Monday, September 30, 2019

Mudule guide

By the end of this module, successful students will typically be able to; demonstrate the ability to critically analyse and evaluate the reality of complex IHRM and employment relations issues from a variety of perspectives; demonstrate the ability to relate theory to practice; demonstrate the ability to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of selected national HRI employment relations systems; demonstrate the ability to undertake ystematic management research as required by module assessments and in- module participation, synthesise information and reference appropriately; communicate effectively verbally and in writing; demonstrate the ability to use initiative and independence in study and application. 3 Format of Delivery There is one lecture (1 hour) and one seminar (1 hour) per week. 4 How StudyNet will be used to support this module StudyNet will be used for providing lecture notes and other materials relating to each session. These will be accessible prior to each l ecture. StudyNet will be used for all ommunication on the module. Additional reading and links to Journal articles will be put in the ‘Additional Reading folder under ‘Teaching Resources'. You should consult this folder on a regular basis as the readin supports your module.Teaching methods used on this module The module will use a variety of teaching methods which include lectures, seminars and workshops. A feature of the module is the emphasis placed upon student presented seminars. Students are expected to participate fully in the module. Prior to each session, they are expected to familiarise themselves with the lecture topic by rawing upon the detailed guided reading and to read selectively from the seminar reading list. In addition, they are encouraged to keep abreast of current events and be prepared to discuss these and their own work experiences (where appropriate) in the seminar groups. This variety of methods will enable students to effectively achieve the modu le learning outcomes.Students are expected to attend this module regularly as an essential part of their learning lies not only in the lecture but also in the contribution that students make to the seminar programme. If students are unable to attend, they must advise the tutors. a Module schedule and lecture/seminar information In this section you will find a week by week schedule for this module. There is one lecture (1 hour) and one seminar (1 hour) per week. Please note that there are sometimes unforeseen circumstances, such as staff illness, that may necessitate communicate these changes to you in good time. The table below provides a summary of the teaching programme. You need to consult the full schedule for the directed reading.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Ap Gov. Chapter Four Study Guide

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Study Guide A. Chapter 4: a. Terms: i. Civil Liberties: The legal constitutional protections against government. Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the Bill of Rights, the courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning. ii. Bill of Rights: The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, which define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press and guarantee defendants' rights. iii. First Amendment: The constitutional amendment that establishes the four great liberties: freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, and of assembly. v. Fourteenth Amendment: The constitutional amendment adopted after the Civil War that states, No State shall make or enforce and law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection o f the laws. v. Due Process Clause: Part of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing that persons cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property by the United States or state governments without due process of law. i. Incorporation Doctrine: The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. vii. Establishment Clause: Part of the First Amendment stating that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. † viii. Free Exercise Clause: A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion. ix. Prior Restraint: A government preventing material from being published.This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but is usually unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota. x. L ibel: The publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone's reputation. xi. Symbolic Speech: Nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the First Amendment. xii.Commercial Speech: Communication in the form of advertising. It can be restricted more than any other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court. xiii. Probable Clause: The situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested. In making the arrest, police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence. xiv. Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Obtaining evidence in haphazard or random manner, a practice prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.Probably cause and/or a search warrant are required for a legal and proper search for an seizure of incriminating evidence. xv. Search Warrant: A written authorization from a court s pecifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for. xvi. Exclusionary Rule: The rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. The rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure. xvii.Fifth Amendment: A constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law. xviii. Self-Incrimination: The situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. The Fifth Amendment forbids self-incrimination. xix. Sixth Amendment: A constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial. x. Plea Bargaining: A bargain struck between the defen dant's lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime (or fewer crimes) in exchange for the state's promise not to prosecute the defendant for a more serious (or additional) crime. xxi. Eight Amendment: The constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment, although it does not define this phrase. Though the Fourteenth Amendment, this Bill of Rights provision applies to the states. xxii. Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Court sentences prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.Although the Supreme Court has rules that mandatory death sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. xxiii. Right to Privacy: The right to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government. xxiv. Marketplace of Ideas: the public forum in which beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete xxv. Inevitable Discovery: exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the evidence would eventually have been found by legal means xxvi.The Smith Act: required fingerprinting and registering of all aliens in the u. s. and made it a crime to teach or advocate the violent overthrow of the u. s. government xxvii. Hate Crimes: crimes that involve hate against people because of color, race, or ethnic origin xxviii. Obscenity: an offensive or indecent word or phrase xxix. Miranda Warnings: warnings that must be read to suspects prior to questioning. Suspects must be advised that they have the rights of silence and counsel b. Cases: i. Schenck v.US: Speech is not constitutionally protected when the words used under the circumstances present a clear and present danger of bringing about the evil Congress has a right to prevent ii. Gitlow v. New York: State statutes are unconstitutional if they are arbitrary and unreasonable attempts to exercise authority vested in the stat e to protect public interests. iii. Dennis v. US: The First Amendment does not protect the right to free speech when the nature or circumstances are such that the speech creates a clear and present danger of substantial harm to important national interests. v. Yates v. US: v. New York Times v. US vi. US v. O’Brien vii. Tinker v. Des Moines: viii. Mapp v. Ohio ix. US v. Eichman: x. Near v. Minnesota: xi. New York Times v. Sulllivan: xii. Miranda v. Arizona: xiii. Engle v. Vitale: xiv. Reynolds v. US: xv. Brandedneg v. Ohio: xvi. BSA v. Dale: xvii. Lemon v. Kurtzman: xviii. West Virginia v. Barnette: xix. Gideon v. Wainwright: xx. Smith v. Collins: xxi. Wallace v. Jaffree: xxii. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier: xxiii. Santa Fe School Dist. V. Doe: xxiv. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale: c. Questions: i.Protections of the First Amendment were not originally extended to the states because every state had it’s own bill of rights. But if a state passes a law violating one of the rights protected by the Bill of rights and the states constitution doesn’t prohibit this then nothing happens. This is determined from the Barron v. Baltimore case that said it only restrains governments, not states and cities. Later though, it was changed by the ruling of Gitlow v. New York that said that states had to respect to some First Amendment rights. ii.Freedom of speech is the right to express opinions without censorship or restraint. There are many types of speech: 1. Libel: The publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone's reputation. 2. Symbolic Speech: Nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the First Amendment. 3. Commercial Speech: Communication in the form of advertising. It can be restricted more than any other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court. iii.Basic restrictions on speech include: prior restr aint, government preventing material from being published; obscenity, inappropriate speech; libel, false statements being published; slander. The government can limit symbolic speech if the act was to intimidate. iv. Brief Explanations: 1. Search and Seizure: must have probable cause to search personal affects; can only take what they went into search for 2. Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: this fifth amendment right protects a defendant from being forced to testify against him or herself; it protects against compelled testimonial evidence 3.Right to Due Process: if people believe their rights are being violated, they have the right to a fair and impartial hearing 4. Right to Counsel: individual right found in the sixth amendment of the constitution that requires criminal defendants to have access to legal representation v. The three basics tests the courts use to determine the constitutionality of a law is the Lemon Test. It states that: 1. the statute must have a secular legi slative purpose 2. its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion 3. the statute must not foster â€Å"an excessive government entanglement with religion. â€Å"

