Hinduism Essays (820 words) - Spirituality, Shabda, Nondualism

Hinduism By Justin Paget The idea of "religare" or binding oneself back to one's religion is key to many religions. In Christianity, we bind our selves back to the truth unveiled through scripture, myths, tradition, and the church's teachings. Hinduism, however has a much different interpretation of the idea of binding oneself back. There really is not a whom or what that I can put my finger on. We all came from one God and we must get back to God. But how can one go about doing that? A Hindu would say to free ourselves from the desires and illusions present here on Earth. To free ourselves from the material possessions and pleasures would be to obtain Moksha. Moksha, for Hindus, would be the point of freedom and the attachment to Brahman. In a way this is extremely ironic, for in the act of binding oneself back, a Hindu would obtain liberation. To me, these terms seem directly contradictory, however, this is proof to the fact that our minds cannot understand certain aspects of religion, and that we are limited. The goal of a Hindu is to release themselves, but also to gain a complete understanding of life. By doing this, they are freed from the continuous cycle of reincarnation. There are, as Huston Smith tells us, four paths to the goal. The yogas are the specific direction taken to unleash the human potential of Moksha. The goal of the yogas is to come in to and remain in touch with Brahman. The first way to God is through knowledge. The three steps taken on this path is learning, thinking, and the third, a little more complex, consists of separating one's material ego form one's Atman. The second way to God is through love. The love we show to others can be translated into a love for God. The third path to God is though work. Through a devotion to one's work, God can be seen through the highest rewards if done so wisely. The final Hindu path to God is through Psychophysical Exercises. In this way, a Hindu experiments with mental exercises and observing their effects. Not all Hindus take the same path to God, but the goal is identical. The Buddha made much reform to the path to God. Well, not so much a reform as perhaps an alternate route. He called this the Middle Path. A way between sensuality and asceticism, the Middle Path lay through intelligence. The main revolutionary idea behind the Buddha's teachings was that he rejected asceticism, which at that time had been a popular belief and a socially approved route to salvation. Not only did he reject self-denial, but the worship of gods. In his renowned Eightfold Path, there is never any mention of worship. Also, he refuted the idea that one had to pass through countless rebirths to reach the Brahmin caste before being able to obtain salvation. For this very reason, Buddhism ultimately failed in India, because of the widespread control by the Brahmins. The most challenging concept for the Hindus to except was that the Buddha taught that the soul did not exist. Hindus thought that the Atman, or soul, was actually God. The Buddha reasoned that if the soul is purely God, the it is not individual and therefore is an An-Atman, or no soul. The achievement of liberation then for Buddhist takes form in Nirvana. Nirvana occurs when people release their yearning for a false selfhood, which is similar to Hinduism. Paradoxically, as with Hinduism, the act of extinguishing this yearning occurs simultaneously with an enlightenment. Studying Hinduism and Buddhism has been surely an enlightenment for me. To my amazement, Hinduism actually addresses a few questions I have had before. I've wondered about the way life is connected and how life is a flowing circle of life and death. Hinduism is based primarily on the idea of Brahman and that everything is one. The idea that material positions are basically meaningless is something that I dread to think about, because I am most certaintly a victim of todays society based on wealth and power. It infuriates me to think that my possessions are meaningless, but for some reason I am drawn to these teachings of Hinduism. The majority of teachings of all the religions we have studied so far has made sense to me, and this is the most puzzling conclusion I am faced with. What does this mean? I have found something here and I am utterly confused. How the heck can more than

