applies the technique to point out that the contest was not fair, probably rigged and whichever decision Paris makes leads to the destruction of the city of Troy. Accordingly, Merwin’s point is to demonstrate the idea that human beings are naturally imperfect and avoidance of self-destructive conduct is not an easy task. The imperfection and self-destructive trait is an essential component of human behavior that makes their actions exciting and unpredictable. The self-destructive behavior is an essential factor that implores individuals to seek redemption after the consequences of their actions. The poem ends with a picture of Helen picking up a yellow flower with roots that relieves pain. The essence is that humans often bring pain and suffering on themselves but the grief prompts compassion that upholds unity. The yellow flower is an indication of human’s effort to relieve anguish and pain. According to Brunner (1991), the implicit metaphor in the heading â€Å"the Carrier of Ladders indicates a change in Merwin’s attitude and orientation. Apparently, only humans are capable of carrying ladders, and their aim to climb or rise to a new level, even if such people are not aware of what they will find the level of elevation. Accordingly, almost of the poems in the volume build from such premise. Similarly, there are those who regard reading the works of Merwin as being similar to reading a puzzle and it is normally beneficial to put an effort to grasp the bottom line of the author’s logic. The carriers of ladders reminds one of the old Icelanders’ Edda Kennings, who authored the objects in a roundabout, and playful manner. However, Merwin applies the approach to an individual’s spiritual and emotional life, with popular themes being loss, isolation, and death (Brunner 1991). The critically applauded

A personality profile of an individual whom you think is worthy of Essay

A personality profile of an individual whom you think is worthy of capturing - Essay Example It was two years since she’d retired at the early age of forty-nine years old, but these two habits she had kept hold of. It was something she worried about, the only two cracks in her otherwise perfect life. There were many other people at her church, of course, who smoked and drank coffee, but few did so as much as she did, and, while Wanda did not judge them she felt her own shortcomings were making her less of a Christian than she should be. She wanted to devote her retirement years to her community and her Lord, not cigarette companies and the jitters of caffeine addiction. And lately she had been tired so often, even with the coffee. So she had resolved to quit—the cigarettes, at least. It was the worst habit, and though it had given her the deep, husky voice that made her stand out so much in the choir, the one she worried about the most. What if it killed her? She was not worried for herself so much as her family. She had made her peace with this world long ago, and if the Lord called her up, she was ready to go. But she wanted to make things good for others, and wondered what her brother and sisters would do without her when she was gone. â€Å"Oh Lord,† she half-sang as the coffee brewed in the pale light of her morning kitchen, â€Å"Oh Lord, be kind to this old sinner!† Before driving to her doctor to get a prescription for a patch, she listened to the voice messages on her phone. One was from Donna, who was biologically her niece but whose mother had passed away when they were young, and whom Wanda had always treated as a true sister. The younger woman thanked her for the loan she had given her years ago, saying she had just gotten the money to pay it back, and that she hoped Wanda could come for dinner later in the week to celebrate. Wanda didn’t mind about the money, but it would be nice to see Donna again after so long. In the car she lit another cigarette and had smoked half of it before she realized what she was doing. Her fingers fidgeted with the cigarette but she couldn’t bring herself to put it down. Quitting was going to be hard. The doctor gave her a prescription for the patch, and ran some blood tests to see what was fatiguing her. She spent the next few days trying to cut down, but it was hard. The only time she was really free was at the piano, when her fingers could fly across the black-and-white keys and she could close her eyes and be both apart from and inside herself. She would listen to a piece on the radio—she had never had a teacher, and had taught herself by listening, in the breaks from her thankless job, and endless practice—and then sit still, breathe, and let her fingers go where they would. In these times she felt truly happy, and as if the peace would soon envelop her entire being. A month after she had gotten the patch, which had only been partially successful at curing her habit, she got a piece of mail from the doctor which contained the r esults of her test. She tried to focus on the charts and analyses, but in the end only one thing got through to her: the diagnosis which said: LUNG CANCER, TERMINAL. Alone at her kitchen table, with the coffee still brewing, Wanda Jones cried. She quit smoking right then, though it was useless. As the weeks stretched into months, her body faded, the ridged lip lines that were the sign of her long habit sinking in and becoming flat and smooth as the fat left her. Her ex-husband, who she hadn’t seen for years, and who had beat her on occasion, came

Cultural Differences In Education Essay Example for Free

Cultural Differences In Education Essay It has been a widely known fact that the cultures differ in their educational goals and there is major difference in this respect when Asian and American cultures are taken into consideration. However there are several positives and negatives in both form of cultures in terms of cultural difference in education but at the same time it could be stated that each culture can learn the positive aspect from the other to proceed towards the betterment of the generations to come. The topic would be evaluated and analyzed with explicit connections back to writings of Ho in Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development in your paper. Since family is such a basic and vital social unit in all societies, persons of all political persuasions have at-times visceral opinions about what things promote the institution and what forces degrade it. In the United States, conservatives and liberals view family very differently. In extended families, more than two generations of the same kinship line lived together, either in the same residence or in nearby dwellings as mostly in Asian family structure. All adults in these extended families shared responsibility for child-rearing which is distinctly different from the Western method. This important social change would have profound effects on how children were raised. In their book Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development Greenfield and Cooking mention that â€Å"the key fact about human culture is its intergenerational transmission through the socialization process. Socialization is used in the broadest sense to include informal education in the family as well as formal education†. (Greenfield, 1994) According to David Y F Ho in his text Cognitive Socialization in Confucian heritage cultures he mentions that family and community subjects are part of the curriculum. The kids know that we are all different. These same youngsters also know we are all alike in other ways. In today’s society the American people represent many different cultures. Each one has its own viewpoint, traditions, values and political ideas. The challenge is to cement them all together as one. The multicultural education system is the way to go. Not only does it educate the children. The kids go home and pass the information on to their parents and other siblings. Also the teacher learns as the lesson is delivered. Thus, all of society begins to learn about each others, each other. Culture can be defined as the way a particular group of people, live their lives at a certain time. The question we are waiting for is what can Asian and American cultures learn from another? American Civilization is basically a multi cultural objective that has the essence of freedom and opportunity. There are multi strata perspectives of history and history without these layers becomes meaningless academic foliage. These layers of history could be defined as perspective and perceptions related to politics, economic, sociology, cultural and religious. Without the intervention or analysis of these subjects and subsequent incorporation and investigation in accordance to these subjects history would be wrongly incepted. Thus the streamline of education in this regard stands in a midpoint where the system demands an open format to enable maximum space available. This is where Asian culture of philosophy and self development can excel and help the overall perspective of the American education and thereby influence the way of life in the positive aspects. On the other hand it can be said that the Asian perspective of like and attitude towards education appears to be some what rigid and outdated. In this context the implementation of American system of education would certainly be beneficial for the future generations to come. So it can be said that it is eastern philosophy for the Americans and the American system for the Asians and thus a confluence would be formed that would be beneficial for all. However in the modern world the perception and goal of education and its purpose is guided by a large number of variables and can be termed as heavily accountable to the society as a whole. One such variable can be enumerated as the financial factor that is involved in the comparatively higher strata of education system. Standers are set and limitations are imposed regarding the social, economical and financial variables. To precede the higher range of education a subject needs the accumulation of finance. The subject needs to incorporate it in the respective educational institution that has other obligations too like lodgings and such other detailed expenses. For the accumulation of this finance, therefore, the subject must work out a method like part time job which would simultaneously curb away valuable study time and energy. Thus the end purpose of education would be lost by a margin in the process. Moreover there are family obligation whereby an individual is forced to provide for the family in terms of both economics and social quality timings. This also depletes the purpose or end goal of education where it becomes difficult to pursue the availability of education in the first place. (Lamb, 2004) However, the norms of the society are high and difficult to achieve but one must achieve it at the end by formulating the individual priorities in accordance to his or her needs. It should be understood that the education or knowledge is a power in certain senses and to achieve this power one needs to pay a price. This price may be in form of economy or social obligations like devoting time for the family. The idea of education a tool of power has been recognized down the ages. At the time of slavery in the United States slaves were barred from education. This helped their owners to operate them in a better and effective manner as the slaves were unable to conceptualize the actual situation and outcome in a proper manner. More so they were not able to estimate the brighter opportunities of tomorrow thereby were locked in the pothole of slavery. This was just one example how education develops the human mind or being deprived of education depletes it. If this example is taken into account and exercised in practical ways of the modern world the same would stand to be true as the motive of education is to yield awareness and awareness can be utilize into harvesting success. However it should be noted that the main concern is the individual and it is up to the individual who would be responsible in the end to formulate an individual time and energy management process. The society does have its share of obligations but the achievement of an individual must sort a way out beyond limitations. Nothing should be considered as a free meal in this existence of modern world and it is determination of an individual that would be instrumental in achieving the target in the end. All in all it can be stated that the end purpose of education is to prepare a person to deal with all seen and unseen problems and overcome them. References: Greenfield, Patricia M Cocking Rodney edited; 1994; Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers; Hillsdale, New Jersey Hove, UK Lamb, Davis; 2004; Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata; National Book Trust.

