Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Biography of Ramses II

Biography of Ramses II Ramses II (ca 1303 BC – 1213 BC) was one of the most powerful and influential Egyptian pharaohs in history. He led expeditions and focused on building up the New Kingdom, and most likely reigned longer than any other pharaoh. Fast Facts: Ramses II Full Name:  Ramses II (alternative spelling Ramesses II)Also Known As: Usermaatre  SetepenreOccupation: Pharaoh of ancient EgyptBorn: circa 1303 BCDied: 1213 BCKnown For: The longest-reigning pharaoh in history, Ramses IIs reign defined the New Kingdom era of Egypt as one of conquest, expansion, building, and culture.Prominent Spouses: Nefertari (died circa 1255 BC), IsetnofretChildren: Amun-her-khepsef, Ramses, Meritamen, Bintanath, Pareherwenemef, Merneptah (future Pharaoh), and others Early Life and Reign Little is known about Ramses’ early life. His exact year of birth is not confirmed but is widely believed to be 1303 BC. His father was Seti I, the second pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, founded by Ramses I, the grandfather of Ramses II. Most likely, Ramses II came to the throne in 1279 BC, when he was approximately 24 years old. At some point prior to this, he married his future queen consort, Nefertari. Over the course of their marriage, they had at least four sons and two daughters, and possibly more, although historians have uncertain evidence of children beyond the six who are clearly mentioned in documents and on carvings. A statue of Ramses II stands in the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt. David Callan / Getty Images In the first few years of his reign, Ramses foreshadowed his later power with battles against sea pirates and the beginning of major building projects. His earliest known major victory came in the second year of his reign, probably 1277 BC, when he defeated the Sherden pirates. The Sherden, who most likely originated from Ionia or Sardinia, were a fleet of pirates who kept attacking cargo ships en route to Egypt, damaging or outright crippling Egyptian sea trade. Ramses also began his major building projects within the first three years of his reign. On his orders, the ancient temples in Thebes were completely renovated, specifically to honor Ramses and his power, revered as nearly divine. The stone carving methods used by past pharaohs resulted in shallow carvings which could easily be remade by their successors. In place of this, Ramses ordered much deeper carvings that would be harder to undo or alter in the future. Military Campaigns By the fourth year of his reign, approximately 1275 BC, Ramses was making major military moves to regain and expand Egypt’s territory. He began with war against the nearby Canaan, the region to the northeast of Egypt where the countries of the Middle East such as Israel now are located. One story from this era involves Ramses personally fighting a wounded Canaanite prince and, upon victory, taking the Canaanite prince to Egypt as prisoners. His military campaigns extended into areas previously held by the Hittites and, eventually, Syria. Wall carvings of Ramsess army defeating the Hittites.   skaman306 / Getty Images The Syrian campaign was one of the key points of Ramses’ early reign. Around 1274 BC, Ramses fought in Syria against the Hittites with two goals in mind: expanding Egypt’s borders, and replicating his father’s triumph at Kadesh about ten years earlier. Although Egyptian forces were outnumbered, he was able to counterattack and force the Hittites back into the city. However, Ramses realized his army wasn’t able to sustain the kind of siege required to take down the city, so he returned to Egypt, where he was building a new capital city, Pi-Ramesses. A few years later, however, Ramses was able to return to Hittite-held Syria and eventually pushed further north than any pharaoh in over a century. Unfortunately, his northern victories did not last long, and a small bit of land kept going back and forth between Egyptian and Hittite control. In addition to his campaigns in Syria against the Hittites, Ramses led military attempts in other regions. He spent some time, alongside his sons, on military action in Nubia, which had been conquered and colonized by Egypt a few centuries prior but continued to be a thorn in its side. In a surprising turn of events, Egypt actually became a place of refuge for a deposed Hittite king, Mursili III. When his uncle, the new king á ¸ ªattuÃ… ¡ili III demanded Mursili’s extradition, Ramses denied all knowledge of Mursili’s presence in Egypt. As a result, the two countries remained on the brink of war for several years. In 1258 BC, however, they chose to formally end the conflict, resulting in one of the earliest known peace treaties in human history (and the oldest with surviving documentation). In addition, Nefertari kept up a correspondence with Queen Puduhepa, á ¸ ªattuÃ… ¡ili’s wife. Buildings and Monuments Even more than his military expeditions, the reign of Ramses was defined by his obsession with building. His new capital city, Pi-Ramesses, featured multiple huge temples and a sprawling palatial complex. Over the course of his reign, he did more building than any of his predecessors. Aside from the new capital city, Ramses’ most enduring legacy was an enormous temple complex, dubbed the Ramesseum by the Egyptologist Jean-Franà §ois Champollion in 1829. It included large courtyards, enormous statues of Ramses, and scenes representing his army’s greatest victories and Ramses himself in the company of several deities. Today, 39 of the 48 original columns are still standing, but much of the rest of the temple and its statues have long since disappeared. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel is generally considered the greatest of the temples built during the reign of Ramses II. Tom Schwabel / Getty Images When Nefertari died, approximately 24 years into Ramses’ reign, she was buried in a tomb fit for a queen. The wall paintings inside the structure, depicting the heavens, the deities, and Nefertari’s presentation to the gods, are considered some of the most exquisite achievements in art in ancient Egypt. Nefertari was not Ramses’ only wife, but she was honored as the most important. Her son, the crown prince Amun-her-khepeshef, died a year later. Later Reign and Popular Legacy After reigning for 30 years, Ramses II celebrated the traditional jubilee held for the longest-ruling pharaohs, called a Sed festival. By this point in his reign, Ramses had already achieved most of the accomplishments he would be known for: expanding and maintaining the kingdom’s territory, improving the infrastructure, and building new monuments. Sed festivals were held every three (or, sometimes, two) years after the first one; Ramses ended up celebrating 13 or 14 of them, more than any other pharaoh before him. After reigning for 66 years, Ramses’ health deteriorated, as he suffered from arthritis and problems with his arteries and teeth. He died at the age of 90 and was succeeded by his son (the oldest son to outlive Ramses), Merneptah. He was first buried in the Valley of the Kings, but his body was moved to deter looters. In the 20th century, his mummy was taken to France for examination (which revealed that the pharaoh was most likely a fair-skinned redhead) and preservation. Today, it resides at the Museum of Cairo. One of the statues of Ramses II at the Temple of Luxor in Egypt. inigoarza  / Getty Images Ramses II was called the â€Å"Great Ancestor† by his own civilization, and several subsequent pharaohs took the regnal name Ramses in his honor. He’s often depicted in popular culture, and is one of the candidates for the pharaoh described in the Book of Exodus, although historians have never been able to determine conclusively who that pharaoh was. Ramses remains one of the best-known pharaohs and one who exemplifies what we know of the ancient Egyptian rulers. Sources Clayton, Peter. Chronology of the Pharaohs. London: Thames Hudson, 1994.Kitchen, Kenneth. Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. London: Aris Phillips, 1983.Rattini, Kristin Baird. â€Å"Who Was Ramses II?† National Geographic, 13 May 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/people/reference/ramses-ii/.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

