Option and Major Studios

FIN 4414 – Financial Management – Spring 2009 â€Å"Arundel† Case Assignment Due: March 23, 2009 Case: â€Å"Arundel Partners: The Sequel Project,† HBS, Case # 9-292-140, Revised 12/92. Main Question: Is $2million per movie a fair price? Why or why not? Additional Questions 1. Provide a brief overview of the proposed venture. Clearly describe the relevant time line. 2. Why do the proponents of this venture believe that Arundel Partners can make money buying movie sequel rights? Why do they propose buying a portfolio of rights rather than negotiating the purchase price on a film-by-film basis? Why do they propose to purchase the sequel rights at t=0 (before the first film is released) rather than at t=1? 3. Assuming a discount rate of 12% (risk free rate of 6% and a risk premium of 6%) calculate the NPV for all the sequels. Use the expected negative costs and the expected revenues given in Table 7. 4. Using the â€Å"decision-tree† approach, calculate the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios. . Assume that a maximum of ten sequels can be made in any given year. Using the same decision-tree approach, what would you estimate to be the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios? 6. Using the Black-Scholes approach, calculate the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios. Assume once again that there is no maximum to the number of sequels that can be made in a given year). You must provide details of how you estimated the inputs to the B-S formula. a. Asset value b. Exercise price c. Volatility of asset returns d. Time to maturity e. Risk-free rate HINT: Note that the time to maturity of the options is when uncertainty is resolved not necessarily when the sequel is made. The asset value is what you will get if you exercised the option to make the sequel. Again use average values for all the sequels. Similarly use the average value of the cost to make the sequels for the exercise price. Estimating standard deviation is a little trickier. Note that you do not have past information on returns to each sequel to estimate volatility for a sequel. However, you have information on a portfolio of sequels and you know the returns to these sequels and you could use these to estimate a standard deviation based on a cross-section of returns (DO NOT USE PRICE LEVELS). Also the standard deviation should be based on all 99 sequels – that is it should be based on the entire distribution. 7. Carry out a sensitivity analysis of the value of the option to the values of the underlying asset, exercise price, and volatility. 8. What problems or disagreements would you expect Arundel and a major studio to encounter in the course of a relationship like the one described in the case? What contractual terms and provisions should Arundel insist on?

Black History Month Essay

Since 1976 Black History Month has been a remembrance of the events in the history of the African American movement. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February, and the United Kingdom in the month of October. In the U.S., Black History Month is also referred to as African-American History Month. Black History Month actually started as Negro History Week in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson. The goal of Black History Week was to educate the American people about African-Americans’ cultural backgrounds and reputable achievements. Mr. Woodson believed that black history was a missing segment in the minds of most American Historians of his day. Black History Month has certainly played a key role in establishing African American history as a historically significant part of American History. You may be thinking to yourself, it is no longer a missing segment in the minds of most Americans, so therefore it is not relevant by today’s standards. Nothing could be further from the truth, than that uneducated line of thinking. African American history IS American History!! I cannot argue that over a number of years it has become a more commercialized month, giving the opportunity to advertise and sell, more companies have used it for monetary gain. However, so has Christmas and Thanksgiving and don’t get me started about Valentine’s Day†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..but there is still a reason we continue to celebrate these Holidays†¦.I believe it is because at they’re core they are still a part of American history and tradition. Now they may have started elsewhere, but we have made them a part of our culture, our American culture. Even with the creation of black Friday and the 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 30 straight days of Christmas music on a popular radio station†¦.we still know it is important to gather with family, tell our sons, daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Christmases past, teach them about important people in our family history both living and deceased. It is important to educate our youth and give proper respect to the people (family members) that had they not done what they did, some of our families may not be here today. They sacrificed and paved the way for everyone to be together on these holidays. That sense of family, tradition and pride in being an American is what Black History month is all about. Americans whom just so happen to be of African descent. Americans who gave up many if not all of their holidays so that they’re children and grandchildren would not have to. Black History Month tells the continuing story of American history from the African American perspective. I’ll give you a couple of reasons why it is so relevant for today’s generation and future generations†¦. We all know the stories of many great African American contributors†¦ Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. George Washington Carver etc†¦ but, what about all of the non-African Americans who directly contributed to the abolishment of slavery, the education of an entire generation of displaced people. Those that gave their lives in the name of humanity. Who will speak for those American heroes?Why are they not mentioned in the same breath as Araminta Ross better known as Harriett Tubman? You ask why is Black Histoy Month relevant. It is relevant because we have barely scratched the surface towards recognizing, learning, teaching and understanding the true meaning of this American tradition. I thought about naming some of the non-African American contributors for those gathered here today, but then it occurred to me (I don’t need to) part of my purpose was to plant a seed, contribute to intelligent dialogue. I stated I would give you a couple of reasons.. The second one is this†¦..In our classrooms we still teach Greek mythology, we teach about the Great Roman empires, We teach American Indian history, we teach about Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, Thomas Edison’s light bulb †¦ and many many more historically important people and inventions. Yet these groups of people and inventions are no longer with us in the same capacity as they once were. And some of their ideas and inventions seem like they could have been created by a child†¦ by today’s standards. We teach about them because they are all†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in one way or another connected to the development of the same race†¦The HUMAN Race!!! When you fill out an application for employment, school or the census, you’re asked to check a box White, African American, Hispanic American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander (maybe a few others) and then there is a box marked OTHER†¦.. Even with the diversity America has, who checks that box? Anyone mixed with two or more races? Anyone whose family history starts at Ellis Island? What if I told you OTHER is the fastest growing population in the world? What if in 25 years OTHER is the dominating population? I tell you this because I want you to think 50, 100, or 500 years from now when the OTHERS are the dominant race, how will they know of the contributions of African Americans? How will they know of the contributions of Irish Americans? Polish Americans? Jewish Americans? Filipino Americans? Asian Americans? American Indians? They will know because hopefully they will still be celebrating Irish American month in March, Filipino American Month in October, Hispanic Heritage month from Sep 15 to Oct 15, Jewish American Month in May and African American Month in February†¦That is how they will know†¦ Because no matter what box you check†¦ no matter what race creed or color you descend from, the key desc riptor is that of being an American.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 9

Strategic Management - Essay Example Ryanair is an affordable air travel service provider that gives customers the option of using a high quality air flight service for medium and short-haul across many locations across European destinations. It commenced service as a normal airliner operating out of Ireland competing with Aer Lingus in 1985.However by 1990, having suffered heavy losses and changing five chief executives. The sixth and the current incumbent Michael O’Leary decided to follow the pattern for low cost flyers set by Southwest Airlines of USA. He was right in his assessment of the market and diagnosed correctly that this was the way to survive and succeed. Ever since its inception in 1971 Southwest Airlines has been a star. It has never suffered a loss, even during the turbulent years when almost 40% of the US Airlines either applied for bankruptcy for survival or became defunct. It is a low cost/low fare carrier that depends on its low fares, short hauls and the shortest turnaround times. The fares are at least 30% below its competition, maximum flight time is 60-90 minutes between two points, and shortest ground time that is routinely 24-27 minutes between landings and takes off of an aircraft. Fundamentally the change brought about by O’Leary has transformed the company and put it in an aggressive mode. It has not only made the competition sit up but to emulate its practices. Ryanair successfully applied all the criteria that were innovatively designed and adopted by Southwest and O’Leary has no hesitation in stating that they are his ideals too. However, Ryanair has fallen short on imitating Southwest specially in the Human Relations department where they still face some issues now and then unlike Southwest where this department is handled in an exemplary manner and where the employee is King. Ryanair appears to have a confrontist attitude and is in always some conflict or the other be it with authorities;

Multinational corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Multinational corporation - Essay Example The areas of corporate social responsibility are such as management of the environment, maintaining labour standards and good working conditions, engagement of stakeholders, observance of human rights and practicing good governance. A multinational corporation will show corporate irresponsibility on failure to take the social responsibility measures (Adeyeye, 2012). According to McIntyre et al (2009) one of the corporate irresponsibility incidents of multinational corporations is the violation of human rights by these corporations, and another one is environmental mismanagement. For instance the MCNs in oil extracting countries have been observed over the years to have violated the rights of the oil bearing communities. The violation usually arises from the conflicts between the two groups concerning land rights and compensation for the ecological damages that are caused by these corporations during oil extraction. The extraction mainly causes negative effects on the environment and the MNCs show corporate irresponsibility by not finding the appropriate measures of managing the effects caused. The multinational corporations further fail to meet the expectations of these communities concerning compensation as well as environmental management. The result of this corporate irresponsibility is frustration of the communities arising from unfulfilled expectations as well as violence as form of response. The operations of these multinational corporations have been attributed to the cases of underdevelopment in the countries (Sornarajah, 2010). The efforts of free trade markets to better the global economy and making sure that multinationals are accountable for their effects on the environments and stakeholders, have failed since the multinational corporations are making more efforts to cover their abuses on the environment as well as the human rights instead of preventing them. Among the multinational

