Leadership of Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad Essay

1-INTRODUCTION â€Å"To be a great leader, one needs to have good strategies, be knowledgeable and able to predict the future† Mahathir Mohamed After becoming the Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1981, Mahathir Mohammed has changed a lot of polices and economic strategies, which reflected positively on Malaysian economy. In his era, Malaysia has changed from a poor agricultural country to a very rich industrial modern country, Where he was known as the Father of Modernization for Malaysia . He has made ​​a lot of achievements on economic and political level in Malaysia and was also known for his extreme critique of Western anti-Islamic policies . He is  truly an extraordinary man and multi-talented leader where he was able to achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time. I will talk in this paper about the leadership qualities of Mahathir Mohammed and some of the most important achievements and his leadership styles and then I will address some of the negatives that have marred his tenure. 2- BACKGROUND Dr Mahathir Mohamad was born on December 20, 1925 in Seberang Perak, Alor Setar, Kedah1. He was the youngest of nine children. His father Mohamad bin Iskandar was a half Indian origin while his mother Wan Tampawan was Malay. His family came from a very modest background, as they were not aristocrats, now were they particularly inclined religiously or politically. As schools were closed during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in World War II, Mahathir started off in small businesses. He first started selling coffee, and later was a hawker of snacks, mostly pisang goring (banana fritters) He started his education by attending a Malay vernacular school before continuing his education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar. He continued his study and attended Medical Study at King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore2. He graduated in 1954 from medical college, and started his carrier as a doctor in Penang General Hospital3. in 1957 he establish his own clinic. In 1964, he was elected to parliament, as a member of the United Malays National Organization (UMNA). 3- Mahathir’s Characters and Personality. a. Look to leadership. Mahathir Mohammed was fond of leadership and love of work is done correctly. It was remarkable among his friends and peers for his ability to persuade. It also looks like the features of the seriousness and purposefulness. b.Strategic and Visionary Way of Thinking. (1) Mahathir Muhammad was preferred to study law, but it did not happen where he got a scholarship in medicine as explained above he wanted to study law because he enjoy debating4. But medical profession helped him a lot in his work as a politician. He has earned the status of diagnosis and treatment, bringing diagnose diseases of Malaysian nation economically, politically and socially. The way in dealing with the problems of his country’s was like a relationship of doctor and his patients. (2)Mahathir Mohammed, after his visit to Japan and South Korea could be a vision of his country through dissemination of education and rely on human resources In what was called ‘Look East’ policy5. He was inspired by the Japanese and Korean experience in modernization and future vision6. (3)Mahathir Mohammed has development a plan is to include the development of all parts of the country, including remote areas. Has taken care to build roads and bridges linking the cities and villages of Malaysia as interested in the elaboration of the economic vision for Malaysia 20207. Mahathir Mohammed was keen to build a strong network of contacts in order to contribute to advancing the Malaysian economy, and thus was able to enter the country to the era of fast communication in the early eighties of the last century. c.Influential Characteristic. (1)Mahathir is believed in leadership by example8. He was trying to implant the values ​​of Work loving in Malaysian people by the example, he was spending long hours at work and hardly takes a vacation, but he continues to work to improve the economic situation of Malaysia (2)He was very influential Mahathir Mohammed at the political level as part of the continuation of his rule in Malaysia for 22 years ‘Barisan Nasional’ and influence the people continuing support the ledge9. d.A Strict Disciplinarian. (1) Early in his inception Mahathir Mohammed has earned status of strict and seriousness in education and dealing. He was like his father, cares about the education of his children and sometimes treated them harshly10. In leading the country as a Prime Minister some example of this characteristic can be viewed in the case of his decision in 1988 whereby on his advice for conducting tribunal to Lord president Tun Saleh Abbas for â€Å"gross misconduct†resulting the King sacked Lord president Tun Saleh Abbas, and two supreme court judges were also dismissed. Another example was in 1998 his Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim was sacked and arrested under the Internal Security Act and served a 15 year jail sentence on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct11. e.Multi-talented Person. Mahathir Mohammed was a multi-talented person and deep thinking, he was able to deal with a lot of problems at one time and decisively. He has been known about these qualities during his study in the university where he was able to lead more than student group also founded some student magazines at the university. He established a medical journal and was its editor called `The Cauldron’ It also wrote a book before becoming prime minister, called the Malay Dilemma and the book was banned until he became prime minister 12. 4-An Analysis of Dr Mahathir Leadership. a. Leadership: it is very clear that Tun Dr Mahathir has a good character of leadership whereby his personality and character has inspired people to achieve their Goals. You can see His leadership successes by achievement of the country and also it can be seen byThe high level of income and living standards of the people of Malaysia. It can also touch on the impact of his neighboring countries such as Indonesia, which is trying to inspire experience of Mahathir Mohammed in the economy. b. Management: It is proven that he was successes in managing the government structure, Where he was able to run the government in a good way, which led to the achievement of the desired during his tenure. He has good plans for  the continued progress and ensure the achievement of the objectives of Vision 2020 c. Decision Making: By looking at his way of thinking it is shown that Mahathir has a strategic and critical thinking. This can be seen from his idea of The Look East Policy and The Vision 2020 whereby it is shown of his concern and awareness about the nation and the direction to go for Malaysia and the benefits to all Malaysian people. He had also shown that he is a careful person in making his decision, even when he wanted to announced his resignation, he did not tell anybody including his wife but only asking his deputy Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whether he is ready to be his successor. He wanted his announcement to be a public statement as he would not able to retract and he do not want any body to dissuade him for the resignation . d. Style of Leadership: From the discussion of his personality and character, it is seen that Dr Mahathir was applying both autocratic and democratic style of leadership. As a leader, he used his power and being strict to enforce the policies or plan that he had decided to achieved certain objectives but at the mean time he is also admit in his memoirs, A Doctor in the House as in the government and in the organization, all of the achievement are not only by himself but by everyone in the organization. 5- Leadership weaknesses of Dr Mahathir  the biggest failure of his 20 year rule that his inability to create a better work ethic among fellow ethnic Malay despite affirmative action policies in their favour has been13. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, it is identified that Tun Dr Mahathir has applied not only one style of leadership but he had applied the autocratic and democratic style depending on situation and he had shown that he had manage it accordingly and proven by his great achievement. There are so many good thing about Tun Dr Mahathir from his personality and  character that can be adapt to become a good leader. Tun Mahathir has shown that, to become a leader, one must have the desire to be a leader then only he or she can become the truly leader and he has prove that the important of knowledge is a vital aspects to be a successful leader. Only by having wide knowledge the leader can success his leadership whereby a leader without knowledge will lead his follower to the uncertainty. With the knowledge a leader can develop his vision by foreseeing the right direction or what his organization should be heading to or what to become. Another principle that has been practiced by Tun Mahathir was lead by the example. A good leader should have always shown to his follower or subordinate a good example by himself. Only by showing a good example the follower will given their respect followed by having confidence to be lead by the leader. Another point to be highlighted here is that, in approaching the follower, the leader should not practicing only one type or style of leadership. The style should always depend on situation, in order to get the affirmative guarantee to achieve the objectives in executing tasks given the autocratic style seem to be the best but throughout the process, the democratic way might encourage the follower to voluntarily impart their contribution and fully cooperation to achieve a better results. The mentor mentee concept can also become a factor to a success in leadership as in this case, Tun Mahathir’s father was the person who had inspired him the importance of revere learning and knowledge that has lead him to his success later on throughout his life. Bibliography: 1-Mahathir Mohamad (2011). A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Petaling Jaya, Selangor: MPH Publishing. pp843. 2- The Defence Leadership Centre, Defence Academy of United Kingdom (2004). Leadership in Defence. p2-4. 3- BTDM Ser: 122/ Sep-Oct 2003. Tentera dan Dr Mahathir . p4. 4- Linda D. Henman. Leadership: Theories and Controversies. p1. 5- Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Tun Dr Mahatir Mohamad; Leaders. Retrieved 01:30, June 10, 2012 from http://www.limkokwing.net/showcases/leaders/tun_dr_mahathir_mohamad/ 6- C. S. Kuppuswamy (2001). Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in power for two decades-An assessment. South Asia Analysis Group. Retrieved June 10, 2012 at 2345 from http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers4%5Cpaper304.html 7- Retrieved 23 Jun 12 at 2330 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahathir.

