Brown vs. Board of Education Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brown vs. Board of Education - Personal Statement Example It was the case of Oliver Brown that brought an end to many of the hardships that the blacks had faced over time. Oliver Brown’s daughter had to travel a long way to reach her black school although a school was located nearby and this made Brown file a suit against the Board of Education for the rights. The case was a breakthrough in the American history as the blacks were allowed to study with the whites and the process of integration started. This case was very important in the history of blacks as it ended a long feud between the two races. In my belief this case helped the blacks to reach a position in the history of United States which they would have never been able to. Rosa Parks Civil Rights Movement Rosa was an educated lady who took part actively in the civil rights movement. She played the role of ignition in the civil rights movement and was one of the first blacks to take a stand against the government. Rosa worked as a seamstress in Montgomery Fair Department Sto re. Buses in the mid twentieth century had some restrictions for the blacks. ... Three of the black passengers moved except for Rosa Parks who was later arrested and fined for her misconduct. It was this incident which finally broke out the black community and they launched a boycott against the Montgomery Bus Services. The boycott lasted for 381 days and it was quite successful as the segregation laws were lifted. In my opinion Rosa Parks played a pivotal role in reviving the integrity of the blacks in the region. She united the blacks and ignited a civil rights movement against the government. In my belief it was her because of whom the civil rights movement began for reviving the rights of the blacks. Twelve Angry Men Twelve Angry Men was a play directed by Reginald Rose which later on became a movie. The play revolves around a young man who is about to be charged for the murder of his father. In United States a jury consists of many judges who are to decide whether a person is guilty or not. If a unanimous vote for guilty comes up for the person then he is ac cused otherwise the trial is known as mistrial. In this case the sentence for being guilty would result in a death penalty. The jury of twelve members then sit in a room to decide whether the kid is guilty or not and most of them come to the conclusion that the person is guilty because all evidence points at it. Only one of the members decides to vote against it and a mistrial occurs. In my opinion the play points out to the way a judgment occurs in the trial. The personal feelings of the jury may come in the way when deciding about the person who is being tried. The play points out the irregularities in the system of justice and how it may lead to wrong convictions at the wrong

Love and Everyday Life Theory Essay Example for Free

Love and Everyday Life Theory Essay Second, I focus on my first love experience and use the liquid love theory of Bauman to analyze, additional I will discuss why I have this relationship and how can I enjoy it from the theory of Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. Third, I will demonstrate my recent real emotion situation and discuss the new forms of love with the theory of Batchelor, S. Fourth, I will integrally analyze the three external love and indicate the self-realisation what I get from the three love experiences also with the theory of Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. Before I show the process of my first love relationship, I analyzed that the reason why I intended to start a relationship is that my everyday life was so repeating boring and I did not accept a belief like religion. In addition to it, which is most important, I had no feeling about connecting with other people from any communities. In senior high school, all of the thing I had to or I simply can do by studying in my everyday life. There are no clubs or activities in my senior high school in order to let students focus on studying so that students can get a high grade in the Gaokao. However, I had no interest in studying the boring and actually useless knowledge to deal with the Gaokao. Unfortunately, I was supervised to achieve the assignment like the exercises of universal gravitation commonplace life by teachers and my parents so that I had no chance and time to get a touch with new ideas and beliefs about life. Moreover, I got not so much touch with my classmates which are the most primary community I had because everyone is busy on their studying. Furthermore, I regarded the love as the hope and idealization due to copious propaganda from the media to a certain extent. According to Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (1995), the transition from pre-modern society to modern society accelerated the commodity and individualization process, change the relationship between people and cut people from their traditional ties, beliefs and social connection and religion which are lead by the enlightenment and the industrial revolution. However, with the vanish of our faith and free from the material which make people accept more education and think more about life, love is regarded as a succedaneum replacing the group, becoming the hope and idealization of people, and lead people to believe and devote themselves to it. Hence, it is proved that the reason why I chose to start a relationship with a girl is not naturally there emerged a girl I liked, but I had no value or beliefs or communities to guide my activities according to this theory. Coming from the opposite aspect, after a period time, I started to reduce the time on study, and found that there were other boys like me who are not interested in studying, so we built a group to do something together even cut a class. After that, I would not like starting a relationship imminently. Therefore, this change also supports the theory refers to why people choose to love from an opposite aspect. Nevertheless, it is stated by Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (1995), that divorce figures are extraordinary people who in love or marriage always complain that why living together is so difficult and why cant keep a long and meaningful love. As for this phenomenon, the liquid love theory of Bauman may give an appropriate explanation for it. Finally, I believe that for modern young people, the desire they start a love experience is not only the effect of no beliefs and no communities, but also the propaganda effect of love of contemporary mass media. Combining my earliest love experience and the theory of liquid love, it is a typical liquid love. In the summer after the Gaokao, I went to a tourist attraction when I met my first girlfriend. I met her at an outdoor bar. We began by chatting and drinking, which are similar to the whole people to do in the bar. To a certain extent, this behavior for me may be influenced by the media about what happens in the bar and the environment around us. Then we kept touching with each other after that night. I stayed in that place for a month and before the night I left, we are agreed to start a relationship. The relationship here is not a general relationship in the dictionary because we both knew we were not in the same city, same college and she was two years older than me. However, we did not make a commitment that there is a responsibility between us. After that time and until we broke up, we did not see each other anymore. So the most vital thing is all the approaches we kept contact with are the Internet and the mobile phone. We sent messages and chat on video every day. The conversation content is stereotyped about everyday life in college, and it is irrelevant with commitment. This situation lasts two months and ends up on a meet which may lead us to break up. I went to her site and saw her on a holiday and it is confused that we can talk to each other fluently but at that day there were a obstruct separating our conversation. I think that the obstruct is afraid of responsibility. After that meet, we broke up. It is indicated that this kind of love is defined as the liquid love in the liquid modern society (Lee, 2003). To define liquid love, liquid society is supposed to be introduced. Liquid modernity is proposed by Bauman (2003) that all forms of social construction are rootless and all of the traditional notions are destroyed not to be durable owing to the commodity in liquid modernity society. And in this society some purportedly fixed and indestructible ties of family, class, religion, marriage and perhaps even love arent as reliable or as desirable as they were. Bauman quotes, In a consumer culture like ours, which favours products ready for instant use, quick fixes, instantaneous satisfaction, results calling for no protracted effort, foolproof recipes, all-risk insurance and money-back guarantees. It is summarized that the value and idea people own is influenced by the commercial purpose because except it social hierarchies do not form instantly other society power or beliefs especially in capitalist society which called liquid life. So when targeting consumers accepted the value designed by marketing strategies, the value is only effective for a short period, never extended term because the marketing strategies are transitory and always change. Everyday Life today is filled with elements of liquid, most people cant reject its liquid characteristic. Take the place where I meet the girl, the marketing strategies in bar are encouraging people meet unexpectedly and developing the dubious connection. I was influenced by it and the environment so that I chose to chat with a girl not because I like her so much. Moreover, love is regarded as a consumer goods which are supposed to be yielding like any extra goods people consume. People give themselves the appropriate rights to consume love, something must be given consumers just like expectation from further purchases. Thats a factor why we break up. I expect my goods can be novel, various and disposable, If my love cant satisfy my need for the factors when we pick up and utilize the goods, I will abandon this goods. In a word, the most fundamental elements like families, love and sex are obeying economic rules, In addition to the commodity of love, the most significant character distinguished from traditional love in liquid love is that people are afraid of assuming the responsibilities but they also enjoy the advantages of a relationships. The embody of steering of the responsibilities is not daring to make a binding commitment and use the being connected to replace the relationship. Although it is uncertain whether the communication technologies like the Internet and mobile phone facilitate the less responsibilities relationship and offer a approach for people who do not want to commit themselves to achieve a internet relationships or that emerges is benefited by communication technologies, It is sure that people are willing to accept to be a part of the communication technologies network to avoid the responsibilities. The only tools I used to keep touch with that girl is communication technologies which may offer me more imagination so that we can reduce the quality and quantity in our communication, after all it is not possible that I meet her everyday but just talk about the details in life and not refer to the future and responsibilities of our love. After the break-up, I can jabbered into mobile phones, addictively texted and leaped between kinds of chat room, deleted a date which wrote for my ex-girlfriend without pain. It is summarized that we immediately feel a sense of belonging, like purchasing, I picked her so she is belong to me. From psychology, Bauman (2003) concludes the duality of liquid love, that is, less responsibilities as a balance problem of freedom and security according to Freud. It also confirms the theory of Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E, I start a love because I want to find a security to make up the lack of communities, however, I chose the liquid love because I want to be free from a relationship. And at the end of this experience, I found he sign of break-up, so I increased the time of video chat and went to her site to see her in order to fix the relationship. Nevertheless, the opposite consequence indicated what Bauman writes. attempts to tame the wayward and domesticate the riotous, to make the unknowable predictable and enchain the free-roaming all such things sound the death knell to love. Ultimately, it is related to a definition problem that is what is love, the cou rage to participate in the process or the process makes us beautiful. Take my experience as a example, My part motivation of being together with the girl is the girl is beautiful and smart so that after I can promote my image and level in love, I can show I have a experience of love and I know what love it is. Love makes me feel beautiful. This refers to a question that what is real love and that the highest form of love is. My decision is not to be the highest form of love, so I start a liquid love. And the question about the different types of love, I will use my second love experience and the four love theory of C. S. Lewis to analyze. According to Lewis (1960), my second love experience is a type of need-love. After the initial love experience, I was single for one year. I felt lonely sometimes especially when my roommates took their girlfriend outside of meal. So I decided to start my second love experience. When I firstly have a touch with this girl just because I thought she is pretty and I had no idea what characteristic this girl has. Afterward I made huge progress rapidly in just few days from chatting in the dinner time or the mobile phone. From we start a relationship to the break-up. It takes less than two months. At this period, the thing we did together every day can be concluded as three types of thing. First, we took the male together every day. Second, we sent good nights to each other every night from mobile phones. Third, she sent gifts or some daily stuff to me when I am busy. As for the break-up factor, I think there is no need-relationship existing for me. I felt bored about this mechanization love experience and we had no communication in sprit. It is typically need-love, what I need is a girl taking care of my life and pass time when I feel lonely, and what she needs may has two aspects. One aspect is someone is nice to her, the other aspect is to be a good girlfriend. She is a traditional girl and the highest standard of morality is being nice to her boyfriend so that it can satisfy her need of achieving value. Once the need is not there, the need-love vanished. According to Lewis (1960), the need love includes kinds of physically, emotionally, intellectually need like sex, avoid to loneliness. For me, it is hard to distinguish if these need is low or high or even all of them are desire. Except the need-love, Lewis (1960) similarly concludes the other two kinds love, that are, gifted-love and appreciate-love. Gift-love can take the love from parents to children for examples, and appreciate-love refer that people decide to continue to give their love to others even though they know they will never enjoy the result of their love. However, critically evaluate the theory of Lewis, there is a paradox. Take my experience for example, the need of this girl is to achieve her morality standard, but the practical way of achieving it is to give, Hence, how to make a differences between gift-love and need love or there is actually no differences between them? Additionally, the appreciate-love is described as higher than need-love and gift-love. Furthermore, the people who bestow appreciate-love may satisfy the need for achieving the value of the highest forms of love and get a self-atonement. Compared with my experience, what are the differences between these two kinds of need? In the final analysis, the need includes both physical and mental. So there is not pleasant to tell the boundary between different kinds of love. The concluding part of this project is to prove that all of these love is means to achieve self-realization and take all of my experience for examples. It is stated by Swartz (2001) that self-realization is an individualization process which free people from limitation by building the conditioned beliefs, opinions, fears, desires, and habits. Meanwhile, Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. proposed that love is not equal with fulfilment or even require it, love is a process you can find your real identity. Before my first love experience, I dreamed of having a girlfriend like my elder sister because I have no sisters. Nevertheless I found a girl who is two years older than me. I labeled her as a smart, beautiful, sex independent elder sister, actually the imagination gave me more gratification than the fact. After that I realized that it is the question of myself. So I tried the succeeding love experience, the girl can represent the cute and virtuous types. After I find her some characteristics, I found she is not suitable for me. I realized that how a label can affect myself, I knew my habits generally, and I really knew accurately the need what can satisfy myself. Now, I am single, however, I always think what I need, reconsider my beliefs and conclude my habits. According to Batchelor (1983), being alone is a new form of love that can lead people find themselves into the world. So I can free me from labels and kinds of limitation to find my identity. However, critically evaluate this self-realization theory, it is absolute. If someone identity is to seek the hypocritical label as an approach to satisfy his need, how can he find his real self from love? That indicated that the real self has no standard to define. As a consequence of self-realization during this period, I had an affection for a girl. It is stated by Lewis (1960) that affection is a generalized love, which include the love between people and people, animal or objects, and the most primary feature of affection is familiar, like the child will love a crusty old gardener who is familiar with him rather than a visitor who is making every attempt to win its regard. For me, I know this girl for a long time, I am familiar with her, and I know she almost all advantages and disadvantages. However, I do not label her as which kinds of type any more, I can realize my authentic self from being with her, and I think that I can do a give-love to her. C. S. Lewis quotes, Love, having become a god, becomes a demon. It is can be concluded that this affection can let hate and love existing together, which I am willing to avoid. In conclusion, I show my three loves in this project and conclude them as the archetypal type with the theory of love. First is the liquid love, it has three characteristics: no commitment, commodity and duality. Second is a need-love, however, it is analytically evaluated that there is no strict boundary or differences between gift-love, need-love and appreciate-love.