Self evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Self evaluation - Essay Example ffective communication skills enhance the effectiveness of the professional training in human services thereby ensuring that I know how to communicate to specific audiences. I will have the concept and mechanism of communicating thereby develop reliable professional relationships. I am a respectful individual who will uphold the ethical values and the dignity of human life. I understand that I will work with vulnerable individuals in the society. My respectful personality that arises from the values I uphold will ensure that I maintain productive relationships both with the patients and colleagues thus improve the success of the programs. Furthermore, such a personality ensures that I endear to my clients who will in turn trust and open up to me thus making helping them easier (Dewane, 2005). Finally, I am a tolerant individual capable of tolerating people from various backgrounds. I maintain peace when interacting with people and strive to pay attention to their demands. I often speak after understanding the nature of my audience. Tolerance is an important feature in human services since the profession requires interacting and helping people from diverse backgrounds. The people often portray unique personalities and may behave different. As a tolerant individual, I have the ability to interact with such people and help win their trust thus help them appropriately. Unfortunately, I have a number of weakness key among which is my small physique, which may hamper the need to undertake strenuous activities in order to reach people especially in time of calamities (Neukrug, 2001). Despite such, I am a skilled driver, can operate a number of machinery, and will therefore prove helpful in a number of ways during such situations. I lack endurance to strenuous activities and companies. While I am a tolerant individual, I do not like engaging in strenuous activities that cause either physical or psychological exhaustion. The personality is a major impediment to work in

Legal policy and organisational framework Essay

Legal policy and organisational framework - Essay Example The range of existing legal responses that may be utilized in cases of elder abuse in the UK is evaluated, and recent proposals to reform the law are analyzed. Because no single piece of applicable protective legislation exists, three possible levels of intervention have been identified: preventive measures, private law initiatives and state intervention. ABSTRACT. This article evaluates the range of existing legal responses that may be utilized in cases of elder abuse in the UK. Because no single piece of applicable protective legislation exists, three possible levels of intervention have been identified: preventive measures, private law initiatives, and state intervention. In answer to the criticism of existing law, the Law Commission has published proposals for legal reform drawing on the child protection model. Questions are raised regarding the suitability of the approach given the intrinsic social and legal differences between children and adults. [Article copies available from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworth.com) Elder abuse is a term that is not recognized by English law. There is currently no single piece of applicable protective legislation in contrast with the United States. In England, the one existing law that may be applicable to cases of elder abuse in England is fragmented and lacks coherence. It is less accessible than, for example, the child protection law, which is contained in The Children Act 1989, and is not particularly "user friendly." The challenge of elder abuse, therefore, calls on lawyers to be creative and use their imagination and skills in drawing on existing remedies from statute and common law and adapting these to respond to individual complaints of elder abuse. Existing remedies may not be fully utilized for a number of reasons. For one thing, certain procedures, such as criminal prosecutions, may be perceived as

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 22

Assignment Example In one analysis, 80 matched pairs of male and female expatriates were obtained to find out the percentage of the type of work they did and the level of education they had achieved. In 1980s, women expatriates were only about 3%, this grew gradually to 13.9% in 1990s. In some countries, due to religious affairs, women are not allowed to work. However, in some countries women were more interested in performing managerial tasks than men. The variations were also a result of geographic location, political stability/instability and culture and beliefs of certain countries. However, the researches that were done could not be carried out on a worldwide basis due to barriers of religious, traditional and cultural grounds. It was also found that women were less satisfied with expatriation and repatriation as compared with men, who were more satisfied with both. Value to reader: In a nutshell, as opposed to former presumptions, women are able to succeed in international assignments. More multinational organizations should be in the practice of employing passionate and ambitious women for managerial tasks. Former Chief Executive Officer and current Chairman of the Board of Procter and Gamble believes that international assignments were the main base which helped him become a global achiever. He joined P&G in 1963 as a staff assistant. As he became more experienced, he was awarded promotions, and in 1990 he assumed leadership of P&G’s international business. Design/Methodology/Approach: Dealing with uncertainty, knowing customers, balancing tensions and appreciating diversity are the main determining factors of success in terms of widespread business. These explain the situations where a manager has to go abroad and tackle with barriers such as language, cultural and ethnic, to know the likes and dislikes of the people and to be able to understand diversity and variations in almost everything. Mr. Pepper reflects about

Edward EvansPritchard's contribution to anthropological theory Essay

Edward EvansPritchard's contribution to anthropological theory - Essay Example Modern anthropologists also study their home societies. Archeology: this branch, like cultural anthropology deals with the diversity in human behavior in the past. The only difference between the two being that the population in question no longer exists and hence is not physically available for observation and participation. Archeologists have to rely on artifacts, art forms and other remnants of an extinct culture in order to reconstruct history. Linguistic Anthropology: deals with the study of diversity in human language and communication methods between time periods and areas. Linguistic anthropologists analyze the development of languages over time, how contemporary languages differ, how they are related and the link between language and other aspects of a culture. Come to think of it most sciences study an aspect of humans in some way or the other. Take history, biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology and economics for example. There is an element, which sets the subject of anthropology a step aside from the rest of the sciences and that is the anthropological perspective, which consists of three components: 1. Cross -cultural or comparative: anthropology studies humans in every form of body and behavior. The entire spectrum of human aspects and comparing the aspects to one another helps analyze what is possible and necessary for humans. 2.Holistic: this component attempts to relate and correlate the parts of a culture to each other as well as to the parts of other cultures. It analyses the occurrences of combinations, relation of a particular culture to its environment and adaptations. 3.Relativistic: this perspective is the breeding ground for all existing controversies within the anthropological perspective. The idea being conveyed is that the value systems and customs pertaining to a particular culture are relative to that specific culture. In plain English, sauce for the goose may not be sauce for the gander! There is nothing such as right values and wrong values. Right and wrong is a very subjective issue, which has different interpretations and different meanings in different cultures. In dealing or communicating with other cultures we cannot automatically assume that the level of understanding is uniform between us and another individuals. It is always safer to assume that there is none. The principles of anthropology strictly guard against being judgmental of a particular culture. For example, certain practices among the locals of an area may come across as weird, amusing or even loathful to us but we must keep in mind that there might be a rational and a reasoning for any tradition to occur even though the logic might not be acceptable to our thinking. Malinowski initiative to understand " the native point of view" is the present day fundamental to socio-cultural anthropology. To understand a cultures concepts, traditions, and behaviors, we must push aside our preconceived notions about the same and take into consideration what these concepts mean to the people of a community. The emphasis on fieldwork is another aspect, which makes the subject of anthropology unique among other sciences in the sense that it involves "real time" observations. The concept of participant