A Homegrown Writing Retreat

A Homegrown Writing Retreat Ah, the writers retreat! A four-star hotel with room service, or maybe just an idyllic cabin in the woods, with meals delivered on tippy-toe so as not to disturb the Muse. What you couldnt get done in such an environment – provided you can afford the fees and travel costs, and make it past the waiting list. If you cant, dont despair. For the last six years my writers group has held three or four retreats a year: spring, summer, fall and sometimes also winter. Its simple, inexpensive, and very, very effective. Most of us who attend the retreats write daily, and professionally. The retreats allow us to kick-start a new project or make major progress on an existing one. Heres what you need for your own retreat: ==At least three writers committed to showing up all three days. Four, five or six reduces the work per person. More than that would probably be unwieldy. ==A space big enough for everyone to write in, with facilities for meals. Ours is the living room in the home of two of our writers. You might also be able to use a church hall or some other community space that has a kitchen. ==A meal plan. Ours is done a week ahead so everyone knows what meals theyll be responsible for. Meals are scheduled: breakfast 8 a.m., lunch 1 p.m., supper 6 p.m. Theyre also simple, and as much as possible, made ahead. The person responsible for the next meal cleans up from the last one, which means you know where you put the cheese grater or the big spoon. We try to keep breakfast and lunch self-serve, and gather for conversation and readings at dinner. ==A project, and whatever research materials, notes or so on you require, plus your writing tools of choice. We list food sensitivities and dislikes on the meal plan. We also ban television, movies, radio, phone calls and music except with headphones. Visitors are discouraged, and any conversation has to be away from the writing area. Alcohol comes out only in moderation with dinner, where we read aloud from the days work and cheer each other on. Three of us are hard-core and attend every day of every retreat. Three or four others regularly show up for a day or two (with a meal and cleanup). The work is minimal – at worst, one meal and one cleanup per day. Its not unusual to have a day on which youre not responsible for any kitchen work. As for cost, I live fifteen miles from the retreat location and usually do two meals and provide some snacks (fruit, nuts or biscotti, plus dark chocolate). My total costs for the weekend are $60-$80 in gas and food. If my friends guest room is available, its less than that. Results? They can be amazing. I regularly get two weeks worth of writing done in three days. Ive polished a manuscript for publication, written 80 percent of a non-fiction book and ploughed through more pages than I can remember. My colleagues have had similar results. While its my daily writing practice that keeps me productive and sharp, the retreats help me remember that there are others out there sharing this creative life. I come out of a retreat refreshed and re- committed. The camaraderie eases the usual loneliness of the writers work, the feedback warms the heart. And the production doesnt hurt, either.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Letter to the dean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter to the dean - Essay Example The class as illustrated above has had the problem of non-participatory tendencies for quite some time now and it is good that the issue has been highlighted by Ms. Karan. To this extent the students have showed no positive change of this behavior and with this we have seen as teachers that appropriate measures need to be taken to avert this sooner rather than later. These situations of having a lazy class usually results in the teachers too to have low morale in teaching the respective students. This goes a long way in dictating their performance and competence in the areas taught. It is a common scenario to have this but when it persists then the issue needs to be forwarded to the relevant authorities for appropriate corrective measures to be taken. I hereby write this confirmation letter to assert that what Ms. Karan has said about the class is the sheer truth and it is a mutually shared sentiment by all the teachers teaching these students. The laziness has in many ways affected the mode of teaching and learning in that class. As is usually the case with the profession, a teacher is supposed to seek audience from the students and that the same students need to reciprocate by participating in the class activities like asking and answering questions, developing ideas stated by others and the teacher, bringing in new ideas and the general attention required. This I am afraid is lacking quite a great deal in this particular class and teaching has therefore been made rather difficult by this situation. After meeting these students with Mr. Kamal we have come to a conclusion that there needs to be a solution to this problem within the shortest time possible. These students should first say what their issues are with the learning system and thereafter necessary measures taken. This not withstanding, it is important for us, the teachers, to sit down and think of what the root cause of this is