Government: Less is More Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Government: Less is More      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Land of liberty, land of freedom, a land by, for, and of the people. Have you honestly ever affected one word the government has spoken? Do you do anything in daily life without the subtle involvement of Uncle Sam? Everything you see and use is government approved, or else it is illegal to use it.    There are many groups adamantly protesting, or rather complaining, about the amount of control the government has. I am not of the belief that the government is out to get us and we should buy as many weapons as possible to fight them off. I also don't believe we should not obey laws because we are not happy with them. I do feel, however, we need to become aware of the problems we face because of this excessive control. Let's look at some of these problems.    First of all, our government knows more about us than we know about ourselves. They have access to virtually any information they could ever want. There is no apparent harm in this, but why is it necessary? And if it is, maybe we should change our programs so it's not. There is a potential, a highly unlikely one I will admit, for our government to take advantage of that information to our detriment. Why take the chance?    Most of the areas our government has too much control over involve money. For example, the welfare system in our "free enterprise" society is simply the government taking our money, whether we want to give it or not, not to mention how much of it they want, and distributing it as they feel best. I can understand the need for welfare during the depression. It was a plan of action for a time of crisis, and it worked. We have been out of that crisis for seventy years. I think it's time to change. Our curr... ...y, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or how to behave we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. I learned the awesome power of disobedience from...every great man who led those with right against those with might." (Heston) Works Cited    Belz, Joel. "Wrong Without a Remedy." World. Nov. 20-27, 1999 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Major Provisions of the Welfare to Work Legislation." CBPP Web Page. Cbpp.org/609wtw.htm, URL#325298, 6-9-98. De La Rocha, Zach. "Snack Charmer." Evil Empire. Sony Entertainment 1996. Heston, Charlton. "Winning the Cultural War." Speech given to Harvard Law School Foru. Feb, 16, 1999 Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983 Thomas, Cal. "Outlaws and Their Guns." World. Nov. 20-27, 1999.

Outline on Genital Herpes

Kamara Gayle Outline of Major Report November 12, 2011 Title: An Introduction to Genital Herpes Introduction The definition of Genital Herpes Symptoms of Genital Herpes Treatment for Genital herpes The definition of Genital Herpes. A. Definition 1. Genital herpes is highly contagious, sexually transmitted viral infection of the genital and anal regions caused by herpes simplex virus and characterized by small clusters of painful lesions. B. First discovered by Hippocrates in the early ancient Greek times.Hippocrates was a Greek physician and that was highly reckoned as the superlative physician of his time. The human body and observation was his main focus and medical practice. Hippocrates discovered that illness in the body was not caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirit. Based on his study he realized that the body must be treated as a whole and not just series of parts, natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air, cleanliness. However, severity of symp toms varys from one person to another and thoughts, ideas, feeling come from the brain and the heart.C. Rate of occurrence 50 to 80 percent of the adult populations have Genital Herpes. Approximately 1 out of 5 female ages from 14 to 49 and Approximately 1 out of 9 male ages from 14 to 49 have Genital Herpes. Most of the time these individuals do not know they have the virus D. Causes Being female Being born to a mother with active genital herpes during pregnancy or delivery Having a compromised immune system due to medications or such conditions as HIV/AIDS Having multiple sexual partnersHaving unprotected sex, including vaginal, oral, or anal sex, with a partner who has had one or more other sexual partners History of another sexually transmitted disease III. Symptoms of Genital Herpes A. Primary Infection Painful red blister that burst to leave open sores around the genitals, rectum (back passage) The blistering and ulcers on the cervix In woman a vaginal discharge Very painfull when passing urine Temperature fever of 38Â ° C (100. 4 Â °F) or over Not feeling well with aches and pain in general B. Recurrent Infection Signaled by a tingling sensation Itching in the genital areasPain in the buttocks or down the leg IV. Treatments for Genital Herpes A. Oral medications Famciclovir (Farmvir) Valacyclovir (Valtrex) Acyclovir (Zovirax) These prevent the virus from multiplying and even shorten the length of eruption. B. Self-care at home Avoid excessive heat or sunlight that makes the irritation more uncomfortable. Do not used perfume or antibacterials soaps, feminine deodorant or douches. Wear comfortable loose fitting cotton clothing. Take aspen, acetaminopen (tylenol and others) Used cool cloths on the affected area if it soothes the pain. V. Conclusion