Tennessee Williams Essay Example for Free

Tennessee Williams Essay Thomas Lanier, also known as Tennessee Williams, was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American Theatre. Also he wrote essays, short stories, poetry, screenplays, and novels with also a volume of memoirs. Tennessee’s professional career lasted about 45 years until his death in 1983. Williams saw the birth of hundreds of plays that are considered to be classics on the American stage. Tennessee Williams was an important American playwright who tied in his personal life into his writings, and used women over men in his play, and comparing his work to the other authors. Tennessee Williams used events that happened in his personal life to help him with his writings. He used this in his writings by having the characters getting hurt in the plays just like he did. For example in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Maggie becomes increasingly more self-conscious as she is again and again refused by her husband. â€Å"Williams’s objective was to create humane freedom out of the ashes of experience† (Skloot). This is saying that Tennessee Williams is trying to create freedom for everybody through his works, because he does not want people to have to go through what he had to. Another character that gets hurt to show how his life was is Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire. She is so opposed of her past that she chooses to invent a history for herself with the intention of subverting reality. â€Å"That of climbing out of an abyss is appropriate in its description of his view of the human condition† (Skloot). Tennessee describes his own situation as a life of clawing and scratching along a sheer surface and holding on tight with raw fingers to every inch of rock higher than the one caught hold of before, but it was a good life because it was the sort of life for which the human organism is created. This is a perfect comparison between the life of Tennessee Williams and Blanche because of Blanche’s past and how she wanted to go back and change it. Williams would tie in his writings about his family life and personal experiences into the works. His sister, Rose, illness may have contributed to his alcoholism and his dependence on various combinations of amphetamines and barbiturates. â€Å"Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life† (Loney). In the Glass Menagerie there is a resemblance between Tennessee and the main character, Tom. And he had a disabled sister name Laura and they had a controlling mother named Amanda. This is a mirror image of Tennessee Williams life. William’s father was a heavy drinker and his loudly turbulent behavior caused them to move numerous times around the city. â€Å"Cornelius Williams was a man with a violent tempers, and was prone to use his fist† (Adler). Tennessee Williams used the play Glass Menagerie to show how his father was. The father in the play was very violent and was a drunk. He was mean to his children and his wife. This is also a mirror image of how Tennessee Williams tied used real life events to tie into his writings. Williams loved to have the presence of women over men in his works. The presence of women over men in his works helped him make remarkable plays because he could relate to the women and their life. One of the ways he could relate to them was how women struggled to make relationships with men who are unable or unwilling to make lasting relationships. â€Å"In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Maggie and Brick presumably had a satisfactory sexual relationship early in their marriage. Problems began to develop, however, when Maggie decided that Bricks close friendship with Skipper indicated homosexual tendencies† (Blackwell). this relates to Tennessee because he thought he had found the right partner for him and in the end problems would develop and it would end. This happened a lot in Tennessee Williams relationships. It started from the time he was with one of his first partners, Fred Melton, till the day he died. So Williams did this so he could relate to his personal life. Another reason Tennessee Williams choose to have the presence of women over men in his works was because women who have known happiness, but who have lost their mates and who try to overcome the loss. â€Å"The Princess Kosmonopolis in Sweet Bird of Youth (1959) is an aging actress who has known happiness with a lover and popularity with audiences. After losing both, she failed in a come- back effort as actress and embarked upon a search for another lover who could return her to reality† (Blackwell). This happened to Tennessee Williams almost every time he ended a relationship with his partner. He would fail at a comeback for his lover, and it would fail, and then would go out and find another partner to be with. Women were used more because of the unusual perception of women has let Williams display his talent. Women who have learned to be maladjusted through adjustment to abnormal family relationships which have strived to break through their bondage in order to find a mate. â€Å"Blanche DuBois of A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) was a dutiful child, remaining with her aged parents long beyond the marrying age for most women and later staying behind to try to save the family estate, while her sister, Stella, went out to find her place in the world. Since Blanche had adjusted to an abnormal family life, she was unable, when she had the opportunity, to relate to the so-called normal world of her sister† (Blackwell). Tennessee Williams was like this because he was so caught up in trying to pursue his career as a writer and would always end out of place and couldn’t find hid place in the world. This also happened when he would split from his partner because he was so into the pers on and would be lost when they would split. The last reason why Tennessee Williams choose to use women in his works more than men was because women who have subordinated themselves to a domineering and often inferior person in an effort to attain reality and meaning through communication with another person. â€Å"In Period of Adjustment (1960), Dotty Bates will tolerate insult and abuse from her husband Ralph, so long as their sexual relationship is satisfying† (Blackwell). Tennessee Williams life as a young man was like this. His father was very abusive and insulting to him. But he would be happy if his sexual relationship was satisfying with his partner. Williams’s father abused him for most of his life, and he would talk about that in his writings because he could relate to how if felt and make the audience feel his pain. Tennessee Williams was always listening to what the critics were saying and then would make sure to make his work better. â€Å"His writing had taken a new direction, that he had been developing a new kind of dramaturgy† (Loney). Even though the critics and audience failed to appreciate his new works and the style they were written. After all of this happened he fell into deep depression and had to be hospitalized. And when he was being hospitalized, that caused him to start becoming addicted to amphetamines. But this did not hurt his reputation for being the best American playwright. When he listened to the critics, this placed him up on a pedestal for being a talented playwright, screenwriter, short story writer and a novelist. â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire, in 1947, secured his reputation as a great playwright† (Loney). This wasn’t the only play he writes that put him to the top of the list for playwrights. Glass Menagerie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof also helped him get there. Because of the way the critics reviewed him only helped Tennessee Williams produce better plays. If the critics didn’t do what they did, we might not have the Tennessee Williams that we know today. Tennessee Williams was great at building friendships with other authors. They would help each other with their works. Adrienne Kennedy chose to be a playwright after seeing one of Tennessee Williams works, Glass Menagerie. â€Å"Kennedys fascination with Williams continued, especially with Streetcar† (Kolin). At the time her and Tennessee met, she had become fascinated with his work and ended up basing her work off his. Before they had a relationship with each other, she admits that she was intimidated of him and of his works. When they met, he told her she didn’t have any reason to ad he was there to help her on anything he needed. Adrienne Kennedy eventually used is works as a guideline for her works and then tried to imitate his works. â€Å"She was very much in awe of Tennessee Williams at the time and so I imitated him (Kolin). Before their friendship was started, she attended workshops at a local university on the reflection of Williams plays. She then met him at the Actors studio and their relationship boomed after they left from there. That is what has helped Adrienne Kennedy get to where she is today, by meeting Tennessee Williams. One of the great American playwright, Tennessee Williams, has produced some of the best works we will ever see. Even though his professional career only lasted 45 years, his works are still being used all over the world. Tennessee Williams was an important American playwright who tied in his personal life into his writings, and used women over men in his plays, and he compared his works to the other authors and critics. Williams will always be one the greatest American playwright in history.

My Locket Essay Example for Free

My Locket Essay He shuck my by the shoulders, banging my head against the wall. I collapsed to the floor, everything went black, and I woke it to find him on top of me defiling me in the worst possible way. I snapped, I had enough of been pushed around, I would face the devil. He brought his hand back ready to strike, at the same time I brought my foot back and kicked him really hard in the crotch; he doubled over and spat out in shock. He let go of me, he was on the floor doubled over. I looked around me; there was a statue that my dad got mum on their anniversary. Sorry dad, I thought, I turned to the devil still doubled over on the floor. You ruined everything I swung the statue over the mens head. He flopped down head first on to the floor, unconscious. He was still breathing. I ran up stairs, got the backpack from under my bed. I threw all I could find in it, clothes, a few pictures of dad and mum, all the money I had, my mobile. I went down stairs with my pack; he was still unconscious in the middle of our living room floor. I ran out the front door, and caught the next train to London. I didnt know what I was doing I just know that I cant stay here anymore. I thought there must be a better life but no that is how I ended down here in the cold dirty doorway. Chapter 3 I go out around rush hour, when everyone is going to work. I wandered around the middle of the square asking people for money. Please, some change, spare change nearly all the time it is the same answer no or worse f*** off but an odd person would be nice and give me something. I am saving up for a violin. I used to play the violin quite well when dad was alive. I could make some money busking instead of begging. I dont like begging, it is degrading, but then again how much could I be degraded, I am dirty. I would do the same in the afternoon, during the day then I would go around the backs of restaurants asking for any spare food, or scraps. Over the duration of my time on the streets I have learnt which are the restaurants where it is worth asking and ones that you have no chance. After, I would go outside shops and restaurants and ask people for money. But we have just got to watch out because some shop keepers move us on, or worst comes they would get security or the police on to us. This has been my daily routine for the last so many weeks, is this the rest of my life, I cannot go back, the shame. When it was the end of the day and the traffic was thinning the young where starting to come out to party and go to night club. I was in my door of the alleyway. I watched them all having a good time, the laughing and hilarity with friends. I am alone! Chapter 4 Liz locked the door behind her, as she finished a hard days work. She had, had a bad day organising the shop, the accounts, helping out customers. Does this look alright on me? , What do you think? The clothes she sells are all the range at the moment, so her shop is really busy all day long even when it isnt the childrens holidays. Liz really need the hire someone to help out. She ran down the steps.. * I watched the lady closing up a shop, dressed in her stylish black skirt and her expensive white blouse. She jogged down the stairs. What was she doing? She was looking at her phone as she walking into the road. There was a man in the van, paying no attention to the road. I was already running for the lady. * Liz walked out into the road, looking at the text she had got from my husband. COULD YOU PICK SOMETHING UP FOR LUNCH, he could never be bothered in make tea. Then she heard it.. she heard a bellow of a van horn. She looked around and there it was, she couldnt move, frozen to the spot. Then she heard a voice, a girl was running at here move, move out of the way he was coming at speed towards her.   I ran towards her as fast as I could, the van didnt slow down, he was not looking. Will I make it, the van was still moving at a speed. I bent over ready to tackle the lady out the path of the van. I ran in to the road shouting at her, I felt the impact of her thighs on my shoulder. She screamed, did I get to her in time. Chapter 5. I looked around me, there were clubber were all around, in shock of what they just witnessed. Just ahead of me was the lady that was in the middle of the road. She had a cut to her head but otherwise unhurt. Down the road the van stopped and the driver came running over to me. Everyone was talking to me at once, everything was a blur. Someone helped me up; he was saying something to me, I couldnt make it out. The lady came over and sat down beside me, she hugged me and whispered to me in my ear thank you, thank you for saving my life, how could I ever repay you. I was still in shock I tried to stand up but just flopped back down. The lady and the man from the van gave me a hand up. Bring her to my house it is just over the road. The house was enormous; I looked at it in shock. I have really had enough shocks for the day. The lady just smiled at me. We went up the white marble steps up to the dark brown oak front door. They opened the door into a laminate floored hall way, with light brown walls. They took me in the living room. It was huge white walls, cream fluffy carpet, and white and cream fabric sofa. I sat down; it was so warm, I am so grateful for the warmth. I was freezing in my old, dirty doorway for a such a long time, it seemed like forever. Now I am warm and safe in a gorgeous, modern well kept house. The lady came in with some hot tea and some biscuits. She had, had her head seen to now she had a big plaster on her forehead. Her husband came in after her, with a huge smile on his face. He came up to me and said thank you, for saving my wife, if you werent there I dont know what would have happened. The van driver provided his apologies to the lady; she smiled, embraced him and showed him out of her house. She came back to the living room where I was gulping down my tea, she sat down next to her husband. She introduced herself. I am Elizabeth and this is Mike, what is your name? Can we call you family or relatives? I shook my head and whispered my name is Bethany; I left home, I am not going back. Elizabeth and Mike exchanged looks. They were in the mid thirties. Elizabeth is quite beautiful with brown hair and blue eyes. Mike looked a bit more official, he had an expensive suit on. I tried to stand up I better be off, I dont want to be a burden on you anymore I stud up and walk to the door. Where are you going? Mike said as he walked up to me. Where ever I can I replied, they are such a nice couple, and theyre doing well in life. Then they blurted out stay with us at least for tonight till you feel better, we dont have anyone else living with us. We have lots of space here; we cant let you go back out there. Please we insist you stay with us. They smiled at each other, picked up my back pack and showed me to a spare bedroom. Chapter 6 3 years later Well now I am with my new family, I love them so much. They took me in from the streets; removed my shame and understood my problems. My other family didnt look for me, they were dead to me. My new family enrolled my into school as soon as possible, gave me my own room and bought me clothes. They treat me like their daughter, a daughter they never had. I have just finished school in the centre of London called All Saints. I am walking away with 10 good GCSEs and 2 A Levels. I worked so hard to repay Elizabeth and Mike for all the generosity and kindness, they are my new family; my new mum and dad; I love them so much. I am going to Cambridge University to study science and politics and have a part time job with my mum and here fashion shop. My locket is still round my neck but now my real family are within my locket and close to my heart. I still love my birth father but Mike and Elizabeth are my saviours. They were not blessed with children, so they adopted me as their own. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Difference Between The Syrian And American Culture History Essay