Mass Media for Environmental Awareness

Mass Media for Environmental Awareness Perspective of pollution and use of mass media in environmental awareness for The Upper Lake: A case study Introduction South Asia, home to over one-fifth of the world’s population, is facing a growing water crisis. This region is in the grip of continuing flood and drought cycles, dictating the need for a long-term strategy for management of its water resources. Big and small water bodies, in the form of lakes and reservoirs, dot the landscape of South Asia. These ecosystems impound precious freshwater, and are the most easily-accessible source for human use. Historically, major cities in this region flourished in geographical regions with assured water supplies that sustained civilization for centuries (Kodarkar Mukerjee, 2006). Unfortunately, the last half of the 20th century has witnessed large-scale degradation of the environment in general, and water resources in particular, due to multiple anthropogenic factors such as unprecedented population growth, and consequent urbanization, industrialization and chemical intensive agriculture. Among the first victims of this degradation process were the lakes and reservoirs in the vicinity of urban areas that underwent large-scale pollution due to sewage and industrial effluents and toxic chemicals. In most cases, nutrient enrichment led to eutrophication of water bodies (Edmondson 1991), and exhibiting negative manifestations such as: Loss of water-spread area because of siltation and construction activities; Continuous algal blooms; Excessive growth of macrophytes (e.g, water hyacinth) and loss of biodiversity; and, Water quality degradation There also are drastic alterations in the morphometry (the process of measuring the external shape and dimensions of landforms, living organisms, or other objects) and water-holding capacity of lakes and reservoirs, due to inflow of silt, dumping of garbage and reclamation activities. The process has been further aggravated by encroachments and unauthorized construction activities in the catchment and on the lakebed. Compared to rural areas, the impact of this degradation is more severe in urban areas due to their high population densities. Because of the ecological, economical and recreational potential of lakes, there is an urgent need to protect, rehabilitate and conserve them as precious natural resources. Objectives This case briefly examines how these issues have been addressed for the Upper Lake of Bhopal, a part of the Bhoj Wetland, and the use of various media tool in environmental awareness for The Upper Lake, the Bhojtaal. Method Case study method is an approach that emphasizes detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. Various researchers have used the case study research method for many years across a variety of disciplines. Journalists and media persons, in particular, have made wide use of this qualitative research method to examine contemporary real-life situations and provide the basis for the application of ideas and extension of methods. Researcher Robert K. Yin defines the case study research method as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1984, p. 23). The present study, in this regard, used case study approach to the problem identified as above. For addressing the problem, secondary database from multiple sources have been used. The sources for the data collection were libraries, internet blogs, journals and books. Results and Discussion Available literature indicates that, in India, construction of storage reservoirs is an age-old practice. Former rulers contributed significantly by constructing large numbers of impoundments for providing drinking water to the people in their cities. This was particularly necessary in arid, semi-arid and other regions with highly erratic rainfall. The Upper Lake of Bhopal, arguably the oldest among the large man-made lakes in the central part of India, falls in this category. This lake was created in the early-11th century by King Bhoj by theParmaraRaja Bhojduring his tenure as a king of Malwa(1005–1055), by construction of an earthen dam across the Kolans River, a rain-fed tributary of the Betwa River. He is also said to have established the city of Bhopal (also named after him, then as Bhojpal) to secure the eastern frontier of his kingdom. There is a legend why the built the lake. The story behind creation of Bhojtaal According to an old story, once king Bhoj suffered from skin disease and allVaidyas(Doctor in English) failed to cure him. Then, one day asainttold the king to build a tank to combine 365 tributaries and then have a bath in it to wipe out the skin disease. Bhoj called upon his engineers to build up a huge tank. They spotted a place near riverBetwa, which was 32km away from Bhopal. It was found that it has only 359 tributaries. AGondCommander Kalia fulfilled this shortage. He then gave the address of an invisible river. After merging the tributaries of this river the number 365 was completed. The lake was created by constructing an earthen dam across the Kolans River. An eleven gate dam called the Bhadbhada damwas constructed at Bhadbhada in 1965 at the southeast corner of the Lake, and now controls the outflow to the river Kaliasote. The Upper Lower Bhopal lakes, collectively known as Bhoj Wetlands, are urban water bodies. The upper lake is a major source of potable water for the people of the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The lower lake was constructed much later on the downstream of the dam of Upper lake. The eastern catchment of Upper Lake is urban whereas the western catchment is rural in nature. The Lower Lake is surrounded from all sides by human settlements. Economic Value The Upper Lake is a source of potable water and meets 40% of the demand i.e. 29 MGD of drinking water for the city’s growing population. Its fishing rights have been given on long lease by the BMC to a fisherman co-operative consisting of some 500 fishermen families. The Lower Lake is mainly a recreational site. The livelihood of 250 washer-men families belonging to socio-economically weaker sections of the society is dependent on the Lower Lake. Table 1: Details of the Bhojtal (Upper Lake) and Lower lake Environmental issues surrounding Bhojtaal According to various sources referred, the