The African Berbers

The African Berbers The Berbers, or Berber, has a number of meanings, including a language, a culture, a location, and a group of people: most prominently it is the collective term used for dozens of tribes of pastoralists, indigenous people who herd sheep and goats and live in northwest Africa today.  Despite this simple description, Berber ancient history is truly complex. Who Are the Berbers? In general, modern scholars believe that the Berber people are descendants of the original colonizers of North Africa. The Berber way of life was established at least 10,000 years ago as Neolithic Caspians. Continuities in material culture suggest that the people living along the coasts of the Maghreb 10,000 years ago simply added domestic sheep and goats in when they became available, so the odds are theyve been living in northwest Africa for much longer. Modern Berber social structure is tribal, with male leaders over groups practicing sedentary agriculture. They are also fiercely successful traders  and were the first to open the commercial routes between Western Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, at locations such as Essouk-Tadmakka in Mali. The ancient history of the Berbers is by no means as tidy. Ancient History of Berbers The earliest historical references to people known as Berbers are from Greek and Roman sources. The unnamed first century AD sailor/adventurer who wrote the Periplus of the Erythrian Sea describes a region called Barbaria, located south of the city of Berekike on the Red Sea coast of east Africa. The first century AD Roman geographer Ptolemy (90-168 AD) also knew of the Barbarians, located on the Barbarian bay, which led to the city of Rhapta, their main city. Arabic sources for the Berber include the sixth-century poet Imru al-Qays who mentions horse-riding Barbars in one of his poems, and Adi bin Zayd (d. 587) who mentions the Berber in the same line with the eastern African state of Axum (al-Yasum). The 9th-century Arabic historian Ibn Abd al-Hakam (d. 871) mentions a Barbar market in al-Fustat. Berbers in Northwest Africa Today, of course, Berbers are associated with people indigenous to northwest Africa, not east Africa. One possible situation is that the northwestern Berbers were not the eastern Barbars at all, but instead were the people the Romans called Moors (Mauri or Maurus). Some historians call any group living in northwest Africa Berbers, to refer to the people who were conquered by Arabs, Byzantines, Vandals, Romans, and Phoenicians, in reverse chronological order. Rouighi (2011) has an interesting idea that the Arabs created the term Berber, borrowing it from the east African Barbars during the Arab Conquest, their expansion of the Islamic empire into North Africa and the Iberian peninsula. The imperialist Umayyad caliphate, says Rouighi, used the term Berber to group the people living nomadic pastoralist lifestyle in northwestern Africa, about the time they conscripted them into their colonizing army. The Arab Conquests Shortly after the establishment of the Islamic settlements at Mecca and Medina in the 7th century AD, the Muslims began expanding their empire. Damascus was captured from the Byzantine Empire in 635 and by, 651, Muslims controlled all of Persia. Alexandria in Egypt was captured in 641. The Arab conquest of North Africa began between 642-645  when general Amr ibn el-Aasi based in Egypt led his armies westward. The army quickly took Barqa, Tripoli, and Sabratha, establishing a military outpost for further successes in the Maghreb of coastal northwestern Africa. The first northwestern African capital was at al-Qayrawan. By the 8th century, the Arabs had kicked the Byzantines completely out of Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and more or less controlled the region. The Umayyad Arabs reached the shores of the Atlantic in the first decade of the 8th century and then captured Tangier. The Umayyads made Maghrib a single province including all of northwestern Africa. In 711, the Umayyad governor of Tangier, Musa Ibn Nusayr, crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Iberia with an army made up mostly of ethnic Berber people. Arabic raids pushed far into the northern regions and created the Arabic Al-Andalus (Andalusian Spain). The Great Berber Revolt By the 730s, the northwestern African army in Iberia challenged Umayyad rules, leading to the Great Berber Revolt of 740 AD against the governors of Cordoba. A Syrian general named Balj ib Bishr al-Qushayri ruled Andalusia in 742, and after the Umayyads fell to the Abbasid caliphate, the massive orientalization of the region began in 822 with the ascent of Abd ar-Rahman II to the role of Emir of Cordoba. Enclaves of Berber tribes from Northwest Africa in Iberia today include the Sanhaja tribe in the rural parts of the Algarve (southern Portugal), and the Masmuda tribe in the Tagus and Sado river estuaries with their capital at Santarem. If Rouighi is correct, then the history of the Arab Conquest includes the creation of a Berber ethnos from the allied but not previously related groups of northwestern Africa. Nonetheless, that cultural ethnicity is a reality today. Ksar: Berber Collective Residences House types used by modern Berbers include everything from movable tents to cliff and cave dwellings, but a truly distinctive form of building found in sub-Saharan Africa and attributed to Berbers is the ksar (plural ksour). Ksour are elegant, fortified villages made completely with mud brick. Ksour have high walls, orthogonal streets, a single gate and a profusion of towers. The communities are built next to oases, but to preserve as much tillable farmland as possible they soar upward. The surrounding walls are 6-15 meters (20-50 feet) high and buttressed along the length and at the corners by even taller towers of a distinctive tapering form. The narrow streets are canyon-like; the mosque, bathhouse, and a small public plaza are situated close to the single gate which often faces east. Inside the ksar there is very little ground-level space, but the structures still permit high densities in the high rise stories. They provide a defensible perimeter, and a cooler micro-climate produced by low surface to volume ratios. The individual roof terraces provide space, light, and a panoramic view of the neighborhood via a patchwork of raised platforms 9 m (30 ft) or more above the surrounding terrain. Sources Curtis WJR. 1983. Type and Variation: Berber Collective Dwellings of the Northwestern Sahara. Muqarnas 1:181-209.Detry C, Bicho N, Fernandes H, and Fernandes C. 2011. The Emirate of Cà ³rdoba (756–929 AD) and the introduction of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in Iberia: the remains from Muge, Portugal. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(12):3518-3523.Frigi S, Cherni L, Fadhlaoui-Zid K, and Benammar-Elgaaied A. 2010. Ancient Local Evolution of African mtDNA Haplogroups in Tunisian Berber Populations. Human Biology 82(4):367-384.Goodchild RG. 1967. Byzantines, Berbers and Arabs in 7th-century Libya. Antiquity 41(162):115-124.Hilton-Simpson MW. 1927. Algerian Hill-forts of today. Antiquity 1(4):389-401.Keita SOY. 2010. Biocultural Emergence of the Amazigh (Berbers) in Africa: Comment on Frigi et al (2010). Human Biology 82(4):385-393.Nixon S, Murray M, and Fuller D. 2011. Plant use at an early Islamic merchant town in the West African Sahel: the archaeobotany of E ssouk-Tadmakka (Mali). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20(3):223-239. Rouighi R. 2011. The Berbers of the Arabs. Studia Islamica 106(1):49-76.