Difference Between The Syrian And American Culture History Essay The Syrian culture involves the culture of the Syrians who are the citizens of the United States of the Syrian nationality or ancestry and also the Syrians living in Syria. The culture of the Syrians is their own culture that they were practicing in their indigenous place while the American culture includes ideals, values, arts, traditions, customs, beliefs and innovations that were developed both locally and imported through immigration and colonization from the British Isles. Most of the prevalent ideals and ideas that evolved domestically in the American culture such as the significant national holidays, American sports, innovations in the entertainment and arts, and proud military tradition give the Americans a strong important sense of national pride among the whole population (Richard Donald, 1991). Syrians highly value strong family ties. Unlike the young Americans, the young Syrians find it unnecessary to leave their families in order to set up their independence; the main reason being that the Syrian society just like the wider Eastern world, the North Africa and the Southwest Asia, place great and high emphasis on the entire group rather than on the individual alone. In the west world, the individual is primary whereas the group is referred to being secondary. In the Syrian societies, the social status and respect are quite important. The men are respected for their sincerity and financial success or also their honesty. The Syrians are always and mostly characterized by their graciousness and magnanimity, ethics which are fundamental to the life of the Syrian. These are however virtuous characteristics but the Syrians have been criticized and all Arabs in general because they have the tendency toward equivocation, overstatement, intense emotionalism, intractability, and at m ost times aggressiveness. The Americans are known to highly encourage individual independence (Alan, 2003). The Syrian music is included in culture and also includes several styles and genres of music that ranges from Arabic pop music to Arab classical and from sacred to secular music. The Syrian music is mostly characterized by an emphasis on rhythm and melody rather than harmony. Some genres are polyphonic of the music of Syrian but most of it is homophonic. Syrian music is known because of the predominance of the vocal music. The musical instruments that the Syrians use include violin, rabab, Ney, oud, tableh, kanun, and riq. The Jews who lived in Syria sang the pizmonim. The modern Syrian music has also incorporated some other instruments from the West which include the cello, electric guitar, oboe and double bass and this includes influences from other jazz and also other foreign musical styles (Alixa, 2003). On the other hand, the American contemporary music is heard all over the world and the artists are famous globally. There is also live music that is popular with high top touring bands which carry the legacy of all jam bands. The popular music among the Americans contains several styles of music that were developed in the United States. These include the hip-hop, country, pop, RB, rock roll, swing, blues, jazz, funk, house among many others. They use the modern instruments partly because it is among the developed regions in the world and has many people who have migrated into the United States and therefore they have the modern culture of music unlike the Syrians (Bashkow, 2006). At the federal level, the Americans have no official language although 30 states have already passed a legislation making their official language to be English and it is now considered to be de facto language nationally. The Syrians on the other hand are Arabic speakers especially the widely known Syrian Arabic which is a dialect belonging to the family of dialects known as Levantine Arabic. The Syrians understand and comprehend the dialects of most of the Arabs. Most of the aged Syrian families are slowly losing their linguistic traditions because most of the parents are not teaching the children any Arabic language. The newer immigrants are well able to maintain their language traditions. The census that was carried out in 2000 showed that nearly 80% of the Syrians who live in America are able to speak English very well. Some of the Syrians are also familiar with French language because in the years between 1918 and 1943 the Lebanon and Syria were under the French rule. There are a lso classes in the United States that offer the Arabic language tutorials (Gosden, 2001). The religion in America is widespread and plays a big role in the lives of the Americans and it is the only country among the developed countries that practices the highest percentage of religious practices. The CIA carried out a survey in the year 2002, and came up with the following report. There are many religions that are practiced in the United States by the Americans unlike the Syrians who are not so much subdivided in terms of their religion. The American Christian comprises 78.5 percent where the Protestants comprise of 51.3 percent, the Roman Catholic comprises of 23.9 percent, the Mormon comprises 1.7 percent and other Christians comprise 1.6 percent. The Jewish religion comprises of only 1.7 percent, the Buddhist comprise of 0.7 percent, the Muslim religion comprises of 0.6 percent of the Americans, the unaffiliated comprises of 12.1% of the Americans, the unspecified Americans comprise of 2.5% and there is a 4% of the Americans who do not belong to any religion (CIA, 2002 ). The Syrians on the other hand are mostly Greek Orthodox. Other Syrians are Catholics who are sub-divided into different types depending on their language and the way that the church services are conducted and also the belief in papal infallibility. Only a few of the Syrians are Protestants. There are also Syrian Muslims who came into the United States after 1965 and are divided into various sects. These are Sunni sect which comprises of 74% of the Syrian Muslims; Alawite sect which originated in Shia Islam though these Muslims argue that there are no enough mosques in the United States and hence are not able to carry out their religious obligations well as required. There are also Syrian Jews who settled mostly in New York in 1908 and there are about 50,000 Syrian Jews who live in the United States (Meyers, 1999). The Americans observe holidays that are derived from the history of the United States, national patriarchs, and religious traditions. The Halloween is one of the widely observed traditions in the United States. This involves dressing up in costumes and also an emphasis on the frightening and bizarre. The Americans also celebrate their Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. This is the anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence from the Great Britain Kingdom. This anniversary is observed by shooting of fireworks throughout the night and parades throughout the day (Ball, 1998). On the other hand, the Syrians celebrate many religious holidays just like the Americans. These include Christmas and Easter holidays for the Christians. But because most of the Syrians are Eastern Orthodox, they celebrate their Easter Sunday on a different Sunday other than the one celebrated by the other Americans in the United States. Few of the Syrians celebrate their independence day on April 17. The Syrian Jews celebrate the holidays of Jews such as Passover, Purim, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, Shavuot and Yom Kippur. There is a similarity between the Syrians and the Americans in their culture as they celebrate some holidays together such as Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving Day. The Syrian Muslims also celebrate the Muslim holidays such as Ramadan, Eid Ul-Fitr and the Eid ul-Adha (Allan, 2003). Most of the earliest Syrian immigrants arrived in the U.S. in search of better jobs and they engaged mostly in basic commerce especially in peddling. These Syrian Americans who were peddlers found their peddling jobs to be comfortable because it needed only mediocre vocabulary and little training. These people served as the medium for distribution for the small products of the manufacturers and this was mostly in dry goods and clothing. Most of these peddlers from Syria were hardworking and therefore successful and were able to raise enough capital to own their own businesses. They became importers and wholesalers and recruited many others and they became successful (Alixa, 1993). The Syrians started to work in different mÃÆ' ©tiers where many worked as engineers, lawyers and physicians; others worked in auto industry and later they were able to work in large fields such as computer science, medicine and banking. The Syrians have a different distribution in terms of occupation than all the Americans. According to a census that was carried out in 2000, 42 percent of the Syrians worked in professional and management occupations, compared with only 34 percent of their counterparts in the entire population. The same census showed that more Syrians worked in the sales jobs than all other American workers. The Syrians were seen to work less in other domains such as transportation, construction, and farming among others than all other American workers. The median level of income earnings for the Syrian women and men is greater than the median of national earning. The Syrian men who were employed earned about $46,058 annually, compared with the $37,057 for the Amer icans and also $41,687 for the Arab Americans. The Syrian families had a greater median income than all other families and also had lower poverty rates when compared with the rest of the general population. The traditional dressing is not common among both the Syrians and the Americans. However, the modern Western clothing is more common and conventional in both the Americans and the Syrians. This is a common practice between the two communities. However, the Syrians wear a shirwal when performing ethnic dances which are baggy, loose pants with some elastic waist. Some of the Syrian women are used to wearing a headscarf to cover their hair usually known as hijab and this is also the case in the American Muslims (Richard Donald, 1991). Dating and marriage among the Syrians is widely and largely acceptable. The traditionalist and conservative Syrians prefer the arranged relationships and openly disfavor the casual dating. The Muslims are allowed to date after a ceremonial engagement has been carried out only with other Muslims and then the two stay together for some time and thereafter a wedding takes place. The Syrians have intermarried with other American Muslims because they share similarities. However there are also differences the marriages of the Syrians are very strong and this is shown by the low rates of divorce among the Syrians unlike in the American families where divorce rates are relatively high. The Syrians tend to bear more children above the average American partners and these Syrians also tend to bear children at their early stages in their marriages. According to the census that was carried out in 2000 in the United States, nearly 62 percent of the Syrians households comprised of married-couple ho useholds unlike in the American households (Allan, 2003). Both the Syrians and the Americans place high premium on education and view education as an important necessity in an individualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s life and therefore the children of both the communities are taken to school when they reach the age of schooling. However, the Syrians are more highly educated than the average American. The 2000 census revealed that the proportion of the Syrians who have achieved a bachelorà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s degree or even higher is 1.5 times that of the American total population. These Syrians now work as druggists, medical doctors, scientists and engineers (Bashkow, 2006). The men and the women in Syria socialize separately except on the rare occasions when the entire family is involved. The art of conversations is a highly prized skill and social interactions are valued a lot. Syrians of the same sex are seen to interact more rather than the interaction between the opposite sexes. The Syrians are affectionate people unlike the Americans who do not mind what other people are doing. The interaction is mostly between opposite sex because of the covert culture of the Syrians and the overt culture of the Americans who are open to embrace culture that will help them to advance (Meyers 1999). In the Syrian culture, the men are considered to be highly ranked than the women whereas the American culture takes these the two, male and female as equal and can be able to carry out all the duties. These two cultures have are different and differ though they still have similarities.