Friday, September 27, 2019

Financial Modelling Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Modelling Report - Essay Example In addition, regression analysis will be conducted to especially find out the patterns of the regression equations and the p-value. This will help support the null hypothesis that the predictors play some role in the stock return. A number of theories will be put forward to try and explain the results of the study. MN7024-Financial Modelling Introduction Return on stock is influenced by various factors, among them including the size of a firm, book-to-market ratio, and beta. In addition, different regions of the world have exhibited different patterns in regards to stock return depending on the prevailing market conditions during a particular time (Zhang, Shu and Brenner, 2010). In this project, it will be hypothesized that return on stock is subject to the size of the firm, the book-to-market ratio as well as beta; and that different regions of the world have different impacts on the stock returns, among them including America, Asia and Europe. Owing to the strong impact that 2008 f inancial crisis caused in the financial markets especially by exacerbating market volatility; this project will also compare the variable relationships before the crisis and after the crisis with the aim of finding out whether the crisis had caused any significant changes in the stock market dynamics. The analysis will primarily involve generation of line graphs, scatter plots, relationship tables, and use of regression analysis to compare the relationship between various variables. Analysis of regression statistics and scatter plots will be generated by SPSS while charts will be generated by Microsoft excel worksheets. The output generated from SPSS will be synthesized and presented in tables in a manner that is easy to read and understand. The dependent variable will be the return and the independent variables will include size of firm, book-to-market ratio, beta and three geographical regions including America, Asia and Europe. The three variables will be presented as dummy varia bles to enable multi-regression analysis. Consequently, number 1 will be assigned to the region that the sample has been obtained; and 0 will be assigned to the other regions that the sample has not been obtained. Graphical representation of data Beta and stock return Beta is used in CAPM to measure systematic risk or volatility of a particular security relative to the market as a whole (Zhang, Shu and Brenner, 2010). Therefore, the securities with higher beta have more risk than the market and many investors would not want to invest in them. However, it is widely accepted that the securities that have high return will also have a high risk. As such, from the figure 1 and 2 below, the beta is directly proportional to the stock return, meaning that as the beta increases, the return on stocks will also increase and vice versa. The essence of a higher return in the stocks with a higher beta is to compensate the investors for the higher risk they are exposed to. This relationship is not very strong where beta is very high because investors tend to accept low return from high beta considering that low beta securities require the use of leverage. From figure 2 below, the positive relationship between these two variables appears to be maintained. Figure 1: Return vs. beta before 2008 Figure 2: return vs. beta after 2008 The Book-to-market ratio versus Stock Returns Figure 3 and 4 below shows the return of stock compared with book-to-market. Studies undertaken by Fama and French (1992)

Analysis of the Movie The Gladiator Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of the The Gladiator - Movie Review Example The movie review "Analysis of the Movie The Gladiator" presents the overview of the film "The Gladiator" plot, its main heroes, and techniques used in the production of this movie. The plot of the film is brought out in an overwhelmingly exciting manner with scenes unfolding like in a real-life scene. Maximus is preferred by Commodus father to inherit the throne, something which Commodus disputes strongly. Commodus then resorts to murder his father and forcefully inherits the throne. He reduces Maximus to being a slave and severely destroys his family. To save himself from the chains of slavery, Maximus opts to become a gladiator on a new land after being saved by slave traders- a very low position in society. Using his brains and tactics, he plans to take revenge on Commodus so that he can be reunited happily with his family. In spite of all the challenges he faced, he was able to go through with his revenge. The movie is built around three act structures; bringing Maximus down from a warrior to slave and finally to gladiator. There is nothing complex in this film as it is not realistic but rather an attempt to create a myth. The three acts are brought out in a dizzyingly exciting manner. Scott employs simple digital effects of reconstructing the whole Ancient Rome world on a film. He presents breathtaking scenes like the intact Coliseum shots flooded by crowds of spectators. Furthermore, on watching the film, there are scenes when the screen is filled with action series of tigers, chariots, and swords.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Is the world tourism orginasation overexaggerating the benefits of Essay