major issues concerning the environment of the lakes are as described below (table 2): Table 2: The Problems and causes surrounding pollutions in Bhojtaal. Problems Causes Reduction of storage capacity of lakes Inflow of silt and organic materials from urban and rural catchments along with monsoon runoff and dry weather flow. Addition of clay and non-biodegradable materials through immersion of idols. Obstruction to smooth flow through the spill channel of the Upper Lake resulting in a threat to the stability of the earthen dam. Constriction of the spill channel due to deposition of silt. Increase in seepage through the earthen dam of Upper Lake Improper maintenance and growth of vegetation over the dam had caused dislocation of stone lining of the dam Deterioration of water quality Inflow of untreated sewage from habitation. Dumping of Municipal wastes not collected by the Municipal Corporation. †¢ Dissolving of paints in water during immersion of idols. †¢ Run off of chemical fertilizers from the catchment. †¢ Activity of washing of cloths by people resulting in release of detergents. †¢ Leakage of oil during motor boating and cruise movement Flourishing growth of invasive aquatic plants †¢ High Nutrient load of lakes due to inflow of sewage and agricultural wastes. Reduction of water spread area. †¢ Encroachment on the lake fringe area which gets exposed when water level falls after rains. Environmental Pollution and impurities Caused by garbage thrown carelessly, empty bottles, throwing of food stuffs remained carelessly and diesel released by boats. Impurities are drawn in the lake coming out from the colonies, hotels and resorts and causes water pollution. Medical waste thrown in the lake Media tools used for awareness generation Media tools and materials developed and used for public awareness programme towards creating awareness of environmental pollution and its impact on Hoardings at Strategic locations Publications of special bulletin (Tal Sandesh to create awareness regarding diversion of Idol immersion activities). Advertisement in news papers regarding project actions. Communication through TV/Radio. T-Shirts/Caps showing massage of Save Bhopal Lakes used by the students/volunteers involved in awareness campaign. Stickers having various slogans for lake conservation were used sparingly to communicate the massage. The analysis of various literature reveals that several Public awareness programme and educational materials developed were developed like use of street theatres, Rallies, open forum discussions, workshops, seminars, Lectures and Audio-Visual shows, organizing various fairs, Mera Taal Mera Bhopal on World Environment Day, Jheel Mahotsav (in 2014), etc. Apart from all the above, big media houses participated in awareness generation activities to save the upper lake. Dainik Bhaskar’s Jalsatyagrah campaign was a big event in this regard. This Jalsatyagrah campaign is carried out by Dainik Bhaskar Group in many cities on regular intervals. The campaign includes activities like road shows, public meetings, awareness educational programes in schools and residential areas. Mobile exhibition demonstrating a working model of roof water harvesting is also organized in various cities. Dainik Bhaskar and other media groups like Dainik Jagran, Ptrika, etc. carries out special stories columns in its group newspaper on water conservation. Advertisements are also released on regular basis to create awareness about water conservation. In addition, Bhaskar Foundation has restored many village ponds in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Di-silting has been carried out with the help of public participation Conclusion In the developing countries, where financial resources are limited for infrastructural development, implementation of conservation plan for the conservation of a wetland system like Bhoj wetland is unique. It has tried various innovations both in case of application of technology and for taking help of public by the use of various IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) tools. Involvement of the public with the project, in part to solve the religious and social issues, is worth emulating in these parts of the world. Further, the use of various mass media tools have come out as innovations that has turned out as a positive change for the people of Bhopal and the lake itself. Bibliography Anonymous, (2004). Completion Report of Public Participation and Awareness Campaign under Lake Bhopal Conservation and Management Project. Detailed Project Report of Dredging and Desilting of lakes. (1998). Bhoj Wetland Project. Fateh, A.L. (1982). Our Environment. National Book Trust of India: New Delhi Kodarkar , M. S., Mukerjee, A. (2006). Bhoj wetland, Experience and lesion learning brief. Madhya Pradesh lake conservation authority, Bhopal, India, pp.1-2. Mukerjee, A. (2000). â€Å"Religious Activities and Water Pollution: Case Study of Idol Immersion in Upper and Lower Lakes of Bhopal.† Paper presented in World Lakes Session, 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague, Netherlands. Mukerjee, A., P.K. Nandi A.K. Bajpai. (2000). â€Å"Dynamics in Bhoj Wetland, Bhopal.† Paper presented at the 20th Annual International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society, Madison, USA. Pani, S., B.J. Khan P.K. Nandi. (2002). â€Å"An analysis of effectiveness of restoration measures in the improvement of water quality of Bhoj Wetland.† In the Proceedings of the International Conference on Hydrology and Watershed Management, Hyderabad, India. Postel, S. (1984). â€Å"Water: Rethinking management in an age of scarcity.† World Watch Paper 62. Subrata, P. S.M. Misra. (1993). â€Å"Impact of hydraulic detention on the water quality characteristics of a tropical wetland (Lower lake).† In Pankaj Srivastava (ed.). Environmental pollution and its management. Tekale, N.S. (2003). â€Å"Idol immersion: A critical analysis of environmental impact on urban lakes and remedial measures.† In the Proceedings of the UGC-sponsored National Conference on Urban lakes: Environmental status economics and management options, Hyderabad, India Yin, R. K. (1984). Case study research: Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Zafar, A.R. (1959). â€Å"Taxonomy of lakes.† Hydrobiologia 13(3): 187-299. Indu B. K. Upadhyay1