Books And Reading Essay

Topical Vocabulary 1. Categorisation: Children’s and adult’s books; travel books and biography; romantic and historical novels; thrillers; detective stories; science fiction/fantasy; non-fiction; pulp fiction. absorbing; adult; amusing; controversial; dense; depressing; delightful; dirty; disturbing; dull; fascinating; gripping; moralistic; obscene; outrageous; profound; whimsical; unputdownable. 2. Books and their parts: paperback and hardback; binding; cover; jacket; title; epigraph; preface; the contents list; fly leaf; bookplate; blurb; a beautifully printed book; a tome bound in leather; a book with dense print/ with loose pages. 3. Reading habits: to form a reading habit early in life; to read silently/incessantly/avidly/voratiously; to read curled up in chair; to read a child/oneself to sleep; to be lost/absorbed in a book; to devour books; to dip into/glance over/pore over/thumb through a book; to browse through newspapers and periodicals; to scan/ skim a magazine; an avid/alert/keen reader. 4. Library facilities: reading rooms and reference sections; the subject/author/title/on-line catalogue; the enquiry desk; computer assisted reference service; to borrow/renew/loan books; CDs and video tapes; rare books; to keep books that are overdue; books vulnerable to theft; to suspend one’s membership; to be banned from the library. I. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions: 1. Which books are you reading now? 2. Where is your favourite place to read? 3. Who is your favourite novelist? 4. Who is your favourite character? 5. Which contemporary author do you most admire? 6. Which is the first book you can recommend reading? 7. Which school text did you most enjoy? 8. What is your favourite children’s book? 9. Which book would you like to see filmed? 10. What is the most difficult book you have ever read? II. Work in groups. Find out about the last book each of your partners has read and make notes on these points: Author and title Type of book and what’s it about Reason for liking it Reason for recommending it to others III. Work in pairs. Choose the best alternative to complete these sentences: 1. Oliver Twist is a classic work of English †¦ . Literature non-fiction letters editions 2. The plot of the story was very exciting, but I didn’t find the †¦ . Persons people characters figurers 3. This book is a special edition for foreign readers, so there’s a(n) †¦ . Appendix glossary introduction preface table of contents 4. A novel is usually divided into several †¦ . Chapters units sections passages 5. If you need to find some information in a non-fiction book, look in the †¦ . Atlas blurb catalogue diary index review 6. Cambridge University Press is the †¦of the book you’re reading. Author editor printer publisher 7. A great novel has a good plot and a strong †¦ . Communication meaning message significance 8. The book was marvelously †¦ and it was a joy to read. Stylistic tedious well-written wonderful 9. Ernest Hemingway is one of my †¦ American writers. Best favourite ideal most popular 10. The thriller was so exciting that I couldn’t †¦ . Let it down look it up pick it up put it down 11. Even the †¦ characters in the book are really interesting. Less minor small tiny 12. I’d like to †¦ that book when you’ve read it. Borrow hire lend loan IV. In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the best three alternatives for each: 1. The †¦ character in the book is called Oliver. Central main principal principle top 2. I enjoy her books because her style is so very †¦ . Dull entertaining readable tedious true-to-life 3. I found that the characters in the story were very †¦ . Amusing believable informative likeable thrilling 4. There were so many twists in the plot that I didn’t really think it was †¦ . Accurate authentic convincing realistic true-to-life 5. She doesn’t read any fiction because she prefers reading †¦ . Biographies short stories textbooks non-fiction science fiction 6. I can’t †¦ books like those – they just send me to sleep. Bear carry enjoy stand suffer V. Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable words: 1. You can borrow books from a †¦ or buy them from a †¦ . 2. A writer can also be called an †¦ . 3. I can’t afford to buy the book in hardback, so I’ll wait till it comes out in †¦ . 4. I can’t remember the †¦ of the book, but I know it had a yellow †¦ . 5. A book that tells somebody’s life story is called a †¦ . VI. Match each word in the column with the explanation: Ballad, biography, novel, drama, poem, fairy tale, poetry, story, rhyme, novelette a) a story in prose, long enough to fill in one or more volumes, about either imaginary or historical people; b) piece of creative writing in verse form, especially one expressing deep feeling or noble thought in beautiful language, composed with the desire to communicate an experience; c) simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story; d) the art of a poet, poems; e) tale about fairies of imaginary origin; f) branch of literature dealing with the lives of persons; g) play for the theatre, radio or TV; h) verse for small children characterized by sameness of sound of the ending or two more words at the ends of lines of verse; i) short novel (story in prose); j) account of past or imaginary events. VII. Read the following extract and make with your groupmates the list of the books you would like to read while travelling: The Book- Bag Some people read for instruction, ad some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit. I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading is just a drug that we cannot get along without. Books are necessary to me and I never traveled far without enough reading matter. But when I am starting on a long journey the problem is really great. I have learnt my lesson. Once I fell ill in a small town in Java and had to stay in bed for three months. I came to the end of all the books I had brought with me and knowing no Dutch had to buy the schoolbooks from which intelligent Javanese, I suppose, got knowledge of French and German. So I read again after twenty-five years the plays of Goethe, the fables of La Fontaine and the tragedies of Racine. I have the greatest admiration for Racine, but I admit that to read his plays one after the other requires a certain effort in a person who is ill. Since then I have made a point of travelling with a large sack full of books for every possible occasion and every mood. There are books of all kinds. Volumes of verse, novels, philosophical works, critical studies (they say books about books are useless, but they certainly make very pleasant reading), biographies, history; there are books to read when you are ill and books to read when your brain want something to work at; there are books that you have always wanted to read but in the hurry of life at home have never found time to; there are books to read at sea; there are books for bad weather; there are books chosen solely for their length, which you take along when you have o travel light, and there are the books you can read when you can read nothing else. (from W. Somerset Maugham) VIII. See how many authors and titles you can match: For Whom the Bell Tolls Charlotte Bronte A Perfect Stranger Charles Dickens Airport Walter Scott Sister Carrie Dan Brown Tom Sawyer Daphne du Maurier Pride and Prejudice Arthur Hailey Martin Eden Danielle Steel Of Human Bondage Ernest Hemingway Alice in Wonderland Mark Twain Ivanhoe Lewis Carroll Rebecca Jack London David Copperfield Theodore Dreiser Jane Eyre Somerset Maugham The Da Vinci Code Iris Murdock Black Prince Jane Austen IX. Read the text and agree or disagree with the statements below: An English author once wrote: â€Å"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed or digested. † This quotation tells us how to read books of different kinds. Most travel books are to be tasted; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you are fond of crime stories (A. Christie, G. Simenon and the rest of modern favourites) you will read them quickly, you’ll â€Å"swallow† them. And then there are books that you’ll read slowly and carefully. If a book’s on an important subject, and a subject you’re interested in, you’ll want to chew and digest it. And you’ll want to weigh what the author says and consider his ideas and arguments. 1) Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull. 2) If the book is very exciting, you â€Å"swallow† it. 3) Nobody reads reference books for relaxation. 4) Reading thick science fiction books is tiring. 5) Very intelligent people don’t read detective stories. 6) Non-fiction books can’t be inspirational. 7) Travel books give you a lot of useful information. 8) Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry. 9) Great book-lovers never lend their books. 10) Lots of people buy books for their bright and beautiful jackets. 11) Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living-room. 12) It’s of no use collecting book issues of magazines and newspapers. X. Read the following passage and say if you agree with the author: Some people think that as more and more people have their TV-sets in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play o television can tell you the same story with colour picture and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programme can tell you all that you want to know? Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, etc. It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets. XI. Choose the best answer according to the information in the passage: 1. Which is easier to get the news from? a) newspaper b) the television 2. Which is usually quicker? a) to read a biography of a famous person b) to watch a TV programme about a famous person 3. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) an evening at the cinema 4. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) a hardcover book 5. Which is it most important to have in your home? a) non-fiction books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems c) a mixture of both: good non-fiction and your favourite fiction XII. Discuss the following questions with your partners: 1. Were your parents worried that you watched too much TV when you were younger? 2. Did you find TV more interesting than anything else when you were at school? 3. Programmes on what subject do you like most of all? 4. Can you learn all you want on TV? 5. Do you think you get more information from books or TV? 6. Is it easier for you to memorize facts watching TV or reading books? 7. What do you like more to read books or to watch TV? XIII. Different people enjoy reading for different reasons. You will read five people saying why they like reading novels. Which of them says that novels a) are good for improving language skills? b) make them forget their problems? c) add some adventure to their life? d) teach them how to act in certain situations? e) increase their knowledge of other cultures? Reading Novels Ricky: Oh, I love novels, especially if they have a good plot. I started reading them when I was 12, encouraged by my parents who were hoping I’d be a writer myself. As it happened, reading so much at an early age had an effect on my studies, my compositions were always very good! And I still read at least one novel a week. My own life isn’t terribly exciting, apart from my work, which is very interesting, nothing much happens. In the novels I read there’s always a lot going on, lots of thrilling events, and I can share in the experiences and problems of the characters. Ella: Well, I used to read only short stories. That changed when I moved to a new city and found myself in a job I didn’t really enjoy. I would get back home at about 5p. m. , make some supper and sit down to read a novel for the rest of the evening. Many of them are pretty unbelievable stories, and not particularly well-written. It’s not as if you can imagine yourself in any of those situations, but the thing is they take my mind off whatever’s worrying me. I’ve had long conversations about this with friends who think I should read better quality staff, but I know what I’m doing. Sally: Why I like reading novels? I remember as an adolescent, I used to read novels just so as to see how my favourite characters solved their problems. I thought I could then apply that to my own problems! And I’m not ashamed to say that’s still the case, that’s what I’m looking for in the novels I read, and that’s my reason for reading them. I always choose novels that are in a clear style, because I find complicated language difficult. And also I like the stories to be about countries and cultures I know well, because then I can understand the characters better. Tom: I think reading novels is helping me a great deal in my studies, and although I haven’t got much spare time, I always make a point of reading a couple of hours in the evening. I’m in my last year at secondary school, and frankly, reading novels is an excellent way of learning how people live in other countries, how they communicate with each other, what problems they have. That’s why I prefer novels with characters who are true to life, not the ones who have impossible adventures. I’m very lucky because my best friend also likes reading and we can often discuss what we’ve both read. Alex: I like reading novels because they help me develop the ability to write myself. I used to have real problems in producing a good piece of writing. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas, no, my teachers always said my compositions were interesting. But I couldn’t get my tenses right. That’s where reading novels helped. I don’t think you can learn much about other things from novels, because the situations are usually so unrealistic. Some people say that’s OK, if your life’s boring, you need the excitement of fiction. Well, my life’s exciting enough, so that’s not my problem. 1. Do you like to read novels? Why? 2. Do you think that reading makes a person intelligent? XIV. Comment on the following: 1. A house looks gloomy and joyless without books. 2. If the book is worth reading it is worth buying. 3. Books and friends should be few and good.