Joseph Stalin foreign policies

Joseph Stalin foreign policies Introduction Joseph Stalin was born in the year 1879 in Georgia and was an influential politician in Soviet State from the year 1922 until he died in 1953 (Imdb.com).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Joseph Stalin foreign policies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More During this time, Stalin served â€Å"as the first general secretary of the communist party of the Soviet union’s central committee† (Imdb.com) and he managed to consolidate more authority and power in his governance until he become dominant over all other political groups within this party. As a result of his outstanding policies, Stalin geared the soviet State towards achieving major transformation and the country become a â€Å"great industrial power† causing swift economical changes to occur (Imdb.com). Stalin’s policies Foreign policies are combined strategies which a State or a country designs and pursues in order to safeguar d its concerns and interests within the international arena (Foreignpolicy.com). As such, Joseph Stalin had developed specific policies in order to ensure that Soviet Union was successful in many areas primarily in national security. Throughout his reign, Stalin took necessary measures to develop strategies which enabled him maintain power while on the other hand safeguarding the interest of his country (Foreignpolicy.com). Joseph Stalin was obsessed with power and for this reason he wanted to be in a position where he can command and control everything; he therefore developed different strategies such as policies to maintain political power, policies to enable Soviet State acquire economically stability so that the country could become superior over its enemies and policies to safeguard the interest of the nation (Foreignpolicy.com). Discussion Foremost, when Joseph Stalin came into power, he formulated policies which would enable him stay in power for a long time by eliminating al l the people who worked in the previous administration while replacing this group of employees with his own people and friends (Histclo.com). Thereafter, Stalin also initiated a revolutionary wave which would see the Soviet Union acquire higher level of economical stability driven by the industrialization process (Histclo.com). During this industrialization process, there were major developments in the Soviet state and the government was fully able to control all sectors of the country including the most important sectors such as the treasury department because of Stalin hold on power. This firm control was necessary for Stalin’s administration because it enabled the government to direct funds in developing capable and strong military defense that Stalin needed to advance his military policy that was meant to be both defensive and aggressive (Imdb.com). Additionally, as a result of the high level of industrialization, the Soviet Union became self sufficient and very developed in terms of military power as the country was generating sophisticated and high standard military weapons to further its foreign military policy.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Stalin also strengthened the country’s army in other ways through quality training of the country’s Red army which was intended to function as preemptive and preparative strategies in case of conflict outbreak between itself and its German neighbors or other countries such as Japan (Imdb.com). Just before the outbreak of Second World War, Stalin had established a policy to increase the number of military officers and by the year 1939 he had made sure that the population of army in the country had increased tremendously; in fact about 1.9 million of the population was army officers (Britannica.com). This ensured that the state was fully prepared to preempt any military attack especially form the Germans (Britannica.com). In this regard it is good to understand that just before the year 1930, Stalin had not developed a good foreign policy for his country, but since he was an ambitious person, Stalin did everything within his power to prepare his country for any eventuality of war which ultimately occurred. As a commanding leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin also developed several foreign strategies aimed at protecting the interests of the Soviet State apart from the military end (Britannica.com). Towards this end, Stalin established several strategies that ensured his country become recognized as an aggressive power. He then advanced a policy to protect the land of the Soviet State which was the basis of the countries saying that stated â€Å"we do not want a single foot of foreign territory, but we will not surrender a single inch of our territory either† (Histclo.com) in which he was quoted saying during one of his many speeches to his people (Histclo.com). This particular policy was adopted by Stalin just few months before the outbreak of World War II (Britannica.com). After this policy, Stalin desire to protect his country made him develop a much better foreign policy that was reconciliatory in nature which enabled Soviet Union to pursue open dialogues with most of the neighboring countries in order to build good relationship with these countries so that they could become allies in case of an outbreak in war (Foreignpolicy.com). Therefore during this time, Stalin developed policies that were both defensive and reconciliatory by strengthening the military while at the same time pursuing a policy that intended to befriend its neighboring countries. Indeed, Stalin developed about four major foreign policies which served as effective instrument of promoting strong military and good relationship with its neighbors. The first was to build up a good business relationship with all neighbor countries so that Soviet Union could win their trus t by engaging with them in trade. The second strategy was to avoid any form of conflict or argument between Soviet Union and the neighboring countries so as to maintain strong bonds of friendship (Foreignpolicy.com).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Joseph Stalin foreign policies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The third policy was to create a strong Red army and navy in order to facilitate reinforcement of the military force and also enable the defense mechanism to be ready to handle attackers from every side at any given time. Lastly Stalin developed another policy of creating good relationship with all foreigners living in his country whilst also ensuring good international bonds were maintained with its allies (Foreignpolicy.com). It is clear that, Joseph Stalin was a strategist and through his scheming he also ensured that treaties of all the above agreements that furthered the country’s policies were si gned by the neighboring countries as a mark of commitment to these goals. Stalin also created foreign policies that addressed other countries policies that were being made by its enemies such as Poland and German; because he responded to this by pursuing policies that intended to make allies from its friendly countries. Pros and cons of Joseph Stalin During the period when Joseph Stalin was in authority, the Soviet Union experienced major transformations such as industrialization, economical development and good military defense which are among the most positive achievements of Commander Joseph Stalin as discussed below during his reign (Foreignpolicy.com). Since Stalin was an ambitious person, he did everything within his power to ensure that the Soviet Union would become a superior state. Therefore, during his reign, Stalin developed a strong team in his government that helped in facilitating urbanization of the Soviet Union to become more industrialized than ever before (Histclo. com). This is because Stalin was very determined to make the Soviet Union acquire higher level of industrialization despite the internal pressure which was opposing his initiatives. Stalin sold much of the agricultural products all over the land so that he could be able to acquire funds that would facilitate his government in supporting this project. This is no doubt one of the many achievements that Joseph Stalin achieved because of the great desire to have his country become much superior as well; this is one of his greatest achievements (Histclo.com). In addition, Joseph Stalin enabled the country to acquire economical stability due to the major developments that he facilitated in the industrial sector. Because of the higher level of industrialization acquired by the Soviet State, the country was able to be of economical influence over other neighboring countries in the region (Foreignpolicy.com). Furthermore, Stalin also was able to develop a strong and capable military defense which he invested heavily in order to safeguard the interest of the Soviet State. During this period, Stalin invested heavily in strengthening the Red army in every front such as by increasing training for the navy and airborne officers. Besides this, Stalin also advocated for increase in the number of army soldiers in order to ensure that the country was ready to face its enemies during war outbreak which had by then became imminent (Histclo.com).Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Despite of all these achievements, Joseph Stalin as a leader of the Soviet Union also negatively affected the country because of his foreign policies as well as his internal policies and his great ambitions to acquire more power. While trying to develop an industrialized State, Stalin had to sell a lot of agricultural products such as wheat from the farmers which eventually caused a great famine and consequently caused a mass death of Soviets citizens due to lack of enough food in the country (Foreignpolicy.com). Furthermore, while imposing his policies, Stalin violated the right and freedom to religion by abolishing all religious activities across the nation (Foreignpolicy.com). Britannica.com. â€Å"Joseph Stalin (prime minister of Union of Soviet.† Web.. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Stalin Foreignpolicy.com. â€Å"Stalin statue in Virginia a huge bust†. 2010. Web. Histclo.com â€Å"Biography : Joseph Stalin, 2009†. Web. https://www.histclo.com /bio/s/bio-stalin.html Imdb.com. â€Å"Biography for Joseph Stalin†. 1998. Web. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821672/bio Stel.ru. â€Å"Joseph Stalin Biography, 2004†. Web.