Twelve Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing

Twelve Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing Twelve Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing Twelve Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing By Guest Author This is a guest post by Arthur Plotnik. ALL WE WRITERS CRAVE is to charge into the resistant, overloaded brain of a reader and shoot forked lightning through every last dendrite. Why else, if not to achieve high-voltage impact, do we push our own synapses into the red zone night after night, year after year? We are talking force herethe force that gets writing devoured, felt, remembered and published. Lacking it, the worlds most crafted content fizzles at the first neuron . Force in writing neednt always be nuclear-strength, any more than nonverbal cues have to be violent or clangorous to seize attention. Think of a despairing glance that pierces the heart, or a sound-squelching image like Scott Spencers botanical silence. But to overcome a readers natural resistance to static, sameness, and irrelevance, written words must somehow deliver the Godfather imperative: This is a message you cannot refuse. The ways of such force are legion, ranging from over-the-top exaggeration to sly understatement. Classical rhetoricians described these techniques by the hundreds. Writing programs pound away at a standard few, such as amped-up verbs and pared-down verbiage. I would include these among the knee-breakers Ive found most persuasive in overcoming reader resistance. Here I offer you an even dozen. You cannot refuse them: I know where you writers live. 1. Specificity. Why say she ordered an appetizer when you can pucker the senses with pickled herring or giant shrimp in Tylers ketchup sauce? We experience life in particulars, and theynot generalities jolt our memories and feelings. Name the telling things and actions as specifically as you can, but dont dilute their force by specifying everything. 2. Supercharged verbs. Every writer knows this techniqueshe savaged her steak rather than she ate the steak hungrily. Find or create forceful verbs; rewrite to be and to have sentences with action verbs. But writers beware: Overuse of forceful but trendy verbs (she rocked a bikini) and the huffing of too many power verbs per passage become transparently bush. 3. High performance modifiers. Like most words, adverbs and adjectives have personalities: some are kickass powerful, others are totally lame hangers-on. Unfortunately, the lamest ones have given the whole class a bad name. But robust terms like venal, venomous, strident, radiant, rousing, meteoric can be the driving force of a passage. Contrary to myth, even No-Adjective Ernest Hemingway used evocative modifiersif sparinglyto trigger response. ( . . . the sleigh-smoothed, urine-yellowed road; . . . three of the big birds squatted obscenely.) Pull your listless modifiers and plug in high-performance ones where force counts. 4. Fresh intensifiers. Drop such overused, now-forceless intensifiers as great, incredible, awesome, and amazing from your writing unless you can recharge them, as in skull-spinningly great or fall-to-your-knees awesome. Look for or create Grade-A Intensifying Adverbs, the kind that give fresh emphasis to commonplace adjectives: concussively stupid, sublimely stupid, weapons-grade stupid. 5. Sound words. Whomp. Whap. Nuzzle. Guzzle. Words imitating sounds suggest the forces that make the sounds. Even quiet forcesmurmur of innumerable beesgrip the imagination when evoked by onomatopoeia, as the technique is called. Sounds make for resonance, whether as the THOOM! of graphic novels, the KABOOOOM of a climactic literary passage (Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer), or the boom, boom of clogs amplifying a girls fears (The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold). 6. Surprise images. Apt and unexpected images, as in metaphors, excite cerebral enzymes. He had the complexion of baba ghanoush.. His tongue darted into my mouth like a tadpole escaping from a jar. (Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics). Anticipated imagery such as she blushed tomato-red excite nothing. 7. Nowness. Vogue terms and pop references carry the force of novelty, fashion, and immediacyfor about one week to a year, after which they become swiped-out. But used in their moment, especially in journalism, they can be party-starters of Bieberesque boldness. 8. Street beat. Capture the rhythm and soul of the street, and you gon be head of the situation, knowm sayin? Who isnt moved by echoes of street life in all its raw effusiveness and funky phrasing? Cant kill nothin and wont nothin die. Any street will doany ethnic. Theres a girl who keeps bumping into you. You say to her, Pero mi amor, ya. And she says, Ya yourself. (Junot Dà ­az, The Cheaters guide to Love. ) The trick is to develop an ear for authenticity and an eye for fitwithin the overall tone and momentum of your narrative. 9. Big nature. Writers have always drawn on the energy of natural forcesthe violence of typhoons, the insistence of tides. Big nature makes for mighty figures of speech: Shes a Mount Saint Helens waiting to erupt. Theres an ozone hole in his thinking. But be creative; a maelstrom of clichà ©s lies in wait. 10. Tough talk / Irreverence. You talkin to me? Kiss off. Make a hole. Go take your shoes for a walk while you still got legs. To break through apathy, theres nothing like defiant expression armored with attitude, menace, slang and sometimes profanity. It can bear the force of insult, of dire consequence, of all that thrills as it threatens. The usual rules of execution apply: well timed and credible. 11. Understatement. Less can be overwhelmingly more when the immensity, the ironythe jokeis snapped together in the readers mind. When Mom says, Dont worry, its nothing, alarms go off. The not scantily endowed beauty sets hearts juddering. Lets take a little ride is not what you want to hear from Tony Soprano. 12. Torque through intensity. The ultimate force is an aggregate effectthe various elements winding the spring, torquing the intensity. It comes about via soul-jarring themes, characters in peril and on the edge, smoldering conflict, inflamed dialogue, manic introspection. It demands strategies and, yes, craft. My non-negotiable advice: go for it, element by element. Whatever the outcome, youll be a force to be reckoned with. Arthur Plotnik is an acclaimed editor and author whose eight books include the newly revised and expanded The Elements of Expression: Putting Thoughts Into Words (2012) and the recent Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives (2011). He lives in Chicago. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers"Owing to" vs "Due to"Proverb vs. Adage

Negotiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Negotiation - Essay Example The negotiating team from the side of the management took a tough stance that the management cannot afford to extend this facility anymore. The union leaders were also not willing to forfeit this facility. If mutually acceptable solution was not found, the union leaders warned about the possibility of direct action, non-co-operation, work-to-rule, sit-in strikes, going on mass causal leave, and finally an indefinite strike. This situation was comparable to the one envisaged by William L. Ury in his book â€Å"Getting Past No† and he writes, â€Å"Your goal may be to reach mutually satisfactory agreement, but you may find the other side not at all interested.† (9) All reasoning failed, all efforts for dispute resolutions came to a naught, and the management team used all the techniques related to fundamentals of negotiations. Even after three hours of marathon discussions, nothing tangible was achieved by both the sides. The management team appealed for the reasoned co-operation by the employees, as no institution can run with losses on an ongoing basis. Who will suffer if the organization declares lockout? The chances of getting alternative employment are dim in the foreseeable future. At this juncture the meeting was adjourned for the day as both sides wished to consult their respective teams. The union leaders made one point clear. Under no circumstances they will agree for abolishing the existing facility totally. Both the sides must have pondered over the issues seriously.

An Economist's Account of the Existence of Moral hazard in the Essay

An Economist's Account of the Existence of Moral hazard in the healthcare sector, and describe the mechanisms necessary to tac - Essay Example However, it is argued that the existence of the excessive utilization of these systems is due to the absence of a financial barrier to control the demand, and presence of financial arrangements on the supply side, which enables providers to supply wasteful amounts. Generally, unregulated, competitive markets result in private health insurance, which contributes to the concept of more insurance, which helps reduce health risks, but at the same time, increases demand and cost. In this regard, Nyman (2003) argued that most economists view the idea of controlling the supply side as a possible way of alleviating this problem. With such deliberations, it has been difficult for both the policy makers and economists to measure the level of demand and supply considered ideal in the market. In light with this, initiatives have been formulated in order to counteract moral hazard. Consumer moral hazards counter policies In order for policies to respond to consumer moral hazards, various issues h ave to be put into consideration without necessarily focusing on financial ones. The use of primary-care doctors as the gateway to preventing overuse of hospital services has been endorsed by many high income countries (Culyer and Newhouse 2000). On the other hand, the same modality has been endorsed by lower income countries by way of using bare-foot doctors. Nevertheless, numerous measures have been designed to counteract consumer moral hazards. Co-payments Co-payments have been utilized by a number of countries to exert some financial burden on the consumer in order to discourage unnecessary use of health care. This involves several schemes, which differ on the basis of the financial arrangement (Sexton 2010). Nevertheless, individual scheme is composed of flat rate change for each unit of service, a deductable akin to excess, and co-insurance. One of the most notable contributions of co-payments comes from the famous health insurance implement (HIE). In this particular experimen t, families that participated in the experiment were randomly assigned one of the different free-for-service insurance plans. The free for service plans involved different levels of cost sharing. Covered expenses included most medical services. Another set of the plan involved free access to inpatient services. The outcome of the experiment indicated that utilization responds to amounts paid out of pocket. Per capita total expenses on the free recorded 45 percent higher than those on the plan with a 95 percent co-insurance, however, spending rates on the rest of plans was on average. On the other hand, outpatient expenses on the provided free plan recorded an increase of 67 percent higher than those on the 95 percent co-insurance plan. The findings from this experiment indicated that an increase in the user price will lead to a decrease in demand. In this regard, it is apparent that implementing charges would lead to doctors concentrating more on those who can afford to pay (Sexton 2010). However, the implication is that those more in need tends to have less access to services. This becomes the problem of the approach advocated by RAND study. This is arguably true because in aggravate, the figure of those more in need of service and able to pay is replaced by those less in need and unable to pay. The other important issue of concern is whether the response of demand for health care to adjustment in its prices is the same or different for several groups in society (Nyman 2003). It is also necessary to