Race Essays -- essays research papers

Although I was able to witness many different examples of inequalities in most of my daily encounters, a situation occurred that has had the ability to overshadow all of my other observations. While at work, I was able to have a conversation with a co-worker about her father’s recent loss of a job promotion. What makes this situation, such a powerful example of the force of stratification is more that just the conversation that took place but also in the context in which I had it and regrettably in my response to the conversation. I am still unclear as how our discussion began, but none the less, a co-worker, Sally and I engaged in a conversation that focused on why her father, a military Chaplain was â€Å"passed up† for a recent promotion. During my conversation with Sally, she brought up that her father had been recently â€Å"passed up† for a promotion in the Armed Forces because of racial discrimination. I was not overly shocked that Sally would say something of this nature to me, given our background of hearty debates. Intrigued, I asked Sally to explain what she meant by â€Å"passed up† because of racial discrimination. Sally proceeded to explain to me that her father had been â€Å"overlooked† at his last promotion to help fill racial quotas in the military. Sally continued her explanation, stating that her father and his loss of a promotion was a direct result of Affirmative Action. She furthered her explanation that as the population of the military becomes more diverse, in her word...

Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the dawn of time, the forces of evil have always tried to gain an upper hand over the forces of good. The battles between these two forces have transcended time in both different forms and in different places. Every culture since the birth of man has background stories of creation and the battles that are waged between the two forces of light and dark. Leaving in the aftermath, stories and legends that are passed down from generation to generation through the vast cultures and civilizations. Beginning with the use of oral traditions that took these stories and the use of spoken word to both inform and entertain the people of a given society. These tales also had another purpose, which was to remind the people of the evils that were around them. Lurking in the shadows, waiting to claim another victim in the war of good and evil. Such stories fed on the fears of the people and the uncertainty of the world around them. Although the stories themselves may differ considerably from region to region, the basic underlying theme has always been identical. With the coming into being of written word, these stories could now be put down for people to read and serve as a reminder of their folklore. Not only to them, but to future people who come to read these documents. We have been lucky in the fact that over the last few hundred years, we have recovered many works from all over the world, dating back through years that had been long forgotten to many of us. In a great many of these works we have come into contact with many tales of heroism and the fight between good and evil. Just as the heroism in these stories may take on different faces, so does the evil present itself in many different guises. This brings us to one work in specific, Beowulf, one of the earliest Old English poems that we have today. It is the embodiment of the struggle between good and evil. The poem begins with the funeral of Scyld, the mythical founder of the Danish Royal House. One of his descendants builds a great hall called Heorot, and it is here that the people gather to rejoice and sing the praises of G-d. This singing angers a vile fiend named Grendel, that inhabits the nearby bog. The poet describes Grendel in this way:

Process Of Globalization Has Led To Changes In Crime

The globalization of crime has become a renowned problem for the law worldwide; as societies become more interconnected, an act in one country can have repercussions in another which is across another continent. This is primarily down to technological developments, as nowadays communication between countries is simple compared to decades ago. Alongside this transport is also a major problem, as it means that illegal activities can take place in more than one country as goods are transferred between the two, allowing the criminal world to reach all corners of the world.The idea that globalization has produced new opportunities for crime is supported by Held et al (1999), who suggest that it has also led to new means of committing crime as well as there being new offences to commit. On the surface we may deem this to be due to knowledge of certain crimes and processes being shared between associates in each country, introducing the new ways and means to try and gain the upper hand on t he out of touch police, however we must look at the situation in more business like terms: supply and demand.Held et al found that the western civilizations generally had more demand for certain aspects of crime, such as drugs and illegal sexual encounters. Not being able to produce enough within their own civilizations, other parts of the world (notably South America for drugs) come into play. Due to them having the raw materials, whether it be drug ingredients or ability to kidnap etc. they are able to supply the west with the products they need, thus building greater connections between the continents worldwide.Globalization has not only had an effect of physical crime, but also a substantial impact on cybercrimes. As we have become ever more reliant on computer based technology in our lives, computer hackers are continuously given new opportunities to hack servers and reek havoc with our lives through activities such as hacking a bank account, or even as extreme as invading secr et service servers to gain information causing a national risk. As technology is used worldwide, it is in no way hard to get your hands on, or learn how to use computers etc.One of the most significant problems with cybercrime is it’s secretive nature; many protection devices which can be cracked will not pick up that they have been, therefore the majority of cybercrime will go unnoticed for a substantial amount of time. Combined with the world wide web, hackers can use the computers to gain information from any organisation around the world, penetrating even the most impenetrable organisations to get what they want, highlighting how technology has led to the process of globalization within the criminal world.Looking away from technology, globalization has also been affected by human nature, as they explore the world and discover new things. Ever since the slave trade, human trafficking has been a highly significant problem, as people are transported across continents for oth er peoples’ benefit. Nowadays, the purposes of these people may have changed from the days of agriculture and manual labour into more modern work such as prostitution and organ removal, but the methodology behind it is still similar.This highlights that the process of globalization is not something that is new, but that instead some aspects of it were created centuries ago. Some people may argue that the increased connections between countries has helped prevent or limit crimes committed compared to if there was no globalization. War crimes such as genocide and nuclear alms amongst others are dealt with by organisations such as the United Nations and NATO, where after and event is known to have occurred/be occurring they will convene and attempt to prevent any further crimes being committed.This is evident in the NATO strikes on Syria in 2012, where they used force in an attempt to stop Dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s tyrannical reign affecting more people. Sociologists dis pute whether this in fact is the case as one of the most significant reasons for the interconnectedness of crime between societies can be put down to each individual police force having different standards. Without any universal guidelines, they are each able to focus on certain aspects and neglect others.Alongside this, stereotypes highlight how some police officers, and even forces, are corrupted by organised crime gangs and therefore allow the criminal activity to take place, which in turn allows for more crime to be committed. This is evident in activities such as drug trafficking, where in the Middle East and South America criminals are able to bribe police to allow shipments and containers to travel abroad. Taylor (1997), a socialist, looked at the impact of global capitalism on crime. He stated that it allows multinational corporations to move from country to country in search for profitability, regardless of the expense.This is reinforced by the fact many companies outsource their factories and products to be created in LEDC’s such as India and Bangladesh, using the workforce for cheap labour, reducing the costs of the goods. Vastly debated whether or not it is officially criminal, it still highlights how a multinational company can abuse individuals via globalization. Globalization’s impact on the media has also had a knock-on effect on corporate crime in terms of capitalism. As the media becomes accessible worldwide, the consumerist lifestyle is continuously portrayed to people to make them desire more, something which Taylor dislikes.Not only does this keep the corporate crimes reaping the rewards and collecting more profit, but it also leads to them losing substantial amounts every year through stealing and shoplifting. Estimated to be at a cost of  £4. 4 billion in UK stores alone, the personal desire for products which a person can not afford leads them to take such risks to gain what they want. With this, global capitalism essent ially leads to global crime in terms of theft. Hobbs and Dunningham observed two key patterns within the globalisation of crime, the first being the ‘Glocal Organization’.This refers to the fact that whilst crime often operates internationally, they are also still rooted in a local context. It operates as a ‘ghlocal’ system, where it is locally based but has international connections. This in turn also means that more crime would be committed on a whole, as there would be opportunities for international associates to engage in crime also. McMafia is the second pattern they observed in organised crime. Glenny refers to the introduction of organized crime gangs emerging from the fall as communism, taking advantage in the new environment that is capitalism.Criminal organizations are vital to capitalism within the criminal, as it is material wealth that motivates them to take such high risks to gain more. All in all, in my view, which I feel is substantially su pported by the evidence in this essay, is that globalization has led to new types and opportunities for crime. Ultimately I feel the main reason for this is down to technological developments, whether it be in communications or manufacturing, almost every aspect of crime is benefitted by technological advances.