Should children at elementary school level allowed to use internet and Research Paper

Should children at elementary school level allowed to use internet and social media - Research Paper Example With the increased internet usage particularly, the increased invention and discoveries of more educative and academic websites that are rated children-friendly ensures increased knowledge necessary for expansive knowledge endowments amongst the young children. There has been increased exposure and susceptibility to internet amongst our children. Internet presents avenues for visual learning as young children are attracted to diagrams, images well as photos that are academically designed to empower and enhance learning amongst the young children. This has presented the children with an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge as they learn and develop ability to navigate and do research work at early stages (Resources in Education 76). The result of this is reflected in the academic ability of the children as they grow based on the increased capability to understand search engines needed for particular data retrievals. Such children further develop interest and become good researchers in future as they undergo the education ladder. They become brighter as they explore the massive relevant information from the pearly reviewed articles as well as books. Children use the internet for school works, and Google for information needed. It is also positive amongst the children as internet has enabled them to use Google Translations to understand English Tweets. Children have also benefited from diverse knowledge and skills available on the internet sources besides being positively enlightened through games played which has led to generation and incubation of relevant ideas (Dixon, Brian, and Julie 122). Children have found it easy to navigate the personal computers and to obtain necessary project information necessary for their class works. Educating digitalized student has thus been made easier as teachers, and their Paraprofessionals can easily follow childrens performance online and

Claude Monet Water Lilies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claude Monet Water Lilies - Essay Example I could feel my heart beat quicken as I inched forward in line for my ticket, anticipating what I would see, how it would affect me, and how I would be changed in some way, as we all are, by seeing to what heights the soul of man can rise. As I entered the building and was captured by the walls of glass, modern, clean white lines of the galleries, the large public works of art throughout the building, with works hung on staircase landings (of all places!) and from the ceilings, meant to show how accessible and functional the modern works could be. I was drawn into one exhibit, on the second floor, though, that featured an exhibition of the French impressionist artist Claude Monet, entitled â€Å"Monet’s Water Lilies.† I was drawn into a room where three 20-foot paintings, his masterpieces of his study of Water Lilies, were hung in harmonious and dramatic style. The works were placed next to and across from each other, with their gigantic canvases echoing what Monet saw over many days and months in his garden in Giverny. At first glance, the works were a muted collection of simplicity, but the more I studied the works, the more I was overwhelmed at their aspects of color, the juxtaposition of the works, and the overwhelming sense of permanence I felt when sitting among these works. I was drawn into their immense size, wealth of subtle colors and scale of proportions that reflected the various moods created by light, water, sky, and nature, as they all worked together to create a sense of serenity and eternal feeling. It slowed me down to a point to where I had to sit and observe, and allow myself to see the detail throughout each painting. The simplicity yet complexity of the works drew me to them and left a permanence in my mind’s eye. The fact that they were located in a room which seemed built especially for these large works, allowed them to be seen as a reflection of each other, in a way enhanced the experience for me. As I observed, I noticed more and more layers of paint on the works, which showed a tremendous amount of effort that went into the work. Done in impressionist pastels, with a study of a pond dotted with reflections of water lilies, poppies, sky, grasses, and trees, reminded me that the more we look at even the most simplistic things, the more complex they are. The simplicity is reminiscent of the style of Japanese art with a harmonious relationship between man and nature, with each complementing each other. In this case, there were no men or human structures in the paintings, as we were meant to be the human element of the works, and almost become part of the painting, as we are filled with a sense of serenity, color, nature, and calmness. The muted lighting, subtle colors, reflections of sky--and of ourselves- allows the viewer to become part of that Giverny landscape-- part of Monet’s eternal world. The pure simplicity of the works, but the hidden complexity of the brush strokes, depth and layer of colors, echoes the haiku of the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho. As with Monet, his haiku are simple on the surface, but the artist draws the observer in with hidden complexities and depth of meaning and complexity of nature and human existence. As Monet uses the stroke of a brush to reveal his emotional depth and feeling, Bashu uses the written word to paint his canvas of emotion and searching of the human soul. Simplicity means complexity in both artists’

Very womanly in behavior Essay Example for Free

Very womanly in behavior Essay Lina Wertmuller’s Swept Away original full title in Italy â€Å"Travolti da un Insolito Destino Nell Azzurro Mare dagosto† which means â€Å"By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August†. The main setting of the movie was basically the ocean and the island where the two lead characters where stranded. The setting in the movie reflects a lot about the temperaments of the characters. It didn’t serve just a simple background but also speaks for itself and consequently telling a story. The vast blue ocean symbolizes power and beauty of Maria Angela Melato’s character. She is rich and beautiful. Just like the ocean, once you are under her vastness and beauty you cannot do anything but to sail by her command. The ocean is beautiful but also full of wrath. By a mere look, it is hard to predict what the ocean can do. It can destroy huge ships in a blink of the eye or it can give you a smooth cruise experience when it is serene. Very womanly in behavior. On the other hand, the island symbolizes domination. Whoever has access to resources dominates. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what happened to the characters of Giovanni and Maria Angela when they got stranded in the island. Since the character Maria Angela grew up rich and spoiled, she was not oriented to labor and hardship. However during her stay in the island she had to follow whatever the character of Giovanni wants since he has the resources. There were scenes in the movie when Maria Angela had to wash Giovanni’s clothes in exchange for food. In general, as aforementioned, the setting of the movie tells a story. The romantic sceneries of the dusk and dawn in the ocean view are very endearing. Somewhat telling that however wrathful a character something, there comes a point when it calms down shows love.