Early Civilization Essay

History records the rise and fall of different civilizations of various countries. It has been found that in different times, different civilizations reach the pinnacle of glory. But, due to various reasons, like ecological change, climatic disaster, natural calamities, foreign conquest, epidemic disease, fall-short of population etc. have brought about their decay. The following examples clearly show how, after the zenith of civilization, the downfall may come about. Indus Valley Civilization The explorer’s spade has unearthed the most fascinating remains of the extremely rich and flourishing civilization of the Indus valley. The long span of the Indus Valley civilization and its firmly – settled character lead to the perplexing question – what was the cause of its destruction? At the present state of our knowledge and till the Indus script is deciphered we are not in a position to know the actual reasons of the end of this great civilization. However, on the basis of the available data, some attempts may be made to find out the causes of the decay of this civilization. First of all, there are dependable evidences to prove that rainfall in Indus valley was somewhat ample and equable in the third millennium B. C. The Indus valley had a larger rainfall than what we see today and that the land was swampy and full of jungles as known from the figure of animals like rhinoceros, elephants engraved on the seals. In course of time, the volume of rainfall gradually decreased. With the loss of rainfall, land became arid and dry. The aridity of the land led to deterioration of the civilization. The underground salt was dragged to the surface by evaporation of moisture. The progressive drying-up of the land led to desert-condition. This is proved from the story of Alexander’s invasion in the 4rth C. B. C. when Alexander the Great was marching through the cheerless wastes of Makran, the desert condition of the area was far in advance (Thaper 55). Under the teeth of this inhospitable climate, the Indus civilization started to decay long before the foreigners invaded the towns. Secondly, the growing danger of flood might had been responsible for the evacuation of Mohenjodaro. With the gradual silting up of the bed of the Indus, the water-level rose high, specially in the rainy season. This led, sometimes, to flooding of the city. At least on three occasions devastating floods swept over the city. It is found from excavation that an embankment 43ft. wide had to be rebuilt 14ft. higher up in order to protect the Mohenjodaro Citadel from the encroaching water-level of the river. Houses were built up on piled-up debrieses or on raised foundations in order to avert the danger of flood. The extensive use of the burnt-brick instead of sun-dried ones at Mohenjodaro equally testfies the danger of flood. Thirdly, human negligence was a contributory factor to the desiccation of Iands. Excessive flood of the Indus towns induced to burn bricks wood was used extensively as a fuel. The excessive deforestation caused by the felling of trees in order to burn bricks led to decline in the rainfall. It is a cardinal truth that lack of trees and forests decrease the rate of rainfall. The decline in rainfall dried up the crust of the earth and underground salinity came to the surface. Gradually deserts expanded and, resultantly, agriculture and human habitations were destroyed. The later phases of the civilization at Mohenjodaro presents a sad picture of this neglect and barrenness of the Indus civilization. In upper layers at Mohenjodaro, the dams meant to reserve the flood-water were not properly maintained. The agricultural standard also deteriorated. Fourthly, many scholars have pointed out that the Harrappans had a very iron-bound, conservative outlook about everything. They refused to learn from others any new thing or system. The civilization was cramped by its inherent barrenness and incapability to adjust itself to changing time and environment. With the march of time, the civilization lost its vitality and original creativity. It failed to survive in the midst of changing environment and changing society. Some scholars emphasize this negative aspect of Harrappan civilization as the fundamental cause of its decay and, in their view, all other causes were merely contributory. An inertia grew out of this conservatism which ruined the vitality of the civilization. This reflects the negligience of the Harappans to repair the dams. At Mohenjodaro among the seven layers, the upper layers of later period, we find growing slums, houses being created upon ruins of old houses, rooms being pertitioned into small cells for swarming lower grade population. Houses were encroaching upon the streets; lanes were chocked with klins. Old bricks were used for building new houses. Thus, there are reasons to believe that the internal decline and decay in the Harappan towns had set in long before the foreign invasion which completely swept away the Harappan culture. The internal decay started from the stagnation and barrenness of Hardpan culture and its failure to adjust with changing circumstances. With the internal decay was added natural calamities like floods, decrease in rainfalls and so on. According to some scholars, the city of Mohenjo-Daro was situated within a terrible earthquake-belt which might have frequently devastated the city. Again the earthquake theory has been challenged by others on the ground that if the people at Mohenjo-Daro could build their city upon seven layers, why they failed to built another layer upon the city destroyed by the earthquake? Moreover the earthquake theory is not applicable to all the towns of Harappa-culture (Nath 670). In any case, internal decline started from many reasons and the towns began to decay. This decline and incapability to adjust with the changing circumstances is evident in the failure of the Harappa people to learn from Samaria the art of cutting canals to irrigate the fields. This incapability led to the destruction of dams or reservoirs. This is how Mohenjo-Daro lost its importance when the Indus shifted its course. â€Å"The glorious culture was practically ruined in 1900 B. C. , long before the invasion of the Aryans† (Majumder 201). Fifthly, whatever may be the domestic potential for the gradual decline of the Indus civilization, its ultimate extinction was most certainty due to invasion from without by a people who were probably the Aryans. The tragic end of the Indus civilization came about 1500 B. C. , the time the when the Aryans entered into the land of the seven Rivers. It is said that, the Aryans destroyed some metal forts and seasonal forts. Similar forts or citadel have been found at Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and other places. Hence, it is reasonable to infer that the Aryans were the destroyers of the Indus civilization. Certain circumstantial evidences are also available to justify the theory of Aryan invasion. Excavation have reveled that in the last stage of Mohenjo-Daro civilization, people were massacred in streets, houses and public places. Some of the victims were even women and children. Head and skull injuries found in the skeletons point to the use of sharp and heavy weapons by the invaders. The dead bodies were left uncared and exposed. (Paul 126) According to some historians, the downfall of the Indus Valley civilization came up due to some natural disasters like earthquake or flood. But most historians believed that the fall was actually caused by the Aryan invasion and the consequent cultural conquest. Fall of Roman Empire The city of Rome, founded in 753 B. C. was originally the most important commercial center situated on the Tiber, very near to place where it flows into the Mediterranean. But subsequently Rome grew into a political power and expanded the empire over a large part of Europe, the Tigris and Euphrates valleys in Asia Minor, and the northern coasts of Africa. In 330 A. D. , Emperor Constantine founded a second capital at Byzantium on the Black Sea, which came to be known as Constantinople after the name of its founder. Virtually, the vast Roman Empire was divided into two parts – Western and Eastern. In fifth century A. D. (476) the West Roman Empire was broken up by the invading barbarians but the Eastern Empire, also called the Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as its capital continued to exist about a thousand years more (1453). In the view of Prof. Henry Perrine the fall of the Roman Empire has caused a stir among the historians. According to the view of Penne the Roman Empire was essentially confined to the Mediterranean by the end of the 3rd century B. C. in fact the Roman Empire had to depend on the Mediterranean commerce for its political and economic interests. Perrine has put emphasis on the issue that the repeated German tribal invasions in the 5th century B. C. on the Western Roman Empire while converting them into German provinces could not destroy the unity of the Empire. The provinces of the Roman Empire were not Germanized. He is of the opinion that it is also a mistake to suppose that the intermittent German tribal invasions lead to the introduction of agrarian economy in the occupied zone of the Roman Empire. The Frankish system was, in fact, Romano-Byzantine. It is obvious that Perrine did not attach much importance to German invasions of the Roman Empire. His comment on the expansion of the Islam on the Mediterranean is more important as it produced far-reaching consequences. According to him, the Islamic invasion of the 7th century A. D. is something unique. The occupation of Syria, Tunisia and Spain by the Moslem invaders destroyed the Mediterranean unity and caused the final separation between the East and West. In this way two opponent civilizations came face to face with each other by the middle of the 7th century and this confrontation led to the inauguration of the middle ages in Europe. As it has been aptly pointed out, the Mediterranean, once a Roman Lake, henceforth was converted into a Muslim Lake. Secondly, in the view of R. H. C. Davis, when the Byzantine and Islamic empires were flourishing, the economy of the Latin West was stagnant. Davis has pointed out that Perrine has come to his conclusions from a consideration of the economy of the ancient world. The economy of the ancient world was dependent on the commercial navigation in the Mediterranean. Perrine is of opinion that so long this commercial navigation remained unmolested by the pirates, there was a regular flow of commerce and the population of Rome could be fed on African corn. If this normal commercial activity was disrupted then there would have been a total dislocation in this region. Davis has anticipated, following Perrine, the possible disturbing factors in the event of the inevitable decline of commerce in the Mediterranean. According to him, with the decline of commerce, the towns and cities face the same fate. The flourishing life of municipal towns became the matter of past. Naturally, the population gradually decreased. The agricultural wealth locked up within the country as there was no other outlet. The greater landlords built up their own workshops for making tools or weaving cloth and they paid their workers in kind. This possible state-affair has been described by Perrine as the ‘economy of no outlets’. According to Perrine, this character of the economy was vividly seen during the eighth and ninth centuries and this is attributed to the feudal society. The land was the only source of wealth. According to him feudalism was the outcome of this ‘economy of no outlets’ and Charlemagne was a child of it. It is the opinion of Perrine that free navigation of the Mediterranean might have been suspended but the more important problem is to determine the actual time of this suspension. He therefore, has tried to find out evidence of the use of such goods in the Frankish Kingdom as could be produced in eastern or southern shores of the Mediterranean. Although his findings have been disputed, yet these goods included gold, olive oil, (from North Africa), oriental silk, papyrus (from Egypt) and spices. According to him, these goods were very much in use in Gaul upto the last quarter of the 7th century and they all disappeared from the market by the first quarter of the eight century. Thirdly, the invasion of the Muslims is an important factor in disrupting the Mediterranean navigation. But at the beginning of the 8th century A. D. the Muslim captured Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain. The occupation of Tunisia was the most vital as later had a position of particular strategic importance. After its occupation the Muslims could disrupt the communications between the eastern and western halves of the Mediterranean. Trade also continued in Byzantium, but Pisa, Genoa and other ports of provinces were neglected. Perrine pointed out, that for its reason a great vacuum was created in the port of Marseilles. This eventually led to the decline of the cities of the southern Gaul and the â€Å"economy of no outlets† was imposed by the Muslims on the Latin West. Fourthly, in the ninth and tenth centuries the most important trading centers were secured. Thus instead of Milan, Florence, Pisa, towns like Pavia, Amalfi, Reims and Verdun flourished as they were relatively secured and farther from the coast. Venice was an exception and trade was at its low ebb in the Latin West during the ninth and tenth centuries. Fifthly, the religious intolerance also played its part. The spread of Christianity was another important factor contributing towards the fall of Rome. Rome had been known to be a nation of religious tolerance. But some Romans, mainly the Jews, did not accept Christianity. Naturally, there was a conflict between these two communities. Sixthly, although Jesus was crucified for his efforts to spread peace, the Romans were truly inspired by his words. Soon, the number of Roman involvement in the military and the participation in the community gradually declined. Resultantly, the Roman army was not increasing in numbers. At this juncture, the Barbarians of Germany, who formed an integral part of the Roman army, revolted against Rome and led disorganized attacks on several parts of Rome and even on the Roman army itself. Gradually, the Roman army became weakened and it was no longer a military super power in the world. Thus, it is crystal clear that the downfall of any civilization was never caused due to any single factor. Several factors accumulated and contributed together to the decay of these civilizations. Hence, it is amply clear that no civilization is permanent and ever lasting. As it rises at a particular time, similarly, it comes to an end at another historical juncture. Reference Majumder, R. C. Indus Civilization, The Vedic Age, Dakshinamurty Prakashan, Calcutta, p. 201-203 Nath, P. The Scripts on the Indus Seal, Modern Publications, New Delhi, p. 670-74 Paul, C. Causes of the Downfall, A History of Rome, Dey Publishers, New Delhi, p. 121-26 Sethy, S. Perrine Thesis, The Fall of Rome, World Press Pvt. Ltd. , Calcutta, 1981, p. 126-34 Thaper, R. History of India, vol. 1, ed. 3, 1987, p. 55-68 Wells, H. G. Wells, Barbarians Break Empire into East and West, A Short History of the World, Penguin Books, London, 1965, p. 152-61