Crictical Examination of the Main Features Renaissance Humanism

THE CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE RENAISANCE HUMANISM OUTLINE -BRIEF INTRODUCTION -RENAISANCE -HUMANISM -THE SIGNIF ICANT EVENTS IN THE RENAISANSE PERIOD -THE CHAMPIONS OF RENAISANCE HUMANISM -RENAISANCE HUMANISM AND THE REFORMATION -EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION BRIEF INTRODUCTION In the history of the world, many remarkable periods have been referred to most often due to perhaps great events that have led to a turn-around in the thoughts and general lives of the people. One of such periods is the renaissance humanism.The renaissance humanism is a term used to designate a period in history that is so spectacular and significant owing to its evolutionary of features. Renaissance here serves as an adjective to the word humanism; not any other type of humanism but the humanism of the renaissance period. This period falls from 14th to 16th century AD. The Church is and shall always be a society within a society. The relatedness between the church and the state or civil so ciety has ever brought a kind of exchange in operations and thoughts.Thus, one of the causes of the renaissance humanism is not far from what happened and was happening in the church as at that time. Consequently, the effect of the renaissance period could be said to have been felt by he church in many ways and more especially as it went as far as forming a foundation for the â€Å"reformation† championed by such a personality like Martin Luther However , we shall explain in details what each of these terms mean, why they are called so , the key players or those that championed such an important period in history, the important features of renaissance humanism and it s evaluation and conclusion.In the course of this discourse, the approach shall be critical. WHAT IS RENAISSANCE? In the literary sense, it means â€Å"Rebirth†. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary ( 7th edition) defined it as â€Å"the period in Europe during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries when people became in the ideas and culture of ancient Greece and Rome and used these influences in their art, literature etc†.The Encyclopedia Britannica explaining the Renaissance says it is; â€Å"literally â€Å"rebirth,† the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages, conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values. The Renaissance also witnessed the discovery and exploration of new continents, the substitution of the Copernican for the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the decline of the feudal system and the growth of commerce, and the invention or application of such potentially powerful innovations as paper, printing, the mariner's compass, and gunpowder.To the scholars and thinkers of the day, however, it was primarily a time of the revival of classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation†. This period appears to have a sharp break from religious and medieval values. Great historians like Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt say that it is the â€Å"rediscovery of the world and man† and if this is so, it is more on the areas of literature and art. It is also within this renaissance period that the industrial revolution and the French revolution took place.So, the intellectual ventures of this period never hung on the air nor did it end in an utopia idealism but it manifested in many facets of the government of many countries in Europe. The Catholic Church was not also left out in this trend or historical situation as we shall see later. WHAT IS HUMANISM? Humanism as the name suggests imply a movement that has a significant focus on man. It is an intellectual movement. In the medieval ages, the scholastics and many religious thinkers influenced the people and the world ideas but during the humanistic period, the thoughts came from secular men or men of letters.Great minds like Dante della Mirandola, Collucio Saluti and Lorenza Valla were the earliest champions. Its earliest manifestation could be traced to Italy before it spread to many parts of Europe. All these happened before the reformation and counter-reformation. In fact, humanism was one of the factors that gave rise to the reformation. In specific sense, the period of humanism was characterized by many things; the human nature was the centre and focus as the name rightly implies. It was full of syncretism as it tried to fuse philosophical and theological truths together.Humanism was really out to revive the human spirit and wisdom that appeared to be lost. Instead of the medieval emphasis on penance as the noblest human activity, the emphasis brought by humanism was on how man could be creative and have mastery over nature. THE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE RENAISANCE HUMANISM The renaissance humanism started around 14th to the 15th century AD. But it was preceded by an era known as the â€Å"proto-renaissance† in the late 13 th and early 14th centuries. It was the era of arts championed by great artists like St. Francis with his radicalism.Art works and ornamental edifices prevalent in this era came from the Church. The popes made great marks in building classic churches as we could see in the Vatican city where we have the largest church in the world; the St. Peter’s Basilica. Thus, the world of arts in Europe could not be discussed without making reference to the popes. However, there was an upsurge of nude art works or nudity in their sculptures. This influence came from the Greek and pagan values but was never restricted in religious arts as such irrespective of their offensive meanings.This was because the Greek pagans had great reverence for the naked body. We could then say that what prepared the ground for the renaissance humanism was mainly from the church and the fruits of the renaissance period which led to the reformation fell back to the church also. Therefore, we could say that the renaissance humanism started when the literary world and the world of arts was so charged. At the same time the church was leading but her great strides were infiltrated or became mixed with pagan/ Greek values that were seemingly unacceptable.Thus, the European world saw the reason to question the church’s consistency in the religious matters and the absolute attribute of things to God or religion. THE CHAMPIONS OF RENAISSANCE HUMANISM The earliest humanists were Dante Della Mirandola, Lorenzo Valla and Coluccio Salutati. But after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, many scholars went to Italy to research and go acquainted with many books together with the knowledge of the Greek traditional arts. In the northern Europe we fin people like Desiderius Erasmus who came up with the praise of the folly (1509).This depicts the moral essence of humanism. He preferred heartfelt goodness to formalistic piety. We could also recall that the founder of the renaissance painting was Masac cio (1401-14280). Boccaccio (1313-1375 wrote the first sexual literature since the Late Latin writers. Nicholas Machiavelli (1469-1527) really mocked honesty and integrity in politics in his writings as it is farfetched. However, renaissance Humanism was not totally paganistic as perceived by many people as we see its religious relevance. We have the Christian humanists who began many schools.Around the 15th centuries, more than twenty fine new universities were established. St. Francis, who abandoned the traditional theological practices, went about in identifying with the poor and raising the beauty of nature inspired the works of many artists of his time as the paintings that reflect the beauty of nature became prevalent. Biblical studies boomed higher as Hebrew was now being studied. Cardinal Ximenes de Cisneros (1436-1517) published a multilingual Bible too and when Johann Gutenberg invented printing, copies of these literary works and arts were made available to more people.We shall not also hesitate to note that some scholars and thinkers fought against the structural and dogmatic stand of the Catholic Church. An example is John Wycliffe (1329-1384). He denied the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and the necessity of the priesthood. Girolamo Savanarola (1452-1498) after making much converts through his powerful preaching destroyed it with hiss fanatic activities. RENAISANCE HUMANISM AND THE REFORMATION The reformation took place around the 16th century AD.Encyclopedia Britannica says; â€Å"It was a religious revolution that took place in the western world†. The champions are Martin Luther (1483-1546) as the chief and John Calvin (1509-1564). Martin Luther was a German priest (An Augustinian Friar) and highly intelligent scholar. He was so worried with the situation in the moral and spiritual situation of the church as the church mixed up so much with the imperial powers. She introduced the indulgence for the building of the Vatican City. Thus, the indulgence was being sold for material things.The immoral lives of the clergy and the political practices that went on in the church left the scrupulous mind of Luther more bothered. Thus, Luther resorted to writing the ninety five these. This document was against the papacy, the infallibility of the Church. He also upheld grace, faith and the belief in the scriptures as the sure means of obtaining salvation. This was in sure contrast to the church’s teachings about penance. John Calvin with his Calvinism gave the Protestants a doctrinal basis.He believed in the doctrine of predestination, thus, for him God cannot really forgive someone. One can only perceive that he has the grace by faith but may not really have it. The Renaissance humanism gave a plain background for the Reformation. We could say that the reformation is the climax of the humanism. What was left uncriticised directly was what Martin Luther boldly spoke against but though in an extreme manner. There have been arguments on whether the reformation could have taken place if Luther had not done what he did.But, one could observe that the ground was already ripe and charged for a serious reformation in the church as at the time of Martin Luther. EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION Renaissance humanism gave a good intellectual background for the reformation. The different unbecoming cases and situations that were coming from the church started making the people to loose confidence in the Divine origin of the church. Hence, the possibilities that lie in the human powers were sought during the renaissance humanism but in the reformation, it was sought in the religious angle but against the church directly.BIBLIOGRAPHY Norbert Brockman, SM et al, A history of the Catholic Church; Paulines publication Africa, 1991 Oxford Advanced Leaner’s Dictionary, 7th edition Schreck, A. , The Compact History of the Catholic Church, Bangalore: St. Pauls Press, 1987 Brockman, N. , and Pescantini, U . , A History of the Catholic Church, Akure: Don Bosco Centre, 1991 Nwachukwu, L. , The Journey of our Faith, Readings of some major events in the Life of the Catholic Church, vol. 1, Owerri: Skill Mark Media LTD, 2009