Relationship Between Communication and Human Sciences

Relationship Between Communication and Human Sciences The aim of this paper is to critically analyse communication and its development of human societies. It will scrutinise whether any form of symbolic behaviour was a form of communication. This essay will question some of the findings of the past through the examination of communicative works such as cave-art. Discussion of urbanism and religion as a means of communication with divine or supernatural powers will then follow. Writing as posited as one of Childe’s ten criteria as a cause of urbanism will be critically evaluated. To conclude, I will offer my perspective on the development of human societies having evaluated the evidence and expert views. So what is communication? Communication is derived from the Latin word communis (Peters, 1999), meaning â€Å"to share†. Thus, communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of messages, information, and thoughts, as by signals, visuals, writing or behaviour. The history of communication dates b ack to ancient times, speech which revolutionized the human communication was developed some 200,000 years ago; symbols were developed about 30,000 years ago while writing about 7,000. Throughout the millennia, human societies underwent major changes in their social order where people lived 10,000 years ago in small, mobile groups which depended on wild plants and animals. Examples of those groups include but is not limited to those of the Yangzi river valley in East Asia and the Americas which underwent changes from hunter-gatherers to an organised society. It is these early examples of groups which domesticated local plant and animal species to forge a farming community and with the development of agriculture and sedentism, population growth soon followed. These farming societies transformed themselves into larger, more complex social systems characterised by cities, political states and class inequalities. As with civilisations such as those of Egyptian and Roman empires, rulers and dynasties rose and fell, and the potsherds and stone tools of archaeology made way for written documents. Without communication, the lives of human beings would be very different as it is critical for growing and maintaining everything around us. The relationship between communication and human society is ever-growing having achieved a huge growth in its partnership. Humans simply could not have achieve this kind of development and growth without the existence of communication. Within society, all relationships and social connections rely on communication and appreciate and understand its importance and with varying communication methods and processes, it gave a great boost to the development of human society. Communication as it is today is a continuing process as people strive to develop new and innovative communication methods and processes. To fully appreciate the growth of communication, we need to look back to the beginning to  the stone age when communication was in its initial developmental stages. There were no languages, resultantly little communication processes were followed by humans. The swift development of human abilities made way for the development of communication and human society. Humans began to use signs and non-verbal communication to communicate with fellow humans such as runners, birds, arrows, smokes. As humans became more and more organized, different kinds of languages and communication methods were developed. Major developments during the Stone Age were: Cave paintings Petro glyphs Pictograms Ideograms Later, during the Bronze Age, human beings invented writing which revolutionized the communication methods and processes, there began a new period of communication. Accepted examples of such writings are Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Indus Valley script (Tharoor 2009). By 2700 BC Egyptian writing had a set of some 22 hieroglyphs to represent syllables (Crabben 2011). Some of the prominent developments of these times are: Writing Alphabet Paper With the introduction of various form of communication, is the question whether symbolic behaviour is a form of communication? Communication and symbolic links seem to go hand in hand with features seen as symbolic objects such as daggers, warriors– some carrying weapons, axes, wheeled vehicles, houses, farm buildings and livestock. Other evidence presented is the rock-art of Valcamonica (Italy) and Southern Africa in which a number of symbolic representations were discovered. Southern-Africa in particular has cave-art of varying degrees of what I would consider a form of symbolism such examples include dancing women an various geometric forms. I believe that symbolic behaviour could be considered as a form of visual communication because a message is being conveyed irrespective of the media and form of communication. Not restricted to cave-art, symbolic behaviour is also seen through the construction of objects such as the sky-disk and sun chariot. The Nebra sky-disk depicts the sun, moon, 32 stars and two arcs, originally three. Its significance alludes any understanding of its significance, however, it does not detract from the fact that it is symbolic in nature and may have been used as an astronomical calculation tool to determine times of harvest (Haughton, 2011). Whatever the significance of the disk, it is still one of symbolism. The final piece of symbolism lies with the Sun Chariot, similar in its astronomical representation of the sun and moon which again illustrates a form of symbolism in the form of a bronze-wheeled-model of a horse pulling a large disk. Not isolated to mere models of bronze, the discovery of burial practices and metallurgy to display prestige and cultural practices can also be considered as a form of symbolism. Unfortunately, no depiction of the latter practices are represented in the rock-art, suggesting that the presence of cave-art does not fully represent the full range of activities, but does not exclude the very fact that once again symbolism is represented through prestige. Symbolism was prominent on a global basis and in Southern Africa, rock-art had symbolic meanings to those who created them. The representation of these paintings were linked between the material and spirit world which in turn depicted shamans and the spirit world. I believe that any consideration into the varying forms of symbolic behaviour should be seen as a form of communication. In summary with regards to symbolism and communication, I am inclined to support the idea that symbolism is a form of communication which is reinforced by Childes criteria for urbanism and the rise of civilisation coupled with the development of symbolic art (Perkins, 2013). Cave or rock-art is known as the oldest form of communication and is the precious remnant of an ancient way of life which provides some of the oldest clues of cultures from long ago. Rock-art and art form or drawing style provides a recorded history of human thought patterns and behaviour. Insights into their socio-religious aspects as well as their ancient culture and myths can be gained and prove valuable into gaining an insight into their lives. Between 30,000 and 5,000 years ago, no written records existed except for cave-art and rock etchings. It was not until post 5,000 years that other types of written records came into existence. Rock-art is in my opinion considered a form of communication and message, whether simple or complex, is special but yet to be fully understood. It provides a small glimpse into the socio-religious aspects of these ancient neolithic cultures. A number of theoretical views and opinions have purported to explain rock-art, but in my view, I am inclined t o suggest that rock-art simply portrays simple daily life. Another possible theory could be that of conveying a complex message about the shamans journey and their altered state of consciousness, suggesting a true appreciation and understanding of ancient tribal life. An air of caution must be placed in assuming that the paintings produced in a specific tribal social and religious context within cave-art has any resemblance to the belief systems of modern Western society and therefore should not be gauged to such. Any form of ritualistic, mythological or supernatural representations art is open to debate as to whether it is art or religion. The area surrounding art and its link to religion would be a difficult assumption to make as to view the work within a set context is to view the art in the same way as those who were around during that time period. As with any religious content, the interpretations are hypothetical and subjective based on the interpreters ideals. However, the presence of animals may have been more of a symbolic vision of the world around them. This art could also be a way of communicating possible ritual practices (Zorich, 2011) that may have taken place within the cave systems. There is a possible assumption that ritual practices taking place within the caves were a means of communication with divine or supernatural powers. The imagery of animals may have been viewed as sacred due to their physical strength indicating power. Throughout time there have been links with sham anism and rock art within the context of spiritualism. One such example is that of the Valcamonica figure which depicts a running man (Naquane, 2014), often identified as a shaman. The key controversy is that the art is a representation of the real world and with that consideration it questions its true purpose and functions. As with everything else in life, changes occur, additions are made to existing structures and art work; likewise with cave art by engraving over already existing work in addition to leaving existing engravings alone, signifies a meaning for those adding to the already present art. It is fair to surmise that maybe these images may have had a symbolic or religious function which in turn can be accepted as a form of communicating rituals and the idea of theology. To further support the theory, Scandinavian rock art is suggestive of ritual or mythological as well as associations with the supernatural. I truly believe that such interpretations are acceptable and sho uld be viewed as a way of looking beyond an established civilisation to that of conducting oneself to a higher power, a deity perhaps? Further evidence has recently come to light of the possible religious or spiritual practices from the discovery of rock-art in the highlands (McKenzie, 2014). The discovery included a boulder decorated with ancient cup and ring marks which archaeologists believe may have been made for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include ritualistic, astronomical or simply doodling. If we were to assume that it was ritualistic, it implies that there may have been a link with divine or supernatural powers. It is a safe assumption that with cave-art, a link between communication and the belief of divine and supernatural powers exists. It is without a doubt that human communication is underpinned by a social survival imperative. In the words of Blakemore, Winston and Frith (2004) Humans crave the company of others and suffer profoundly if temporarily isolated from society. The above statement is indicative of the need to communicate hence with the spread of hunter-gatherers across various regions, communication took on differing forms. These ranged from non-verbal communication which consisted of possible facial expressions, tone of voice, body movement and stance which eventually emerged in conjunction with verbal communication within the hunter-gathers period. It is through the use of language as a symbolic form of communication to convey messages to one another but is not limited to just the verbal aspect of communicating. As previously mentioned, writing, drawing, painting and sculptures was and still is a form of communication, a graphical and yet symbolic method of communication. One asserts that the hunter-gathers of the time used various methods to communicate from non-verbal to verbal as well as art to project and record their beliefs and lifestyles. The earliest form of urbanism appeared in the Near East (3rd Millennium BC), Warka, known from texts as the Sumerian city of Uruk (Mathews, 2013). Life in the City of Warka was marked by the appearance of well known cultural innovations such as the architecture of monumental portions, commemorative art and the use of a cylinder seal. Another innovation which involves one of Childes ten criteria is that of writing which appeared during the late Uruk period and was considered the earliest form of writing. It can be implied that the presence of writing was not coincidental but one of relevance towards the formation of social organisation. I believe that writing is essential in maintaining any form of governance within a state organisation. My argument is that writing as it stands provides a method of record keeping which is essential for not only the organisation but also the administrative and social control of people living within an urban setting. If proven that the writing found at Uruk was indeed an integral part in urban life then it will be a safe assumption that the presence of writing was in effect consistent with governmental administration. However, I dispute this perspective since other societies have existed without the need for writing to maintain a society. One such society was that of the Incas. Not having a recognised writing system like the rest of the world, no carved stone, no papyrus or art, the Incas established and maintained a working empire proving that urbanism does not require a writing system to flourish. Having said that, the Incas did have a method of recording accounts, astronomical calculations and possibly their stories, this method involved the use of cords and knots (K.K. Hurst, 2002), a complicated system but yet a record, nevertheless. Having considered the Incas and the use of the cord system as a possible means of conveying messages is in my opinion open to debate as to whether the use of knots in cords is a form of communica tion. Critical analysis of the communication adopted by the Incas does not provide a convincing argument therefore in my opinion that it is highly improbable the Incas possessed a system of writing. When taking into account that for urbanism to exist and thrive, a system of communication is required, be it writing or otherwise, the Inca civilisation as far as I am concerned refutes that theory. Would the Incas have adopted writing from the people of Warka? Due to the strong beliefs of the Incas and the significance of the cord system, I would assume the Incas would have refrained from doing so. In concluding this paper, the true significance of these vast array of cave paintings discovered and possibly some yet to be discovered is and will remain elusive for now. I can conclude that the cave-art, some brilliant in comparison to the art work that we find today, reflects the development of symbolic life, and an important turning point in human evolution. This sudden burst is reminiscent of the big bang theory but in this case it is the big bang theory of the human mind. It is through the study of the cave-art that has drawn a possible link to a symbolic life and with further field study and analysis will push the theory and reveal a symbolic life from the past. I also believe that communication and its impact on past civilisations may not have had a major role to play just simply a system which was adopted for growth and control. Today, communication is a requirement for any country to succeed and flourish in the way of trade and finance as well as the setting down of laws. A s we have come to know, the effect of communication is one of globalization, take communication away now and we are left with ignorance and loss of what we have to know as part of everyday life. (2532 words) References Blakemore, Winston and Frith (2004) Social cognitive neuroscience: where are we heading? Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15120680 (Accessed 4 March 2014) Haughton, B. (2011) Ancient History Encyclopaedia The Nebra Sky Disc Ancient Map of the Stars Available at: http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/235/ (Accessed: 3 March 2014) Hurst, K.K. (2002) About.Com Archaeology Knotty Problems The Ancient Writing System of the Inca Available at: http://archaeology.about.com/od/americanancientwriting/a/quipu.htm (Accessed 4 March 2014) Mathews, R (2013) Peoples and complex societies of Ancient south-west Asia Edited by Scarre, C The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies 3rd Edition London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 440, 443 McKenzie, S BBC (2014) Rare Neolithic or Bronze Age rock art in Ross-shire [online], Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-26366644 (Accessed 27 February 2014) Perkins, P (2013) A251 World Archaeology Study Guide 4th Edition Milton Keynes: The Open University, p. 34 Peters, JD (1999) Latin roots of Communication Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Theory/latin.htm (Accessed 4 March 2014) Scarre, C (2013) Later prehistoric societies in Central and Western Europe Edited by Scarre, C The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies 3rd Edition London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 420, 424 Tharoor, I. 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Article Review Format Guide Essay