buy custom High School Affiliation essay

buy custom High School Affiliation essay Pacing is the speed at which information is delivered by a tutor or teacher in a lesson. Lesson pacing is essential in a classroom. It should be quick enough to ensure that students are interested but not so fast that they do not understand. According to Alan Hofmeister and Margaret Lubke (1999), pacing increases students interest and betters their behavior. While a teacher is presenting a lecture, he/she ought to lookout for indicators that the students are bored. The pace for each lesson should be appropriate for the level of students. In grade 5-8, the students are still learning the basics, and it is at this point their interest in learning is natured. In this case, the pace should be moderate to provide opportunities for students to engage in inquiries whether wholly or partially. At this instance, students in grades 5-8 are able to identify the relationship between evidence and interpretation. It is vital that they are a part of a class that is actively involving and is moving at the right pace. Lesson pacing should be emphasized as it is necessary in the engagement of the student in what is taught. It is the teachers responsibility to ensure he/she is aware of students interest by paying attention to the students during the lesson. If students become agitated or restless, the teacher should slow down or stop the session. However, if they appear bored he/she should speed up the lesson. To ensure the lecture is on a brisk pace the teacher adds variety as the spice of lessons, give the students a break to refresh, break down lessons into smaller sectons, avoid too much paperwork and ensure the students understand. Instructors or teachers have a lot to consider when planning the lessons pace, this can be summed up as the students needs. Factors that are specific to the students are age or grade, attention span, complexity of the lesson and specific need students. Special need students include ELL students and gifted or learning disabled (McLeod, Fisher, Hoover, 2003). Different types of students will respond to pacing in a different way. Students who are learning English will find it overwhelming if they have to try grasping the language and understanding the content at the same time. ELL students need a steady pace, unlike in a class without ELL students it is vital that they understand the material even if it takes a long time (Jones and Jones, 2004). When teaching a class that includes ELL students, the teacher should slow the pacing but make sure the English language rhythm is maintained. ELL students need extra time to understand the content and process the linguistic aspect. The teacher has to monitor the ELL students progress so that he/she can determine what has to be done. The teacher might consider allocating more time to ELL students might help them bridge the gap by pairing ELL students with native English speakers. The native English speaking students can also serve as unofficial teacher assistant with direct teacher supervision. The teacher has to simplify the language of presentation as the ELL student is familiar with commonly used terms and definitions. Pacing in classses that do not include ELL students is fast in comparison to that which includes ELL students. The students can now concentrate on capturing the content rather than in understanding the language. At grades 5-8 the students are in quest of knowledge and are quick to learn thus even ELL students will use a shorter time to learn English unless there are unforeseen external factors such as discrimination, stressful environment or peer pressure. The complexity of the lesson will determine how much information the student will grasp within the stipulated class time. Complexity of lesson material may affect lesson pacing negatively as it slows it down. In a class, that includes ELL students the teacher has to simplify the content such that it is not challenging to the students. The content will also have to be divided into smaller packages that are delivered systematically to ensure all students comprehend. Other methods that maybe employed in making difficult content much easier to understand are including discussions held within the class amongst the students and brainstorming. In grade 5-8 middle-school students might have problems especially when it comes to identifying variables in scientific experiments. However, in social studies and mathematics with gradual pacing, the students can learn a lot. It can be noted that as long what is taught is within the curriculum and the extent of students in grade 5-8 they will learn. At this stage, it would be unwise to divide the students into high-achieving and low-achieving students as it would hamper the progress of others whose need is just motivation. Buy custom High School Affiliation essay

Religion In Relation To Slavery essays

Religion In Relation To Slavery essays Religion is the basis for a lot of things good and bad. It is often used as a scapegoat to justify the wrong doings of some people. The verses of the Bible are often twisted to mean what people want them to mean. In fact religion is the foundation of bondage during the Slave Era in Frederick Douglass story Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. In Douglass narrative he describes the brutality to which he and his fellow slaves were often subjected. He speaks of the harsh beatings they received for doing no wrong, and how the slaveholders believed it to be Gods will to commit the horrid acts that they committed. In this narrative Douglass states I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, a justifier of the most appalling barbarity, a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds, and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection (346). There is a woman slave in Douglass narrative, which he does not name, whose back was constantly raw due to the callous whippings her master would give her simply because he felt it was his duty to do so. It is apparent that the slaveholders believed they had religious endorsement for their vindictiveness. As they would beat the slaves they would quote scriptures from the Bible to rationalize their actions. Douglass elaborates on this as well. He states I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cow skin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of scripture [He that knoweth his masters will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes] (336). How ...

Aristophanes on Homosexual and Heterosexual Soul Mates

Aristophanes on Homosexual and Heterosexual Soul Mates The Greek comedy writer Aristophanes (ca 448-385 BCE), wrote more than 40 plays, many of them comedies which are bawdy and over-the-top, a genre in Greek literature called Old Comedy. Many of them were aimed at Socrates, like this inspired myth about how there came to be people with different sexual orientations.   This treatise appears in the Symposium by Plato, written by 360 BCE, and is from the Greek. In the Beginning In the beginning, there were three parents: Sun, Moon, and Earth. Each produced an offspring, round and otherwise like itself. From the  sun was produced the man; from earth, the woman; from the  moon, the union of the two, the androgyne. Each of these three was a double, one head with two faces looking out in opposite directions, four arms and legs, and two sets of genitalia. They moved about on the earth with a great deal more freedom and power than humans do now, for they rolled rather than walked- ran hand over hand and foot over foot at double speed. One day, these fast, powerful, but foolish creatures decided to scale Mt. Olympus to attack the gods. What should the gods do to show the foolish humans the error of their ways? Should they shoot them down with thunderbolts? No, they decided, too boring. Theyd done that before to the giants. Besides, who would pour out libations and offer sacrifices to them if they destroyed their worshipers? They had to devise a new punishment. Arrogant Humans Zeus thought and thought. Finally, he had a brainstorm. Humans werent a real threat, but they did need a dressing down. Their arrogance would be checked if they lost their speed, strength, and confidence. Zeus decided that if they were cut in half, they would be only half as fast and half as strong. Even better, it was a re-usable plan. Should they act up again, he would repeat the operation, leaving them with only one leg and one arm each. After he revealed his plan to his fellow Olympians, he asked Apollo to join him in putting it into effect. The king of the gods cut the man-man, woman-woman, and man-woman creatures in half and Apollo made the necessary repairs. The face which previously facing out, Apollo turned inward. Then he gathered all the skin together (like a purse) with an opening in the middle as a reminder to mankind of his earlier state. Rejoining Soul Mates After the surgery, the half-creatures ran around frantically looking for their other halves, seeking them out, embracing them, and trying to join together again. Unable to join, the creatures despaired and began to starve to death in their sorrow. Zeus, mindful of his need for worship, decided something must be done to recharge the creatures spirits, so he instructed Apollo to create a means to rejoin temporarily. This Apollo did by turning the genitals to the belly side of the body. Before, mankind had procreated by dropping a seed on the ground. This new system created an interesting new means of producing offspring. The creatures who had been double women before, naturally sought out women, those who had been androgynous, sought out members of the opposite gender, those who had been double men, sought out the company of men. They sought out their other halves,  not simply for intercourse, but so they could become whole again by being rejoined with their souls. Sources Plato. Symposium. Trans. Benardete, Seth [1930–2001] Internet Archive. Web Plato. Symposium. Trans. Jowett, Benjamin [1817–1893]. Project Gutenberg 2008. Web.   Plato. Symposium. Trans. Shelley, Percy Bysshe [1792–1822]. Internet Archive. Web.

Portrait of a Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portrait of a Teacher - Essay Example rtunities to express opinions, as well as share stories and experiences; inviting students to speak up and ask questions; and even to express contentions and disagreement to arguments. The educational environment in the U.S. perfectly encourages principles of democracy in education through voicing out what is in one’s mind whether or not, it is supportive of the educators’ points of views and perspectives. Critical and analytical thinking and expressing of one’s thoughts, concepts, and ideas are frequently encouraged. Nothing conflicted with this standard as compared to a culturally diverse elementary school I went to over 20 years ago. There was no democracy in the classroom back then. The teacher would always be the one to choose what we do and how to do it. Critical thinking was not encouraged at all. When an educational structure or any educator imposes one’s thoughts and actions to another, the principles of democracy would be deemed violated. However, one must realize that democracy in education must be practiced while adhering to rules of conduct and discipline along the standards enumerated within a learning environment. As emphasized in the discourse on Democratic Principles in Education, â€Å"discipline in an educational institution is closely related to the behaviour of both teachers and pupils, their motives and their understanding of each other† (Unit 4: Democratic Principles in Education 55). Therefore, as early as elementary education, molding the appropriate princip les of democracy in education should be inculcated by teachers to establish the appropriate foundation for respect, understanding and discipline. As a future teacher, the methods by which a classroom climate would promote the standard of adhering to the principles of democracy in education are: (1) respecting that each student is unique and diverse whose needs and competencies differ and therefore should be addressed according to the development of a â€Å"balanced and harmonious