Introduction About Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay

Introduction About Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay First of all, I would like to define what is competitive advantage? Competitive advantage will be exists when the company is able to deliver the same benefit as what the competitors delivering but in a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefit that exceed these of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, competitive advantages give the company capable to create great value for its customers and great profits for itself. As what Michael Porter mentioned two basic types of competitive advantage are the Cost advantage and Differentiation advantage. Cost competitive advantage. To achieve this kind of advantage in the company all what the company should do is to offer the better products to the customers with reduced cost compared to the competitors. For example, HP has achieved sustainable cost competitive advantage over all its competitors by being able to produce highly quality laptops at a cheaper rate. Differentiation competitive advantage The organization can achieved Differentiation competitive advantage if it is can make better values with its competitors. Distinctive Competencies Value Creation Resources Cost Advantage Or Differentiation Advantage Capabilities Figure 1: Competitive advantage Models As we have in Figure 1describes a competitive advantage model. we have seen from the model combination of the organizational human resources and material resources and capabilities forms the distinctive abilities to make the organization able to make a difference with respect the cost advantage of differentiation advantage, which will creates values for the organization and the customers. This is a good way based on the theory that more benefit to the company itself to reach a goal continually, like in the company, we should have quality and capability compare with the competitor. How Competitive Advantage helps to the Hewlett- Packard Company. HP Company one of those IT companies which is biggest in all over the world with quarterly yearly about $97.1 billion .This company able to remain this great record in the competitive advantage over the competitors. The sustainable competitive advantage able to achieve the benefit for the company with many ways that does not has other choice except sustaining like this record. Gain of the competitive advantage has increased the companyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s revenue well. In 2006, HP achieved better revenue about $91.7 billion, in the same time the revenue of IBM about $91.4 billion, as for the revenue of the company in 2007, became much better about $104 billion, and it became the first IT company arrived to revenue more than $100 billion, and it continued to progress did not stop at this level, acquisition of the EDS in 2008, also jacked up the revenue to $118.4 billion. The competitive advantage start gained and afforded since HP attributed to leadership position in the world technology with groups strategically assigned to drive industry leadership in the main technology areas. The Personal Systems group is responsible about the work station, mobile computing equipments and PCs that coming from lead the business and consumer. As for the imaging and printing group their responsibly is how to get the successful for record in forms of printing devices, as for the imaging and printing group their responsibly is how to get the successful for record in forms of printing devices. The performance of these HP groups makes HP Company almost the best among of its equals. In January 2010 a report from Gartner and IDC Market Research Firms, there is a wide gap between HP and Dell. HB was the 6th largest world software company. As for 2008, it was global leadership position in laser, Jacket, large format and multifunction printers market and the second IT service provider throughout the world. All these results did not come by chance, but this company got these result by maintain some degree of superiority on the competitors. In the end we can get one thing that, all the benefits the company got is based on the competitive advantage. Analysis of Competitive Advantage in HP Company. The HP Company has an ability to afford and achieve competitive advantage well-deserved. The company took the way that to Simplifies the technological experiments for the customers. This is including to all the services start from printing, personal computing, services, software and IT infrastructure, this is very important to let all HP products usable and with simply from the users. There is only one way can analyze HP competitive advantage is by discussion of HP values, where HP values are associated with the set out by the founding HP leaders. Those unique ways underscoring for the decision-making as for the advancement of the firm it is just like a map, and HP pioneers based on the corporate culture on integration and reinforcement from critical opposites position. The useful thing from this practice is, use the benefits of the approaches as the case and Balancing associated risks, and also there is another way the competitive advantage of HP Company is through developing cross functional individuals. Unlike other companies that just hire staffs and train them for a specific job requirement to be assigned to such staffs throughout their stay in the organization, HP makes sure that all her employees move more than four to six functional areas with the company to allow them to work more than one departments of the company and thereby effectively managing the organizational knowledge through effective sharing among its staffs. It has been widely agreed that in this knowledge era, effective knowledge management will surely lead to achievement of competitive advantage. The reason to make HP Company strong is the quest for developing the employee, because the developing of the employees very important to progress the company, so because of this reason the company able to achieve effective organizational in 2004, Miller recognized that since 1980, became too busy with all the employee retraining program that call (SJS) Software Job Skills. The company quested to retraining employees who may naturally be laid-off, that makes the company to be able to afford its competitive advantage when the employees every time continue to be relevant and compliant with the new trend organizational need and employees are considered important in the performance of every organization. Organizational competitiveness is coming by implementation of knowledge management and its benefits. Knowledge management helps to reduce the product cost as a result of the possibility of re usability; this allows the organization to be able to offer services of the same quality even better than that of its competitive at a relatively low cost. This is important way to gaining competitive advantage. In addition, the implementation of knowledge management brought about better employee productivity and coordination which has a positive result which effect on organizational performance, also have another important factor in everywhere is service deliver powered by the real time communication facility. As HP has wise saying as following If only HP know what HP knows! It means that the required knowledge and skills for solving your problem resides somewhere within the company. This means that the company has achieved a lot through effective communication. All these account for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. According to Lava, Feyhl and Kakourus (2005), the business supply chain cant achieve to using only the Operation Research or from the global era, this methods is move faster in the business environment, will require a lot of time which might result in to delay in the service delivery and thereby negatively affect customer satisfaction. Planning of HP came out with that which is combines the optimization ability. HP have a same opinion that the risk that related with the product by the demand, the component of price and uncertainty the stock and all of the company influence the revenue and profits. Based on Ngali, Hwang, Sanghera, Gaskins, Pridgan, Thuvston, Mackenvoth, Branvold, Scholler, and Shoemaker (2008), the management group that made by HP and they develop and build that model by mathematics, the business process and software to planning and developing risk by the product. This is having a lot of advantages for the company. Since 2006, HP can get $ 7 billion from the spending by saving the cost from $ 128 million. This is made a benefit for the company and gives the contribution to the competitive advantage continually from the company. The products of HP are always better than that of its competitors and such a refinery and marked a second from time to time to meet the changing technical needs of customers. Only in November 2009, HP Storage Works XP9000 introduced new network storage as a system that is designed primarily to meet the bullish trend to the explosive growth of data and to improve the performance of applications using the file based outside a measure of engaging has the ability to manage information more efficiently use a space name alone. This brought the companys most popular networking in the community since such creativity is required in virtually all organizations that deal with large data. The work of a very efficient storage in data storage is known for the relatively low leisure time.

Binge Drinking :: essays research papers

Binge Drinking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all know what it is like to wake up in the morning, your head is aching, and your body feels like it was hit by a big garbage truck. College students worldwide know this feeling. These are the results of binge drinking. Why do they do it?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Binge drinking is defined for men as drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks, and for women as drinking four r more drinks in a row ( ICAP 1). This has become a great pastime for college students nationwide and a major concern on many campuses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A survey taken by students attending Yale University in 1997 showed the average binge drinker profile to be white, lacking religious participation, athletic, and members of fraternities or sororities (ICAP 4). Contrary to popular belief, year in school (i.e. freshman, sophomore, etc.) was not a significant factor in binge drinking, despite the fact that students under 21 would still participate in the drinking activities (NCADI 3). Studies show that binge drinking can start in high school and continue through college (ICAP 4). Twenty-eight percent of high school seniors have already associated with binge drinking (ICAP, 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The question of why students continue to submit themselves to alcohol is unknown. While many reasons are given, students generally fall into three categories (Kaufman 2). Peer Pressure is one of the main reasons students feel as if they need to binge drink. They do this because their peers are doing it and they want to fit in better. Insecurity is another incentive as to why students binge drink. College life can be very stressful, and drinking can sometimes become a â€Å"crutch† to make up for it (Kaufman 2). Students also binge drink to help them solve their problems. They turn to alcohol to aid themselves with hiding their feelings and numb their pain for a while.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many consequences of binge drinking. Health problems and social problems are just a few. Nausea, having a â€Å"hangover† and memory loss are just a few of the short-term effects of binge drinking. The more serious and long-term consequences of binge drinking can result in higher chances of stroke, heart disease, and brain tumors (ICAP 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frequent binge drinkers have the most serious problems. These people are seven to sixteen times more likely, than non-binge drinkers to have missed classes, gotten behind in their school work, engaged in unplanned sexual activity, and not used protection during sexual intercourse, had run-ins with campus police, damaged property, or been injured or hurt (NCADI 2).