Political Participation in the UK Essay

In a country based on representative democracy, a ‘fair’ system, it is questionable to say we as the public make the most of this opportunity. Whilst other nations are fighting against the intense grips of dictatorships, as we have seen recently in Libya and Egypt, we live in a system in which to instigate change, we simply have to turn up at a ballot box and cast a vote. But with voting numbers continuously dwindling, does the United Kingdom have a participation crisis? The most efficient way to judge this is to go straight to the figures, and on first glance the statistics are startling. The percentage of people that voted in 2001 was an astonishing record low of 59%, down over 10% from the previous election in 1997. Comparing both of these results to a 83.9 voting percentage of 1950, shows a dramatic change in the value the British people place in their vote. The two recent elections however in 2005 and 2010 have bucked this trend, achieving percentages of 61.5 and 65 giving the impression that voting is on the rise. But with only these two results showing increases in recent history, it is impossible to view this as a positive correlation. When looking at these figures we have to look at the groups of people who didn’t exercise their right to vote, with the majority of them falling in to the 18 to 24 year old category. Only 44% of the 18 to 24 age group casted a ballot in the 2010 election in comparison to the 76% turnout figure of the over 65’s. The general consensus of the political spectrum of the youth population is that it is firmly to the left. Given these facts it is arguable to say that if the turn out for the 2010 general election had been higher, we could have easily had a Labour or Liberal Democrat government which would have had major effects on the current policies in place in the UK. To go even further, if the voting percentage had been 100% in all the previous elections, it is claimable that every government the UK has had would be different, effectively changing nea rly every policy that has been put into place in the past. When looked at with this perspective, we can see the incredible importance of voting and political participation has in our lives. When looking simply at the turnout figures of the recent general elections we can see that participation in the UK is in a dangerous decline. Another factor we need to take into consideration is the decline of party membership in the UK. Similar to the steady decline of voting figures since 1950, all three major parties membership has dropped significantly over the last six decades. The Conservative party has seen the most severe decline in membership, from having over 2,900,000 members in 1951 falling to a mere 250,000 in 2008. This trend is shown within the ranks of the Labour and the Liberal Democrat parties as well, with the only noticeable exception is the rise in the Labour party in 1997, rising from 280,000 to 405,000. This however, can be contributed to the rise of Tony Blair with ‘New Labour’ and ‘Blairism’ which gripped the country in the late 20th century. Following this though, the Labour parties membership continued to fall and by 2008 had reached a low of 166,000. Tony Blair’s biographer Anthony Seldon has made the link between declining levels of public trust in formal politics and the decline in party membership, however it is difficult to prove a simple link such as this exists. With these dramatic declines in voting participation and party membership, some would claim that it is difficult to argue that there is not a political participation crisis gripped the UK. On the other hand though, there has been rises in other forms of political participation. Whilst collective acts such as party membership has been on decline, individual direct action, in some cases has been on the rise. With consumer issues being one of the main causes the public has more intensely rallied around. The Power inquiriy in 2006 highlighted these changes in political participation, with traditional forms such as party membership seeing dramtatic decreases, whereas involvement with pressure groups and protest movements seeing dramatic increases. In the year 2000, 31% of the public claimed that they had boycotted products for ethical reasons, whether this can be contributed to the rise of the media and social desirability or not it shows a dramatic rise from the 4% that boycotted products in 1984. This shows perhaps that although a part of society has lost faith in the political process and the value of their votes, they instead prefer to take actions they believe that they will be directly making a difference and contributing politically. The phenomenon of the rise of the media and the internet over the last 60 years has allowed new systems of political participation to develop. An example of this is e-petitions. E-petitions are an easy way for anyone to influence government policy in the UK. With anyone being able to create an e-petition about anything that the government is responsible for, it allows people to get involved at a more direct level and definitely attracts the younger generation to get involved. If a petition gets at least 100,000 signatures, it will be eligible for debate in the House of Commons. These ways of participation makes it easier for people to get involved and allows the public to voice their opinions on particular subjects, almost seeming like a direct democracy in comparison to the representative democracy we have in the UK. Another argument that there is not a participation crisis in the UK is the huge turnouts in political protests over the last decade, with possibly the most poignant of these being the protests against the Iraq war in 2003. With over one and half million people taking to the streets of London, the British public showed they are not afraid to have their voices heard. A more recent example of a political protest, is the student tuition fees demonstrations in 2010, with over 50,000 taking to the streets. A British Election Study stated that in 1979, 20% of respondents would be willing to go on a protest demonstration, this number had risen to 33 % by 2000. Added to this, an increase in illegal political demonstrations, notably the London riots earlier this year, shows us that people are much more likely to take to the streets to demonstrate than they were in previous decades. This shows that although different forms of political participation are on the rise, they are arguably much less important than voting. Taking into consideration that the government merely acknowledged these particular protests and continued with their policies anyway, shows us the lack of impact these forms of participation have in contrast with voting. In the UK today we can see a growing trend of a decrease in traditional participation, but an increase in new forms and less traditional participation. This can be contributed to a number of factors, including the decline in public trust in formal politics and the rise of the media and internet, which allows people to organise and take part in other types of participation. This shows that generally there is not a participation crisis in the UK, with the majority of the public getting involved in some sort of political participation, with only 15% taking no political actions in the year 2000. However, the forms of participation that are growing in popularity are shown to have less effect on the political process of the UK, with the Iraq demonstrations of 2003 and the Student Protests of 2010 resulting in no change of political policy and the e-petitions only resulting in a political debate. This highlights the importance of traditional participation and the problems with the more popular forms of participation. Perhaps a more poignant question would be, does our representative democracy really represent the views of the public, as in reality these new forms of participation should have resulted in more of an effect on UK policy. To describe the current political participation as a crisis is far to extreme, as the figures show the majority of the British public readily get involved. At the present time there is not a crisis in the UK’s political participation, but if the trends continue, we could be faced with one in the coming years, but as long as the public remain involved at some level there can be no crisis.