Employee loyalty and retention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee loyalty and retention - Research Paper Example According to Mathis and Jackson (165), vertical (supervisory/management) and lateral (co-worker) relationships among the staff influences employee retention. An individual in a supervisory role may build or fail to build positive relationships through actions entailing fairness, non-discrimination, flexibility, provision of feedback, recognition of effort, provision of support and work-family balance among many other considerations. Managers have to be conscious of the importance of employee relations since they are in a position to influence these relations. For instance, horizontal and vertical violence cause higher levels of turnover in practices such as nursing (Stanley 5). Employee relations is related to another factor of loyalty and retention; organizational/management factors influenced by employer practices and policies. Mathis and Jackson (165) argue that organizations with clearly established goals and providing employees with the necessary resources to reach their potential retain employees better than their counterparts. Noe, Hellenbeck, Gerhart and Wright (314) state that managers are the most important factor leading to employee engagement. Participative management promotes employee satisfaction, loyalty and subsequently, retention. On the other hand, management practices such as favoritism, involvement in undesirable or unethical practices and taking undue credit for employee efforts lead to low loyalty levels. The way a firm leverages compensation and performance for employees also influences loyalty and retention. Employees cite better pay/benefits as incentives that lead to leaving one employer for another. Conversely, employers may use better pay/benefits as a competitive tool for the attraction and retention of the best employees. Theories of employee motivation also support this view, identifying rewards as the crucial determinant of motivation, which directly relates to loyalty and retention. Noe,

Rhetorical Essay about the book SULA by Toni Morrison

Rhetorical about the book SULA by Toni Morrison - Essay Example Overall, the story revolves around Nel and Sula and how their friendship transforms over years. The main arguments presented include those regarding friendship, faithfulness, disloyalty, and forgiveness. Over time, the forms of friendship are shown to change. Initially, the book presents Nel and Sula to be very good friends. Nel is brought up by her mother so that she is well mannered and an obedient daughter. Nel does not like the way her mother treats her. It is mentioned in the book that Nel likes Sula’s house better as her mother is not scolding or screaming at her (Morrison 29). On the other hand, Sula does not like her mother as she sleeps with other men, and doubts her mother even likes her. One day Sula finds out her mother does not like her either. She feels sad and channels her grievance to Nel whom she feels really close to. In an attempt to be someone different than her mother – who sleeps around with many different married men – Sula eventually becom es more like her mother later on. Sula did not like her mother’s attitude and talks to Nel about it. After Nel gets married to Jude, Sula leaves the Bottom and returns after years. Initially, it seems as if Sula is very happy to meet her again and they are good friends until Nel finds Sula and her husband cheating on her. Nel who already has three children from Jude is extremely sad at seeing her very good friend with her husband. Jude decides to leave Nel after being caught with Sula (Morrison 105). Nel feels devastated and feels like crying, but the way she had been brought up does not allow her to show her emotions openly. The way Nel and Sula’s friendship slides as a result of the sudden change in Sula’s personality after years seems hurtful and illustrates the impermanence of friendship. Another argument made is that regarding betrayal and disloyalty not only in the conventional sense but also inadvertently happening and resulting in the characters getting hurt. Betrayal is obvious at various places. After Sula hears her mother saying that she does not like her, she feels said and betrayed. Her communication with Nel is good and she is able to share her thoughts with Nel. Nel and Sula had always been really good friends and after Sula returns 20 years later to the Bottom, Nel seems to be betrayed by Sula for being selfish and taking her husband away from her. Later, when Sula dies, Nel feels guilty of not having been a good friend and not having understood Sula. The story ends with a grieving Nel who finally forgives Sula. In another part of the book, Nel and Sula experience the death of a little boy named Chicken Little. Both Nel and Sula were swinging Chicken Little by the river when his hand slipped and he went underwater (Morrison 170). In a desperate need for help, Sula runs to Shadrack, but all he has to say is â€Å"always.† She gets afraid and both girls decide not to tell anyone about what happened. Sula feels guilty, but Nel reassures her that it was not her fault but was merely an accident. However, Sula seems to have taken the blame, and this causes her to change for good. Years after Sula’s death, Nel goes to visit her grandmother who says that she saw Nel letting Chicken Little drown. Sula’s grandmother blames both of them for his death. Later Nel does realize that it was really her fault as she enjoyed watching him drown rather than

Ethics case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics case - Essay Example Tarek should also consider the fact that Hind has taken measures to improve the quality of pizza and that blind taste tests have rendered Holiday Inn made pizza to be at least of the same quality as the quality of pizzas made by two major pizza delivery competitors in Amman. Another fact that needs to be considered is that the strategy of installing a pizza oven in the kitchen in the past did bring modest improvement in the room service business, and the only step that could be taken after considering the departing guests’ responses was to improve the quality, which when tried did not improve the business. These facts strongly justify the establishment of a separate pizza-making facility with a separate identity. However, Hind’s proposal that this should be kept a secret is subject to critical analysis. The ethical issues in the case are hidden truth about the identity of Napoli Pizza. Clients are being made to believe that it is a separate pizza-making facility that apparently has no connection with Holiday Inn. This is evident from the fact that separate Napoli Pizza brochures and special Napoli Pizza boxes are being requested for each guest room in addition to Napoli Pizza hats and jackets for the room service personnel that would be assigned the task of delivering the pizzas to the clients. The fact that their prefix would be other than that of Holiday Inn speaks of Hind’s attempt to hide the pizza’s connection with Holiday Inn. For a restaurant to maintain its high reputation, brand image, and customer loyalty, it is imperative that it stays honest with the clients and does the business in a transparent way. A potential risk in the proposal is that Holiday Inn’s image might be jeopardized in the clients’ eyes if they find out the truth and there are possibilities for this; firstly, the phone calls made at the number mentioned on the Napoli Pizza brochures will be attended at

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual Analysis - Essay Example These myths are seen as the past of each gender, male and female. In her argument, she describes males as dominant over women. Men always try to be powerful than women by using some myths, while, in reality, this is not true. Beauvoir seeks to show that the myths that talk about women are indeed false and that in, reality, these women are different. These myths are developed because men are trying to be dominant over women, but in the modern world, this is not the case. Women are termed as equal to men. While the myths of men have indicated that males have control over females, this is not true today, and this is because things have changed and men no longer have control over women. Everything in today’s society is equal, and the myths that exist are no longer recognized, and they are far forgotten (Beauvoir 785). According to the version of Raines (72), men are powerful creatures in society, and they always see themselves as violent, virile and vital people. This is depicted in the character O’ Shaughnessy. This character sees him in front of a saloon with a gun, and as a frontier, he uses his skills of bullfighting to impress the blacks. In her argument, Raines says that the character is performing some rituals, by taking advantage of the blond Irish appearance. By so doing, he is revealing his strong place in society as that of a domineering male character. In the end, he is reduced to the status of a woman by his successful challenger who uses a knife to carve labium marjoram on his cheek. According to Raines the characters sex life has all the qualities of a fighter at war. This is further explained by the encounter O’ Shaughnessy has with Denise. The two are described as making love as fighters with physical violence and physical abuse. O’ Shaughnessy sees Denise as masculine in appearance and behavior. She is given the qualities of a kind lean force with muscles of a young boy who is aggressive (Raines 72). Raines further desc ribes the character as one who admires the qualities that Denise has like; pride, intelligence, one with the force of will and an independent individual. He further wishes to have these qualities because he believes by that he can acquire them by defeating Denise and turning her into a more passive and submissive woman. Raines further argues that O’Shaughnessy sees himself as a hero (73). He sees his sexual dominance as a force that is revitalizing and one which allows him to successfully, win in all the situations of life. He is seen quoting his penis as the avenger (73) because it serves as a symbol of weapon in the war. Raines continues her argument that, in a, sexiest society, the sexual power is the most valuable item in the social and cultural power. After the encounter with Denise, O’ Shaughnessy is portraying the quality of dominance. In that, he says he must make Denise dependent on him (73) by bringing her to her first orgasm. He believes this will make him s ure of victory at last. He is quite startled by Denise when she proves that she is a skillful opponent. Denise reveals to him that he has a feminine side that he does not know. This is because O’ Shaughnessy action in mouth love was passionate. He is wounded by these words, and he allows the female in him to betray his victory and finally Denise becomes a victor (Raines 73). However, O’Shaughnessy is quick to make excuses that would justify his failure to win. He states that Denise had won because she told the truth and

Ethics case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics case - Essay Example Tarek should also consider the fact that Hind has taken measures to improve the quality of pizza and that blind taste tests have rendered Holiday Inn made pizza to be at least of the same quality as the quality of pizzas made by two major pizza delivery competitors in Amman. Another fact that needs to be considered is that the strategy of installing a pizza oven in the kitchen in the past did bring modest improvement in the room service business, and the only step that could be taken after considering the departing guests’ responses was to improve the quality, which when tried did not improve the business. These facts strongly justify the establishment of a separate pizza-making facility with a separate identity. However, Hind’s proposal that this should be kept a secret is subject to critical analysis. The ethical issues in the case are hidden truth about the identity of Napoli Pizza. Clients are being made to believe that it is a separate pizza-making facility that apparently has no connection with Holiday Inn. This is evident from the fact that separate Napoli Pizza brochures and special Napoli Pizza boxes are being requested for each guest room in addition to Napoli Pizza hats and jackets for the room service personnel that would be assigned the task of delivering the pizzas to the clients. The fact that their prefix would be other than that of Holiday Inn speaks of Hind’s attempt to hide the pizza’s connection with Holiday Inn. For a restaurant to maintain its high reputation, brand image, and customer loyalty, it is imperative that it stays honest with the clients and does the business in a transparent way. A potential risk in the proposal is that Holiday Inn’s image might be jeopardized in the clients’ eyes if they find out the truth and there are possibilities for this; firstly, the phone calls made at the number mentioned on the Napoli Pizza brochures will be attended at

Sales Engineering Division Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sales Engineering Division - Essay Example In this scenario, one can conceive that while Terrill is trying to accomplish the responsibility of being a good leader, he also makes it a point that he listens to what his subordinates will say, an indication that he wants his decisions to be reasonable enough for the welfare of his followers. Terrill belongs to Leadership Era 4, where relational theories were being applied to stabilize organizations. Terrills commitment to improve the status of productivity and to inhibit himself, as well as the management from intervening in the work of the sales engineering division, shows his dedication to turning around what has been the usual practice which is being spearheaded by those in the top management. He wanted to bring out the best among his followers, and that is the reason why he wanted to let them work as a team and use their expertise as engineers, and not as mere pencil pushers. Diversely, the headquarters belong to leadership era 2, where rules were set by management. They have forced employees to follow not what they think is proper, but what the management thinks is right for them (Daft 21). In other words, employees were being treated as followers alone, depriving them with the right to influence management decisions. If in the same position as Terrill, the most appropriate approach to consider would be to adopt the relational theories. Disputes arise between management and employees that would cause conflict obliging leaders to mediate and implement actions that will not cause harm to both parties. The manager, who serves as a leader, should also act as a follower who will bridge the gap between the management and the sales engineering division through means of establishing relationships and regular communication. When healthy working relationships are built, eventually all things will follow e.g. increase in productivity, performance