The Effect of Teacher/Student Relationship on Learning Essay -- Educat

The Effect of Teacher/Student Relationship on Learning There are many controversies when it comes to the relationship between teachers and students. However, one idea remains, the teacher's primary job is to educate while the student's primary job is to learn. The techniques are what differ among teachers and in turn that shapes the relationship between the two parties. As many of the writers discussed in class, have pointed out, the education experience, from curriculum to academic and extra-curricular programs directs a person's path in life. Is this relationship among teacher and student that important to discuss and analyze? Does a student's education depend on the techniques of the teacher? Alternatively, do students have a responsibility to their own education? The relationship between the teacher and the student is both important and detrimental to a student's education. Educators and aspiring teachers need to know what kind of atmosphere they can create in a classroom. Students, college or otherwise, who want a good and rich education need to know ways in which to achieve this goal. The relationship among the teacher and student is an ongoing everyday process at every level of the educational system. What kinds of teaching techniques offer significant contributions towards a student's education? The authors bell hooks and Lynne Cheney consider two different perspectives. In her article, "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education," bell hooks, claims that a student's social class can have an affect on his/her education. Her first experiences outside of Kentucky reflect the teaching techniques she has developed. To a southern black girl from a working-class background who had never been on a city bus, who had... ...ging each side of the relationship, a clearer perspective and job duty can appear. There must be respect and admiration among both the teacher and each student. Every educator can or should reflect on there own teaching patterns and shape them around suggestions made by Cheney and hooks. The teacher's primary goal is to broaden and bring about awareness to individual students. The only way to accomplish that objective is to find a balance between obtaining the power and allowing freedom in the classroom. Works Cited Cheney, Lynne. "PC: Alive ad Entrenched." In the Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. 2nd ed. 112-122. hooks, bell. "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education." In the Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. 2nd ed. 85 The Effect of Teacher/Student Relationship on Learning Essay -- Educat The Effect of Teacher/Student Relationship on Learning There are many controversies when it comes to the relationship between teachers and students. However, one idea remains, the teacher's primary job is to educate while the student's primary job is to learn. The techniques are what differ among teachers and in turn that shapes the relationship between the two parties. As many of the writers discussed in class, have pointed out, the education experience, from curriculum to academic and extra-curricular programs directs a person's path in life. Is this relationship among teacher and student that important to discuss and analyze? Does a student's education depend on the techniques of the teacher? Alternatively, do students have a responsibility to their own education? The relationship between the teacher and the student is both important and detrimental to a student's education. Educators and aspiring teachers need to know what kind of atmosphere they can create in a classroom. Students, college or otherwise, who want a good and rich education need to know ways in which to achieve this goal. The relationship among the teacher and student is an ongoing everyday process at every level of the educational system. What kinds of teaching techniques offer significant contributions towards a student's education? The authors bell hooks and Lynne Cheney consider two different perspectives. In her article, "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education," bell hooks, claims that a student's social class can have an affect on his/her education. Her first experiences outside of Kentucky reflect the teaching techniques she has developed. To a southern black girl from a working-class background who had never been on a city bus, who had... ...ging each side of the relationship, a clearer perspective and job duty can appear. There must be respect and admiration among both the teacher and each student. Every educator can or should reflect on there own teaching patterns and shape them around suggestions made by Cheney and hooks. The teacher's primary goal is to broaden and bring about awareness to individual students. The only way to accomplish that objective is to find a balance between obtaining the power and allowing freedom in the classroom. Works Cited Cheney, Lynne. "PC: Alive ad Entrenched." In the Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. 2nd ed. 112-122. hooks, bell. "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education." In the Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. 2nd ed. 85

Mechanical Engineering :: essays research papers

: Mechanical Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The day to day duties of a mechanical engineer are at first repetitive, but over time and with advancement work varies. The average mechanical engineer works anywhere from thirty-five to fifty hours a week. If the engineer is ahead of schedule the hours may be less. Depending on which type of engineer you want be, you will either wear a uniform or semiformal clothing. Usually mechanical engineers work in an office or at a desk, their clothes are semiformal. Mechanical engineers are mainly designing equipment, so the outside work is minimal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The outlook for a mechanical engineer is good. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics of the Federal Government reports that the size of mechanical engineers is about 230,725. That number is expected to increase about 19 percent by the year 2005. Because things are constantly being designed and manufactured there will always be a need for mechanical engineers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The average salary for a bachelor’s degree without experience is $37,900, for a master’s without experience is $45,800, and for the doctoral without experience is $56,700. A professor of mechanical engineering at a university is $20,000 to $40,000. The head of a mechanical engineering department of a university makes upwards of $50,000. After many years of different types of engineering one may become independent and reach earnings of $50,000 to $200,000. Presidents and vice presidents may make $100,000 to $200,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mechanical engineers must be licensed of they are to do anything that affects peoples’ lives, property, or the environment. A bachelor’s degree is minimal for most companies. A master’s degree assures a better starting salary and opportunities for advancement. High school credits should have good grades in: math, physics, chemistry, biology, drafting, computer and mechanical courses. To become a mechanical engineer you should start at a high school level when you notice curiosity of how, any why things work.

Biblical Worldview Essay Essay

Genesis 1 – 11 recounts the story of the Creation of the heavens, earth, and mankind, the fall of man into sin, and God’s original covenant with Moses. From these chapters in Genesis, many of the questions of life are answered for us. We learn whether there is a God, where we came from, how to tell right from wrong, and what our relationship with God should be. Genesis 1 – 11 sets down an early guide for us on how we should live our lives to honor God, how we can learn from past human errors, and how to deepen our relationship with God, all of which can help to shape our worldview. Right away in Genesis, we learn the story of creation and that God exists and created the heavens, earth, mankind, and all of the creatures that live on earth. Genesis 1:27 shows that life was created by God, stating â€Å"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them† (NIV). This helps us learn right away the relationship to God that we have. God created us in His image and created us to be perfect. God also, however, gave us the ability to sin by giving us free will. Genesis 5:1-32 shows again that man was created by God and shows that man descended from Adam and Eve, even listing the descendants and how long they lived. By showing how God created life, man, and all the creatures on earth, Genesis helps us to understand how we should relate to Him and how we should view His creation. God created perfect humans and God created a perfect world. But He also left the ability for us to choose whether we remained perfect. One thing we definitely learn from the story of original sin in Genesis is that our God is a loving God. Once Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, God very easily could have struck them down and started mankind over again. Instead, God allowed Adam and Eve to live on, casting them out from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:23. Shortly after this, we also read the story of Cain and Able, with Cain killing his brother Able. God again does not strike down the sinner, but choses to again cast Cain out from the land in which he was living. And while God could have chosen to punish Cain by making it so that he could not have children, God was loving in allowing Cain to reproduce with his wife and also allowing Adam and Eve to reproduce again, giving them another son to replace Able. God showed love by not being too harsh on the sinners. This goes helps us to form our view of God. It shows us that God is not just a loving God, but He is also a forgiving God also. Allowing mankind to carry on even after such heinous acts instead of starting over again with a more perfect species shows us that our God is a great God and we should strive to live a life that will honor His love and forgiveness. As we read further along into Genesis, we see the lineage from the time of Adam until the time of Noah. We see that sin has started to run rampant in the world before Noah’s time. But we also learn in Genesis 6:9b that â€Å"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God† (NIV). This is to say that Noah was following the pathway set down before him to live a life honoring God. Because Noah was living in this way, God spared Noah. God would send a great flood to earth to destroy all of mankind. God, however, made the first covenant with Noah, saying that because of how they lived their lives, He would spare them from the flood and allow them to continue mankind’s rule over the earth. This shows us not only that there are repercussions for our sins, but that God also will love and spare those who are living in a way that honors Him. Because Noah and his family were righteous, God made another covenant with them, showing them a rainbow after the flood and making the promise to never bring such destruction upon His people again. This shows us the relationship that God had with us as humans and the value that God put in promises. It also shows what God was willing to do to our civilization as a punishment for not living a righteous life that honored Him. Although God made the covenant to never bring this destruction upon us again, we need to know the power of God and what He could do to us if He wanted. After the great flood, we see the blood lines of Noah and his family. Genesis then turns its attention to the Tower of Babel. Mankind was building a tower, hoping that it would be able to reach to heaven. But when God saw this, He decided that His people would become too content and may try to  make things too easy for themselves. He therefore created different languages for all of His people to speak and spread His people all around the earth. God wanted civilization to have many different roots and many different stories. If we were to flourish as a people, we would need to be able to spread our wings. This was the start of many different civilizations that still exist in our world today. We learn that God doesn’t want us to have one story from which to learn, He wants us to have many stories from which we can learn different lessons. Genesis 1 – 11 gives us the first guidelines for what we can expect from God and how we should try to honor Him with our lives. We learn that our God is a loving and forgiving God, that we learn that God created us in His image, that God wants us to rule over the earth, that God will spare those whom He thinks are living a life to honor Him, and that God created many different civilizations from which we can learn many different lessons. Genesis 1 – 11 is a great start to learning more about ourselves, learning more about God, and learning more about how we should view this world with which God has blessed us.