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Internet applications for marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internet applications for marketing - Essay Example The results were predicted and not challenged which is the hallmark of a proper and standard research paper. This journal article focuses on how to create a successful brand presence on the internet. The authors believe that a strong brand can create positive consumer perceptions of the existing products and for new products. It has tried to focus on new design tools that could help marketers obtain more usage of the website and generate better sales. The authors have tried to impress that new media like vividness and interactivity can fetch better response than traditional media. In other words, new media produces realism. They have also explored the possibility of advertisements on the website to attract users. Consumer good companies have not been keen to adopt animation and sound because it causes distraction from the actual products or message on the website. Thus this article has tried to explore how varying levels of realism affects attitudes, behavioural intentions and the level of consistency between these attitudes and intentions. The article compares the impact of direct and ind irect experience and studied the impact of realism in marketing. They have studied the impact of telepresence, vividness and interactivity on several versions of four different websites. It is difficult to generalize the attitudes and reactions of consumers as there are so many variables involved. Vividness has been found to generate stronger attitudes towards the site but it does not necessarily means higher sales. Thus the article has tried to identify and analyze factors that influence online consumer behavior. The article cites theory from other articles that were written as many as twenty years before the article under review. Consumer behavior changes to a large extent in 20 years and so would the principles of marketing. The article has studied the impact of direct and indirect experience where direct experience

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Can international law change the world Essay Example for Free

Can international law change the world Essay Sir Christopher John Greenwood was born in 1955. Currently he is a judge of the ICC whereby he was elected to the position on 6th November 2008. Before being elected as an ICC judge, Sir Christopher John Greenwood was a professor at London School of Economics where by taught international law. In addition, he was a barrister who most often made appearance before the international court of justice, the English Courts and the European Court Of Human Rights among other tribunals. During an interview as evidenced in the video, Judge Sir Christopher John Greenwood puts it clear that the international law has the power to change the way world operates. He further argues that, while each system of the national law strives to regulate affairs within only a single society, the international law has the concern of the whole world. In contrary, judge Sir Christopher John Greenwood argues that, though the international laws has the power to change the world and the way different systems of the world operate, there is yet no methods of enforcement available to the national legal systems. According to Sir Christopher, the international law can change the security and political stability of the different nations of the globe if only there could be efficient and effective measures put in place that would ensure the different national systems comply. Moreover, Sir Christopher says that if the different national systems could comply with international laws like those concerning weapons and international peace, international health like those stipulated in the world health organization (WHO) among other laws made to ensure that the social welfare of the different socio-economic classes of people would change the world to a greater extend. In addition to this, Sir Christopher further argues that following compliance to the different international economic laws would change the way business is carried globally by different nations. Compliance to the international laws would make the transactions between different nations secure since are governed. Moreover, international economic laws would standardize how business is carried in the world. In a broad spectrum, the international laws can only change the world if the different nation systems comply. It will be of great importance if the different world systems comply to the international laws for better so as to steer development through trade standardization among other things. References Source document