Is the world tourism orginasation overexaggerating the benefits of tourism and recreation - Essay Example The WTO has clearly delineated tourism and its possible benefits under the many classifications, such as : a factor of sustainable development, a cultural heritage promoter and enhancer, a beneficial activity for the host country and community, and ultimately as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment. With this agenda, the WTO has been promoting tourism across countries and zones. Tourism offers, an indirect way to balance the flow of money from the economically rich nations, whose people have plenty of money but are stressed due to lack of time and leisure, to the people of economically backward nations, but with relatively less stress factors and with backgrounds of more cultural heritage, historical monuments/preservations or rural wilderness. It conducts periodic research and guidelines as to what are the things that tourists should take note of, while embarking on tours and travelling across borders. Poverty alleviation program through tourism, has been vigorously ad vocated by the WTO. With WTO promoting the cause of tourism so largely, the world population at large, tend to believe more and more in the positive benefits of travel and tourism. On closer analysis, however, the question does arise, in one's mind, as to whether, the benefits of travel and tourism are really as great as portrayed by WTO, or is there some exaggeration. For this purpose, this research shall cite some case studies and citations to explore the cases in which the impact of tourism had indeed been beneficial and , how in some cases tourism has had some sort of negative impact on the people. Social Impact of Tourism Research findings of Hall et al, (1997), show us that the phenomenon of countryside tourism is found worldwide, and greatly encouraged to give a boost to the regional economies found in the area. The tourism movement itself, holds the potential to be diversified into as many ways as the following : Wilderness tourism, National parks, Recreation resorts, Second homes, Retirement market and Cultural-heritage tourism. As more and more people retire, they would like to move away from the hectic and timeless lifestyles that the developed economies offered, to more peace filled beach resorts or rural resorts or houses. Sometimes studies reveal that the very existence of farm lands and the pre-industrial development life-style is good enough to induce people to have a rural visitation. A case of Chemainus a town in British Colombia is cited as an example.( Murphy, 1981). How the nondescript

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Religion as the Source of Inspiration Research Paper

Religion as the Source of Inspiration - Research Paper Example The organization of groups into identifiable sectors within society has been placed to compose a movement. These have been in the form of cult or religion and other organized groups where ideology is shared and desires fulfilled. Of the organized groups to follow a unified theme, religion has been the most outstanding. Durkheim, Cladis and Cosman (2001) define religion as a set of beliefs that bring individuals together towards acknowledgement of the existence of a supernatural being. These beliefs have aided the development of positive virtues within the society an offer support during the difficult challenges subjected upon societal members. Societies and groups have been identified based on their variable religious affiliations. Other societies have been developed based on the shared belief and practices. In religion, individuals complete variable practices for the satisfaction of the rules within the set trend. Religion has existed within the continents for decades linking the pr actices to the behavioral adaptation of the members. Various religions present different practices and identity. The common example is found in the difference accorded in Christianity and Islam religion that depict varied theories and practices. Religion serves as the basis of articulating unanswered questions to clarify the foundation of existence and the larger society. Despite the variations that have been depicted in variable religious beliefs, religion has served as the sole purpose of presenting unity and the source of unanswered questions to humanity. Religion has been the source of inspiration and answers in society for decades. The belief in the existence of a superior power has instilled discipline in societies satisfying breaking the tension in war and corruption. The idea presented that there is an uttermost power providing security rejuvenates the human desire to belong to a particular setting. However, the religious affiliations existing within the society have been pr esented to hold varied norms. Governments and the rules holding the existence of humanity within the set society have been formed based on the dominant religion. The most dominant religion has been Christianity in America and Europe, while Islam and Buddhism have composed the provision presented in Asia. Without the set of beliefs, the formed governments would be destabilized, and the need to find freedom would be affected. The involvement within the religious setting has brought peace and developed the needed faith to overcome the challenges within the society. The hope presented in eternity has been the most striking with humanity accorded the purpose to live their current lives. All of the religious groups offer the opportunity to develop the idea for continuity. There is the conviction in that which is not visible and the pillar of belief centered on a common figure. Although Islam and Christianity consider the existence of a solitary being, the other world religions have been b ased on the need to have a life after the one within the modern earth. Those that lack the faith to belong to a religion have been considered outcasts with little definition to the life lived in the current society. Religion has been the ability possessed by the social groups to possess the belief in the unseen. Various religions present different meanings to the defining attributes of the supernatural beings. The leading world religions have been based on historical evidence of the creators of the set virtues. The belief in each religion has been presented to be contained in the basis found in their formation. Christianity that is the dominant world religion has been based on the existence

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Describe and critically evaluate the contributions of Non-Governmental Essay

Describe and critically evaluate the contributions of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to the development and promotion of civil society. Refer relevant li - Essay Example Thus Civil society can be defined as the political space between the individual and the government, expressed by membership of NGOs, social groups, associations and other organizations and networks. But its role in influencing state action and political processes, and in serving as a corrective and complement to market economies, implies that it should not be seen first and foremost as a channel for emergency and development assistance. However, Restrictions on civil and political rights, in particular the right to free association or free political expression, can serve to weaken civil society. Civil society may also be inhibited from playing a peace-building role by intimidation and attack. Information and communication networks may be especially vulnerable then. Thus civil society programme should be rooted in a firm analysis of the context and the role and position of civil-society groups in it. NGO’s thus help to build their capacity and reach by positively monitoring and supporting their provision of basic health and education services to facilitating advocacy roles and their promotion of dialogue (for peaceful dispute resolution, reconciliation etc.), information and other local and international issues. One pioneering consultation with NGO leaders from developing countries suggested that the nature of the state – democratic, one-party, or military dictator – is very important to the development of civil society (Tandon. 1989) More generally, analyses of experience across countries suggests that the â€Å"social origins† of civil societies in historical interactions among major social forces (e.g., elites, workers, the middle class, the Church, and so on) shape the size and resources of the sector (Salamon and Anheier. 1998) Economic globalization is one of the most powerful forces that seem to have shaped the postwar world. Non-Governmental Organizations that emphasize on

Monday, September 23, 2019

Gilbert and George Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gilbert and George - Research Paper Example In understanding and using pictures, I would like to argue that Gilbert and George explore various aspects of the society in explaining the structure and basic tenets of the society, the current living styles and the methods people should use to lead comfortable lives, away from the influence of societal judgments. One perfect part that Gilbert and George arts do well is explaining the various parts of human development in the society, as the classify and explains each part use. There is a clear explanation of how the parts work in the society and how art is an expression of the self. The basic point in understanding art is first to learn the structures and how the structures are interconnected to form a complex system of images, figures, sculptures and pictures that make up art. Gilbert and George understand the needs of art lovers and from the pictures’ content, it is definite that the artists carried out a study on identifying the specific needs of art lovers especially in collaboration of the integrated systems of the society and other life formation tactics. In my own view, the manner in which an artist approaches a piece of art or sculpture determines the rate of understanding and clarity from the viewers, which is definite to arouse a liking towards a specific piece of artwork. Gilbert and George exploit their talent in showing these aspects. One picture that Gilbert and George use is We. In the picture, Gilbert and George draw images of themselves standing asymmetrically .