Organization Learning and Development Essay

Organizational performance depends upon human resources, knowledge and skills of employees. Organization learning and development determine overall success of organizational performance and market position of a company or firm. Changes occurred in technology, marketing, and numerous management techniques, some of which are concerned with human problems. Most of the changes are made in a rather disjointed or piecemeal manner. Following Revans (1980) learning in an organization must be greater than or equal to the rate of change in the environment. The approach emerging today is to use the growing body of ideas and systematic thought to consider innovatory ideas on organization and to adopt a more systematic comprehen ¬sive look at problems, so that we look at the whole instead of looking at separate parts. In modern environment, individuals have a lot of freedom, apart from certain laws of society, but when they join an organization their freedom is restricted and their effort must be joined with those of others to achieve organizational goals through learning and development practices. Change cannot occur if employees do not have sufficient knowledge and skills necessary for new organizational environment. Following Argyris (1977) â€Å"organizational learning as the process of detection and correction of errors† In his view organizations learn through individuals acting as agents for them† (cited Malhotra 1996). In this case, organizational learning becomes a change agent for the organization. Following Polanyi, Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) identify two types of knowledge, â€Å"tacit knowledge† and â€Å"explicit knowledge†, which influence organizational learning and development. Employees need to acquire tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in order to meet individual and business goals. Some administra ¬tive apparatus is needed through which managerial authority is exercised. Therefore a hierarchy is formed which issues policy statements to ensure any discretion that individuals may have in their work is exercised in the spirit or attitude of the organization. Without tacit and explicit knowledge, an organization is not able to meet rapidly changing environment. This requirement is somewhat, although not exclusively, dependent upon the first. The level of involvement of employees in the learning process will be necessarily substantial. For the innovation of new ideas to be successful a high degree of integration is needed between all concerned (e. g. engineering, production management and marketing). Organizations that are too rigidly structured may find integration of all necessary activities very difficult (Armstrong 2001). Nick Bontis et al (2002) states that stock and flow of knowledge affect three level in organizations: personal, team and organizational. Direct business needs, which have been identified from the study of the organizational situation might best be met in part by some form of training which cascades down the organization. Selection in such cases is likely to be on a broad basis, because the judgment has already been made that most people need this training. Although there might be discussion with line managers, particularly on who should attend first, selection ul ¬timately should be a central decision, and should be compulsory (Senior, 2001). Following Flood (1999) knowledge and learning allow employees to be better positioned in organization and give them a chance to survive and prosper in different environments. Revans (1980) is right stating that learning in an organization must be greater than the rate of change because learning and development open new opportunities for organizations and allow the staff to meet the criteria set down: persistence and great personal desire to master this knowledge. On the other hand, knowledge develops such important skills as the ability to analyze and synthesize information about the clanging environment. In this situation, employees take into account universal concepts and experience of other people trying to solve his/her life problems or trying to find solution to these troubles (Schuler 1998). Without new knowledge, employees depend upon their own life experience and are limited by prejudices and life scope. Learning cultivates human creativity and helps it to flourish. Organizational learning and development help to create new practical knowledge on the basis of the existing one making employees free from old technologies and views of their peers. Following Weick (1991): â€Å"organizations are not built to learn. Instead, they are patterns of means-ends relations deliberately designed to make the same routine response to different stimuli, a pattern which is antithetical to learning in the traditional sense† (cited Malhotra 1996). Without organizational learning and development, organizations could not benefit from outside worlds depending on their limited world perception. Freedom of choice is the main priority given by education and knowledge. They can choose without knowledge but their choice would be accidental and cannot guarantee the best solution to the problem you are faced with. Organizational learning and development help organizations to get in touch with the society and others which also a key to freedom (Mayo 1998). In the book â€Å"The Fifth Discipline†, Senge (1995) explains organizational development and performance through system theory. Organizations are affected by environment and have a structure which has both formal and informal elements. The analysis of structure will cover how activities are grouped together, the number of levels in the hierarchy, the extent to which authority is decentralized to divisions and units, and the relationships that exist between different units and functions. Senge states that systems thinking method helps organizations to transform their activities and become a learning organization (Organizational Learning and Information Systems 2007). Five disciplines include â€Å"building shared vision, mental models, team learning, personal mastery, systems thinking† (Senge 1995, p. 56). These principles are crucial because these factors allow organizations adapt to changing environments. So, without active learning and development organizations will not be able to compete on the market and adapt changes. Learning process should be prier to change. Bearing in mind the need to take an empirical and contingent approach to organizing, as suggested above, the aim of learning could be defined as being to optimize the arrangements for conducting the affairs. â€Å"A systems orientation is evidenced through common language producing thinking that encourages greater interdependency thus allowing for cross-functional thinking and abilities to be drawn into a productive whole† (Barker, Camarata, 1998, p. 4). To do this, it is necessary, as far as circumstances allow, to: clarify the overall purposes of learning – the strategic thrusts that govern what it does and how it functions; define as precisely as possible the key activities required to achieve that purpose; group these activities logically together to avoid unnecessary overlap or duplica ¬tion. Following Goh (1998) â€Å"Learning organizations not only encourage these practices but also have mechanisms or systems that allow them to happen. Part of this knowledge transfer involves learning successful practices from other organizations and competitors as well† (p. 5). As Katz and Kahn (1964) wrote: ‘Systems theory is basically concerned with prob ¬lems of relationship, of structure and of interdependence. As a result, there is a considerable emphasis on the concept of transactions across boundaries – between the system and its environment and between the different parts of the system† (Katz and K ahn, 1964, p. 48). According to this theory, all organizations have some learning and development which influence market position and innovative approach to performance. Structures incorporate a network of roles and relationships and are there to help in the process of ensuring that collective effort is explicitly organized to achieve specified ends (Mayo 1998). Most employees require much practice to create professional skills and knowledge. Organizations are continually dependent upon and influenced by their environments. The basic characteristic of organizational learning is that it transforms inputs into outputs within its environment. The components of organizational learning include the importation of energy, the throughput, and the systems as cycle aspects of organizations (McNamara 2007). Organizational learning and development include key organizational processes – an organization’s ‘task’ environment includes suppliers, markets and competitors; the wider environment includes factors such as public attitudes, economic and political systems, laws etc; employees and other tangible assets – people, plant, and equipment; formal organizational requirements – systems designed to regulate the actions of employees (and machines); the social system – culture (values and norms) and relationships between employees in terms of power, affiliation and trust; technology – the major techniques people use while engaged in organizational processes and that are programmed into machines; the dominant coalition – the objectives, strategies, personal characteristics and internal relationships of those who oversee the organization as a whole and control its basic policy making (Reed 2001). If organizations are unable to prepare their staff to a coming change, they will be inevitably left behind. Revans is right stating that learning in an ‘organization must be greater than or equal to the rate of change in the environment’ because organizations depend upon the learning and development as a part of change. Following â€Å"as the relationship changes and becomes more complex, the need increases for a relation-based learning organization using communication at all levels and through its various forms† (Barker, Camarata 1998, p. 4). The overall purpose of organizational learning and development is to ensure that the staff is able to achieve success in changing environments. In this case, organizational learning and development can be the source of the organizational capabilities that allow it to learn and capitalize on new opportunities. Ensure that the staff obtains and retains the skilled, committed and well-motivated workforce it needs. This means taking steps to assess and satisfy future people needs and to enhance and develop the inherent capacities of people – their contributions, potential and employability – by providing learning and continuous development opportunities (Nonaka, Takeuchi 1995). It can also involve the development of high performance work systems which enhance flexibility and include â€Å"rigorous recruitment and selec ¬tion procedures, performance-contingent incentive compensation systems, and management development and training activities linked to the needs of the organization† (Mayo 1998, p. 49). An understanding of organiza ¬tional processes and skills in the analysis and diagnosis of patterns of organizational behavior are therefore important. Organizations need to be able to understand the patterns of behavior that are observed to predict in what direction behavior will move (particularly in the light of managerial action), and to use this knowledge to control behavior over the course of time. Effective managerial action requires that the manager be able to diagnose the system he or she is working in. According to Goh (1998): Skill and knowledge acquisition are obviously useless unless they can be transferred to the immediate job by the employee. It is even better if this knowledge can also be transferred to other parts of the organization to solve problems and energize creative new ideas. Part of this knowledge transfer involves learning successful practices from other organizations and competitors as well† (15). Barker and Camarata (1998): underlines that: â€Å"personal mastery is the continual process of growth and development needed for creative work for both the individual and organization. Learning in organizations occurs only through the learning that individuals acquire â€Å"(4). The organization must do all it can to explain why change is essential and how it will affect everyone. Moreover, every effort must be made to protect the interests of those affected by change. Resistance to change is inevitable if the individuals concerned feel that they are going to be worse off – implicitly or explicitly. Management of change will produce that reaction. In an age of global competition, technological innovation, turbulence, disconti-nuity, even chaos, change is inevitable and necessary (Senior, 2001). In sum, learning in an organization must be greater than the rate of change in the environment, because only in this case organizations able to compete on the market and create skilled workforce. Organizational learning and development can be seen as a part of change process which allows organizations to foreshadow coming changes and possible problems. Learning should be greater than the rate of change, because organizations welcome the challenges and opportunities if they have strong human resources and skilled workforce. They are the ones to be chosen as change agents. Reference http://www.brint.com/papers/orglrng.htm