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Aristotles View Essay -- Aristotle Philosophy Essays

Aristotle's View Is life really about the 'money', the 'cash', the 'hoes', who has the biggest gold chain or who drives the shiniest or fastest car, who sells the most albums or who has the most respect? Aristotle challenges views, which are similar to the ones held and shown by rap artists such as Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G., by observing that everything in the universe, including humans, has a telos, or goal in life. He states that the goal of a human life is to achieve happiness or eudaimonia. I believe that Aristotle is completely correct in his reasoning of the purpose of human nature. He even explains how happiness is different for every person, and each different type of person has a different idea of eudaimonia. He then goes on to talk about how a person must do all things in moderation, not doing the excess but at the same time doing just enough. This idea, called the "golden mean of moderation" was the backbone support to Aristotle's idea of human telos because it concluded that living a virtuous life must be the same for all people because of the way human beings are built. Aristotle argued that the goal of human beings is happiness, and that we achieve happiness when we fulfill our function. Therefore, it is necessary to determine what our function is. The function of a thing, or its telos, is what it alone can do, or what it can do best. Like the function of the eye is to see, Aristotle declared the human being as the "rational animal" whose function...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Directness and Indirectness in Different Contexts Essay

In modern life, people communicate with others in different ways; for instance, the way that directness or indirectness can affect the success or failure of communication. So, we wonder which way is better for human communications. The definition of directness is the character of being accurate in course or aim or straightforwardness , the quality of being clear, plain, or easy to understand . The definition of indirectness is not said or done in a clear and direct way or stating what a real or supposed original speaker said with changes in wording that conform the statement grammatically to the sentence in which it is included . Speakers use a different register when speaking to different people, such as children, elderly people, peers, superiors, friends, strangers. So , when people talk to each other, they should consider the context, the situation, and then use the right way to communicate.. Position or social status is an important element of choosing whether directness or indirectness. When in a superior position, people tend to use more directness to their inferiors ,by contrast, people use indirect way when they are in a lower or subordinate position. Subordinates usually are more mitigated—polite, tentative or indirect. For example, in a company, as employees, they have to talk to their boss indirectly and politely; even their boss make mistakes, they cannot indicate directly if they do not want be laid off. Otherwise, bosses just talk to the employees directly. But the ones in power had the option of choosing which style to use. It was precisely because of his higher status that the boss was free to choose whether to speak formally or informally, to assert his power or to play it down and build rapport—an option not available to the subordinate, who would have seemed cheeky if she had chosen a style that enhanced friendliness and closeness. In this spirit, if your boss request you something with indirectness,you should not only get the real meaning but also you should manage it, or you may in trouble. Another reason that affects communication is how people related to each other, or social distance, those who have closer relations tend to talk in a more direct way. For instance, they can talk to their parents directly anytime; talking directly is much better to parents; as a result, children should be honest to their parents. Moreover, as a close friend, they also need be honest to each other, so talk directly is a right way to them. When their close friends make any fault, as close friends, they should indicate directly; that is a good way for both of them. On the other hand, people need to talk to their in-laws indirectly; moreover, people should be also respect to elder people. When in a special circumstances, or in emergency, people must use direct way of speaking, otherwise it will cause serious consequences, such as the conversations between the co-pilot and the captain in the text. If people in a urgent situation, they should speak directly even they are subordinates. If not, the superior one would more likely to ignore hints from their crew members than the other way around. The use of indirectness can hardly be understood without the cross-cultural perspective. Communication in any culture is a matter of indirectness. Only a part of meaning resides in the words spoken; the largest part is communicated by hints , assumptions , and audience filling-in from context and prior experience. Americans as a group tend to ignore or even rail against indirectness. For Japanese, Arabian, or the Mediterraneans, â€Å"small talk† is big and essential in business dealings. Non-Americans, and American women, more often realize that much of what is meant cannot be said outright. Cross-culturally it becomes a maddening guessing game that most entrants lose. Cultural differences in listening behavior can be categorized as direct or indirect. In direct listening cultures such as France, Germany, and the United States, people listen primarily for facts and concrete information. Listeners in these cultures also confront speakers directly and feel comfortable asking questions. In indirect listening cultures such as Finland, Japan, and Sweden, people listen in a very different manner. Interruptions do not occur while the speaker is talking, and politeness is part of the listener’s behavior. Indirect messages allow you to express your desire with-out offending or insulting the one interacting with you, but often at the sacrifice of your own feeling. Instead of saying,â€Å" I am bored with the conversation, â€Å" you say , â€Å" It’s getting late and I have to get up early tomorrow, â€Å" or you look at your watch and pretend to be surprised by the time. Instead of saying , â€Å" This food tastes horrible ,†you say ,â€Å" This food tastes different . â€Å" Instead of saying ,â€Å" You look terrible in this dress ,â€Å" you are likely to say ,â€Å" I like the dress you wore yesterday. † However, different people have different ideas; some people think that talking directly can show the point clearly ; and others think that being indirect can be much more polite; otherwise, they think that talking directly is rude to people. The ways that talking directly or indirectly are very important in our life. People should use these properly. These two systems can affect the communication success or failure. And sometimes the different culture also will affect the way that people talk directly or indirectly. Nevertheless, different situations and relationship are two of the most important effects. Therefore, learning how to use a right way to communicate to each other is a very important part in our life.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Perspective on social sciences Essay