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Awakening - the Sea Essay Example for Free

The Awakening the Sea Essay The sea in The Awakening represents not only Edna’s self-awakening, evolution and growth, but also the combination of freedom and death. In her search for freedom, the sea plays a part in the realization that the only way to achieve freedom is through death: her true awakening. We go as far as to say that throughout the novel, Edna is aware of this dark truth, but only on a subconscious level, which is why she only sees the sea as place of self-expression and freedom, but nothing deeper until the very end. She is alone in this awareness, which really isn’t manifested until her one-on-one encounter with the sea and the abysses of solitude, even though she is quite the loner throughout the novel. These meetings with the sea show a progression in Edna’s life, from afraid and dependent, to confused and in transition, to confident and fully awakened to her inevitable fate, the truth, the answer and only way out. This marks a loss of innocence and naà ¯vetà © of sorts, her turning from a pretty selfish and capricious child to a kind of responsible, strong and illuminated adult. Edna’s awakening and full transition from childlike to knowing was one full of difficulty and obstacles to surmount. The sea is simply a symbol of that evolution: the two main encounters with it are completely representative of Edna Pontellier’s isolated shift from dissatisfied and confused to entirely free of any restriction. It helps her come to realize that she shouldn’t expect or hope for anything from the society she lived in, no matter what she attempted to gain freeness from, including love affairs with anyone, whether it be Alcà ©e or Robert. The sea is the one and only thing guiding her real awakening, because it’s the only possible way to progressively gain complete independence, and, in the end, freedom through her death.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Has the lottery replaced the government in the funding of education Essay Example for Free

Has the lottery replaced the government in the funding of education Essay The overarching aims of education underlie the construction of the curriculum and funding. Education, in the broader sense, aims to develop the individual, to enlarge a child’s knowledge, experience and imaginative understanding, and thus his awareness of moral values and capacity for enjoyment and also to enable the child to take his place in society. The school education on the other hand, has the aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve, to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. Consider the school of the late 20th century. It has not changed a whole lot in the last fifty years or so. Isolated from the rest of the world except for one or two school-business partnerships. Working at the edges of the school, these partnerships attempt to provide students with some insight into the working world or give some marginal discretionary resources for the principal to use. The resources are used on one of a multitude of unrelated programs that the school has set up to cope with the problems that society has dumped on the school. The school itself has created barriers that shelter and isolate it from the work of the world that goes on around it. The technological innovations that are pervasive in the business world have yet to penetrate the classrooms except for a single computer in each classroom that the teacher barely knows how to use. Few business people, even the partners, ever come to school; those who do are shocked by the conditions they find and by the discipline problems with which teachers must contend. Still they are comforted by the fact that school feels pretty much like it did when they went to school. On the other hand, the quality of services on a university campus is one thing; to measure the quality of manufactured goods is another matter. Chubb, J. and Moe, T. takes this further and says that a service cannot be objectively measured. Such frustration stems from the difference between services and goods. For example, educational services are intangible and cannot be packaged, displayed or inspected fully by prospective students. Services also have a perishability problem because they cannot be stored for future delivery: when students cut class, the professors time is wasted. Unlike goods, services are difficult to separate from their provider: an academic course is as fascinating or as boring as the professor. There is also a lot of variability in services. For example, the mood of the professor could impinge on his or her tolerance for chatting in class. Services are difficult to standardize. Unlike manufactured goods, services are not as susceptible to strict quality control. With regards to these needs in education, more states are actually looking for fund in order to pursue educational development. Out of 42 states that uses lottery, 24 of it uses the proceeds for school financing aside from the support of the government. In line with this research, the data that describes the 2005 and 2006 development of schools in each state considered. Basically, this paper attempts to identify if the massive lottery practices in each states promotes educational development in terms of funding. The Report  From the previous discussion, The Chicago Reporter found out that the lottery does not supplement school funding, even though the proceeds goes directly the state’s Common School Fund. On the other hand, the South Carolina Education Lottery was approved by constitutional referendum in 2000, and implemented shortly thereafter. In contrast to other education lotteries, the legislation establishing the lottery contains substantive measures to ensure that lottery revenues supplement, rather than replace, general fund tax revenues earmarked for education. Aside from this, the involvement of lottery in funding the schools’ needs show a good advantage as California Performance Review supported the option. California lottery players, retailers and, most importantly, its public schools, all stand to gain from changing state laws that restrict the lotterys ability to increase sales. These changes are not only consistent with the mandated purpose of The Lottery Act as approved by the voters, they represent the only risk-free way to ensure that lottery dollars to education will not actually decrease. In line with this, this paper will evaluate and compare the current development in 46 states in which 24 of it uses the proceeds of lottery to education while the other 22 only uses the support of the government. The Method To determine the current performance of schools in 46 states, the researcher compares the amount of budget between states w/ lottery proceeds used in school funding and states w/o lottery proceeds used in school funding. To determine the difference of budget between these states and the status of development in each school, the researcher conducted an analysis from the data obtained in these 46 states (The distribution of data is shown in the Appendix A) using t-test procedures. From 24 schools that are currently using lottery proceeds, the analysis of their education budget was also compared to their previous years in which lottery proceeds is not being considered (see Appendix B). The use of its mean and coefficient of variation are performed for evaluation of budget.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Ethnic Malay Malaysian Nationalism History Essay