The article discusses whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the subsequence laws were the correct solution for the problems that arose from the Enron and WorldCom bankruptcies. The article illustrates how the different rules and legislature affect different size business, and the ramifications that resulted for companies that must follow the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The authors of the article also conducted a study on whether or not fraud of the financial statements was in direct correlation of businesses filing bankruptcy (Nogler & Inwon, 2011, p. 68) like in the cases of Enron and WorldCom. The results found that the larger the company that filed bankruptcy the more likely that securities fraud litigation and general overstatement of the revenue and assets of the company occurred (Nogler & Inwon, 2011). LEGAL ISSUE Legal issues were rampant in the article. For instance, with the issuance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, companies chose to â€Å"go dark† to â€Å"no longer trade publically,† (Nogler & Inwon, 2011, p. 67) in order to not have to comply fully with SOX. The article also address whether it is fair or just to make smaller companies follow the same exact rules and fines of such articles as Article 404 of the SOX Act. MANAGERIAL PERSPECTIVE Fraud is a real threat to the financial stability of a corporation and even the country. The legal issues presented in the article show how damaging fraud truly is. Of the over 1,200 companies that filed for bankruptcy in the study, 77.8% had some sort of fraud (Nogler & Inwon, 2011). These numbers show that laws like Sarbanes-Oxley are justified in trying to stop the illegal actions within the finances of a corporation by making people responsible for their actions and the actions of those around us. The creative reporting methods that people use in ponzi schemes and recording of financial information needs to be highly monitored to prevent losses for stakeholders. Realistic solutions include more laws for the betterment of the corporate world. Laws that protect individual employees like auditors and Certified Public Accountants, because as it stands now all liability falls to only a few people like the CFO or CEO, when in fact there are instances when they too need protection. Smal l businesses that wish to go public should have similar laws designed for their size and not just an umbrella law that might prevent the company from growth. Reference: Nogler, G., & Inwon, J. (2011, May/June). Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Was the ’one-size-fits-all’ approach justified? Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance (Wiley), 22(4), 65-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.20691