Social science and social theory were to liberate the thoughts and thus aid social groups in deposing domination and repression. This formation of critical social science and social theory stands stridently at odds with the moderate positivist professionalism of mainstream sociology in the sense that it envisions human liberation as the highest rationale of intellectual commotion. Habermas has taken pains to argue that this decisive outset of social science and social theory is not opposed to what he calls the project of modernity, which commenced with the Enlightenment. Certainly, he contends that critical social theory, conceived as communication theory and ethics, accomplishes the project of modernity by further rationalizing social life in ways estimated but not completed by Weber. Though Habermas needlessly divides instrumental and communicative rationalities, much as Kant did, thus limiting the field of human liberation to communicative projects but leaving technology and its dominion of nature untouched, he masterfully reconceptualizes Marxism in ways that provide it empirical and political purchase in the present. Far from deserting modernism and modernity, Habermas argues that Marx was a modernist and that the project of modernity can simply be fulfilled in a Marxist way, although in terms that deviate drastically from the Marxist and Marxist-Leninist frameworks of the early twentieth century. Habermas supports the Enlightenment’s program of common liberation and rationality through (a reconceptualized) Marx. This assurance to the Enlightenment and modernity must absolve critical social theorists such as Habermas of the inductions that they are Luddites, antimodernists, anarchists. Far from inadequate academic life, including social science and social theory, to be abridged to didactic political education, Habermas wants to open academic life to genuine debate and diversity, which he theorizes in terms of his communicative ethics. though the characterization of left academics as bigoted supporters of â€Å"political correctness† is largely hype promulgated by eighties neoconservatives, many critical social theorists are especially hard on purveyors of multicultural identity politics, particularly those who derive from postmodernism. Professionalized liberal positivists, including numerous U. S. sociologists, conflate all theoretical heterodoxies, particularly where they argue that one should defend the disciplinary project of sociology against the wild men and women who would â€Å"politicize† sociology and social science at a time when reputable sociologists are fighting a rearguard action against budget slashing university administrators. These professional positivists marginalize all thought and research that do not kowtow to the strictures of supposedly value-free quantitative empiricism. This obliterates nuances: Habermas (1987a) takes postmodernism to task; Fraser (1989) urges Habermas and Foucault to be more overtly feminist. It also fails to distinguish that critical social theories hold rigorous analysis, objectivity, professionalism, even disciplinarily. Critical social theorists vary from professionalized positivist sociologists most sharply in arguing that the aim of knowledge is illumination and hence liberation, not the development of personal professional credentials or the progression of one’s discipline. Critical social theorists snub Comte’s model of the hard sciences as a symbol for their own work as they believe that positivism eradicated historicity and hence the possibility of large-scale structural change. Critical social theorists are unashamed to be seen as political, particularly when they agree with Horkheimer and Adorno in Dialectic of Enlightenment that the charade of freedom from values is the most invincible value position of all, taking up the present as a plenitude of social being and contradicting utopia. It is sarcastic that positivist sociologists in the United States who attempt to establish their discipline in the university by stressing its resemblance to the hard sciences, including both positivist quantitative process and grant-worthiness, also argue that sociology should eloquent what are called policy implications, particularly now that a Democrat is president. Applied sociology proposes state policies in realms such as health care, aging, social welfare, work and family, and crime. Positivist sociologists assert that sociology pays its own way by underlining its real-world applications suggested in the narrow technical analyses propagating in the journals. numerous positivist journal articles formulaically conclude with short excursuses on â€Å"policy† in this sense. This segue into policy investigation both legitimizes sociology in the state apparatus (e. g. , public research universities) and helps sociology evade a more fundamental politics the notion of policy implying moderate amelioration of social problems and not methodical change. As well, the discussion of policy enhances the grant-worthiness of sociological research, which has turn into a trademark of academic professional legitimacy. Thus, the shift from the sociological to the social on the part of significant social theorists who support interdisciplinary is intimidating to disciplinary positivists because it augurs the politicization of social theory and social science at a time while some believe sociology should put definitive distance between itself and its sixties engagements. The tired stand-up line of sociology’s critics that sociology alliterates with socialism, social work, and the sixties symbolizes this preoccupation with the legitimating of sociological disciplinarity and explains why interdisciplinary approaches to the social are so threatening. The interpretive disciplines and sociology are moving in contradictory directions: Interpretive scholars and cultural critics acclaim the politicization of the canon, whereas positivist sociologists want to subjugate politics. Leading U. S. literary programs such as Duke’s are awash in these new theoretical movements that hassle the obsolescence of canonical approaches to the study of literature and culture. In these venues, politics is not a afflict to be eliminated but an opening to new ways of seeing, writing, and teaching. Suddenly, with the invasion of these new European and feminist influences, traditional approaches to â€Å"representation† (depicting the world) in both art and criticism could no longer be trusted. Postmodern fictional and cultural theory blossomed in a post representational era, specifically the opposite of what was happening in positivist sociology, which clings more obstinately than ever to representation -achieved through quantitative method as the supposed deliverance of an embattled discipline. Not all versions of postmodernism are eligible as either social or critical theory. However, as Fredric Jameson (1991) has argued in Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, postmodern theory has the potential for new forms of neo-Marxist social and cultural investigation pertinent to late capitalism. Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Derrida make means for critical theories of the social, especially where they make possible the critical analysis of cultural discourses and practices that intimately resemble and deepen the Frankfurt School’s analysis of the culture industry. And postmodern theory has made it nearly unattainable for people in interpretive and cultural disciplines to approach texts as if the â€Å"meanings† of those texts could be revealed to presuppositionless, really positivist readings. Postmodernists drive home the point that reading is itself a form of writing, of argument, in the sense that it fills in gaps and contradictions in texts through strong literary practices of imagination and interrogation. Few today can approach the act of reading or writing concerning reading in the same secure way that they could read texts before postmodernism, before representation was quizzed as a severely theoretical and political project in its own right. A momentous number of sociologists and anthropologists (Richardson [1988, 1990a, 1990b, 1991a, 1991b], Denzin [1986, 1989, 1990, 1991c], Aronowitz [1990], Behar and Gordon [1995]) draw from postmodernism in reformulating both social science research and theory in light of postmodernism’s influential challenge to positivist theories of representation, writing, and reading. However, it is clear that most American sociologists and others in neighboring social science disciplines not only distrust but deplore the postmodern turn for its alleged antagonism to science and hence objectivity, rigor, disciplinary legitimacy, quantitative method, and grant-worthiness. The new scholarship in humanities departments enlightens critical social science in that it reads cultural discourses and practices as ideological and commoditized and helps formulate more general hypothetical understandings of society. For example, the work of Jameson, the author of numerous vital books on cultural and social theory from Marxism and Form (1971) to Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991), clearly puts in to the project of critical social theory. Jameson is in dialogue with critical theorists and postmodern theorists. He develops a postmodern Marxism that learns from but does not give in to the detotalizing implications of postmodern theory. Although many of Jameson’s references are from culture and literature whereas Habermas’s, for example, are from social theory and communication theory Jameson in effect â€Å"does† postmodern critical theory in his readings of works of literature, architecture, music, painting, and philosophy, presenting not simply close textual analysis but expanding his readings into oversimplifications quite similar to those of postmodern social theorists (e. . , Aronowitz, Luke) in social science disciplines. Cultural studies is intrinsically a pandisciplinary project in the sense that culture, as the Birmingham theorists conceptualized it, is not simply found in everyday life as well as in museums and concert halls but also disquiets a wide range of disciplines in the human sciences or human studies, broadly conceived. Almost no social science or humanities discipline falls outside of the potential purview of cultural studies, which could be seen as a theoretical perspective, a discipline, a corpus of writing, and even an investigative methodology. Like the Unit for Criticism at the University of Illinois, in which Cary Nelson, Lawrence Grossberg, and Norman Denzin had part-time faculty appointments, the CCCS at the University of Birmingham has brought together scholars from a variety of disciplines. Like interdisciplinary projects such as cognitive science, cultural studies is a perceptible interdisciplinary project collecting scholars who believe they cannot practice their interests in cultural studies within their home disciplines or who want to claim an individuality somewhat diverse from their disciplinary identities. By and large, scholars in humanities departments have been better able to do and teach cultural studies within their home disciplines, particularly where their home disciplines have embraced the new postcanonical, postcolonial, feminist scholarship. Social scientists have had a greater tendency to identify their interest in cultural studies outside of their disciplines proper, many of which have been indisposed to abandon their relatively narrow concepts of culture in favor of a more inclusive one or do not acknowledge the need to practice the study of culture outside of a discipline for which the study of culture has always been central, such as sociology and anthropology. This distinction between the ways that humanists and social scientists build up their identities, affiliations, and academic practices as cultural studies scholars is also replicated in their respective attitudes toward the matter of politicization. Although most scholars around the campus who do cultural studies are leftist and feminist, social scientists lean to position cultural studies as an empirical and theoretical contribution without close ties to politics, therefore legitimizing their work within fundamentally empiricist and objectivist disciplines. Humanists lean to embrace their close ties to politics, as the Birmingham scholars did, even arguing that curricular politics, including the politics of the norm and the resist to define and implement multiculturalism, is an important place for social change today. Cultural studies increasingly splits into politicized and apolitical camps, through the former group deriving from Marxist cultural theory and joining the influences of the Birmingham School, feminism, and Baudrillard. The latter group includes scholars who do not view cultural studies as a political project but somewhat as an occasion for deepening their own disciplines or working across disciplines. Much work on popular culture, such as that of the Bowling Green group mentioned, comes from this second group. Humanists are more probable than social scientists to belong to the first group. This is satirical in that left-wing and feminist cultural studies grew out of Marxist social and cultural theory and only later were modified by humanists such as Jameson to their own projects. In this sense, critical social theorists involved in culture tend to cluster in humanities programs, or if they work in social science departments, they are typically isolated among their colleagues. It is much more common to find gathers of culturally oriented critical social theorists outside the social sciences, for instance, in English and comparative literature departments and programs. Though these comparative literature students and faculty are more obviously and blatantly politicized than most of my erstwhile colleagues and students, they approach society through the text. This peculiarity is far from absolute. Nevertheless, much of the best critical social science and social theory is being done in humanities disciplines. Sociology, for instance, sought greater institutional authenticity by attempting to imitate and integrate the methods of the natural sciences. Disciplines such as English, comparative literature, women’s studies, and media studies were concerned with culture as well as politics and thus were usual gathering points for faculty and students interested in the politics of culture. PART 2 Modern-day slavery breaches the basic right of all persons to life, freedom and the security of the person, and to be liberated from slavery in all its types. It weakens the rights of a child to grow in the protecting environment of a family and to be liberated from sexual maltreatment and abuse. Migration is some what Modern-day slavery that has become a main concern of government officials, political leaders, policymakers, and scholars, and many books and journal articles have been published on a diversity of topics related to migration comprising cultural change (Sowell, 1996), health (Loue, 1998), law (Weiner, 1995), mental health (Marsella, Bornemann, Ekblad, & Orley, 1994), population movements and demographics, politics, urbanization, and the survival of human society. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is conceivably the most noticeable international organization concerned with migration. However, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Council of Churches, Refugees and Migration Services also have high visibility as policy, service, and research agencies. Other private agencies that have high visibility include Amnesty International, International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and the U. S. Committee on Refugees.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