The Ethnic Malay Malaysian Nationalism History Essay This phenomena is an example of the social transformation happening right now in Malaysia due to the unequal treatment among the ethnic groups. Malaysia is a multi-cultural nation. The Malays, Chinese and Indians build up the population. However, since the independence of Malaysia, racist policies have been marginalizing the minorities. In this essay, I am going to talk about racist Malay Malaysian Nationalism by tracing the history of formation and development of this country. Multi-cultural Malaysia Malaysia, formerly known as Malaya, located on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo in the Southeast Asia. It has been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country since its independence in 1957 from the British Occupation. It has a population of 28.8 million consists of the three major ethnic groups: the Malays (61.4%), Chinese (23.7%), Indians (7.1%). (Mose 2010: 285-297). The immigration of the Indians into the Malaya Peninsula is encouraged by the British colonial government in the 19th century. It reached its peak during the rapid expansion of the rubber plantation in 1910s. The Chinese started flushing in since the 19th century to escape from the unstable society in China and seek for better economic opportunities. They made up the main labor force of the tin mining industry until the early 20th century. Whereas, the Malays have started to move into the Malaya Peninsula earlier than during the 14th century from the islands which are known as Indonesian territories today. However, the Malays consider themselves as Bumiputra (sons of the soil) of Malay Peninsula and categorize themselves as the indigenous population. (Saw 2007). The ethnic tensions have been the biggest internal problem of the nation. Several elements have led to the emergence and affirmation of the ethnic Malay Malaysian Nationalism. The Ethnic Malay Malaysian Nationalism How do Malaysians define themselves in terms of nationality and culture? Is that possible to emerge a Malaysian Nationalism purely clean of the racism? In the book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Anderson Benedict (2006) defines nation as an imagined political community. Communities are imagined. It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion. Hence, communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined. It is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship. Ultimately it is this fraternity that makes it possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings. That seems to be a flawless condition that will lead to the stability and peacefulness of a country. The Malaysian Nationalism should be distinguished, not by the skin colour, but the vision to the prosperity of the country shared by the members. However, the civilization of this region since its occupation by colonial power has had a great impact on the way they imagine of the community. Ethnic groups have emerged diversified nationalism as a result of the marginalization by the former colonial governments. Before British colonial occupation was established in the late nineteenth century on the Malayan Peninsula, Malays originated from Indonesia had controlled the underpopulated areas and defined territorial units which resided by Sultan (the rulers). During the early 1800s, the British colonial government opened the doors to the Chinese immigrants when the growing tin mining industry was greatly in need of labor. For a more handy decentralized administration, the British colonial government collaborated with the Malay rulers in each region. The regions were governed under the Malay rulers with the advice by the British agents in return of a certain legal protection. This protection was to ensure the superiority of Malay traditional culture over the increasing population of other ethnic groups as well as the survival of their agricultural economy under the rapid developing modern export economy in the non-Malay and European-populated urban areas. (Mauzy 2006) The British intervention has been intrusive to the development of the ethnic relations. The status and privileges of Malay has been affirmed, thus a new nationalism has been arisen among the Malay community. According to Roffs classic analysis, organised Islamic fervour during the early 1900s, a secular,but still traditional resistance waged by privileged aristocrats beginning in the late 1920s, and a surge in Malay radicalism during the 1930s. (Roff, 1974) Japanese occupation has made exacerbated the existing ethnic tension by the extremely brutal treatment to the Chinese. Before Japanese landed on the Malay Peninsula, Malaysian Chinese has been resented by the renowned Nanking Massacre which killed approximately 250,000 to 300,000 Chinese in 1937 in China. (Rummel, 2002) During the invasion of Malay Peninsula, Japanese treated Malaysian Chinese exceptionally harshly to undermine the funding support to the resistance in China. Being in a tough situation, the Chinese had had the most members in the resistance groups. In contrast, Japanese occupation encouraged the Malay nationalism by reaffirming their identity of Bumiputra, the superiority of Malay of then region. (bin Zakaria 1989) Malays were also promoted in the bureaucracy and new paramilitary formation. (Case 2000) With the defeat of Japan and the return of the British colonial government, Chinese had acquired a new stature as guerrilla heroes. Accordingly, it could be expected that the Malays, the bumiputra, would demand for an affirmation of its dominance on the region. The racism attached to the Malay Nationalism was clearer at this point. Racism, which is directed against a population regarded as a minority, is defined as internal racism. According to Balibar (1988), it is useful to characterize certain racist posture as auto-referential (those in which the bearers of the prejudice, exercising physical or symbolic violence, designate themselves as representatives of a superior race). Nationalism and racism are conceptually separated to each other. However, there are sound evidences showing that these two ideologies are highly related. Strong elements of racism can be pointed out in, at least, some forms of nationalism. According to Etienne Balibar (1991), racism is always implied in the nationalist movements. When people in a nation share the same language, skin color, the sense of nationalism is often overlapped with racism. During the early independence, Malays was discontented with the uneven distribution of income among the ethnic groups as a result of the division of occupations. (the domination of Malays in agriculture, whereas the Chinese in commerce activities) Chinese accumulated considerable wealth due to the rapid expansion of the commerce activities. The income gap between the Chinese and the Malays was significant. In 1970, the Chinese has a mean income of RM467.50 while Malay has a mean income of only RM313.20. (Ikemoto 1985: 347-367) In 1969, Chinese dominated political party made a significant gain in opposition to the Malay controlled party in the general election.   On May 13, right after the result of the election was released, when members of the winning party marched through some largely Malay areas, the riot broke out. The Malays and the Chinese killed each other. May 13 incident was the most dismaying racial riot happened in the history of Malaysia. It has become the turning point of the racial relation where the implementation of the racist policies started. (Gray 2007) Calling for addressing the root of the conflict, the New Economic Policy started in the 1971 under Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, who is from UMNO, the main Malay political party. In fact, the policies and regulations of NEP were, in some senses, reaffirming the Malay superiority over other races. It has affected not only Malaysian economy but also education and the social structure. (Koon 1997: 262-292) NEP is indeed the product of the new Malay Malaysian Nationalism. The ambitious but controversial New Economic Policy (NEP) was launched in 1971 with two main objectives: to eradicate the poverty and to correct the economic imbalances among the ethnic groups. This set of policies has completely traumatized the Chinese and Indian communities. Since its implementation, criticism was overthrown. It has been accused of affirming the Malay Supremacy by reducing the status of the non-Malay citizens. The NEP ended in 1991 but most of the tangible economic privileges it reserved for the Malays are still ongoing until now. The education policy in the New Economic Policy has had the greatest impact on the social structure of the country. One phase to social and economic transformation of the Malays is only through education, not equity participation. You take care of education and they will have enough to participate in the capital market, former Finance Minister of Malaysia, Tun Daim Zainuddin justified the priority granted for the Malays in his speech on the Issues Facing the Malays. (Caballero-Anthony 2006) The policy was aimed at creating more opportunities for higher education through admission policy for the Malays and indigenous residents. However, while they are guaranteed high-quality education the educational opportunity for non-Malay citizens are brutally and radically reduced. For the past 30 years, Malaysia has been the only Asian country that officially discriminates against a certain group of citizens in matters of education. In 1962, the enrolment to the University of Malaya by ethnicity was   60% Chinese, 20% Malay and 20% Indians and Others. The ethnic quota system of 55:45 in favor of the Malays and indigenous residents was established as part of NEP in 1971. In the same year, the participation rate of Malay students was already equal to that of Chinese students at about 44%. (Mukherjee 2000) In fact, most of the other public university admitted more Malay students than the specified quota of 55%. The criteria for the entrance of local public university is also the main obstacle to the non-Malay students. Matriculation program and Malaysian High Certificate of Education (STPM) are the two ways of entering the public university after the high school education. Whereas, matriculation program reserves around 90% of the places for the Malays and indigenous residents. (Lee 2005) In addition, by examining the grading system, it is relatively an easier way for student to be admitted to the local public uni versity. As a result, Malay students are advantaged and non-Malay students are discouraged. Many non-malay students instead choose to study abroad. This has led to a significant outflow of human capital, especially elites, because students often settle down for the rest of their life after their studies. Another racist part of the New Economic Policy is the housing quota system. To encourage more Malays and indigenous residents to own property, housing policy requires the Malaysian housing developers to set aside at least 30% of their development housing for Malays as well as provide a discount of 5-15%. After 30 years of the implementation of the policy, lots reserved are often released to the open market upon the approval by the State government. (Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia 2012) It has resulted in increasing of property ownership by the Malays but also the economic inefficiency. New Economic Policy favors Malays economic opportunities by the quota system of ownership. What has had the greatest impact on the Chinese business community is the target of NEP of increasing Malays share of economic ownership from 2.4% (in 1969) to 30% to achieve a 30:40:30 welfare ratio of Bumiputra, other Malaysian, and foreign ownership within a 20-year time frame. (Leong 1992) Such an intensive redistribution of wealth has been hastened by the legislature restriction. In contrast, no official assistance was offered to non-Bumiputra to achieve the goal of acquiring 40% of the national wealth. It has hugely reduced the incentive for the Chinese in their business activities. Conclusion Yet, most of the criticisms are based on the issue that the non-Malays under the poverty line are not benefitted by the NEP called for eradicating poverty. Robert Kuok Hock Nien, Malaysian Chinese, once the richest person in the South East Asia, started focusing his investment overseas by reducing its portion in Malaysia after a series of new business restrictions favoring the Malays been implemented. ** There are Chinese under poverty line but the government did not address them. *** People are qualified for the benefit according to their race, instead of their economic position. Conclusion.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Public Schools and Education - Its Time for Education Reform :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative

It's Time for Education Reform My sentence is still being carried out and, as such, I am still gathering much damning evidence on the topic. Hopefully I will be able to compose a meaningful -- perhaps even persuasive -- critique of the system. There is quite a bit of bureaucracy and conformity to overcome. The education system is profoundly skewed and this is the second time I have experienced its most significant problem: placement and grading. Most educators place too much value on inflexible systems for identifying proper places for students and estimate their comprehension of the material; there are many factors that may aid or hinder a student's performance on such tests. Yet, even excusing poor test score(s) is not my main intention. Throughout most of my education I felt extreme boredom and "excelled" at all "academic studies" (as ill-defined as they were), which made me rather excited about the prospect of going to college early. I thought the MASMC, focusing on (personal) and academic challenges, should provide the extra stimulation and opportunity to let me "soar." I have come to understand the harsher conformity of lower level courses. In highschool I had precalculus (which actually ended with limits!) and chemistry, and I considered my entrance to calculus and (advanced/secondary) chemistry in college almost guaranteed. I found out about placement tests the night before actually taking them (the best I can remember) but still felt confident after having completed them. I found out little before actually going to the academy that I would be placed back in precalculus and chemistry one. After talking with a few "authorities" I discovered there was one other test I could take. Without even looking at the C I received on the first precalculus (mostly algebra and some trig) test, I took another one. Again, I received a C and felt rather bad. I talked with Dr. Malm to figure out what I did wrong. After looking over the test, I felt somewhat worse: the errors I made were not due to a real lack of understanding, rather they were "stupid errors" from lack of attention, sleepiness, and some misinterpretation. I was assured that the college precalculus course would "fill the holes" of my precalculus education. I doubted it, and was correct: I learned, effectively, nothing in precalculus while spending hours (and taxpayers' money) listening to the same material and doing homework (unnecessary -- I didn't last year and by not doing homework I did not hurt my placement test score). Public Schools and Education - It's Time for Education Reform :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative It's Time for Education Reform My sentence is still being carried out and, as such, I am still gathering much damning evidence on the topic. Hopefully I will be able to compose a meaningful -- perhaps even persuasive -- critique of the system. There is quite a bit of bureaucracy and conformity to overcome. The education system is profoundly skewed and this is the second time I have experienced its most significant problem: placement and grading. Most educators place too much value on inflexible systems for identifying proper places for students and estimate their comprehension of the material; there are many factors that may aid or hinder a student's performance on such tests. Yet, even excusing poor test score(s) is not my main intention. Throughout most of my education I felt extreme boredom and "excelled" at all "academic studies" (as ill-defined as they were), which made me rather excited about the prospect of going to college early. I thought the MASMC, focusing on (personal) and academic challenges, should provide the extra stimulation and opportunity to let me "soar." I have come to understand the harsher conformity of lower level courses. In highschool I had precalculus (which actually ended with limits!) and chemistry, and I considered my entrance to calculus and (advanced/secondary) chemistry in college almost guaranteed. I found out about placement tests the night before actually taking them (the best I can remember) but still felt confident after having completed them. I found out little before actually going to the academy that I would be placed back in precalculus and chemistry one. After talking with a few "authorities" I discovered there was one other test I could take. Without even looking at the C I received on the first precalculus (mostly algebra and some trig) test, I took another one. Again, I received a C and felt rather bad. I talked with Dr. Malm to figure out what I did wrong. After looking over the test, I felt somewhat worse: the errors I made were not due to a real lack of understanding, rather they were "stupid errors" from lack of attention, sleepiness, and some misinterpretation. I was assured that the college precalculus course would "fill the holes" of my precalculus education. I doubted it, and was correct: I learned, effectively, nothing in precalculus while spending hours (and taxpayers' money) listening to the same material and doing homework (unnecessary -- I didn't last year and by not doing homework I did not hurt my placement test score).