Consider Carver’s view on marriage Essay

Marriage is defined by dictionaries as ‘a formal union of a man and a woman, by which they become husband and wife’. However, books containing a list of words adjacent to their definitions do not fully define the concept of marriage. Some argue that marriage is about love and trust; others think of it as a permanent commitment between two people. In the stories with which Carver presents us in his book, Will You Please Be Quite, Please? marriage is about love, where love is not an experience of high excitement but a form of available reassurance, security and comfort. In Carver’s view, love involves alleviating fear and providing the feeling of security that one is not alone. In the late stages of a marriage, mature couples tend to pay attention to the fear of loneliness, the fear that all human beings, such as their partners, are mortal which makes them feel vulnerable. In The Student’s Wife, Carver presents us with his first view of marriage through a couple, Mike and Nan. Mike and Nan live in an urban area with their children. Mike and Nan are in a late stage of marriage and have grown apart from each other. In the story, Carver emphasizes the lost affection of a person towards their partner. In this case, Mike has become unresponsive towards Nan.  Mike and Nan have been married for a long period of time; In The Student’s Wife, Carver describes Mike’s fading affection towards his wife. Mike enjoys reading poetry, but Nan is indifferent to it. This is evident when she fell asleep while Mike was reading poetry aloud to her (‘she closed her eyes and drifted off’). From Carver’s description of the bedroom scene, we can conclude that the couple do not share common interests. The story continues with Mike constantly implying his feelings towards Nan (‘He groaned extravagantly’); and, when he was asked for help, he ‘gets out of bed’ reluctantly. Mike finds Nan unalluring, (‘He thought she looked like a hospital patient in her white night gown’) and feels that his wife does not arouse him with desire. When Nan tries to engage him in a conversation, Mike accuses her of living in memories of the past (‘that was a long time ago, Nan’). With Mike’s accusation and gestures, Nan feels that she has lost her identity as a wife and as a woman (‘I’d like to be touched when I’m not expecting it’); she has become humiliated by having to initiate physical contact in her marriage. As the story progresses, Mike falls asleep while Nan lays awake. Her growing desperation to lose consciousness (‘Please, God, let me go to sleep’) has failed her (‘she tried to sleep’); her frustration kept her awake all throughout the story. She seeks comfort from her husband (â€Å"Mike,† she whispered’) because she couldn’t bear the sound of silence (‘There was no answer’). Nan felt alone when her husband did not respond to her need. When the night was over and the morning became visible, Nan walked towards the window to welcome the sun. As the sun rises, it dawns on her that there is no longer love in her marriage (‘she learned a sunrise was as terrible as this’). She undergoes a traumatic shock. Her marriage has failed. In this relationship, love was once present, but as the couple have grown apart, it is no longer an issue. In The Ducks, Carver presents us with his second view of marriage. In The Ducks, Carver’s ideas are interpreted to us by a couple whose names are not mentioned. The couple live in a remote area and are in the later stages of marriage. Carver sets the mood by using a meteorological soundtrack: rain falling, which is repeated frequently in the story to remind us of the situation. The rain is used to symbolize time passing. In this marriage, Carver suggests that a change of scenery can make a difference. At the beginning of the story, Carver gives us a description of the meteorological conditions: ‘a wind came’ and ‘bringing gust and rain’. He sets a gloomy scene. The setting of the story is set in the house of the main characters, ‘he’ and ‘she’. The dialogue starts with a conversation between the couple about the ‘trip to Reno’. As the story develops, the husband expresses his feelings towards his wife (‘don’t you feel good?’); this shows that he is highly aware of his wife’s feelings. Unlike the husband in The Student’s Wife, this husband is very responsive and tactile towards his wife (‘he touched her hips, pinched her dress’). In this relationship, the couple have no problem with communication. The wife  seeks reassurance from her husband (‘kiss me bye’); she initiates physical contact without the fear of humiliation because she knows that her husband will respond to her needs. This marriage shows that time does not weaken love.  The husband comes home early from work owing to the death of his work-mate (‘he shook his head’); he becomes aware of how quickly a life can end. On that night, the death of Jack Granger brought him and his wife closer together (‘held hands’); this action specifies that physical reassurance is present in their marriage. The couple decide to alleviate their fear by having a sex, (‘we’ll sleep in late’); they are making the most of the simple pleasures in life. The husband’s growing awareness of the rain leads him to think of time passing. As the night carries on, the couple reflect on the past, (‘remember when you got me this?’); distant memories give them the pleasure of remembering how they used to live. The husband has been living in the same house for a long period of time and believes that a change of scenery (‘someplace else’) will change his spirits – a place where is it not raining. In the process of making love to his wife, his mind was not devoted to the physical activity. He could not bring himself to focus on her needs (‘How much he loved her or if he loved her’). He is frustrated and his thoughts drift to his fears (‘he could hear it all over the house’). The sound of rain is introduced again, which disturbed him. After making love to his wife, he lies awake. His attempt to prevent the rain from falling and the time from passing keeps him alert most of the night. He begins to feel frightened (‘I hear something outside’); he realizes that he needs his wife’s reassurance. He needs her to tell him everything is going to be all right. In How About This?, Carver presents us with another view of marriage. He writes about a couple, Harry and Emily, who have travelled from San Francisco to the isolated farm houses of western Washington in search of a new place to live. Harry had always lived in cities and felt that leaving the city would grant him more happiness (‘a simpler life was what he had in mind’); he feels that moving into a rural area will suit his needs (‘just the essentials’) and would like a change from urban living. As they approach the house, where Emily spent most of her childhood, Harry feels disappointed (‘nothing he really wanted’); rustic living did not level up to his expectations. Sensing Harry’s disappointment, Emily reminds him of what she said before they reached the house (‘I told you not to expect too much’); she tries to ease his dissatisfaction but finds that she cannot relieve his frustration. After touring the house, Emily feels Harry’s discontentment and comforts him (‘Harry, we just have to love each other’). She signifies that, wherever they may end up, all they have to do is to love each other in order for them to be truly happy. This marriage shows us that location is not relevant when it comes to loving a person. When Harry found that rural living was not what he wanted, Emily was there to face the consequences with him. To Carver, marriage is about a couple who are willing to be together till death parts them. He presents us with three unconventional stories suggesting different outcomes of a long-term marriage. The simplicity of Carver’s semi-autobiographical stories gives us an insight into the reality of modern couples. Based on contemporary marriages, his stories are ironic compared to the stories we once read. In conclusion, marriage can be a comfort in knowing that when a person is going through pain and suffering or joy and happiness, that person is not alone.