JFKs Assassination essays

JFK's Assassination essays A nagging question still haunts the minds of many Americans. Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone, as the Warren Commission's report stated, or was there a conspiracy, hatched by the Mob, the CIA, the FBI, or some other organization, to kill President John F. Kennedy at the height of his political power' Perhaps the truth will never be known, and President Kennedy's real murderer will never be brought to justice. Several of the conspiracy theories refuse to die - here are some of the most popular and New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison's theory is probably the most well known of the conspiracy theories because it was made into a film starring Kevin Costner and directed by Irving Stone. Garrison, through several investigative methods, believed a local businessman named Clay Shaw was involved in a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy, and that Shaw's involvement went as high as the national Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While many historians still believe Garrison's accusations were "groundless" (Holland 10), the legend of his prosecution of Shaw lives on, and there are still some unanswered questions regarding the theory, even though Shaw was eventually found not guilty of any conspiracy or Basically, Garrison's theory was that Shaw was a CIA informant, who took part in a CIA "coup d'etat" constructed to remove Kennedy from power because of ongoing clashes with the CIA and other government agencies, and the belief that Kennedy had socialist or communistic leanings. Garrison wrote a book about his life and beliefs, called, "On the Trail of the Assassins." In that book he wrote, "'What happened at Dealey Plaza in Dallas on November 22, 1963, was a coup d'etat. I believe that it was instigated and planned long in advance by fanatical anticommunists in the United States intelligence community'" (Holland 10). While the CIA conspiracy theory has long ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