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Silent Film Meets the Talkies: A Brief History Essay example -- Film M

Silent Film Meets the Talkies: A Brief History A gambling man, Governor Leland Stanford of California needed visual proof to win a bet he had eagerly placed. Governor Stanford firmly believed that at some point in their stride, horses had all four hooves off the ground at the same time. After hiring a photographer who was to no avail, the Governor brought in John D. Isaacs, the chief engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, to have a look at the situation. Isaacs decided to rig up a system of magnetic releases to trigger a series of cameras, twelve total, as the horse ran down the track (Everson, 17). Mounting these images on a rotating disk and projecting them on a screen through a special lantern, they produced a moving picture of the horse at full gallop as it had occurred in real life (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1211). American cinema's next big break came with beginning of World War I. Until this period, the industry had been dominated by France, Italy, and Germany, particularly in the area of feature length presentations and the construction of permanent theaters. However, when the war broke out in Europe, film production abroad nearly ceased due to the overlap of chemicals used in film and the manufacturing of gunpowder (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1213). Simultaneously, American Cinema experienced a period on unprecedented prosperity and growth. By the end of the war, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, 90 percent of all films screened in Europe, Africa, and Asia were American (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1213). Germany however, was the exception, because it had been cut off from America since 1914. When the Germans did finally reconnect with the world, the United States benefited greatly from their techn... ...me box office hits, regardless of the acting or recording quality. As talkies became more refined and commonplace, silent films started to dwindle. A backlash occurred and these pantomimed movies were labeled as the true art (Geduld, 253). Yet, nothing could be done to slow down the continual development of cinema as sound poured out of studios on a daily basis. In fact, this new cinematic style was so popular, the film industry turned out to be one of the few prosperous enterprises during the Depression (Geduld, 253). Works Cited Ellis, Jack C. A History of Film. eedham Heights, Mass: Allyn and Bacon, 1995. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britanica Inc.; vol. 24, 15th ed. Chicago, IL: 1995. Everson, William K. American Silent Film. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1978. Geduld, Harry M. The Birth of the Talkies. London: Indiana Univ. Press, 1975.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Jon Benet Ramsey Case

Michael Pilkington 10/14/12 Ms. Chiolo Forensics JonBenet Ramsey Case Many people know about the JonBenet Ramsey case. This case had to do with when a young girl was killed and found in her own basement. In the JonBenet case there were problems with the investigation, different theories about the murder, and the media had an influence in the case. One problem with the JonBenet Ramsey case was that some evidence wasn’t collected.For example there was a flashlight found that could have been the murder weapon that wasn’t collected as evidence. Another problem was that some of the detectives ego got in the way of solving the case. For example Boulder, Colorado police denied help from the FBI, even though they have had no experience with murder cases that have national attention. One major problem was that the procedure that the police used for the case was improper. The police didn’t separate the parents even when they were both suspects. The media and the â€Å"co urt of public opinion† played a big role in the case.One way was that the media instantly blamed the parents for murdering JonBenet. The media had a couple of theories of how JonBenet was killed. One way was that JonBenet wet her bed and the mom got very mad and killed her. Another theory was that JonBenet’s brother killed her because she got a lot of attention from being in beauty pageants for girls, and he wanted more attention. The media trashed the Ramsey’s reputation by making people think that they were guilty. Since the media labeled the Ramseys guilty, people were close-minded to other ideas of what else could of actually happened.There was one theory though that was the most likely of being true. This theory was called the intruder theory. There were a couple of ways this was the most likely way JonBenet died. One piece of evidence that supports the intruder theory is that there was a unlocked basement window that had been recently opened and closed, and that an intruder could have gotten entry to the house from. Another piece of evidence was that there was DNA on JonBenet’s body that was male, and didn’t match another family member. Also there was a similar attack months later that was similar to the JonBenet Ramsey murder.There was a man who broke into a house (that is close by to the Ramsey house) and sexually assaulted a 14 year old girl. Upon reviewing how the investigation was done from the start it is apparent that the media and the Boulder Colorado police department did not help in solving the case. It is unfortunate that Mrs. Ramsey passed away and that the rest of the family has been unable to see justice done. I do believe in some of the other theories and hope that with the help of time and persistence with the Police and the FBI they will eventually solve the case.