Analysis Of Multiple Theories Of Human Evolution History Essay

Analysis Of Multiple Theories Of Human Evolution History Essay The study of evolution in and of itself can be controversial to some. However, within the scientific community it is regarded as the broadly accepted idea that every living thing is derived from what came before and the tiny gradual mutations that arose through millions of years. To that end, there is much debate on certain aspects of particular mutations. Specifically, the debate surrounding the circumstances of human evolution can certainly be seen as contentious. Notwithstanding those who disavow evolution in its entirety, within the scientific community itself, there are several different schools of thought. More notably, the differing theories challenge each other with regard to when homo sapiens first appeared. But while each idea of human progression may differ, they are each rooted in strong empirical, but still limited, evidence. In scientific terms, before establishing how homo sapiens have come to be, we must first examine where they have come from. According to Cynthia S tokes Brown, author of Big History, â€Å"Five to 7 million years ago some mutation occurred in an ape ancestor and survived, and from that single mutation other single mutations kept occurring in the branch called hominids, the bipedal apesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦These genetic changes took place repeatedly in the same place-eastern Africa.† All major scientific theories regarding human evolution begin with this accepted premise, as Brown states, â€Å"For at least 3 million years human development occurred only in Africa; hominids did not live anywhere else, although apes lived in Europe and Asia as well.† There is an important point to be made in saying that although apes lived in other continents, human development took place exclusively in eastern Africa. One must acknowledge the distinct characteristics of Africa that fostered bipedal evolution in the first place. Eastern Africa, with its abundance of animals and plant life, is significant because of how it became conduciv e to and instrumental in helping shape human evolution. Brown writes, Eastern Africa is tropical; our lack of hairiness indicates that we evolved from tropical animals. To become humans, tropical apes came down from trees to live on grasslands; we are creatures of grasslands, not forests. The geography that could mold human development is found in the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. This helps one to understand the origin of homo sapiens and what conditions helped bipeds thrive sometime between 1 and 1.8 million years ago. Additionally, in deriving all of this information one realizes the arduous work involved in documenting and compiling evidence that dates back millions of years. One can recognize the power of human thought and reason, a result of evolution itself. It is in the migration out of Africa where a sometimes contentious debate arises in the scientific community. The distinction is made just after the presence of homo erectus. Whereas one theory describes homo sapie ns in direct lineage to the groups of homo erectus which migrated out of the Great Rift Valley region, known as the Multiregional theory, the more widely accepted thought is described as the Noah’s Ark Theory. The inference made by that name is that we were all in the same boat, Africa, and then migrated out about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago, some million years after the first homo erectus left Africa. Essentially it boils down to the question of whether or not those who left Africa evolved along with those who remained into homo sapiens or that those who left died off as a different species entirely.

The Patriot Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

The Patriot Act - Essay Example It exposed weaknesses in the intelligence community which failed in its job to protect American interests by not being able to predict and prevent when or where the strikes will occur; they were not able to interpret correctly despite all the warnings, a failure of â€Å"connecting the dots.† This act is actually an acronym, which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America (USA) while Patriot stands for Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This law has many pertinent provisions designed to fight terrorism but a primary aim was to strengthen law enforcement capabilities against any future terror attacks on America. The law likewise contained so-called â€Å"sunset† provisions designed to lapse after December 31, 2005 based on the assessment by security experts on the continued existence of terrorist threats. The paper will discuss the important provisions of the USA Patriot Act and the effects on civil liberties and personal freedoms. Among the provisions discussed will be concerning the regulation of financial transactions to deny the terrorists their sources of funding, the broadened discretionary authority of law enforcement and immigration officials to detain, deport, and try in courts these terror suspects, and the continued policy debates about this Act, among others. A consequence of the worst-ever terrorist attack on American soil caused the creation of a single government agency charged with protecting the country and its citizens. The Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002 and currently has about 240,000 federal employees in its payroll. This department is a unified, integrated cabinet-level agency tasked with the mission of protecting American citizens from attacks emanating from land, sea, air, and even in the cyber space (Department of Homeland Security, 2013, para. 1) such as prevention of hacking attempts. Americans now seriously take security precautions, together with the added

National Romanticism in Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

National Romanticism in Music - Essay Example Nationalism occurred in the nineteenth century and there was an interesting integration of Romanticism and Nationalism (Miles, 1985). On the one hand, this weird conglomerate is beyond music, but on the other hand, the glimpses of these two trends concerned music as well as other spheres of human activities. The oppressed nations needed inspiration, but they were looking for a place of sentiments. Nationalism can be interpreted as the leading idea of people’s spirit. A feeling of elevation and progress can be heard in the musical developments of the composers around the world. Nationalism and Romanticism in Music Gradually, nationalists were transformed into the â€Å"citizens of the world†. Nationalism was more aggressive and the oppressed nations wanted to have some changes. The change in music was obvious. After 1860 the leading world’s composers managed to reflect their feelings and emotions, combined them with inspirations of their nations and create musical masterpieces. National music in different countries always reflects peculiarities and specific features of nations. For example, the Italian composers have been always recognized as opera creators. Puccini is a great opera composer. The greatest oriental motifs of Madam Butterfly, the comedy of Gianni Schicci and the Romance of La Boheme reflect the uniqueness of the composer (Miles, 1985). He composed his operas with the greatest inspiration and he showed his outstanding masterful skills. The period of national Romanticism flourished in Italy, but there were not outstanding talents of this period in England. The personality of the Baroque composer Henry Purcell can be mentioned as the creator of unique melodies and authentic music.  