Christian Ethics in A Complex World Essay Example for Free

Christian Ethics in A Complex World Essay In 2002 the book entitled â€Å"Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in A Complex World† was by Dennis Hollinger was published. It gives an overview of the Christian ethics in today’s complicated world. It is indeed a precious and unique book that assesses the framework and perspective of Christian ethics in relation to social issues. The approach is designed to widen initial ideas about relations among different races, policies, human sexualities, economics and many more. The approach of the author is very unusual that made the book more likeable. Hollinger wanted to connect his beliefs to his readers in a way that he wanted to imply something in choosing to do what is good and right. In every social issue at hand there is always an equivalent step by step framework to be followed. The book’s weakness are the lengthy statements that bores readers easily, It may mislead readers since comprehension may be hard to acquire. It would be better if the author wrote it in a direct to the point manner. There are cases presented in the book that aids readers how to carefully analyze a real life scenario. It would be better for people not to complicate things as it is better if problems are looked down easily. In general the book is awesome since it tackles about foundations of ethical theories. Hollinger outlines much of the essential data needed so that readers will understand the areas of pastoral care, Christian ethics and its interconnection with public policy. An overall generalization is also given to see what does the author wanted to imply in this beautiful book. There were also judgments and ethical commitments presented in the second chapter of the book. The issues involving postmodernity and modernity treatment s discussed. But this is the chapter that lacks focus because vague explanations were given on how the society operates in modernity but does not make t in academics. The enticing part is that third part of the book presents figures about history tht guides readers on deciding in this contemporary world. A survey of recent Christian Ethics by Edward LeRoy is part of the book for readers to see an accurate statistics of the public’s opinion. Biblical ethics is also presented that shows a deeper connection of choosing to do the good things in life. The best reference is still the Holy Scriptures. Talking about culture and its relation to faith is also presented by Hollinger in this book. He cited examples like the delineation of Christ and Culture by Niebuhr and how the church is placed in the center of a more organized society. Christ should still stand up amidst the complexities of things I every culture. As the author concludes the book â€Å"the moral task before the Christian church today is immense. But God has called us, as he called Esther long ago in Persia, to be a divine presence for such a time as this† (Hollinger, 2002). For good to succeed it is our duty to devote our moral commitments against the complex world. It is in humility that people can find goodness and it is God who is the true foundation of everything we do (Hollinger, 2002, p. 272). The book is designed to let readers be aware that choosing good should incorporate a broad and deep understanding of the word goodness. Having reflections on the book made it easier for readers to understand what he is trying to point out. It is recommended to discuss a book like this in the classroom scenario so that all students ma practice the ethics of goodness inside the classroom and spread it outside as they grow. References: Hollinger, D. (2002). Choosing The Good: Christian Ethics in A Complex World. USA: Baker Academic