3 Cases of Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Confusion

3 Cases of Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Confusion 3 Cases of Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Confusion 3 Cases of Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Confusion By Mark Nichol In each of the sentences below, a phrase is erroneously treated as essential or nonessential to the statement when, based on the context, it should be the reverse. An explanation and a revision follows each example. 1. A number of factors are at play for the industry, including the UK’s Brexit vote that continues to have an impact on financial markets. Here, the implication is that two or more Brexit votes occurred, though only one continues to have an impact on financial markets. But â€Å"continues to have an impact on financial markets† is merely an explanatory phrase describing a consequence of the Brexit vote, only one of which occurred, so the explanation should be framed in a subordinate clause set off by a comma and beginning with which: â€Å"A number of factors are at play for the industry, including the UK’s Brexit vote, which continues to have an impact on financial markets.† 2. The company is a growing business-to-business payments provider, which has been established by a collaboration of banks. Because the company is only one of many such businesses, the phrase describing by whom it was established is essential to the statement, so that phrase should not be set off as a subordinate clause: â€Å"The company is a growing B2B payments provider that has been established by a collaboration of banks.† (However, the statement can be made more succinctly: â€Å"The company is a growing business-to-business payments provider established by a collaboration of banks.†) 3. Offshore finance changed forever in April 2016 with the leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm which specializes in the formation and management of entities in tax havens. Here, again, the description is essential to the sentence, so it is correctly treated as integral to the sentence and not set off by a comma. However, for additional clarity, that should replace which: â€Å"Offshore finance changed forever in April 2016 with the leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that specializes in the formation and management of entities in tax havens.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Signs and Symbols You Should KnowList of Greek Words in the English LanguageWhen to use "an"

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Impact of Employee Involvement in Hiring and Promotions Process of Assignment

The Impact of Employee Involvement in Hiring and Promotions Process of Public Administration Agencies - Assignment Example The dissertation looks at the goal of how beneficial employee involvement could be among public administration agencies if it is practiced during hiring and promotions processes. To this end, the topic of the dissertations is stated as: â€Å"the impact of employee involvement in hiring and promotions process of public administration agencies.† Considering the nature of the topic, which touches directly on an identified institution, it would be true to say that there will be a lot of institutional reviews needed for the research. Institutional review of the research would come in two major forms and formats. In the first place, there ought to be an institutional review that looks at the ethics and rules of engagement in the identified institution in the conduct of research of this nature. Even though this may generally be an academic exercise, it is important that some basic rules of research including the need for ensuring confidentiality and anonymity of data are reserved. As much as these standards are adhered to, the institutional reviews needed on the part of the awarding institution, which is the university will also be catered for to a very large extent (Schein, 2004). For a higher academic level dissertation preparation of this nature, it is always important for the researcher to appreciate the fact that all knowledge cannot rest with him alone (Schein, 2004). What this means is that the researcher would always, and at one point in time or the other need the inputs of other people in making highly informed choices on the dissertation. Considering the fact that the dissertation preparation goes through many different stages, it would be more than true to say that at every point or stage in the preparation of the dissertation, the input of some people will be needed.  

Friday, November 1, 2019

According to Ghaye (2001) there is a growing body of knowledge which Essay

According to Ghaye (2001) there is a growing body of knowledge which suggests that reflective practice has the potential to transform who we are and we do. Dis - Essay Example This model purports that the first phase of reflection is awareness. This may be triggered by either disturbing or positive thoughts or feelings about a situation or event – which in this case is the critical incident. During the second phase of reflection, the person undertakes a critical analysis of what transpired. He draws upon his significant knowledge and experiences, and on the application of novel knowledge. Such realizations, in the form of new knowledge, are the expected output of the analysis. This entails critical thinking and self-assessment – this comes with increasing awareness about the self (Scanlon & Chernomas, 1997). The last stage is the development of a novel approach in accordance with one’s critical analysis and the implementation of novel knowledge onto the context or situation for which one has undergone the reflection. The new approach that one intends to adopt may be characterized by cognitive, attitudinal and behavioural modifications. A logical expectation would be adaptive when one considers that the person increases in his effectiveness both as a person and as a team member. Apparently, learning has transpired. In effect, this perspective of reflective learning suits a handful of theoretical models. These include that of Schon (1987) which advocates the reflective practitioner and â€Å"knowing-in-action† framework. Reflective learning journals are significant tools in translating theory into viable action, that is, praxis. Reflective learning journals have been utilized for quite some time now, specifically in the nursing and teacher education disciplines, to improve individual learning effectiveness, encompassing critical and creative thinking (Kobert, 1995; McCrindle & Christensen, 1995; Meyers & Jones, 1993). In an early application, Hahnemann (1986) had nursing undergraduates spend 10-15 minutes in class time doing their journal entries over the semester. She reported