The Most Favoured Colour Used in Food Packaging Design Essay

The Most Favoured Colour Used in Food Packaging Design - Essay Example After a literature review, primary data was collected through surveys. Data was collected on how humans associate colors with emotions and then certain packaged products were displayed to catch their immediate responses. The study revealed that while most associated red with a positive emotion when it came to buying the actual product, the product attributes bear significance on the packaging. This was also found in the case of Heinz ketchup and McDonalds – their sales were not adversely impacted when they changed their color from red to green. Culture and global trends also influence the purchase decision. For instance, since the trend today is for a greener environment, Coke, while still maintaining its red logo, has changed its packaging to a more eco-friendly material. The study concludes that red is not the most favored color in food packaging. However, the study has its own limitations which have been highlighted and areas for further studies have been recommended. Most products require good packaging. Packaging not only can protect the product from damage but can also promote sales. Sales occur through visual perception and this is where the color of the packaging plays an important role in consumer expectations. The color associations and conceptions exist in the memory and affect how people make choices. This is particularly relevant in the context of the supermarkets where consumers are constrained for time. However, market research indicates that 90% of consumer purchases are the result of a deliberate search and only 10% of purchases are made on impulse. And of those planned purchases, 60% of the decision to buy involves color (Rodemann 1999, p170).  

Impact of sea ice loss on Arctic ecosystem(Indigenous people, marine Essay

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Humans & ability Essay Example for Free

Humans ability Essay Humans’ most important ability is our ability to communicate through spoken language. The ability of humans to speak makes us stand out in the animal kingdom, according to many philosophers and scientists. It is just natural for humans to desire to know how we developed the ability of using language in communicating. This paper focuses on how the human language evolved. Through the comparative studies of the apes with the human language, it provided information to humans when the necessity for the language structure was developed. INTRODUCTION Study of Primates Communication Abilities. Since the ‘homo sapiens’ have been considered as the human’s cousin, the language of the apes have been studied. Some believes that the human language evolved earlier than them. The American Sign Language or ASL has been taught to a number of apes. Different approaches were also used from 1970s for some species of apes to be trained and taught disciplines of communication. Comparison of the Primate and Human Communication Abilities. Human children’s development of their language was compared to the studies made on different forms of primates. It was evident on human children that their development comes slowly as they grow older. Children in the earliest age start with a single word utterance. At fifteen months old of a child, utterance of two words comes easier. Protosyntatic structures in the language development of children come next with longer word utterances. At this stage, noun phrases were observed in the language structure too. This kind of language development on children is comparatively the same with many primates studied from 1970s to present. CONCLUSION The ability of primates to communicate with protolanguage may be a sign that apes can actually understand, learn, and communicate. However, in many instances where primates were trained and disciplined, it is also important to consider that none of the subjects were able to be taught to verbally speak. Moreover, primate language studies have never showed any language exhibitions from the primates in the wild. The protolanguage development on the human children may be a similarity on both but the primates lack the gestural complex in humans. Therefore, this comparison shows that the humans have the natural linguistic ability and the primates do not. WORKS CITED William O’Grady, et al. (1997). Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition. New York : Adison Wesley Longman. Pg. 586. Savage-Rumbaugh, S. , Shanker, S. , Taylor, T. (1998). Apes, Language and the Human Mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Deacon, T. W. (1989). The Neural Circuitry Underlying Primate Calls and Human Language. Human evolution, 4, 367-401.