Social Security Essays -- essays research papers

Social Security   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social Security is a public program designed to provide income and services to individuals in the event of retirement, sickness, disability, death, or unemployment. In the United States, the word social security refers to the programs established in 1935 under the Social Security Act. Societies throughout history have devised ways to support people who cannot support themselves. In 1937 the government began issuing Social Security identification cards to all citizens. Each card had a unique number that the government used to keep track of a person’s earnings and the taxes collected from those earnings that went to finance Social Security benefits. The Social Security Act is an act in which taxes would be deducted from workers earnings to finance both old age benefits and unemployment compensation. The government began collecting Social Security taxes in 1937 and putting them in a trust fund. It was a fund that the government could use to pay benefits, cover administrative costs, and invest in securities to earn interest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since 1935, the U.S. government has modified the Social Security Act more than 20 times by major amendments. One of the first amendments, passed in 1939, added benefit support for the family members of retired workers and for survivors of deceased workers. In 1956, under President Dwight Eisenhower, the U.S. Congress added monthly benefits for disabled workers to Social Security. Along with the amendment of 1939 for benefits to family members and survivors, this new amendment created the form of Social Security that still exists today, which is known as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an amendment that created Medicare. Medicare is a program that provides hospital insurance to the elderly, along with supplementary medical insurance for other medical costs. During the 1970s and 1980s, concern arose about the financial integrity of the Social Security trust funds. The balance was shifting between money co ming in from taxes and benefits going out of the funds. The administration of President Ronald Reagan passed a set of major legislative changes to Social Security laws in 1983. These changes included the cancellation and, in some cases, taxation of certain benefits. The Congress also improvised a slight ... ...onesty, we will succeed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I am really against the change of the Social Security system because it is going to dismantle the system and it is going to take very hard work to change the system the way he wants it to be. The Social Security system will face a crisis. The plans that President Bush plans to go about will amount to a huge cost. The United States is already in debt, so why make it more in debt? Sources http://www.governmentguide.com/govsite.adp?bread=*Main&url=http%3A//www.governmentguide.com/ams/clickThruRedirect.adp%3F55076483%2C16920155%2Chttp%3A//www.ssa.gov/history/history.html http://www.socialsecurityreform.org/history/index.cfm http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/gahff/html/ff_168800_socialsecuri.htm http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2002-2003/americas/united_states.html http://www.disabilityresources.org/SS.html http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/social_sec/6programs.htm http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/unemployment_compensation.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/medicare.html http://www.newsbatch.com/socialsecurity.htm http://www.swem.wm.edu/GOVDOC/welfare.html Social Security Essays -- essays research papers Social Security   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social Security is a public program designed to provide income and services to individuals in the event of retirement, sickness, disability, death, or unemployment. In the United States, the word social security refers to the programs established in 1935 under the Social Security Act. Societies throughout history have devised ways to support people who cannot support themselves. In 1937 the government began issuing Social Security identification cards to all citizens. Each card had a unique number that the government used to keep track of a person’s earnings and the taxes collected from those earnings that went to finance Social Security benefits. The Social Security Act is an act in which taxes would be deducted from workers earnings to finance both old age benefits and unemployment compensation. The government began collecting Social Security taxes in 1937 and putting them in a trust fund. It was a fund that the government could use to pay benefits, cover administrative costs, and invest in securities to earn interest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since 1935, the U.S. government has modified the Social Security Act more than 20 times by major amendments. One of the first amendments, passed in 1939, added benefit support for the family members of retired workers and for survivors of deceased workers. In 1956, under President Dwight Eisenhower, the U.S. Congress added monthly benefits for disabled workers to Social Security. Along with the amendment of 1939 for benefits to family members and survivors, this new amendment created the form of Social Security that still exists today, which is known as Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an amendment that created Medicare. Medicare is a program that provides hospital insurance to the elderly, along with supplementary medical insurance for other medical costs. During the 1970s and 1980s, concern arose about the financial integrity of the Social Security trust funds. The balance was shifting between money co ming in from taxes and benefits going out of the funds. The administration of President Ronald Reagan passed a set of major legislative changes to Social Security laws in 1983. These changes included the cancellation and, in some cases, taxation of certain benefits. The Congress also improvised a slight ... ...onesty, we will succeed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I am really against the change of the Social Security system because it is going to dismantle the system and it is going to take very hard work to change the system the way he wants it to be. The Social Security system will face a crisis. The plans that President Bush plans to go about will amount to a huge cost. The United States is already in debt, so why make it more in debt? Sources http://www.governmentguide.com/govsite.adp?bread=*Main&url=http%3A//www.governmentguide.com/ams/clickThruRedirect.adp%3F55076483%2C16920155%2Chttp%3A//www.ssa.gov/history/history.html http://www.socialsecurityreform.org/history/index.cfm http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/gahff/html/ff_168800_socialsecuri.htm http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2002-2003/americas/united_states.html http://www.disabilityresources.org/SS.html http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/social_sec/6programs.htm http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/unemployment_compensation.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/medicare.html http://www.newsbatch.com/socialsecurity.htm http://www.swem.wm.edu/GOVDOC/welfare.html