Definition and Examples of a Persona in Literature

Definition and Examples of a Persona in Literature A persona is a voice or mask that an author, speaker, or performer puts on for a particular purpose. Plural: personae or personas. Persona comes from the Latin word meaning mask, and may also be referred to as an implied author or an artificial author. Author Katherine Anne Porter explained the relation between writing style and persona: A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows its a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself - or at least, you show yourself as someone who could not afford to show himself, and so created something to hide behind (Writers at Work, 1963). Similarly, essayist E.B. White observed that writing is a form of imposture. Im not at all sure I am anything like the person I seem to a reader. Various Observations on Persona [L]ike the I of the lyric and of the real and invented autobiography, the I of the essayist is a mask.(Joseph P. Clancy, The Literary Genres in Theory and Practice. College English, April 1967)The artful I of an essay can be as chameleon as any narrator in fiction.(Edward Hoagland, What I Think, What I Am)He who speaks is not he who writes, and he who writes is not he who is.†(Roland Barthes, quoted by Arthur Krystal in Except When I Write. Oxford University Press, 2011)You may rely on it that you have the best of me in my books, and that I am not worth seeing personally - the stuttering, blundering, clod-hopper that I am.(Henry David Thoreau, letter to Calvin H. Greene, February 10, 1856)Writing is a form of imposture. Im not at all sure I am anything like the person I seem to a reader. . . .[T]he man on paper is always a more admirable character than his creator, who is a miserable creature of nose colds, minor compromises, and sudden flights into nobility. . . . I suppose r eaders who feel friendly toward someone whose work they like seldom realize that they are drawn more toward a set of aspirations than toward a human being.(E.B. White, Letters of E.B. White, ed. by Dorothy Lobrano Guth. Harper, 1976) [T]he person in a personal essay is a written construct, a fabricated thing, a character of sortsthe sound of its voice a byproduct of carefully chosen words, its recollection of experience, its run of thought and feeling, much tidier than the mess of memories, thoughts, and feelings arising in ones consciousness. . . . Indeed, when personal essayists write about self-embodiment in the essay, they often acknowledge an element of fabrication or of artful impersonation.(Carl H. Klaus, The Made-Up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay. University of Iowa Press, 2010) Perlman on Person and Persona Persona is the Latin word for the masks used in the Greek drama. It meant that the actor was heard and his identity recognized by others through the sounds that issued from the open mask mouth. From it the word person emerged to express the idea of a human being who meant something, who represented something, and who seemed to have some defined connectedness with others by action or affects. (We still use person to connote this: we say of an infant who begins to show awareness of self in relation to others, Hes becoming a person.) A person makes himself known, felt, taken in by others, through his particular roles and their functions. Some of his personae - his masks - are readily detachable and put aside, but others become fused with his skin and bone.(Helen Harris Perlman, Persona: Social Role and Personality. University of Chicago Press, 1986) Hemingway's Public Persona According to those who knew him well, Hemingway was a sensitive, often shy man whose enthusiasm for life was balanced by his ability to listen intently . . . That was not the Hemingway of the news stories. The media wanted and encouraged a brawnier Hemingway, a two-fisted man whose life was fraught with dangers. The author, a newspaper man by training, was complicit in this creation of a public persona, a Hemingway that was not without factual basis, but also not the whole man. Critics, especially, but the public as well, Hemingway hinted in his 1933 letter to [Maxwell] Perkins, were eager automatically to label Hemingways characters as himself, which helped establish the Hemingway persona, a media-created Hemingway that would shadow - and overshadow - the man and writer.(Michael Reynolds, Hemingway in Our Times. The New York Times, July 11, 1999) Borges and the Other Self It is to my other self, to Borges, that things happen. I walk about Buenos Aires and I pause, almost mechanically, to contemplate the arch of an entry or the portal of a church; news of Borges comes to me in the mail, and I see his name on a short list of professors or in a biographical dictionary. I am fond of hourglasses, maps, 18th-century typography, the etymology of words, the tang of coffee, and the prose of Stevenson; the other one shares these enthusiasms, but in a rather vain, theatrical way. . . .I cannot tell which one of us is writing this page.(Jorge Luis Borges, Borges and I)