Dance And Ethics In The Traditional African Philosophy Essay

Dance And Ethics In The Traditional African Philosophy Essay Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW This section looks at various functions of dance in the Traditional African Society, especially its use for interpreting ideas such as ethics of (Twene KÃŽÂ µse) festival. 2.1 Dance and Ethics in the Traditional African Context Dance as a tool for perpetuating some simple ethics of the social values within the Ghanaian society has received some attention over the years. For example, an adowa  [1]  dancer begs his or her drummers to play a good rhythm for him or her to dance and thus seeks permission from the gods, elders and drummers before dancing.  [2]  By this, I am referring to simple gestures that portray a sense of respect and acknowledgement in the society. Dance is one of the effective tools for communication and nation building. These help in ensuring good behavioral change in the community.  [3]  According to Abà ­ÃƒÆ' °bà ¶là ¡ (2001), the term ethics as stated in the introductory section of this thesis are grouped into four areas; Normative ethics the basis and justification of moral rules and principles Meta ethics the meaning of moral terms Applied ethics the nature, content and application of specific moral guidelines Descriptive ethics accounts of how people actually behave in situations requiring moral action Abà ­ÃƒÆ' °bà ¶là ¡ points out that, contemporary thinking on ethics in African philosophy is concerned with normative and descriptive ethics. In justification to this, he argues that many African philosophers on the topic of ethics raise the question of the position of African ethics. The question is, do these ethics come out of religious doctrines (normative ethics), or are they results of reason (descriptive ethics). Ethics, as defined in the introduction of this thesis connote good human behavior in relation to other humans in a society. This is without the inclusion of a supernatural being or religion. It is humane, for every individual in a society to adopt positive characters to live peacefully in and out of the community without any religious intuition. On the other hand, the traditional African, by nature, is a religious being whose daily affairs are based on his or her relationship with divinities (God, gods, and or ancestral spirits, etc.). Therefore, the understandin g of ethics (which are found in the traditional beliefs and customs) will not depart from religion. The faith, trust, and fear for the divinity by the traditional African makes him or her submissive to the laid down rules and regulations of the community. In this contemporary era, many will perhaps appreciate the relevance of ethics, which is communicated through dance. Though, dance as a traditional activity, has suffered adulteration through the passing on from generation to generation, its usage in modern choreography with all the theatrical elements like sound, light, projections, costumes and make-ups, props and other technicalities makes it more educational and applicable to formal education. Realistically, some ethics in the traditional African context may not be applicable to the modern or contemporary society due to technological advancement, modernization, religious beliefs and disbeliefs and formal education. However, the attempt to use Ghanaian traditional dances creatively will shed light on old but yet beneficial traditional values. For example, the original benefit derived from the Dipo ceremony, may have lost its relevance to the Dangme girl today, because formal education has taken up some responsibility of the dipo rite. This is where choreography as a tool, can be used to promote some ethical values of the dipo rite and also serve as a preservative measure for the dipo dance as well. Some ceremonial dances positively affect the moral lives of people within the society when their themes are geared towards the endorsement of good conduct. The bragoro and dipo ceremonies and dance of the Dangme of Ghana is a typical example. Adinku (1994) notes that, dance for social ceremonies such as the dipo is restricted to girls in their puberty stage because the norms demand that, they must undergo initiation to inculcate in them the values of womanhood, and prepare them physically and emotionally to face their feminine responsibilities with confidence.  [4]  The performance of dipo and bragoro  [5]  help to simplify some of the ethical and moral lessons acquired in the entire ceremonies. The adowa dance of the Akan portrays some ethics. For example, a dancer may humbly plead with his or her drummers to play a good music as he or she dances by bowing and putting the right hand in the left hand, showing respect. The dancer bows to reverence a king in state and waves his right hand to greet and welcome spectators. These examples suggest that some dances are indicators and tools for bringing about ethical behaviors in the society. Dance as a non-verbal form of communication transcends ethnic and racial boundaries with fewer limitations.  [6]   Dance is fun, healing, joy, freedom, love, meditation, dynamic, an expression, emotional, magic and real and because of these qualities, it draws peoples attention when it is performed to an audience. These audiences are then exposed to and affected by the above irresistible qualities, thus, influenced by the symbolic movements carefully selected and used by the dancer or performer to express an emotional state.  [7]  This thesis uses the power of dance to address the findings of my research, which is the influence of the Twene KÃŽÂ µse festival on the practice of ethics. 2.2 The Relationship between Dance and Ethics Like ethical practices of the traditional African society, dance is one of the oldest traditions of man performed in all social gatherings such as festivals, naming ceremonies, funerals, puberty rites, and enstoolment and disstoolement of traditional leaders, because it graces every occasion in the life-circle of people. Within the life cycle of these people are their ethics and according to Nii-Yartey, a renowned Ghanaian choreographer, in Africa, dance serves as an index to the value systems that enable the community to interpret and express the various events of life.  [8]  Some of these events of life manifest the communitys reaction to areas such as work, to food and shelter, social and economic conditions, religious beliefs and disbeliefs, moments of joy and sadness. All these are captured in the dances of communities, thus, the Africans way of life in totality is reflected in his or her dance. To most Africans, dance is a habit formation, thus, one develops the interest and ability to dance as one participates in events associated with dance. He or she becomes familiar with the requirements and values of the dance, because the dos and donts of each dances learnt are also congruent to societal norms. For example, a fontonfrom,  [9]  nagila and adowa dancer, during state functions, will pay homage by bowing to the king, requesting for permission to dance. In the same way in our society, an Ashanti man will remove one of his footwear, lower the cloth on his left shoulder and bow to greet or shake hands with an Ashanti King. Furthermore, an $kyer1me will lower his cloth to the waist level, slightly place his right foot forward while stepping on the tail-end of his sandals before pouring libation. One is introduced to the societal moral requirements which form the ethical practices and principles of society as he or she studies through participation. Therefore, it is assume d that one becomes morally upright based on ones level of participation in dance, and his or her responds to its requirements. Morality is not ours originally, but learnt through socialization in the community. Hence, as the African grows, he or she learns through this habit formation to choose to do what is right from wrong. This is so because, to be morally right is not an in-born trait, but acquired with the choices one makes. One, consequently, bears the cost of the good or bad he or she purchases. One of the most important principles of the African is the family system the interdependency of the African. Thus, the challenge of one person is the challenge of all. This is not different in their dance performances. One does not perform in isolation because there will be no one to drum, sing, or hail the dancer and these are predominant in the African dance performance. Dancers mostly perform in groups at social functions, and admirers may hail them by clapping or walking into the dancing ring and fixing a coin on the forehead of the dancer. Gyekye (1996) opines that, the African is by nature a social being oriented towards others in a community of persons. Community life directly involves a person in social and moral roles, responsibilities, obligations and commitments that must be fulfilled. The Ghanaian is identified as a community member and therefore, seeks to uphold the values inherent in these obligations. These social obligations are the moral standards which sum up the e thics of the community. What Gyekye says is not different from the direction of this study because, the concern of the social being to live in an environment of peace, prepares him or her to adhere to ethical practices and principles of the community for posterity. Some of these ethical practices and principles can be found in the traditional dances and the festival activities of the African, while others are found in the day-to-day activities of people in the community, exist in isolation and therefore, are getting diminished. With changes that have occurred in our ethical life due to modernization, perhaps dance, through the medium of choreography can capture the essence of some of these values and bring them to attention of this contemporary community. The African lives for his community and Anthony Egan confirms this by his statement that If the foundation of African ethics is in the notion of humanness, what is to be a person, ubuntu sees this humanness as personhood in the community: a person is a person through other people. This confirms the earlier point raised that no one lives in isolation in the African system: a person life because others live; therefore, his or her activities affect the progress of the society. In light of the above, therefore, there is no doubt that the distinctive features which help recognize the African people are their cultural practices, social activities and values, religious and traditional beliefs, and principally their dance and musical traditions. 2.3 The Meaning of Ethics and Its Relevance to this Study In other to situate this research work within the context of ethics, some assertions by philosophical scholars such as Gyekye, Mbiti, Kant and others will be considered. According to Gyekye (1987), the Ghanaian equivalent word for ethics is suban. He explains that, ethics may be translated as suban ho nimdee or suban ho adwendwen, studies or reflections on character, a rendition which, in stressing the notion of character, agrees with the Akan conception of morality and hence can correctly be used, sometimes with an additional word or words to reflect modern usage, as the Akan equivalent for the word ethics.  [10]   In his contention, suban is so vital and for this reason, it is given a central place in the Ghanaian moral language and thought that it may be considered as summing up the whole idea of morality. For example, an Akan will say, He has no character (onni suban) instead of, He has no morals. That is, onni suban is mostly used if a person is describing the negative moral status of another person. The word pa or papa, meaning good is sometimes added to the sentence to make the meaning clearer in a moral sense. For instance, onni suban pa (he has no good character, or his conduct is unethical). The opposite of this statement is, owo suban pa (he has moral, or he is ethical, moral). That is a person with a praiseworthy character. This takes our discussion to the meaning of character and its relationship to ethics. Gyekye again defines character as a state or condition of a soul which causes it to perform its actions spontaneously and easily.  [11]  This presupposes that, the moral habit of an individual is innate and as he or she grows, the society teaches him or her to adopt good character to act positively at all times and in spontaneous situations. In support of this, Kant (1724-1804), states that, act as if the principle on which your action is based were to became, by your will, a universal law of nature.  [12]  Kants statement has bearing in the Akan proverb that says abaa a yÃŽÂ µde b4 Tekyi no, yÃŽÂ µde b4 Baah. This is literally translated as, do what you want others to do unto you or and therefore one should be mindful of his actions so as not to negatively affect other people. According to Kant, one must be fully aware of actions, whether good or bad, so that he or she will be fully responsible for the outcome thereafter. Bad people are not welcomed in social gathering such as festivals and therefore do not add up to the decision makers of the community. On the other hand, a person is believed to have the capability of changing from unacceptable behaviors to acceptable behaviors through the teaching of moral values embedded in proverbs, traditional dances and folktales. Such people become part of the society because, it is in living virtuously that human beings can give meaning to their social life and existence.  [13]   Johnsons (2004) article on Kants Moral Philosophy indicates his (Kants) substitution of ethics with morals and proposes that Once we seek out and establish the fundamental principle of morality a priori, then we may consult facts drawn from experience in order to determine how best to apply this principle to human beings and generate particular conclusions about how we ought to act.  [14]  Kant has observed that, to understand what ethics really is, an in-depth analysis of our moral concept must be sought. For example, Saint Augustine (354-430), as he sought to reinterpret the virtues of classical Greece says, Temperance, courage, justice and wisdom are expressions of Christian virtue.  [15]  In this direction, an action is regarded as right if it is in agreement with a moral rule or principle.  [16]  The understanding of the concept of good will, obligation, duty, and so on as well as their logical relationship to one another, is inevitably linked with the African concep t of ethics; thus, we can determine the rationality of ones actions; whether he does what is right or what is wrong. To buttress this point, Bantham Jeremy (1748-1832) positions that, correct actions are those that result in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.  [17]  To live in a harmonious ON environment with one another, ones deeds must bring about the greatest degree of joy and happiness to him or herself as well as people around him. To Jeremy, ones happiness is quantifiable to units of pleasure, therefore less units of pain. However, Socrates (469-399bc) concepts of ethics that every person has full knowledge of ultimate truth contained within the soul and needs only to be spurred to conscious reflection in order to become aware of it.  [18]  The ultimate truth found within the soul of the African, as confirmed by Gyekye, is interpreted in the Akan proverb that says, no one shows the child where God is.  [19]  In other words, even a child knows what is right from wrong and this is because of the ultimate truth, which is an in-born-trait and is contained in the soul of the individual. While some African thinkers hold the view that, the punishment given to a person who has gone against an ethical rule may spur on others from committing the same crime, others hold a different view on the matter. For example, when a parent or guardian disciplines a child for insubordination, it spurs on other children from doing same. On the other hand, the idea of motivating people to do the right thing does not sit well with others. Since the ultimate truth is embedded in everyone, it presupposes that one does not need to be motivated to do what is right. Socrates ideology concerning ethics is to incite people to do the right thing and thus, without incentives people may not consciously reflect on the knowledge of ultimate truths. I agree with the two assertions because, from childhood one experiences moral virtues through habit-forming activities such as traditional dances, folk tales and others that include singing traditional songs and proverbs for socialization.  [20]  Furthermore, the society bears the responsibility of helping to discipline a child when he or she goes wrong, because of the collective perspective of society for the upbringing of its members. When a child goes wrong, the onus falls on the members of the community to discipline that child. One significant example observed during my research trip is my experience of the sacred atmosphere the Adjumako-Kokoben town experiences a month before the celebration of Twene KÃŽÂ µse festivities. People are required to eschew antisocial behaviors most especially during the festival season. Unethical behaviors such as stealing, gossiping, fighting and desecrating of sacred centers like the Twene KÃŽÂ µse shrines and mpusuban  [21]  are highly prohibited. This is because the period of the festival is considered holy, where spirits of departed ancestors come back home to prepare the grounds for the up-and-coming events. The community frowns on people who go contrary to this ethical rule and culprits are summoned and fined by their traditional council. During the festival, such persons are ridiculed with insulting songs to spur on others during the celebration of the Abangye which leads to the climax of the Twene KÃŽÂ µse festival. It is also a belief that, the spiritual entity that protects the community with it source from the deity, Twene KÃŽÂ µse, does not condone unethical people in the society.  [22]  This raises the question of whether or not the ethical rules or principles have a link with the supernatural or their traditional religion. However, John Mbiti (1969) agrees that ethical rule practiced worldwide may promote peace and tranquility among people. He points out that; As in all societies of the world, social order and peace are recognized by African people as essential and sacred. Where the sense of corporate life is so deep, it is inevitable that the solidarity of the community must be mentioned, otherwise there are disintegration and destruction.  [23]   He believes that, the African community is bound together with kinship relationship and therefore the unethical deeds of one person affect the entire community. This becomes sacrilegious during the holy periods of traditional festivals. For the purpose of this dissertation, the word suban will be adopted, thus, the required suban proposed by either the community or the gods (supernatural entities) to be practiced in socio-cultural and political activities. Theories of philosophers concerning the source of ethics in the traditional African society in relation to my research findings will be pursued in the next section. 2.4 Theoretical Framework 2.4.1 Ethical Concerns in African Cultural Standpoint Many scholars have written extensively on the ethical concerns in the traditional African societies. Some have attributed the Africans practice of ethics to their religious beliefs while others have disputed the fact and said that, ethics have less to do with religion. One of such philosophers who have suggested a relationship between the Africans way of life and religion is Kofi A. Opoku (1974). He notes; The phenomenon of religion is so pervasive in the life of the Akan, and so inextricably bound up with their culture, that it is not easy to isolate what is purely religious from other aspects of life. It may be said without fear or exaggeration that life in the Akan world is religion, and religion is life.  [24]   According to Opoku, the African cannot segregate himself from religion and hence religion affects his moral obligations, and therefore the Akan morality is based on religion. In other words, a persons moral standards are to a large extent dependent on his religion. Furthermore, Opoku (1978) writes on Akan morality and states that, Generally, morality evolves from religious considerations, and so pervasive is religion in African culture that ethics and religion cannot be separated from each other.  [25]  The traditional African is seen as a religious being through his daily reverence to divinities in his or her life circle; birth, puberty or initiation and death. When a child is born, libation is poured to ask for blessing for it and thank the gods for its save entrance from the supernatural to the natural world. In some cases, names of ancestors who led moral lives are given to the child to honor them. Puberty (a period that marks the beginning of adulthood in both men and women) , farming, fishing, hunting, enstoolment and distoolment of chiefs are not performed without the consent of a deity, so as the death rite of individuals. These activities are the customs and belief systems of the traditional people. Some of the customs and belief systems of the African community contain some ethics. The ideas behind their practices are beneficial and connote morality in the community. For example, it is unethical for one to whistle and sweep at night in the most Akan societies. Whistling may attract snakes, which can bite one to death. In the same way, precious tiny objects may be swept away at night. These are beliefs which when practiced becomes beneficial to the people. Can it also be said that the gods propounded these beliefs? Bishop Sarpong, in support of the above discussion states, Ethics here merges with religious practices, and assumes communal proportions. Among the Ghanaian, every ethical conduct may be said to be religiously orientated.  [26]  Busia (1969) a notable scholar of Ghanaian culture also declares that religion determines the moral duties for the members of a group or tribe.  [27]  Finally, Mbiti reinforces that, there exist, therefore, many laws, customs, set forms of behaviors, regulations, rules (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), constituting the moral code and ethics of a given community or society. Some of these are held sacred, and are believed to have been instituted by Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  [28]  All these assertions agree that ethics is hardly segregated from religion, and religion  [29]  has it source from Supreme Being (God or gods), not man. However, Kwame Gyekye, Segun Gbadegesin, Kwasi Wiredu and Polycarp Ikuenobe disagree with all the above claims. To them, moralities have less to do with religion where the source of this religion is God. Gyekye explains that, through his research in the Akan community, no one attributed rules of moral behavior to instructions from God. Nonetheless, Gyekye clarifies the relationship of Akan moralitys dependence on religion, and he provides two distinctions. He categorically states; It must mean or imply: (1) that moral concept such as good, bad, right, wrong, and ought are (to be) to be defined in terms of religious prescriptions or the commands of some supernatural being; (2) that moral beliefs, principles and ideas derive logically from those of religion and hence, (3) that religious prescriptions provide the necessary justification for moral beliefs, principles and judgments. Finally, (4) the moral conduct of individuals is determined or greatly influenced by their religious beliefs.  [30]   He distinguishes the above assertion of religion merging with morality and explains morality as referring, Either to a set of social rules and norms for guiding and regulating the conduct of people in a society, or behavior pattern, that is, responses or attitudes to such rules and norms. Thus, we speak not only of moral rules, beliefs, and prescription, but also of moral behavior, meaning behavior in conformity with accepted moral beliefs and rules: the moral person in one whose attitude or response to moral rule is satisfactory and commendable. So that the idea of the religious dependence on morality involves not only the sources of moral rules and principles, but also the influences that affect patterns of behavior.  [31]   Gyekye proves that there are visible distinctions with these two implications and for that matter, vivid analysis must be done in this aspect to avoid people from the mistake of given false conclusion on the issue of religion and morality in the African culture. According to Tufuhene Akorful IV and $kyer1ma Kwaku Aky1 from the Adjumako-Kokoben traditional Area, ethics are the morals values within the belief systems of the community that promote acceptable behaviors and were passed on from their forefathers unto them. Here, forefathers refer to the ancestors and traditional priests of the town. They believe that individuals do not accept acknowledgement for contributing to the welfare of the community, rather, wisdom is ascribed to people of old or ancestors, priest and gods. They therefore admit that, through the wisdom of the ancestor and the gods, ethical principles for moral behavior in the town, are propounded and communicated through their traditional priest unto the people. In this instance, one see two underlining features over here; the ancestors who were once human and the gods. Could it be that the provider of ethics is a shared responsibility of humans and the supernatural? Yes, because the traditional religion is a relationship b etween man and the supernatural, and though one is supreme over the other and may be the provider of ethics, the less supreme also has equal responsibility to make moral rules to protect his or her community. Yet, he or she does not take glory for his achievement, but ascribes it to the gods or ancestors. The Adjumako-Kokoben people believe that the traditional priest to the Twene KÃŽÂ µse god is the greatest priest of all times. He (the Twene Kese priest) protects his people by providing ethical rules. These are found within their belief systems. Table 1. The ethics found in some belief systems of the Adjumako-Kokoben people Examples Of Some Belief Systems In Adjumako-Kokoben The Ethics In Such Belief Systems Do not bring a whole bunch of Plantain called apim  [32]  to the house. Cut some fingers off first. By cutting some fingers off, it encourages sharing with others in the society. Do not bring a whole palm fruit to the house. Cut off some fruits first. Share some of the palm fruits with a neighbor. Do not pound fufu  [33]  at night. Eating heavy food at night may cause stomach upset. Insects or objects may fall in the fufu during pounding and cause harm to those who eat it. Do not go to the streams when menstruating or have a cut on your body. Diseases may be transmitted to other people. Do not bring dog to town. They are believed to carry bad spirit, which can affect the blessings of men. They can also bit and transmit diseases as well. Cut very long firewood into shorter pieces before bringing them home. They occupy lots of space. The carrier may hurt someone with it due to the length of the log. Unbalance may break the neck of the carrier. 2.5 Ethical Theories The fundamental principle of morality binds every individual in a community because ethics are about how to live a good life wherever one finds him or herself.  [34]  Meaning, harmonious life in a community depends on obeying the ethical principles therein. Richard T. Hull (1979), in his paper, The Varieties of Ethical Theories, explains various ethical theories and states the two fundamental types of ethical theory: those based on the notion of choosing ones actions so as to maximize the value or values to be expected as consequences of those actions (called consequentialist or teleological theories [from the Greek telos, meaning aim or purpose]; and those based on the notion of choosi