Gender Roles in European Culture

Throughout history, women have made up a sort of â€Å"minority† in the world’s many societies. They have been looked upon as property to husbands and fathers. Their place was deemed the male’s home. Women were to provide services to men, ranging from carrying an heir (hopefully a male) to providing a clean home and cooked meals. Women in high-income nations still continue to face challenges because of their gender, and those in low-income nations often remain thought of as property.From a symbolic interactionist perspective, gender is an issue that is based on many underlying historical concepts, and it continues to contribute to world-wide poverty. As symbolic interactionists view social problems using a microlevel perspective, they see that gender roles are learned behaviors taught by individual socializing agents in each society. Parents immediately begin teaching their children what it is to be a male or female in how they treat their sons and daughters. For example, parents are more likely to play rough with their sons, who are often dressed in clothes pertaining to superheroes.This teaches the young male that strength, athletic ability, and courage are â€Å"desirable. † He might then try to epitomize this throughout his lifetime. On the other side, a daughter is often dressed in frilly outfits depicting maidens in distress (Cinderella, for example), and they are usually kept inside from getting dirty to learn homemaking skills. Throughout their lifetime, then, they will remember what it is to be a female according to their parents. Thus, from birth, children are subjected to differing gender roles within a society.Symbolic interactionists also see that gender roles could be taught with something as seemingly insignificant as communication. Linguistic sexism, which is patterns of communication that degrade a particular sex (usually female), is often cited as employing the dominance of one gender to perpetuate traditional gende r roles. For example, the English word â€Å"mankind† includes every human being on Earth, whether male or female, even though it conjures up the idea of a group of males. Also, if a female enters a medical profession, she is often referred to as a â€Å"female doctor† to avoid confusion in this traditionally male-dominated job.Even nonverbal communication can perpetuate dominance. A female that always touches a male at her prerogative in public is easily viewed as the dominant figure within the relationship. Eye contact can be used to stress the dominance of one over another (as in animals, when a â€Å"stare down† has been won, the winner has taken dominance). As communication is passed from parent to child in every generation, until it changes, it will perpetuate inequality. Though women’s roles in the world are changing rapidly in high-income nations, many still face problems regarding poverty through all sociological perspectives.Not all women will g row up to become doctors and lawyers, as these fields are still dominated by males. According to the glass ceiling idea, women can only go so far in their dominated jobs. However, the glass elevator idea lifts men to reach even higher than women in female-dominated jobs, such as nursing. Men are typically paid more and regarded as being able to handle more complicated problems (so they are well-suited to move up in companies and manage others). Therefore, women without husbands to help them may not be able to provide the usual income it would take for her to live above the poverty level.This is restrictive to single mothers who are trying to provide for themselves as well as their children. If they cannot move up in their job, they will not be able to provide money for food, housing, child care during her work hours, and other basic necessities (such as clothes for her children). She may get help from the government, but as soon as she gets above a certain income level (which is sti ll on the poverty line), she is cut off of federal aid. It will then take her months to get back into the system, even though she has already been in it before.This creates a cycle of poverty for the woman and her children, who, growing up in poverty, will be more likely to be stuck in poverty throughout their lifetimes. Therefore, the inequality of women in the economy and government as compared to men burdens them in different ways. Since the government does not bother to consider these differences when coming up with plans of action, poverty is still perpetuated. However, the government has tried to cut back on poverty by giving states incentives (additional funds) for having less poverty. This legislation is known as B. O. B. nd encourages states to solve the poverty problem from its roots to wipe it out. Resolutions have also been introduced to reinforce less discrimination against women. These macrolevel answers have little to do with the problem on the microlevel, which has y et to be solved. Language and gestures are hard to change, even over generations and generations. Traditions ebb and flow on their own with regards to advancing technology, ideas, and beliefs. Therefore, from a symbolic interactionist perspective, there is not yet a true solution to the problems of gender inequality and resulting poverty.

The Life Story of Henry G. Appenzeller

Not much has been written about Korea, or of its people, their deeds and heroism.   However, one work displayed Korean character though a biography of an ordinary missionary who turned out to be a significant personality in the history of Korea and its transformation.The book, â€Å"A Modern Pioneer in Korea:   The Life Story of Henry G.   Appenzeller by William Griffis, is yet another biography that showcases heroism.   The book is about sacrifice and giving up something for other people.   In his story, Henry showed that it does not take much to be able to help other people and to become a hero for ordinary people.   For example, it does not take to be rich, or to be a prominent person in order to affect other people’s lives.Griffis started his discussion by giving a background about Appenzeller and Korea.   In this way, the readers can recall and picture what Korea was and how Appenzeller affected the lives of the people and how he helped them change for the better.Henry Appenzeller was a missionary for the Methodist church in Korea.   As a missionary, he is able to save the lives of young people in Korea by giving them a new chance for education and serving as an inspiration for them.There are a number of instances by which Griffis was able to show that Appenzeller is a noble man.   First, he was able to preach and educate the people of Korea in six different languages.   He preached about righteousness without being hindered by the various barriers like language and culture.The book is a very inspiring record of Korean heroism, which is apart from the popular reputation of Korea being isolated from the world of heroism and humanity.     Ã‚  The author, Griffis, did an effective narration of what seemed to be the greatest achievements and contributions of Appenzeller in the modern Korea.What is good about his book is that Griffis was able to substantiate and provide concrete evidence for his claims pertaining to Appenzellerâ €™s heroism.   This is very important because as a biography, it should be based upon real experiences and real events in the subject’s life.As a missionary, Appenzeller was able to affect change for the Korean people by incorporating prayers in their lives.   It is never denied that Korea was one of the most mythical and mysterious nations in the Asian region, very much in touched with its culture and tradition.   This, to my mind is one of the primary reasons why Korea’s growth was stagnated.   Fortunately, the modern Korea has learned to be social and unashamed of its self and unafraid to consider changes.Figuratively speaking, the work is full of picturesque words used effectively to show greatness.   The author’s approach gave the biography a poetic appeal so that unlike any other biography, the work seems to have been creatively written as a real literary masterpiece.It can also be observed that as much as the book is also about Appenzellerâ €™s missionary works, much have been mentioned about the Gods, and religion.   Although at one point, it may seem unnecessary, the approach nevertheless has been effective in relating the role of religion in Korea’s transformation and in explaining the behavior of the poe0ple, particularly of Henry Appenzeller.In sum, the book is another archaic inspiration and recognition of Korean heroism that until today contributes to the continuous improvement of Korea and its people.Work CitedGriffis, William. A Modern Pioneer in Korea:   The Life Story of Hernry G.   Appenzeller.   New York: Fleming H.   Revell, 1912.