Addressing Barriers to Learning and Closing

Addressing Barriers to Learning and closing the Achievement Gap: New Directions for Student Support Closing We all recognize the urgency arising from the demands made by the No Child Left Behind Act. Many schools are being designated as low performing. Increasing accountability demands require demonstrating progress for students who are â€Å"economically disadvantaged, from racial and ethnic minority groups, have disabilities, or have limited English proficiency. † All schools will be evaluated on criteria designed to identify sites that are â€Å"persistently dangerous. With increasing ccountability tor student outcomes and dwindling budgets, it is essential to rethink use of existing learning support resources to maximize a school's capability for addressing barriers to student learning and teaching. Beyond the Learning Gap Americans increasingly are aware of this learning gap and are seeking ways to address it. The international comparisons grab the front-page headlines, and officials try to Infer recommendations from how one country performs compared with the performance of another.Policymakers carefully study, state by state, scores on the ost recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, as if one could divine a strategy, from the scores, for improving performance. Scores of all local schools are printed in the newspaper, and school boards and parents discuss why students In some schools score much lower than others. As important as it is to know how well students are learning, examinations of achievement scores alone can never reveal how the scores might be improved.We also need information on the classroom processes on teaching that are contributing to the scores. unfortunately, many olicymakers have ignored this fact, making decisions about the future of education without even the most rudimentary information about what is happening In classrooms. In 1995, faced with low reading and mathematics performance on the National Assessment of E ducauonal Progress, California's superintendent of public instruction formed two task forces, one for mathematics and one for reading, to study the situation and propose solutions.California, after all, was highly respected for Curriculum Frameworks that guide reading and mathematics instruction in the state. The Frameworks provided a comprehensive outline for what students should learn and guidelines for appropriate Instructional methods. If the Frameworks were so good, why was achievement so low? In meetings of California's mathematics task force, the discussion often turned to the Frameworks. Were the teaching methods or curricular emphases recommended in the Mathematics Framework perhaps to blame for students' low achievement?A debate ensued among members of the task force, a debate that has been reflected more broadly in public debate around the country etween proponents of â€Å"reform† teaching and those in favor of more â€Å"traditional† teaching methods. Some believed that the Frameworks were not working and should tOf2 the discussion was a key fact: the state of California had collected no data on the extent to which the Frameworks had been implemented in the state's classrooms.This did not stop the state, however, from undertaking a revision of its Mathematics Framework. But on what basis could the Framework be revised? Without knowing what teachers were doing, how could the effectiveness of the Framework be determined? We do not mean to single out California; no state that we know of regularly collects and uses data directly related to instructional processes in the classroom. Policymakers adopt a program, then wait to see if student achievement scores will rise.If scores do not go up and this is most often what happens, especially in the short run – they begin hearing complaints that the policy isn't working. Momentum builds, experts meet, and soon there is a new recommendation, then a change of course, often in the opposite direction. Significantly, this whole process goes on without ever collecting data on whether or not the original program as even implemented in classrooms or, if implemented, how effective it was in promoting student learning.If we wish to make wise decisions, we need to know what is going on in typical classrooms. Fortunately, the same TIMSS that generated a new wave of concern about students' achievement also collected a wealth of information about educational factors that might help us understand the different levels of performance in different countries. TIMSS researchers analyzed textbooks; asked administrators, teachers, and students about their beliefs and practices; and ideotaped teachers teaching typical lessons.The TIMSS video study of teaching, which forms the basis for this book, is especially significant because it provides a penetrating and unparalleled look into classrooms in three different countries. For the first time, we had a full video record of a representative sample of U. S. classrooms. More than that, we had the same kind of information from Germany and Japan. We could now compare more than achievement scores. We could examine similarities and differences in the instructional methods that lay behind these scores.