Final Exam Guide Essay Example for Free

Final Exam Guide Essay Question 1: How would you define successful leadership? What standard do you apply when evaluating leadership success? Is it possible to predict success based on organizational cultures or other factors? Provide examples to support your answer. Solution: Successful leadership is the ability to channel and coordinate the energy of the group to attain the desired goals of the business. It is the capacity to motivate and inspire followers to go beyond the distance of their perceived limitations, to rise to the challenges of the task at hand, and to seek out innovative and novel solutions. In a word, success leadership is empowering. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, â€Å"A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.† A successful leadership can be evaluated by the following standards: a) Example – A successful leader leads by example, which is the key to authentic leadership. This is demonstrated by working hard, making difficult decisions, taking risks, and personal sacrifices. b) Integrity – There are no shortcuts to success. A successful leader is honest, dependable and uncompromising on his or her work and business ethics. c) Solid goals – A successful leader has solid goals and direction, which are communicated to the team. The leader makes the team identify and take ownership of the business’s goals in order to motivate them to achieve these goals. d) Knowledge – A leader is equipped with knowledge and skills necessary for the enterprise. The leader leverages the team’s best chance of success by knowing and understanding the obstacles, competition and risks present in an endeavor. e) Autonomous – A successful leader provides for autonomy by empowering the members to think, innovate and own the solution to a problem. f) High Expectations – A successful leader expects a high level of excellence from the team. Expectations create results; people want to proud of their work. However, high expectation does not mean perfection. Rather, it is learning through experience and errors, and being accountable for one’s mistakes. g) Humility – A successful leader knows the value of  teamwork and gives credit where it is due. Leadership is not about personalities; it is about directing the group’s efforts toward the completion of an endeavor. h) Execution – A successful leader has the discipline to get things done. He or she can bridge the gap between theory and actual execution of a plan. Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy is an Indian businessman and co-founder of Infosys, which was founded in 1981. Mr. Murthy served as CEO of Infosys from 1982 to 2002, and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. He stepped down from the board in 2011, and became Chairman Emeritus. Mr. Murthy embodies the ideals of a successful leadership. He is a top leader, an institution builder, and an IT legend. He empowered his executives, management team and workers. He encouraged and nurtured leadership qualities in the organization through mentoring and training. He institutionalized ethical values of honesty and integrity throughout the organization. Question 2: What methods exist to develop leaders in an organization? What methods does your organization use? Why? Have any methods been counterproductive? In what ways? Solution: There are various approaches to leadership development in an organization that will be briefly describes as follows: 1) Formal Development Programs – In its basic format, a formal program consists of a classroom seminar covering basic theories and principles of leadership. It can be in the form of a tailored development program fitted to serve the needs of the specific organization. It can also be open-enrollment programs offered by private and academic institutions. 2) 3600 Feedback – This is also known as a multi-source feedback, and a multi-rater feedback. This method involves systematically collecting assessments of a person’s performance from different sources, which typically consists of supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, and other stakeholders. 3) Executive Coaching – This method is defined as a practical, goal-oriented form of personal and one-on-one learning. Coaching is usually used to improve individual performance, enhance a career, o r work through organizational issues. 4) Job Assignments – This method works under the assumption that experience is the best teacher. This method trains would-be leaders in an organization by giving them a variety of job assignments that will expose them to different work environments; hence, it allows them to adapt, and become better  strategic thinkers. 5) Mentoring – Mentoring programs typically pair a senior and a junior manager, but pairing can also occur between peers. Mentoring involves advising and passing on lessons learned from the senior to the junior partner. 6) Networking – Some organizations include development activities designed to foster broader individual networks for better connection with partners in a global community. Leaders are expected to know not only the in and out of the organization, but also know who in terms of problem-solving resources. 7) Reflection – Introspection and reflection can foster self-understanding and understanding from lessons learned from exper ience. In leadership development, reflection can be used to uncover a person’s hidden goals, talents, and values, as well as their impact on a person’s work. 8) Action Learning – This is a project-based learning method characterized by a continuous process of learning and reflection, aided by colleagues, and with an emphasis on getting things done. This method connects individual development to the process of helping organizations respond to major business problems. 9) Outdoor Challenges – This is a team-building experience in an outdoor or wilderness setting, designed to overcome risk-taking fears, and to promote teamwork and leadership skills. Our organization uses formal programs to develop leaders. Recognizing that a classroom-based learning, while easy and flexible, is limited in the actual transfer of competencies, the formal program serves as a shell under which various development methods are incorporated. Hence, the formal program is structured by combining theoretical learning and problem-based learning. Then, a 360-degree feedback is given to each participant, which serves as a basis for an in-depth reflection. For most people, the 360-degree feedback is difficult to handle for several reasons. The primary reason is an inherent resistance to change. Another reason is the overwhelming amount of data, which can be complex, inconsistent, and difficult to interpret and translate into an action or behavior that can correct a given problem. Mere knowledge and acceptance of one’s developmental needs are not enough to bring about change. There is a need for follow-up guidance and support. That is why participants are also given short-term coaching to identify specific areas of concern and how to resolve these concerns. Question 3: In The Art and Science of Leadership, Nahavandi writes about the dark side of power. Provide an example. What organizational factors contributed to the leader’s behavior? What were consequences of the behavior? Solution: Nahavandi cites corruption as the dark side of power. An example of a scandal that shocked the corporate world was the case of the German engineering giant Siemens in 2006. A regulatory investigation revealed that hundreds of employees, spearheaded by Siemens’ top executives, had been siphoning millions of Euros into bogus deals to pay massive bribes to government officials and business contacts to win contracts in Russia and Nigeria. A trial judge described the scandal as a blatant disregard of business ethics and a systematic practice of organized irresponsibility that was implicitly condoned by management. The scandal resulted to the departure of Siemens top executives, including then CEO Klaus Kleinfield, who was later convicted of corruption, placed on probation for 2 years, and fined 160,000 Euro for his complicity. Hans-Werner Hartmann, who was the accounting head in the company’s telecommunications arm, was also placed on probation for 18 months and fined 40,000 Euro. The scandal cost Siemens around 2.5 billion Euro to pay for fines, reparations and damages. The firm was also barred from dealings with certain clients. The cost to Siemens’ employees, who had to endure intense public scrutiny and shame, is difficult to quantify. Organizational factors that contributed to a culture of bribery within Siemens were identified as follows: an aggressive growth strategy that compelled managers to resort to bribes in order to meet performance targets; a complex and matrix-like organizational structure that allowed divisions to operate independently, with no established checks and balances; poor accounting processes; a corporate culture openly tolerant of bribes. It should be noted that bribes were tax-deductible, and were the norms, not the exceptions, in German business practice at that time. Question 4: What obstacles exist for leaders involved in participatory management? What methods may a leader employ to overcome these obstacles? Solution: Participative management, also known as employee involvement and empowerment, encourages the participation of all the organization’s stakeholders in the analysis of problems, development of strategies, and implementation of solutions. While participative management seems like a utopian ideal, leaders face many obstacles in its effective implementation. One obstacle is encouraging the participation of employees in the managerial process of planning and making decisions. Employees may not fully participate due to lack of competencies, lack of confidence, and fear of rejection. Another reason is the employee’s lack of trust that his or her contributions will be valued. The presence of tension and rivalry among employees are also barriers to effective communication, and ability to work together. Leaders can address these issues by being sincere in their desire to implement participative management. Leaders should strengthen communication within the workplace, and initiate team-building activities to strengthen bonds between peers, and between employees and management. Training programs should also be initiated to develop employees’ competencies, leadership skills and self-confidence. Once employees are fully committed to engage in participative management, other obstacles arise, which includes the amplification of the complexity of the organization’s activities and the growing volume of information that managerial decisions are based on. These can lead to difficulty in getting things done, and slow response time to issues that need fast reactions and actions. Leaders cannot solve these obstacles alone; these require the concerted effort of the entire organization. However, leaders can take the lead in delegating responsibilities to reduce the hierarchic levels in the organization, and to decentralized authority so that the organization can respond to issues quickly and efficiently. Leaders can also establish quality circles, which are composed of around 8 to 10 employees along with the supervisor who share areas of responsibility among themselves. These circles can meet regularly to discuss problems in their respective areas and  brainstorm for solutions, which they can later present to the entire organization as a fully developed action plan. In this way, the complexity of participative management is simplified. Another obstacle to participative management concerns security issues. It is harder to ensure confidential information stays within the organization when more people are involved in managerial decisions. This confidential information can include patents, and product research and development. Leaders can address this obstacle by motivating employees to be accountable for their actions and to stay committed to the company by valuing their contributions. Question 5: What are some reasons employees and managers resist change? As a leader, what methods would you use to help employees and managers adapt to change? Solution: Adaptability to change is a prerequisite to become successful in the modern world characterized by increasing global awareness and fast turnover of technology. Organizations must respond to change and be willing to change to retain their competitive edge and relevance. However, implementing organizational changes are daunting for leaders, not least because most employees and managers resist change. The common reasons why employees resist change are the following: change promotes fear, insecurity and uncertainty, difference in perception and lack of understanding, reaction against the way change is presented, cynicism and lack of trust, and threats to vested interest. In order to overcome resistance to change, leaders can involve workers in the change process by openly communicating about the need for change, providing consultation to alleviate employees’ fears, and being sensitive to employees’ concerns. In order to implement change, leaders must decide on the method they will use to overcome resistance to change, and modify behavior. The three-step approach is an example of such a method; it is characterized by three basic stages: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. 1) Unfreezing: Most people prefer to maintain the status quo, which is  associated with stability, rather than confronting the need for change. The starting stage, therefore, of a change process must involve unfreezing old behaviors, processes, and structures. This stage develops an awareness of the need for change, and the forces that supports and resists change. Awareness is facilitated with one-on-one discussions, presentations to groups, memos, reports, company newsletter, seminars, and demonstrations. These activities are designed to educate employees about the deficiencies of the current set-up and the benefits of the replacement. 2) Changing: This stage focuses on learning new behaviors, and implementing the change. Change is facilitated when employees become uncomfortable with the identified deficiencies of the old system, and are presented with new behaviors, role models, and support structures. 3) Refreezing: This stage focuses on reinforcing new behaviors, usually done by positive results, public recognition, and rewards.