Ghost on The Stage essays

Ghost on The Stage essays Sometimes when asked to write an essay on an important person in your life, most people automatically gear towards a best friend or sometimes, a family member. Someone whos left an impact on my life isnt necessarily a best friend, or a family member. I discovered Davey about 2 years ago, and Ive loved and respected him wholly ever since. The first time I heard Davey was in the song But Home Is Nowhere... back in November of 2002, because a friend of mine wanted me to listen to it. After hearing the range Davey got with his voice, and the way he could transition beautifully from screaming to singing, I was in awe. After hearing Daveys amazing voice and reading his lyrics, I felt that he really understood me. Including how nice he acts towards his fans. From that day, I decided to do research on Davey and his band and from what I learned about him made me appreciate him even more. Besides being a very talented musician, he is also very nice, sweet, and caring. He has a compassion for animals and a desire to live as healthy as possible which is what compelled him to become vegan in 1998 after being a vegetarian for 2 years. I find drug use disrespectful, self destructive and weak. I want no part of it. I believe in complete respect for myself and others. Which is the reason why he lives a straight-edge lifestyle. Th at means he stays away from drugs, alcohol, and will not be having sex until hes married. 'I've never been drunk, I've never done any drugs. I've never found it appealing. I didn't like the way other people acted when they were on drugs and I didn't like the way they treated each other when they were on drugs. For most bands I don't think drugs are a creative aid at all. He has inspired me to take up a straight-edge lifestyle of my own, because of his reasons. He also helped to inspire me on making my decision about whether or ...

Delinquent Juveniles Should Not Be Tried as Adults Essay

Delinquent Juveniles Should Not Be Tried as Adults - Essay Example Initiation of early intervention programs and counseling will effectively deter juvenile delinquency. Delinquent juveniles should not be tried as adults Introduction The criminal justice system experiences many problems that hinder it from reducing the crime rates in the US. Despite the efforts that have been made in policing, prosecution, and sentencing of the criminal acts, the criminal justice system has remained ineffective in deterring crimes. One of the major problems with the criminal justice system is trying and sentencing of criminal juvenile offenders as adults (Siegel & Worrall, 2012, p. 315). Juvenile offenders lack the mental and emotional capacity to form intent and understand the consequences of committing crimes. According to the legal definition, a delinquent juvenile is a child who commits criminal acts that are punishable by law. According to the sociological perspective, a delinquent juvenile is just a child with antisocial behaviors in the society. The criminal j ustice system should aim at rehabilitating the juvenile offenders and not punishing them. Judges, lawyers, and prosecutors obstruct the processes that must be followed in trying the juvenile offenders. Almost all States have amended the laws to make it easier to sentence the juvenile offenders as adults (Siegel & Worrall, 2012, p. 315). ... presentation of the juvenile offenders during the trial and constitutionality of the harsh punishments has made the criminal justice system ineffective in prosecuting the juveniles. Juveniles have been prosecuted for joint crimes with adults in crimes that may not have involved the use of violence or physical injury of the victim. According to the US laws, juveniles of 14 years lack the legal capacity to hold a driver’s license, to seek employment, or enter in to legally binding contracts on their own. Children are required to attend school and receive adequate protection of the government in protection of their rights. The above concept of the law has been ignored by the criminal justice system, since juvenile offenders lack the cognitive and mental capacity to reason and form intent while committing criminal acts like murder and assault (Albanese & Dammer, 2011 p. 265). Young teenagers experience varied emotions and behavior swings due to high vulnerability to pressure and s ocial stress and, therefore, lack the mental ability to resist the risk taking behaviors like drug abuse. Juvenile offenders experience low social status in the society than adults. In 1994 alone, 2.7 million juveniles were arrested by the police for engaging in numerous crimes including violent crimes, status offenses, and non-violent crimes. In the same year, over 12,000 delinquency cases were referred to adult criminal courts by a process known as certification. The waiver of jurisdiction allows the juveniles of the ages of 16 and 17 years to be tried as adults in the adult criminal courts (Smith & Cole, 2008, p. 398). According to a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Stanford V Kentucky (1989), juveniles as young as 16 years can receive death penalties for juvenile criminal acts. About

Nuclear Arms Race is better than Nuclear Arms Reduction for World Assignment

Nuclear Arms Race is better than Nuclear Arms Reduction for World Peace - Assignment Example The history reveals the fact that this race is not a contemporary theory or model and dates back to several years. â€Å"The nuclear arms and weapons race demonstrates and illustrates the fact that the nuclear arm came under design to create destruction and gain economic, political power over others, however, this theory has now eradicated, and a peace strategy comes under correlation to the nuclear arm race† (Gaddis, 2006). The pioneer countries of using the nuclear bombs and materialized into race were United States of America and the United Soviet States of Russia that eventually turned out in a Cold War, which lasted for couple of years. Although, the race carried on for few decades regardless of the fact and observation that the nuclear armaments are drastically and immensely costly in terms of research and development of the modern and innovative ones, yet they have been economical and low-cost than that of the traditional weaponries (Gaddis, 2006). Consequently, with th e technological boom taking over every facet of life, made a huge impact on the nuclear arms race as well due to the reason that the weapons also entailed the use of sophisticated technologies in the research and development of them (Hanhimaki  & Westad, 2004).