Ottoman vs. Mughals

Ottoman Empire Vs. Mughal Empire The Ottoman and Mughal empires were two of the most successful empires to ever come together. However, in their dominance there was many similarities as well as differences. Both went through their share of struggle. Whether through political, religious, or cultural struggle the two empires had to rely on their emperors for guidance and rule. The Ottomans were amid the Turkic-speaking nomadic people who had spread westward from Central Asia through out the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. The first to appear were the Seljuk Turks.In the late thirteenth century, a new group of Turks began to emerge in the northwestern corner of Anatolian peninsula, under the leadership of the tribal leader Osman. These Turks were peaceful and engaged in pastoral pursuits. However, with the decline of the Seljuk Empire in the early fourteenth century, the Osman Turks began to expand and founded the Osmanli dynasty. The Osmanlis later became known as the Ottomans. La ter expanding westward the Ottoman Empire set up their first European base at Gallipoli. They expanded gradually into the Balkans and allied with Serbia and Bulgar forces against the Byzantines.Okhar gradually established permanent settlements in the area. Throughout the area Turkish provincial governors, called beys, collected taxes from the local Slavic peasants after driving out the previous landlords. This later became known as the Bey system. Which would be the foundation of the Ottoman administration for centuries. In this system the Ottoman leader began to claim the title of Sultan or supreme power over his domain. â€Å"The Ottoman political system was the result of the evolution of tribal institutions into a sedentary empire† (Duiker, Spielvogel. 455).At the apex of this system was the Sultan, who was the authority in both a political and military sense. Though, both administrative and military power was centralized under the bey. Okhar’s son Murad succeeded h im in 1389. Murad began to build of a strong military administration based on the recruitment of Christians into an elite guard. These warriors were called Janissaries. Some of these Janissaries were even able to become senior members of the bureaucracy. They were then assigned land in fief by the sultan and were responsible for collecting taxes and supplying armies to the empire.The land was farmed out to the local cavalry elite called the Sipahis. Who were equivalent to the beys, this system later became known as the Devshirme system. Janissaries were also a big advantage because they were directly subordinated to the sultanate; because of this they owed loyalty to the person of the sultan. Both Okhar’s and Murad’s system were vital aspects of the Ottoman’s expansion. The most prevalent was in 1451 when Mehmet II ordered the construction of a major fortress on the Bosporus. This move put the Turks in a position to strangle the Byzantine Empire. With the Byzant ines hand-cuffed, Mehmet II made his move.He attacked Constantinople in 1453 where he defeated the empire and ignited the expansion of what would be known as one of the most dominant empires of all time. Constantinople later was renamed to Istanbul, as it became the center of the art, education, and religion for the Ottoman Empire. Mehmet II did not only tear down the Byzantine Empire, but he also built the Topkapi Palace, which was the heart of administration and religion. The Ottoman Empire continued their expansion with Mehmet’s successor Selim I in 1512. Selim I defeated the Mamlucks of Egypt after they failed to support the Ottomans in there battle against the Safavids.Which gave him control of several holy cities of Islam, including Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina, Selim declared himself the new Caliph, or the successor of Muhammad in the Muslim religion. The Caliph is the highest religious authority and the defender of the religion. Also, the Caliph interprets laws of the Shari’a. However, in practice the Head Priest does the interpreting. These Ottomans elites were Sunni Muslims, although, Islamic law and customs were applied to all Muslims in the empire. Some communities were attracted to Sufism or other heterodox doctrines.The government accepted such activities as long as the communities remained loyal to the empire. Non-Muslims formed a significant minority within the empire. The minority was treated with relative tolerance, but they were compelled to pay a head tax and were permitted to practice their religion or convert to Islam. Each of these religious groups within the empire was organized as an administrative unit known as millet. Each group, including Muslims had its own patriarch priest, who dealt as an intermediary with the government and administered the community according to its own laws. Nomadic people were placed in separate millets.Where they were subject to their own laws, and were governed by their hereditary chiefs, the beys. The Mughals came about in quite a different way. In the late fourteenth century, the Indian subcontinent known as Calicut was divided into a number of Hindu and Muslim kingdoms. However, it was on the verge of a new era of unity that was brought upon by a foreign dynasty known as the Mughals. The Founder of the Mughal Empire known as Babur had a prominent family history, not only was his father a descendent from the great Asian conqueror Tamerlane, but his mother was also a descendent from the Mongol Conqueror Genghis Khan.Unlike the Ottomans who earned their first land as a reward from the Seljuk Turks for their role in the drive out of the Mongols in the late thirteenth century. Babur inherited a portion of Tamerlane’s empire in an upland valley of the Syr Darya River. Though, the Uzbeks and then the Safavid dynasty in Persia drove him south. Babur and his warriors later seized Kabul in 1504 and thirteen years later crossed Khyber Pass into India. Moreover, the conque ror of the Mughal Empire that made the greatest impact was Babur’s grandson Akbar.Although he was illiterate, and only assumed the throne at the age of fourteen. He was also remembered as one of the most intelligent conquerors of the empire. So intelligent, instead of taking the title of the Caliph as the Ottoman’s did. He proclaimed himself as the spiritual and temporal head of state. Akbar did this to insure that everyone would follow his policies, not because he was Devine, but because of his wisdom. Akbar took toleration to an entirely different level. Making the Ottoman’s look intolerable, as emperor Akbar displayed a keen interest in other religions.Tolerating Hindu practices in his own domains but also welcoming the expression of Christian views by his Jesuit advisers. With these beliefs, Akbar decided to formulate his own religion he called Din-I-Ilahi. This religion was based off toleration, taking away many regulations that the Muslim court had in plac e. For example, he allowed worship in public; he allowed construction of Christian churches and Hindu Temple. As well as establishing a translation department, translating Hindu religious books into Persian. Yet in 1519, maybe the most important regulation was eliminated, when Akbar abolished the Jizya.This was the head tax put in place by the ottomans to all of the Non-Muslims had to pay in order to stay out of the military. Doing this created a brotherhood of man within the Muslim culture, unlike the Ottomans who looked down on the minorities in the area. Akbar also extends his changes to the imperial administration. The empire was divided into provinces, a lot like the Ottoman’s, and the administration of each province was modeled after the central government, with separate departments for military, financial, commercial, and legal affairs. Senior officials were then appointed for each department.These officials were known as Zamindars. The officials were first paid salari es, but later they were ordinarily assigned sections of agricultural land. Where peasants walked the land, tilled the land, but were forced to pay a tax to the Zamindar. Which was partly kept by the Zamindar, and the rest was forwarded to the central government. The Zamindar also recruited a number of military and civilian retainers and accumulated considerable power in their areas. A great deal of the Mughals success was the harmony that Akbar imposed on their society.Unfortunately, when Akbar passed, so did most of his ideas. Akbar’s successors tried to turn the Mughal Empire back into a Sunni Muslim state, and the toleration of Non-Muslims was gone. This discrimination as well as economic crisis led to decline of the Mughal Empire. Despite the fact that both the Ottoman’s and the Mughals had outstanding leadership and motivation, this was not the lone factor that allowed them to be so successful. Some scholars have labeled them â€Å"Gun Powder Empire† becaus e of their superior military techniques of modern warfare, especially the use of firearms.Firearms played a central role in expansion for both the empires. In conclusion, these two Sunni Muslim empires could seem quite diverse on one hand, but in the big picture they have a considerable amount in common. Both were trying to achieve their goal of expansion, and both had to innovate their own regulations within a Sunni Muslim state. Nevertheless, the two went about these two goals in a diverse way. Bibliography – William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History Seventh Edition, The Pennsylvania State University, Vol. II, Since 1500.