Defining The Concept Of Terrorism

Defining The Concept Of Terrorism The phenomenon of terrorism has become a major concern of the international community. It is elevated to the foremost foreign policy problem of the states. The terrorists power is growing day by day. The new and faster modes of transportation and communication technologies have made it easier for the terrorists to reach their targets and strike them without any difficulty. This has magnified the threat of terrorism and made it more sinister than it has been in the past. Although the menace is very dangerous and terribly affecting our daily lives, the states and even the academics have so far failed to comprehensively define and build a consensus on the term terrorism. The analysts face difficulty when it is considered that some forms and classes of terrorism are justifiable whereas others are not.  [1]   This article is an effort to highlight the complexities in defining terrorism, and to find out some ways to reach at least a partial consensus among states. The article is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on the definitional problems as far as the term terrorism is concerned. In the second part an attempt has been made to distinguish between terrorism and freedom fighting. The third part deals with the changing meaning and nature of terrorism over a period of time. And the last part discusses some practical approaches to reach a partial consensus over the definition of terrorism. II. PROBLEMS IN DEFINING TERRORISM Who will define terrorism? A victim state or a society, a stronger state, any international or regional organization, or the Super Power? Terrorism is a relative term and expresses different meanings to different people. To Israel terrorism means when a suicide bomber blows himself up in a market place. To Palestinians, it means when Israeli troops bulldoze a house or shoot stone-throwing kids. India views Pakistan sponsored militancy in Kashmir as terrorism. On the other hand, overwhelming majority of the Kashmiris calls it freedom fighting and resorts to the use of brutal force by the Indian troops as state terrorism. Terrorism is sometimes properly or sometimes improperly used as a synonym of rebellion, insurrection, guerrilla warfare, coup detat, civil strife, or any of many other related terms that produces fear or terror. Most of the times, such lackadaisical and random use of the term may make the understanding of the specific meaning and nature of terrorism more murky and intricate. Although the literature on terrorism offers plenty of definitions, most of them give a very narrow vision of the concept of terrorism. While some view terrorism in political terms, others insist that it should be defined in legal terms. Still some believe that it is related with morality. Undoubtedly, academics works on terrorism have helped understand the problem, but their contributions have not even materialized to create a consensus among the political circles. The academics themselves are divided on the very particulars of the concept. Experts on terrorism, such as, E.V. Walter  [2]  , Grant Wardlaw  [3]  , Leonard Weinberg  [4]  , Steven Spiegel  [5]  , Thomas Mathieseu  [6]  and Richard Overy  [7]  have all defined terrorism in the political context. (See Box 1). For them, terrorism is mainly a sophisticated violence, politically exploited by a group or organization with a religious, ideological or ethnic appeal. Box 1: Definitions on terrorism Terrorism is a process of terror having three elements: the act or threat of violence, the emotional reaction to extreme fear on the part of the victims or potential victims, and the social effects that follow the violence (or its threat) and the consequent fear. (E.V. Walter: 1969) Political terrorism is a sustained policy involving the waging of organized terror either on the part of the state, a movement or faction, or by a small group of individuals. (Grant Wardlaw: 1982) Terrorism is a politically motivated crime intended to modify the behavior of a target audience. (Leonard Weinberg: 1989) Terrorism is the use of violence by an individual or group, designed to create extreme anxiety in a target group larger than the immediate victims, with the purpose of coercing that group into meeting certain political demands. (Steven Spiegel: 1995) Terrorism is violent and arbitrary action consciously directed towards civilians, with a political or ideological goal more or less clearly in mind. (Thomas Mathieseu: 2002) Terror is not an organization or a single force. It is related to a variety of political confrontations, each of which has to be understood in its own terms. (Richard Overy: 2004) However, political biases increase difficulties in defining the term because of its subjective nature. The subjectivism is captured in a popular saying that one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter, for whom terrorism is a calculated tactic of the weak against the strong and established authority. The problem is how can one get out of this relativist enmesh? Similarly, the US State Department in its annual document, called, Patterns of Global terrorism, defines terrorism as politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.  [8]  The problem with this definition is that it does not clearly explain non-combatants, and the perpetrators, according to the definition, are non-state actors (sub-national groups and clandestine agents), while exclude the state terrorism. Moreover, the interpretation of political motivations is very broad. Some intellectuals have tried to define terrorism in legal terms and consider it a criminal act. J. Dugard notes that when a person commits an act which threatens the stability of other states or undermines the international order, he ceases to be a political offender and becomes a criminal under international law, like the pirate or hijacker.  [9]   But the problem with legal definitions is that they completely ignore the political aspects of violence. Treating a terrorist as a criminal undermines the legitimacy of political violence. In other words, the political notion in any terrorist activity cannot be discarded, which, again, becomes the major source of confrontation to reach an international consensus on the definition of the term terrorism. The moral connotations of terrorism have further divided the experts between right and wrong. Do all the nations take moral values uniformly or there are different patterns and orders of priority? Moreover, in this world of power politics, where states give priority to their national interests, what will be the extent of relationship between moral values and power? The common observation is that states are unwilling to give equal status to non-state actors which challenge their authority, and try to deal with them sternly by using brutal force. There are five major problems in defining the term terrorism and building a consensus. The first major problem faced by the academics and even the nations in defining terrorism is the relativist enmesh of the concept. For one it is a freedom fighting, while for the other it is terrorism. This aspect in defining the term has made the task more difficult. Second problem is related to the contents of the definition. If it is described as violence against the innocent people or non-combatants for achieving various goals, the application of the term, then, becomes too broad. It is very difficult even to define non-combatants. What if a soldier is not on the battlefield or he is performing peacekeeping duties under the aegis of the UN, attacked by a suicide bomber of a warring faction? Or would the terrorist attack on the U.S. Pentagon Building on September 11, 2001, not qualify as terrorist act? Moreover, the indiscriminate use of violence does not include those who employ terrorism against specific targets, such as, political assassinations. Third, when it is referred to spreading fear among the audience, one cannot distinguish between terrorism carries out by any individual, group or organization, and the state itself. This is also a major problem in defining terrorism that all the definitions portray non-state actors as terrorists, while completely ignore terrorism perpetrated by the state. Instead, it is called as the gross violation of human rights. It is also a fact that the incumbent political regimes have used terrorism as a means of repressing elements in their populations they view as a threat, real or imagined, to the continuation of their rule.  [10]   Amalendu Guha emphasizes that the recent use of power hegemonism by certain global nations, can be regarded as state terrorism, in the sense that its symptoms, behavior and actions as well as effects are, either the same, or, similar to the terrorism launched by fundamentalist beliefs or ideologies. Both are anti-human, anti-social and frightful.  [11]  The history is full of the tragic incidents, where state, instead of protecting its citizens, has unleashed reign of terror and has become responsible for their annihilation. The fact is that the state terrorism has killed more people as compared to terrorism by non-state actors. Fourth problem in defining the term is whether the act of terrorism is seen in terms of historical continuity or every incidence is considered as a unique in history and dealt with separately. Those who believe in the historical continuity, analyze this phenomenon since the French Revolution. They insist on the unity of terrorism throughout ages.  [12]  Others view each act a unique and absolutely different from the previous one.  [13]  So the rivalry is between the two extremes. Fifth problem in defining terrorism is: whether any act of violence should be analyzed by considering means or ends. As all ideologies sanctify the ends for which every mean is justified. The ideological indoctrination compels the terrorists to the righteousness of their cause and to justify any violent means to accomplish it. On the other hand, many researchers believe that the unethical means may also question the legitimacy of the cause. It is because of the above-mentioned problems in defining the term terrorism, that making distinction between terrorism and freedom fighting has become very difficult. However, there are some aspects which help differentiate between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. III. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TERRORISM AND FREEDOM FIGHTING It is a well-known fact that the subjectivity of the term terrorism has made it very difficult to distinguish it from freedom fighting. In this process, another difficulty is which forms of violence should be recognized as legitimate and which should not. Martha Crenshaw  [14]  opines that revolutionary violence and terrorism are two different phenomena and should not be confused with each other. The activities of freedom fighters cannot always be termed as terrorism, because their target is the repressive government. John Gearson raises some pertinent questions: What, if anything, is legitimate dissent using violent means? When is being a freedom fighter acceptable?  [15]  Labeling any group terrorist is very difficult particularly when the same group becomes the part of the negotiation process, and the governments have to sign peace deals with them. Nelson Mandela himself has provided perhaps the most satisfying answer to this perennial question. Pointing out that many people once described as terrorists are leading governments today, Mandela says: When you succeed people are prepared to accept you and have dealings with you as head of state. You become a terrorist if your aims and objectives fail.  [16]   In my opinion, the distinction between freedom fighting and terrorism must be made on the grounds of the legitimacy of the movement for independence, recognized by the UN. Article 1(2) of the UN Charter recognizes the right of self-determination of the peoples. It emphasizes the respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of the peoplesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [17]   Article 7 of the Definition of Aggression adopted by the General Assembly in 1974 authenticates the right of self-determination. It states: Nothing in this definition, and in particular Article 3 (which gives an inventory of the acts that are regarded as aggression) could in any way prejudice the right of self-determination, freedom, and independence, as derived from the Charter, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right and referred to in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination; or the right of these peoples to struggle to that end and seek and receive supportà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  [18]   Similarly, Article 12 of the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages (1979), which came into force on June 3, 1983, clearly recognizes the means used by the people for their right of self-determination. It states: [The] Convention shall not apply to an act of hostage-taking committed in the course of armed conflicts as defined in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Protocols thereto, including armed conflicts mentioned in article 1, paragraph 4, of Additional Protocol of 1977, in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.  [19]   The liberation movements are deprecated as terrorists by the governments against which the struggles for independence are conducted. While analyzing the independent movements in Kashmir and Palestine, one may disagree over the means; it is beyond any doubt that both the movements are recognized by the UN. Terming these movements terrorist may also undermine and question the legitimacy of the UN itself. So, one can say, here, that the movements for freedom fighting are those movements whose legitimacy is recognized by the UN. Besides this, in both the cases, the role of state is very repressive and brutal. Both India and Israel have illegitimately occupied the land of the Kashmiris and the Palestinians respectively. Moreover, both states, since the inception of disputes, have been continuously denying the right of self-determination to these people. For this, they have also completely ignored the UN resolutions. So, if anyone calls struggle movements in Kashmir and Palestine as terrorists, it not only refutes the UN resolutions, which give right of self-determinations to the oppressed nations, but also legitimizes the power of the strong over the weak. According to Moulaye el-Hassen, the former Mauritanian Ambassador, The term terrorist could hardly be held to apply to persons who were denied the most elementary human rights, dignity, freedom and independence, and whose countries objected to foreign occupation.  [20]   Now the question arises why is there no consensus on the definition of terrorism? The most convincing reason is that the meaning and nature of terrorism have frequently been changed over a period of time. IV. CHANGING NATURE / MEANING OF TERRORISM The lack of consensus among the nations on the definition of terrorism has caused a continuous change in its nature and meaning. According to Jonathan White, the rise of modern terrorism in the West is linked to the struggle for freedom in the Western World in the 1700s and early 1800s when most Europeans did not enjoy freedom, and America was still only an experiment. A change in social perceptions and actions, however, revolutionized the system and structure of Western governments. Many forms of violence accompanied the struggle for democracy; terrorism was one of them.  [21]   The popular use of the term terrorism occurred during the French Revolution. Contrary to todays usage, terrorism at that time was seen in a positive context. The Jacobins reign of terror was purely a political in nature, which was a deviation from the old sacred terrorism. Also, that terrorism was unleashed by the State to protect the Revolution on the basis of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The terrorism during French revolution provided a model to the other revolutionary groups in Europe to use it as a strategy to transform their societies as they wished. But the failure of the 1830 and 1848 revolutions compelled the revolutionaries to change their strategy. However, the use of force to bring any revolution remained the main weapon at the hands of revolutionaries. The 19th century witnessed the rise of nationalist movements, which struggled against the colonial powers for the self-government. Although the nationalists adopted violent means to achieve their objectives, unlike anarchists, they considered themselves freedom fighters. Anarchists were socially isolated, but the nationalists could hope for the possibility of greater support. Governments labeled them terrorists, but nationalists saw themselves rather as unconventional soldiers fighting in a patriotic war. They opted only the tactics of anarchists.  [22]   During the inter-war period, a new form of terrorism emerged in Europe, known as Right-wing terrorism. The purpose of this terrorism was to preserve the status quo. There were two important factors, which contributed to the surfacing of Right-wing terrorism in Europe. First, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which gave confidence to the socialist movements in other European countries to bring a possible change in their societies as well. So, such movements were considered a great threat by the respective governments and the elements which wanted to maintain status-quo. A second factor was the establishment of fascist governments in Italy and Germany during the same period. They justified violence by uprooting the communists and anti-nationalist elements in their societies. The dominant form of violence in the post-War period, aimed at either de-colonization or social revolution, was rural-based guerrilla warfare.  [23]  The major success stories were those of Mao-Tse-tung in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, and Fidel Castro in Cuba. But there were also less publicized failures. Guerrilla insurgencies were defeated in Greece, Malaya, and the Philippines. In some of these instances, both the successful and unsuccessful, terrorism was used by those groups pursuing national liberation (Vietnam) or social revolution (Greece).  [24]   During 1960s and 1970s, the world witnessed this sudden upsurge in the form of Left-wing terrorism. This confused the experts on political terrorism, who saw terrorism as a new and unprecedented phenomenon, something that was essentially a response to injustice.  [25]  This meant that the focus was on to address the root causes of terrorism, which could be political, economic, social or religious grievances. The end of Cold War was followed by an eruption of religious terrorism in a large number of countries, particularly in the Middle East, South and Central Asia. The Soviet disintegration provided an inspiration to the Islamic movements particularly in South and Central Asian regions to launch an organized offense against their respective states to: 1) seek freedom; 2) capture the state apparatus; and 3) replace the old communist system with the new Islamic order. The vacuum, which was created because of the Soviet disappearance, also provided a great amount of solidarity among the Muslims all over the world as it gave them a confidence that they were the main force behind the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the American neglect to Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, added to the already existing political chaos. Out of this situation, the Taliban emerged as an organized political force with the support of Pakistan and to some extent Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan under the Taliban proved to be a place for socializing Islamic radicals from all over the world. The Saudi-born millionaire and Afghan war veteran, Osama Bin Laden, was one of them who took refuge in Afghanistan under the Taliban government. He had resentments against the Saudi Royal family for permitting the Americans to stay on the holy soil after the Gulf War in 1991. As his criticism against the Royal family got severe, he was compelled to flee Saudi Arabia. His nationality was cancelled. The stateless Osama then entered Sudan. But under the U.S. pressure, Sudan expelled him in 1996. Then he moved to Afghanistan, where the Taliban government was recently established. To run the state machinery, the new government badly needed financial assistance, which was provided by Osama and his organization, Al-Qaeda. Consequently, Osamas influence on the Taliban leadership increased. In a unique sense, Afghanistan became a terrorist-sponsored state. Taking advantage of his influence, Osama not only established links with other militant groups in Pakistan, Egypt and other Muslim countries, but also posed himself as a highly religious figure, who could issue a fatwa (Islamic ruling). In 1998, he issued a fatwa, stating, To kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, is an individual duty of every Muslimà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦until their armies, shattered and broken-winged, depart from all the lands of Islam, incapable of threatening any Muslim.  [26]  Since then, a series of terrorist attacks can be observed on the U.S. civil and military installations. The September 11 catastrophe could be seen in this connection, though Al-Qaeda did not take the r esponsibility of it. The September 11 incident has further changed the meaning and nature of terrorism. The incident has characterized terrorism as transnational with religious orientation. The purpose of these groups is not only to overthrow their respective governments, but also to establish a worldwide authority on the basis of their own religious interpretation. Today, terrorism has become very lethal and destructive. Technological changes in the fields of transport, military and communication have added to the strength of terrorists. In such a scenario, it is indispensable to evolve a consensus, at least partial one, over the definition of terrorism. V. HOW TO REACH A CONSENSUS: SOME PRACTICAL APPROACHES The world has now entered a New Age of Terrorism.  [27]  Three important factors confirm this hypothesis. First, the terrorists are equipped with deadly weapons and sophisticated technology at their disposal. Second, the religious orientation has compelled them to believe the rightness of their cause. In other words, the ideology and cause of the terrorist group or organization attracts the potential terrorists to join it. Third, the transcendence of national boundaries has further complicated the issue. In the presence of such emerging threats, it is necessary to evolve a working definition with little disagreement. Although it is extremely difficult for the nation states to compromise over their national interests, still there must be some starting point because there is almost a consensus among the states that the modern transnational religious terrorism is the major threat to the world peace and stability. To begin with, it is the responsibility of the academics to provide some basic roadmap which can help the states reach a consensus on the definition of the term terrorism. First, the academics task is not to label any individual or a group as terrorist but to objectively analyze circumstances which compel the weaker to take arms against the stronger. In doing so, we consciously or unconsciously put all the freedom fighters into the category of terrorist, as well as we also question their legitimacy. This must be kept in mind that a freedom fighter can be distinguished from a terrorist on the basis of the legitimacy and mass support to the organization and the cause. If these factors are absent, then a person or a group can be termed as a terrorist. Second, states must stop defining the term on their own, because the problem starts when two rival states or parties define terrorism by themselves and believe in the authenticity of that definition. In contrast, they should discuss and debate this issue in the UN, particularly in the General Assembly, to reach a consensus. It must be noted that there is no universal definition of terrorism that can be applied to every act of political violence. Besides, every act of violence should be analyzed separately, while keeping in view the motivations of the perpetrator. It means that there must not be any generalization. While analyzing any violent act to be qualified as terrorism, following aspects need to be kept in mind: If the motives are abstract, meaning if any individual or a group aims to commit violence with the purpose of achieving goals on the basis of religious interpretation of its own. If the struggle is transnational in character, meaning affecting the political, social and economic life of the other country. If the struggle is not recognized by the UN. If the violence is not aimed at against the repressive government. If the target is innocent people who have nothing to do with the government policies. So, if any violent activity fulfills any one or all the five aspects, should be considered as terrorism. VI. CONCLUSION As discussed above, todays terrorism is distinct from the past terrorist activities and tactics. The emergence of transnational religious terrorism, coupled with the advancement in military, communication and transportation technologies, has enhanced the power of the terrorists and intensified their brutalities. Despite all such known threats and hazards, the world community is still far from reaching a consensus on the definition of terrorism. The disagreement between one mans terrorism, another mans freedom fighting is still there. A collective and mechanized effort on the part of the international community is needed to overcome this relativist entangle. A genuine understanding of the phenomenon can only be achieved if it is considered beyond the propaganda purposes, and concerted efforts are made to discuss and analyze this menace at international forums, with the consideration that terrorism is equally threatening the peace and stability of the whole world.