Free Essays on Police Brutality And Is Prevelence In Todays Society

Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a startling fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida, five men died while in the custody of the Tampa Bay police Department (C.C. 27). The thing is, the Tampa Bay Police Department is made up of mostly white officers, but of the five men who died, none where white. Four of the five men that died where African Americans, and the other man was a Mexican National. If the incident in Tampa Bay does not show a person racism, this event might. In New York City, an average of seven Latin Americans were killed a year between 1986 to 1989, but in 1990, that number increased greatly. In that year, twenty-three Latin Americans were killed by police gunfire. When asked how he felt about racism being involved in police brutality, Yussuf Naimkly of the University of Regina commented: "Excessive police force against blacks has always been tolerated, because as a formally enslaved minority African Americans are trapped in a cultural context specifically designed to inhibit their development and thus minimize their threat to white hegemony" (C.C. 72) Executive Director of Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service Karol Heppe commented, â€Å"Brutality against minorities is a daily occurrence in Los Angeles,† she says. â€Å"The difference this time is someone videotaped it (C.C. 36). Another shocking incident of police brutality occurred in Reynoldsberg, Ohio. A group of offices named themselves â€Å"S.N.A.T.† squad. This acronym stood for â€Å"Special Nigger Arrest Team† and they made it a... Free Essays on Police Brutality And Is Prevelence In Today's Society Free Essays on Police Brutality And Is Prevelence In Today's Society Police work is dangerous. Sometimes police put in situations that excessive force is needed. But, because some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not, police brutality should be addressed. The use of excessive force may or may not be large problem, but it should be looked into by both the police and the public. For those people who feel racism is not a factor in causing the use of excessive force, here is a startling fact. In Tampa Bay, Florida, five men died while in the custody of the Tampa Bay police Department (C.C. 27). The thing is, the Tampa Bay Police Department is made up of mostly white officers, but of the five men who died, none where white. Four of the five men that died where African Americans, and the other man was a Mexican National. If the incident in Tampa Bay does not show a person racism, this event might. In New York City, an average of seven Latin Americans were killed a year between 1986 to 1989, but in 1990, that number increased greatly. In that year, twenty-three Latin Americans were killed by police gunfire. When asked how he felt about racism being involved in police brutality, Yussuf Naimkly of the University of Regina commented: "Excessive police force against blacks has always been tolerated, because as a formally enslaved minority African Americans are trapped in a cultural context specifically designed to inhibit their development and thus minimize their threat to white hegemony" (C.C. 72) Executive Director of Police Misconduct Lawyers Referral Service Karol Heppe commented, â€Å"Brutality against minorities is a daily occurrence in Los Angeles,† she says. â€Å"The difference this time is someone videotaped it (C.C. 36). Another shocking incident of police brutality occurred in Reynoldsberg, Ohio. A group of offices named themselves â€Å"S.N.A.T.† squad. This acronym stood for â€Å"Special Nigger Arrest Team† and they made it a...

Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo On December 23, 1948, the United States executed a frail, bespectacled man of almost 64 years.   The prisoner, Hideki Tojo, had been convicted of war crimes by the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, and he would be the highest-ranking officer from Japan to be executed.   To his dying day, Tojo maintained that The Greater East Asia War was justified and righteous.   However, he did apologize for the atrocities commited by Japanese troops during the Second World War.    Who was Hideki Tojo? Hideki Tojo (December 30, 1884 - December 23, 1948) was a leading figure of the Japanese government as a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and 27th Prime Minister of Japan from October 17, 1941 to July 22, 1944.  It was Tojo who, as Prime Minister, was responsible for ordering the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, officially bringing the  United States into World War II.   Ã‚   Hideki Tojo was born in 1884 to a military family of  samurai  descent. His father was one of the first generation of military men since the Imperial Japanese Army had replaced  samurai warriors after the Meiji Restoration.   Tojo graduated with honors from the army war college in 1915 and quickly climbed the military  ranks. He was known within the army as Razor Tojo for his bureaucratic efficiency,  strict attention to detail, and unwavering adherence to protocol. He was extremely loyal to the Japanese nation and the army, and in his rise to leadership within Japans military and government he became a symbol for Japans militarism and parochialism. With his unique appearance of close-cropped hair, mustache, and round eyeglasses he became the caricature by Allied propagandists of Japans military dictatorship during the Pacific war.   At the end of World War II, Tojo was arrested, tried, sentenced to death for war crimes, and hanged. Early Military Career In 1935, Tojo assumed command of the Kwangtung Armys Kempetai or military police force in Manchuria.   The Kempetai was not an ordinary military police command - it functioned more like a secret police, such as the Gestapo or the Stassi. In 1937, Tojo was promoted once more to Chief of Staff of the Kwangtung Army. July of that year saw his only actual combat experience, when he led a brigade into Inner Mongolia. The Japanese defeated Chinese Nationalist and Mongolian forces, and established a puppet state called the Mongol United Autonomous Government. By 1938, Hideki Tojo was recalled to Toyko to serve as army vice minister in the Emperors Cabinet.   In July of 1940, he was promoted to army minister in the second Fumimaroe Konoe government.   In that role, Tojo advocated an alliance with Nazi Germany, and also with Fascist Italy. Meanwhile relations with the United States worsened as Japanese troops moved south into Indochina. Although Konoe considered negotiations with the United States, Tojo advocated against them, espousing war unless the United States withdrew its embargo on all exports to Japan.   Konoe disagreed, and resigned.   Prime Minister of Japan Without giving up his post of army minister, Tojo was made the prime minister of Japan in October 1941.   At different points during World War II, he would also serve as the minister of home affairs, education, munitions, foreign affairs, and commerce and industry.    In December of 1941, Prime Minister Tojo gave the green light to a plan for simultaneous attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Thailand; British Malaya; Singapore; Hong Kong; Wake Island; Guam; and the Philippines.   Japans rapid success and lightning-fast Southern Expansion made Tojo immensely popular with the ordinary people. Although Tojo had public support, was hungry for power, and was adept at gathering the reins into his own hands, he never was able to establish a true fascist dictatorship like those of his heros, Hitler and Mussolini.   The Japanese power structure, headed by the emperor-god Hirohito, prevented him from attaining complete control.   Even at the height of his influence, the court system, the navy, industry, and of course Emperor Hirohito himself remained outside of Tojos control.   In July of 1944, the tide of war had turned against Japan and against Hideki Tojo.   When Japan lost Saipan to the advancing Americans, the emperor forced Tojo out of power.   After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945, and Japans surrender, Tojo knew that he would likely be arrested by the American Occupation authorities. Trial and Death As the Americans closed in, Tojo had a friendly doctor draw a large charcoal X on his chest to mark where his heart was.   He then went into a separate room and shot himself squarely through the mark.   Unfortunately for him, the bullet somehow missed his heart and went through his stomach instead.   When the Americans arrived to arrest him, they found him laying on a bed, bleeding profusely.   Im very sorry that it is taking me so long to die, he told them.   The Americans rushed him to emergency surgery, saving his life. Hideki Tojo was tried before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes.   In his testimony, he took every opportunity to assert his own guilt, and claimed that the Emperor was blameless.   This was convenient for the Americans, who had already decided that they did not dare hang the Emperor for fear of a popular revolt.   Tojo was found guilty of seven counts of war crimes, and on November 12, 1948, he was sentenced to death by hanging. Tojo was hanged on December 23, 1948.   In his final statement, he asked the Americans to show mercy to the Japanese people, who had suffered devastating losses in the war, as well as the two atomic bombings.   Tojos ashes are divided between the Zoshigaya Cemetery in Tokyo and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine; he is one of fourteen class A war criminals enshrined there.

Jhon Locke second treatise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jhon Locke second treatise - Essay Example While Locke presents a number of viable suggestions in regards to property ownership it is nevertheless to conduct a critical evaluation of the validity Locke’s postulations pertaining to property ownership and an assessment of the applicability of his arguments in modern property ownership. In Locke’s argument pertaining to property he argues that a person’s body happens to be his own property and any work that it undertakes is thus seen to essentially be owned by it. Locke postulates that by mixing labor with the various available resources availed by nature essentially causes results in the removal of these natural resources from common ownership and makes these resources our very own. He points out that this is the premise that is granted for property ownership as provided for in the bible and is in line with Adam’s means of obtaining dominion over the entire earth and its creatures (Locke Sec. 36). Locke’s use of the bible is seen to be an atte mpt to try and essentially justify his position on the general formula that was used in the acquisition of land. In my opinion this supposition as provided by Locke essentially makes sense as it is primarily through our own individual labor activity that we can be able to cause the various natural resources to obtain their innate true value. However in my opinion, I think that Locke did not take into careful consideration aspects such as communal labor that see individuals undertake a number of labor activities not for their own individual gain, but primarily for the benefit of the entire community. Locke also seem to overlook the fact that it is nowadays quite common for individuals to desire to own land not for their own mere self-gratification but primarily for ecological stewardship purposes where their attempts are mainly geared at the general conservation of nature. To some extent, Locke’s position can arguable seen to not be justifiable as although the original premise of land acquisition in which the entire world was according to Locke America and there was a lot of land which was seemingly unowned, and hence the acquisition of land by an individual did not in any way tend to infringe on another individual’s capacity to acquire land as there was no evident scarcity of land to own (Locke Sec. 36), this supposition can be seen to not hold true in the modern day world as the rapid population increase that has been experienced around the world has caused there to be numerous persons across the world who despite their engagement in labor activities, still cannot be able to own any land or own any housing property. This is despite there being some individuals happen to own thousands of acres of land or various properties that remain vacant for very long stretches of time without having any human habitation. It is primarily in respect to this that I strongly support the argument that the current unequal possession of the earth has essentially be en imposed by most men by those that happen to be stronger than them. My current perception is that if all men were to be granted equal opportunity and resources, all men would desire to and eventually own land. Locke points out that money has been of great aid in the promotion of the unequal and disproportionate possession of the