Representation of the female masculinity in the boxing movie

Representation of the female masculinity in the boxing movie Representation of the female masculinity in the boxing movie â€Å"Girlfight† Lately there are more and more action movies in which the leading character is female one. Men are more likely to be seen as leading characters in the action films, but there is a tendency toward seeing more female characters as the protagonists of this type of movies. Also the female boxing movies are discussed within the context of the action genre and the main characters of those movies are seen as female action stars. There are two different types of action heroines. One of them is the so called â€Å"action babe†. Those characters are physically active but also highly sexualized females. We come across this type of heroines in the movie â€Å"Charlies Angel†, where the action heroines are fighting while wearing high heels and formal clothes. They are achieving their goals not only by using their fighting skills but also by using their sexually attractive appearance. The other type of action stars are those female characters who are acquiring the necessary physical strength and skill in order to gain independence from abusive male characters (â€Å"Enough† starring Jennifer Lopes as Slim Hiller an abused young woman). Gender influences peoples participation in different sports. For example sports such as football and boxing are considered to be male whereas gymnastics and figure skating are female dominated sports. In 2000 â€Å"The Independent Film Channel Production† released the boxing film â€Å"Girlfight† (starring Michelle Rodriguez). Boxing films are generally assumed to be about a male boxer but this movie is about a girl who is trying to pave her way in the boxing career. Rodriguezs first role as Diana Guzman in â€Å"Girlfight† and the subsequent staring roles as Lenny in â€Å"The Fast and The Furious†, Rain Ocampo in â€Å"Resident Evil†, Chris Sanchez in â€Å"S.W.A.T.†, and Ana Lucia Cortez in â€Å"Lost† help us associate her with notions such as female masculinity and tom boyish appearance. Rodriguezs heroines are portrayed as a â€Å"natural fighter who demonstrates no traditionally feminine qualities† (Beltrà ¡n, M.). The movie â€Å"Girlfight† represent how one person coped with the gender stereotypes and overcame the gender barriers in order to become a boxfighter. The movie starts with a shot of unfocused crowd walking around a school corridor. Through the gaps between the crossing people only a persons torso leaning against a locker can be seen. The person is wearing baggy trousers and army jacket; hands are trusted into the pockets in confident and masculine pose. The viewer is unable to recognize whom this body belongs to, whether it is boys or girls one. No gender differences are brought into relief until when the camera shows the upper body and the face of a girl staring the floor. Her hair is braided into cornrows along her scalp. Her mouth is firmly closed, showing us anger and disinterest. This impression is strengthened by her gaze. Then the camera shows us Diana entering the female bathroom and the sign â€Å"GIRLS† on the door is clearly visible in the centre of the fra me. Despite the Dianas outfit and her tomboyish manners the â€Å"girl† sign puts her on the female side of the gender binary male/female opposition. The scene in the bathroom shows us two girls (Veronica and Merisol) fighting over a boy. Both of the girls are wearing heavy make-up and girls clothes. The purpose of the bathroom scene is to show us the contrast between Dianas female masculinity and the excessive femininity, exotic and impulsive heterosexuality that exhales form the other â€Å"chica†. Dianas lack of concern about her appearance and the aggressive behavior drifts her away from the standard â€Å"lady-like† persona. She is not interested in being like the other girls at school who are in the period learning how to flirt and use their feminine features to become popular and desirable. The wrangle between Diana and Veronica in the bathroom turned into a fight started by Diana. She solves her problems by using her fists into whatever and whoever stand s against her. If we pay attention to Dianas fighting manners we can notice that she is fighting like a boy. Most of the girls are fighting by using pinching; biting and tearing hair while Diana is hitting the other girl with her fists tighten. The next scene is taking place in a boxing gym. Shots of different boxers working out and sparring in the gym alternate with close-ups of Dianas face, which shows us that Diana is entering a male-dominated space. Diana is in the gym because she had to pay for her brothers boxing lessons. She found Tiny (her brother) on the ring fighting with Ray (another training boxer). Ray punched Tiny in the face after the round was over which wasnt right, so Diana punched him back to defend her brother. It is believed that brothers/boys are those who have to defend their sisters/girls, also Tiny is the one that is practicing boxing. He had to be the one that is protecting Diana not the other way round. Taking a stand against the boxer shows us that Diana is not afraid to fight not only dolled up girls but also physically trained boys. Then the camera takes us in front of the gym where we can hear the conversation between Ray and Adrian (another boxer). â€Å"†¦. You get slapped by a girl thats weak Ray† are the words that Adrian tells him. If a boy had punched him it wouldnt be a topic for conversation but when the matter in hand is a girl punching him its considered as a weakness. Here we have the gender stereotype that boys are physically stronger that girls and girls are not supposed to fight against them. Girls are supposed to be cute, sweet and to act like ladies. In that scene we have another girl who is walking by the boys. She is wearing tight clothes and make-up and the two boys give her the eye and she smiled at them in return. She is flirting with them whereas Diana is fighting physically at least with one of them. Here again the director shows us the visual contrast between Diana and the ordinary girls. Rays cue to Diana â€Å" Guess you never learned how to be a lady†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and t he other female character helps us to distant Diana from the female stereotype and to stress on her female masculinity. Then we have the scene in Guzmans kitchen when Tiny shared with his family that he received the scholarship application for an Art school. Both his father and Diana think that it is a waste of time to learn to draw. The future artist career that the father foresees for his son is not going further than him painting houses. In his mind it is better for the boy to stick with the boxing which will be more helpful in his future life. Boys are supposed to be able to fight not to paint. Later on in the movie Diana tells his father that Tiny doesnt want to box, but he insists on the fact that all the boys wants to box. According to his father, Tiny needs to learn boxing so he can defend himself. Tiny breaks the stereotypes, because he prefers the more female activities instead of the male one such as boxing. According to his father going to drawing classes is girls job. There is very interesting conversation when Diana went to sign for boxing practices: Diana: I wanna be a boxer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. No, for real I wanna fight. Hector: Oh, you can train but you cant fight. Diana: Why not? Hector: You just cant. Girls dont have the same power as boys. Girls are stereotyped into quieter, subordinate femininity. Girls are judged against masculinity, whereas boys achievements are judges with regard to their masculinity. It is believed that boys have more natural abilities most of the boys are more aggressive and its shown in their physical abilities whereas girls are more shy and timid. It is believed that its natural for boys to be fighting around and to like it. In the beginning of the movie we saw Diana fighting with Veronica, later on we saw her standing without fear in front of Ray. Later on in the movie Diana proves that girls can be as strong as boys, because the physical abilities of boys and girls can be matched with determination and hard work. Hectors only condition to start training Diana is to be paid for her practices. He did not believe that she will find the money, and he was sure that she will not show up again. After all, he decides to train her even though he believes it is not right girls to be boxing. He agrees because he thought that she will not able to endure the tough exercises and the whole training process and quit. The first training sequence in the gym starts with Dianas distorted face image in a mirror. Then we see her baggy and worn-out clothes which show us her physique and her body shape. Her split image in the mirror and her outlook underlines her androgyny and Dianas struggle for a unified gender identity. During one of the following training sequences Hector and Diana had argument about the persistence in training. Hector tells her that fighting skills come natural neither to boys nor to girls and they have to practice in order to improve them. For first time boys and girls are taken not separately but within one and the same concept both boys and girls have to practice if they want to become physically durable. Her first boxing match is with a boy called Ray. His coach advices him â€Å"try to be a gentleman†. This shows that nobody takes the fact that she could be a good fighter no matter that she is a girl seriously. During her first fight Diana proves that she is physically stronger and more powerful than Ray regardless of the fact that the outcome of the fight is not shown. There is an interesting conversation between Diana and Merisol in the school corridor. Diana is trying to tell Merisol what she is busy with. Merisol insists that there is a boy that occupies Dianas free time. Merisol is surprised when Diana tells her that it is not a boy that occupies her free time but a male sport such as boxing. Later on Diana tells her that there is also a boy entangled in the boxing story and Merisol replies â€Å"I knew it†. Merisol thinks that the name Adrian is â€Å"a girly name†, but Diana assures her that he is â€Å"100% man, if you know what I mean†. For a first time in the movie Diana shows that she is actually interested in boys and not only interested in acting like a boy. We understand that she likes Adrian and his company. This is strengthened by the scene when they go for a dinner together. Their orders in the restaurant are very interesting and grab attention. She is ordering herself deluxe bacon cheese burger with extra bacon whereas he is ordering soup, garden salad and Italian dressing. Their eating habits are very different. He is on a weight diet while she is not worried about gaining or loosing weight. Women are more likely to keep to a diet than men but in this movie the situation is reversed. Keeping a diet doesnt make Adrian to look more feminine. It is breaking the stereotype that women are those who worry about their weight. On the question why she chose to box, she answered that she didnt make the cheerleading team, which is in fact a lie. The contrast between boxing and cheerleading contains the idea that she is not accepted in such a girl society as the cheerleading team so then she tries to find her place in the boys society boxing. When Adrian walks Diana home they kiss. He tells her that she tastes sweet to which she answers â€Å"Ive always thought of myself as salty†. Here we have the binary opposition of sweet and salty. If the girls are the one that are sweet then the boys should be the salty one. Adrian perceives her as a girl (sweet) whereas she thought of herself as more boyish (salty). In the next scene her physical powers is in comparison to her girl classmates one. There is a long-shot of her and her girl classmates standing in front of a fence. All of the girls are looking bored with their arms crossed on the chest whereas her body is intense, tight and ready to compete. The weakness of the other girls during the President Physical Fitness Exam makes the contrast between them and Diana more vivid and shows her physical superiority. After one of her training matches Adrian walk her home again and her father sees them talk. When she enters her home her father sees her black eye and the first thing that comes to his mind is that Adrian is beating her. When a girl is having a black eye it is more likely to be beaten up that to be participating in a fight in which she can defend herself. So her father presumption is that she has been maltreated not that she is participating in an equal fight. After an argument with her father she goes to Adrians place to spend the night. His room is painted in blue whereas hers is in girly pink. Parents are those who decorate childrens rooms, so they make the distinction between boys and girls by identifying them with different colors boys are those who are identified with blue and girls are the one identified with pink. The next meeting between Adrian and Diana is on Hectors birthday when Adrian shows up with a girlfriend. This action on his part shows us that he is confused by the fact that he is strongly attracted to a woman who exhibits distinctly masculine attributes. His unwillingness to express his feeling about Diana publicly recalls the idea that the anxiety around a males attraction to a masculine female is rooted in the association between masculinity and maleness, which evokes notion such as homosexual desire. The first training match between Diana and Adrian is saturated with tension not only because they are romantically involved but also because of the fact that the competition for physical dominance threatens the core of heterosexuality. The fight is lacking of action because Adrian refuses to hit Diana, which frustrated her and make her angry. The sequence ends with a shot of both boxers holding each other outside the boxing ring this can be treated as an embrace. This is the moment in which Diana whispered in Adrians ear â€Å"I love you, I really do†. As the bell rings indicating the end of the sparring match, Diana punches Adrians head. That final punch shows us Dianas confidence and her willingness to fight against whoever her opponent is. Up until now in the movie we had seen Diana training only in the public space of the boxing gym surrounded by boys. There is a scene in which Dianas training is situated in the female sphere and intimate space of her bedroom. While boxing in front of the mirror in her bedroom we hear Hectors voice-over reading a letter saying that male and female amateurs within the same weight class are allowed to compete with each other in the ring, so from now on they are equal. In real life the so called gender-blind boxing fights are not allowed. Her first public match was supposed to be with a well known female boxer but the fight is called off. Dianas first public sparing match is against Rays one of the male boxers in the gym. When the audience understands that the match will be between man and woman there is a palpable tension surrounding this â€Å"battle of the sexes†. This tension is caused by the perceived treat to the dominate gender order which is based on the idea that men are stronger and physically superior than women. During the whole match between Ray and Diana his unwillingness to fight â€Å"a girl† and the fear that he can be defeated by a â€Å"girl† is underlined. Through this boxing sequence Diana is pronouncing her persistence in pursuing her boxing carrier despite the fact that most of people around her think that it is â€Å"inappropriate† for her gender. Dianas father shows up at the boxing match and this is the moment in which he understands that she has been boxing in her free time. This results in a huge fight with her father because he is absolutely opposed to hers pursuit of boxing, while early in the movie it was clearly shown that he pressures his overly effeminate son into taking boxing lessons. The other reason for the father-daughter argument is that Diana blames her mothers suicide on his alcoholism and abusive behavior. The image of her father lying on the kitchen floor is his last appearance in the movie. This image can be seen as a violent reaction against the patriarchal nature of traditional gender stereotype that men are those who rule over women. First girl fight that Diana participates in is with famous and well trained female fighter Stiles. During the match there is a scene in which Adrian admires her moves and punches. The final fight is the most dramatic and intense overlap between her boxing and private worlds. Diana fights for the New York Amateur Championship (title). This is her reward for the hard work and difficulties that she undergoes. The fact that Adrian will be her opponent puts additional meaning in the context of their romantic relationship. This physical confrontation between a man and woman who are engaged in a romantic relationship draws our attention to the normative notion of gender. The conversation between them before the fight shows us that Adriane feels protective of her not because she is a female boxer, but because he is in love with her. They both have feelings for each other, but Adrian takes this boxing match too personal whereas Diana is thinking of it as another boxing experience. Right befor e the fight starts a woman says to her husband that the match card says â€Å"Diana Guzman†. The husband tell her that it is probably a misprinting. He couldnt even imagine that a girl could be fighting for the Championship (title). Adriane fights with her like she is any other boxer so does she. Both of them give everything they have and the better one win the match. The image of the boxers circling and holding onto each other in intimate embrace implies connection between boxing and dancing. This scene looks more like a love scene than a fight sequence. The gender-blind boxing match between Adrian and Diana strengthens their relationship but also clears up their boxing attitudes. In that final sequence the depiction of the boxers is removed from the articulation of a specific identity from the representation of the materiality of the sexed and gendered body. During the whole movie Diana is trying to change the gender norms and understanding of masculinity and femininity and after all she successfully does so. Her violent actions, her physical appearance speak for themselves those are the things that get her into gender trouble. But she stands clearly against the idea that human being are divided into two clear-cut groups women and men. By the end of the movie she had already found, formed and chosen her own individual identity. What caught my attention in â€Å"Girlfight† review called â€Å"No Winners Here: The Flawed Feminism of Girlfight† by Anju Reejhsinghani is that the reviewer thinks that Kusama, the director, used the intergender tournament to dramatize the love story between Adrian and Diana. I think that one of the usages of those gender-blind fights is indeed to dramatize the love story but it also carries the idea that everybody should defend their individual identity. By those crossed-gender fights the director shows that equality between male and female is possible.