The New Left: A Movement of Change

Jordan Hunter The New Left: A Movement of Change Some people have characterized the New Left as an era of youth revolts and radical movements. However, the New Left was a combination of everything that took place through the 1950’s to the mid 1970’s. It was an age that consisted of women and gays questioning their roles and rights in society to African Americans fighting to gain equal rights and ban segregation.Many people in the world today and back then would argue that there is no such thing as the New Left, but how could you not recognize something that changed history and the way the world viewed citizenship, equality, and human rights? I definitely believe that the New Left Movement existed and that all the people and organizations that Gosse categorized with this movement belong there. One of the major radical movements in the beginning of the New Left was African American’s fight to gain all the ideologies America said they were about.In the Declaration o f Independence it is stated that all people are â€Å"created equal† and have â€Å"inalienable rights†, so many people, especially of other races, questioned why they were not as equal as whites in society. African Americans were made to be completely separated from whites by society and the laws it had put in place by using public facilities, schools, businesses, and even transportation to make this happen. As the separation progressed many movements and protests began to arise in order to put an end to the discrimination and achieve equality.The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the many protests that took place during this radical movement. In this document Rosa Parks gives her account of how she refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man and was arrested because of it. Refusing to give up her seat was just one of the small movements Parks did in order to show the world how unequal America had become, even over a simple seat on a bus. This movement also g ave African Americans the attitude of â€Å"Well, let’s fight it out-if it means going to jail then go to jail (4). As this attitude began to spread across the country, so did the rise of many important African American leaders. Perhaps, the most well known of these was Martin Luther King Jr. MLK was about gaining equality and human rights for African Americans, but doing so in a peaceful way; that’s why so many people admired him and what he preached. He led many campaigns throughout much of the 1960’s which began to slowly gain results. One of the major things MLK and his followers were campaigning for was a civil rights bill to be passed.Many walks, rallies, and protests were held in order to get then president, John F. Kennedy, to propose the bill and have it pass. In the year of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama the climax of the civil rights campaign was reached, forcing JFK to commit to proposing a civil rights bill. However, because of how big and radical thi s campaign was, MLK was arrested and made to spend the night in a Birmingham jail. There he wrote a letter in response to an advertisement from white clergy asking him to shut down the campaign.In the letter, MLK explains why African Americans were campaigning for this and that they wouldn’t stop until they achieved what they had been working so diligently for (13). As a result of the campaign in Birmingham and the letter MLK had written, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The act banned public and private discrimination against African Americans and any other racial, ethnic or minority group. It also banned excluding someone from a job or a public accommodation because of the way they looked or where they were from and worshiped.This act changed many things for African Americans and other minorities’ lives, especially when it came to utilizing good jobs (16). Another major radical movement of the New Left was women’s fight to gain the same rights as men h ad in society. Many women had become fed up with the idea that their only place in life was to cook and clean and only worry about things like her looks and status in society. Most women in America were well educated and held very important jobs, granted they were in a man’s organization.One of women’s first steps to call attention to the growing movement was the publication of Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique. In Friedan’s book she discusses how society has given a step by step guide on how a woman should act, dress, and live her everyday life. She explores how womanhood has lost focus of the equality so many women had devoted their lives to achieving and why women couldn’t recognize that they weren’t being given the same fairness in choosing their lives as men were (12). After the publication of The Feminine Mystique many women soon began to question their roles in society.In the year of 1964, two women, Casey Hayden and Mary Kin g, started a collection of women’s thoughts on being excluded from any role of power other than running a household and catering to their families needs. The spread of women’s thoughts and arguments on every aspect of the growing debate soon began to spark the birth of many women’s rights groups (21). One of the most well known women’s rights groups was the National Organization for Women, otherwise known as NOW. NOW’s goal was to call attention to the fact that so many women had been living a dependent lifestyle for the past generation.They focused on how women could hold jobs on their own, provide for themselves, and have a choice in their sexuality, marriage, and reproduction. Women were beginning to understand that they were going to have to take matters into their own hands and fight for equality since â€Å"there is no civil rights movement to speak for women, as there has been for Negroes and other victims of discrimination. The National Or ganization for Women must therefore begin to speak†¦(23). † The growing debate over sexuality was also becoming a major radical movement during the New Left.Many people were beginning to discover their true nature, but were too afraid to let the public become aware of it for the fear of being excluded from society. However, in 1950 a man by the name of Harry Hay and other members created a â€Å" homophile† group called the Mattachine Society that concentrated on giving gays confidence in coming out and still being an important part of society. Their goal was to unify, educate, and lead people of the gay community and those who were heterosexual and did not fully understand the reason for the â€Å"homophile† group (1).As the growing rate of gays grew, so did their desire to participate in politics and have a powerful role in helping with the movement. America wasn’t fully comfortable with this want, because they had the idea that gays were not fully capable of doing the same job as a heterosexual person involved in politics. Many others didn’t want to see a civil rights act be passed for gays because they believed they should be kept separate from society simply because they were different.Due to this growing attitude of American citizens, the GAA, Gay Activists Alliance, was created that made gays a force in liberal politics nationwide. The group was open to anyone, gay or heterosexual, and focused on the liberation of gay rights (38). The road to gaining equality for gays was very long and took a great deal of time to achieve. Martha Shelly’s speech at the Women’s Strike for Equality rally was a major stepping stone that achieved the rights that gays had been fighting so long for.At the rally, Shelly talks about how one should not be afraid to come out because it may make heterosexuals feel uncomfortable. Shelly urges all gays to be comfortable in their own skin and be proud of who they are; and for all h eterosexuals to wake up and realize that gays do exist and that they should just accept that they do (35). Although I have argued that majority of the groups that were considered to be a part of the New Left definitely do have a right to be recognized as part of the movement, there are some that I do believe have no purpose of defining the New Left.During this movement, so many groups expressed their desire for fighting for equality and freedom, but doing so in a non violent matter. One example of a group that did not act in a non violent manner that helps prove my argument was the student protestors at Kent State University in Ohio (41). This group of students were protesting the Vietnam war, but ended up bombing the ROTC building because it had to do with the army and their goal was to do away with the Vietnam War and anything that had to do with it.However, the bombing only created more violence which went completely against what America was against. Another group that went compl etely against what the New Left was about was the creation of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (22). The purpose of this party was to carry around weapons and roam the streets in groups to appear violent in hopes that it would scare the white society and politics into giving them the equality they were seeking.Malcolm X was a strong advocator for this party and for promoting the attitude that all â€Å"true revolutions are violent (15). † All of this violence was completely opposite of the way MLK and other African American activist groups had been protesting and fighting. Other groups of people that believed violence was the answer to getting what they wanted had no place in being part of the New Left simply because the New Left was all about seeking change in non violent ways and never having to resort to that manner to get what everyone was wanting, equality and freedom.The new Left was made up of several different types of groups, people, leaders, protests, rallie s, and movements; but they all had one thing in common, which was the want and need of equality and human rights. The New Left was all about seeking change and I believe that everyone and everything that did belong as part of the New Left achieved just that in memorable and just ways.

Character of Touchstone in Shakespeares As You Like It Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

The Character of   Touchstone in As You Like It    As You Like It features, like so many of Shakespeare's plays, a professional clown, Touchstone, and it's worth paying some attention to his role for what it contributes towards establishing and maintaining the upbeat comic spirit of the play. For the jester is the constant commentator on what is going on. His humour, pointed or otherwise, thus inevitably contributes to the audience's awareness of what is happening, and the way in which other characters treat him is often a key indicator of their sensibilities. Touchstone is one of the gentlest and happiest clowns in all of Shakespeare. He comments on the action, makes jokes at other people's expense, and offers ironic insights about their situation. But throughout As You Like It, such traditional roles of the fool are offered and taken with a generosity of spirit so that his remarks never shake the firm comic energies of the play. When he ridicules Orlando's verses, Rosalind laughs along with him. When he points out to Corin (in 3.2) that the shepherd must be damned for never having lived at court, Corin takes it as good natured jesting (which it is). When Touchstone takes Audrey away from her rural swain, William, there are apparently no hard feelings (although much here depends on the staging). In this play, the professional jester participates in and contributes to a style of social interaction which is unqualified by any more sober and serious reflections. This makes Touchstone very different from the bitter fool of King Le ar or from the most complex fool of all, the sad Feste of Twelfth Night , both of whom offer comments that cast either a shrewd, melancholy, or bitter irony on the proceedings.    Touchstone himself becomes the target of much humour by his immediate attraction to Audrey, the "foul" country lass. There is something richly comic here, seeing the staunch apologist for the sophisticated life of the court fall so quickly to his animal lust. But the satire here is very good humoured. Touchstone himself acknowledges the frailty of his vows and does not attempt to deceive anyone about his intentions.

The pro and con of abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The pro and con of abortion - Essay Example Their philosophical approach offers an insight into the fundamentals of life. At the center of their reasoning is the concept of a person and moral obligation towards life in respect of abortion. Critical evaluation of Peter Simpson viewpoint on abortion emphasizes opposition and paints the act as horrific and unjustifiable. In the opinion of Simpson, abortion contravenes the fundamental law of nature which upholds sanctity of life. He asserts that fetus is a person and not an organ. In the context of biology, fetus is a person and not an organ which forms part of being. In that respect, procurement of abortion is outright elimination of a person which is morally unacceptable (Simpson, 1998). It is therefore obvious that Simpson is against abortion at all costs. The right to life should prevail over any other form of human action and legal structures that govern the society. In his view, Simpson asserts the supremacy of natural law over man-made constitution. In support of his idea, Simpson explains the relationship between mother and the unborn as giver of life to gift. In that respect, the mother should protect the unborn at all costs hence outright declaration of murder f or any attempted or successful abortion. The state law should therefore act within the natural laws which note the fetus as a person with the right to life. Legal provisions that present abortion as alternatives of protecting the life of the mother are tantamount to portraying attacker to victim relation between mother and the unborn. The law should therefore not be corrupted to portray fetus as a threat to mother’s life as this would promote justification of the vice. Simpson argues that even if human laws emphasize illegality of abortion, moral obligation and adherence to natural law that disrepute the act is key in guiding behavior (Simpson, 1998). On the other side of the argument, Mary Ann offers an

Basket of currencies for the middle east region Research Proposal

Basket of currencies for the middle east region - Research Proposal Example What one wanted to exchange was not what the other party required or rather wanted. This brought the issue of conflict of interest and disagreement as to whether the transaction could take place. The challenges of bulkiness of the products as some of the products or goods exchanged were so bulky as to facilitate the transaction. The challenge of breaking the goods or dividing the goods into proportions. Some people wanted a half of the portion. Those looking for meat some desired just a piece of meat, but under the regime it was difficult to divide a whole cow that was being sold into a piece of meat. (Rabinovich 43) Under the prevailing challenges a common form of tool inform of currency had to be established. This was meant to facilitate the transaction process. The common form of currency had to be uniformly agreed upon. The respective parties had to unanimously agree on a common means of currency. These was supposed to be stable in its value as the value of the currency chosen was not supposed to depreciate, it was supposed to be generally acceptable as for it to be a common currency it was supposed to be accepted unanimously, It was supposed to be durable and not depreciate easily or loose value easily it was supposed to be easily divisible and subdivided into various denominations and finally it was supposed to be very portable. Portability of the currency necessitated that it was easily carried around. Various countries on these criteria and analysis have established some form of currency. They all have a certain currency that meets the mentioned characteristics and is unique to them. This is a reality that has resulted to the diverse bundle of currencies that exists all over the world. The bundle of currency is as a result of the various different currencies from the many countries of the world. (Poghosyan, 09) Countries have evolved the aspect of exports and imports.