The Story of Lovers in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights :: Wuthering Heights Essays

The Story of Lovers in Wuthering Heights  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Set in England on the Yorkshire Moors in the 19th century, Emily Brontà «Ã‚ ¹s novel Wuthering Heights is the story of lovers who try to withstand the separation of social classes and keep their love alive. The main characters, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff grew up on a middle class English countryside cottage called Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff was the servant and Catherine the daughter of the owner of Wuthering Heights. As children, Heathcliff and Catherine were the best of friends, a friendship which turned to love with the coming of age. Catherine married a man of the upper class society and was forced to end her love affair with Heathcliff. Catherine was happy in her marriage at first but later became overwhelmed with her desire to be with Heathcliff. She was forced to distinguish the difference between her love for Heathcliff and her love for her new life with money. In the end, Catherine Earnshaw’s husband, Edgar Linton, died and Catherine finally realized that money and social class were not as fulfilling as her desire to have passion in her life, a desire which could only be met by Heathcliff. Throughout the book, Catherine tried to discover who she was and what exactly she wanted. In chapters 6 and 7, Catherine thought that she had finally discovered who she was and what she wanted. These chapters are the pinnacle of the story. It was the point in the book where the social classes were determined and Catherine’s love for Heathcliff was forced to be supressed. Heathcliff and Catherine were still young and playing together innocently one day. This was before Catherine became a member of the upperclass society and realized that she could not love Heathcliff because of his social class. Heathcliff and Catherine wandered beyond the secure gates of Wuthering Heights to a large estate owned by Edgar Linton called Thrushcross Grange. They spyed through one of the windows and were caught by Linton. Heathcliff managed to escape in time but Catherine injured herself and was taken in by Linton ¹s servants. Catherine stayed at Thrushcross Grange while Heathcliff returned to W uthering Heights. She stayed at the estate for several weeks being nursed by Linton and his servants. The time she spent with Linton caused her to fall in love with him, causing her to permanently be separated from Heathcliff and the lower class life she used to know.

turing machine :: essays research papers

A turing machine can be defined as a â€Å"device with a finite number of internal configurations, each of which involves the machine’s being in one of a finite number of states†. This means that in a machine there are certain inputs that when implemented will produce a certain output. These combinations of inputs can be used in a machine table to show the outputs for each state. By looking at a machine table one will be able to know which combination of inputs is related to the different states and also what happens at each state. Mental states can correlate directly with turing machines in that our minds can be described by using a machine table. The inputs for the machine table representation of our mental states can be seen as our perceptions. By saying perception I mean all the sensory body parts/organs that can perceive an input and send a signal to the mind. These inputs in turn determine the mental state and the behaviors related to each mental state. Because our minds can be mapped out using a machine table, each state can be seen as an instance of functionalism. Functionalism is defined as an object that has a function. Functionalism can be used to describe a single mental state. An example of a mental state that is determined by a turing machine can be the feeling of happiness. In order to be happy there are certain things that are needed to trigger it. This mental state of being happy is triggered by our perceptions and then causes one to express their mental state physically. Our physical expression, I believe, can be altered. For example, if one were told that a dog was called a cat and only knew that dogs were cats then he would always see a dog and call it a cat. It is only because of what we hear and learn from our environment that we call a dog a dog. Being a