Monday, September 16, 2019

E-governance and E-democracy in South Korea: Civil Participation Essay

What everyone is hailing as a new phenomenon is the coming to the fore of e-government and e-democracy. The phenomenon is new and had been around only for ten years. It started at around the beginning of the 1990s following in the wake of the advent of the Internet (UOC 2002). There had been various technology advances that came into existence that had shown good result in the private sector by enabling the availability of numerous services and information online. The members of the private sectors had exploited these new introductions effectively by putting them to good use. Some concerned citizens had been asking why the various governments are not doing what the private sector had been doing for some time now. Governments also in their quest to be efficient in what they are doing had been examining these new technologies from a while back where there had been effort to implement them effectively in what the various governments are doing. Currently, both the citizens and the various governments are working to harness these new technologies in order to put them to a constructive use. However, it is not easy as there is cost involved, as well as it would take time for all introductions to be effective simply because there is a lot of work involved. In addition, there is effort to create some kind of a balance between the demand-pull and the supply-pull that this paper will discuss further so that the whole undertaking will be productive. The whole idea of e-government and e-democracy rotates around the government policy making process, the kind of citizen participation that is prevalent, and the kind of public work conducted through the existing interaction. The advent of the Internet at around the year 1991 had altered the interaction, whereby the traditional way of carrying governmental duties had evolved eventually to uphold what is stated in the participatory theory. What used to be the norm was the citizens would elect their representatives and pay their taxes. Those elected representatives will form the various governmental bodies that will come up with policies and allocate the available resources based on what the priority is. That includes the up-keeping of existing programs, where the requirement is to conduct the measures taken according to what the law requires. The outcome of such a governing method had always created a barrier making it difficult for the political leaders to know what kind of change in the need as well as priority of the citizen had been introduced simply because there was a lack of citizen participation. There was also a lack of mechanism through which the government could find out what the citizens need or what their stand is as far as certain aspects of implementing measures were concerned. This was due to the lack of mechanism through which citizens can input what they want to communicate to those they have elected them into the various offices. Since the introduction of the Internet, this process had been changing for the better. Starting from the connectivity that is made simple and available in a large scale, the coming into existence of various software, as well as new technologies had enhanced the whole deal, where it was increasingly becoming possible to meet the challenges of delivering a very effective public service by allowing the citizens to participate more often. Concepts such as e-government and e-democracy were the byproducts of such developments and eventually they had become complex concepts that require in depth studying and analysis in order to apply them properly and effectively. Harnessing them properly would result in such a way that there will be a top-down and a bottom-up interaction among those who are involved, mainly the citizens and those in charge of governmental policies. This paper will analyze and discuss where this whole concept started off, what is the perception, and implication of e-government and e-democracy are as well the participation level of the citizens. In addition the study covers, what the new technological introductions had ushered in and what kind of interaction is prevalent or had come into existence among the various governmental bodies and the citizens who are the stakeholders and are the ones who put in office representatives who in their turn are emulating to serve them effectively. The whole idea of e-government and e-democracy focuses at the government policy making process, the kind of citizen participation that is prevalent in the process, and the kind of public work conducted through the existing interaction. The particular interaction had gone through a transformation since the advent of the Internet at around the year 1991, whereby the traditional way of carrying out governmental duties had evolved eventually. What this had resulted into is citizens are gradually becoming participants in the decision making process that will affect their day to day living, as well as how they will be benefited from what is due to given members of society who are the tax payers. The interaction also involves businesses where the G2B participation takes place and the outcome had been observed to be information technology is empowering everyone involved in the process of running an effective society enabling each participant to play their part more effectively where doing things democratically is becoming more and more possible. In light of this, the essay will try to shed light on the new phenomenon that found its way into the working process of what governments, businesses, and citizens are doing and have become to be perceived as e-government and e-democracy. The method used is qualitative research simply because the analysis focuses on the effect of the advent of new electronic mediums on what governments are doing, as far as their decision making process is concerned. There had always been a certain amount of citizen involvement in the government decision making process that highlights the existing C2G relationship. It was possible to augment the earlier level of involvement because of the arrival of electronic mediums such as the Internet that had made any kind of interaction between various groups easily manageable while making the participation theory more of a reality. Hence, this particular qualitative research is exploring the phenomenon that is created by the introduction of the new electronic mediums into what the various governments are doing and study what kind of effect it already has on the decision making process the various governmental bodies when they start involving the citizens more and the benefits brought to the fore. The other area is it had been made possible to use these new mediums to avail governmental services to the citizens and its effect had been analyzed based on its effect on how the various governments are carrying out their duties, while at the same time what the outcome had been so far. Furthermore, the research includes why such an interaction is important in order to enhance what the government is doing, by enabling it to render an effective service without incurring high cost, as well as what the benefit to the citizens will be when their participation level is enhanced. This would mean the process of using and allocating resources would be more manageable among other achievements such as convenience of doing business and being cost effective. The qualitative research also studies how the whole process is affecting the citizens who are becoming more informed and what that would mean for the present time and the future. Hence, the qualitative research method used is more or less a â€Å"case study† of the interaction of the various governments and the citizens at the various levels that they are serving them and regarding how the introduction of the new electronic mediums such as the Internet is affecting it. There is still a dispute as to what exactly e-government means. There are sources such as E-government Policy Network of the Privy Office (PCO) that claims since the issue of e-government is complex it will be misleading to come up with a single definition. According to PCO, the best way out is to come up with a starting point that will lead to more dialogue that will eventually lead to a common perception of what e-government or e-governance would mean (PCO). Opponents of such outlooks are against such stance simply because they claim that it will add to the ambiguity and will make it difficult to hold governments accountable to what they are doing. Various agencies have various perception about information and communication technologies (ICTs) and according to the paper Kim presented major governmental agencies have their own take of e-government that is useful to examine simply because it is these kinds of governmental bodies that have the need to interact with the citizens that they are serving by raising their participation level, so that they would have a clear understanding of the public’s stand and outlook about the work they are doing (Kim). It is possible to do several things at the same time, where these governmental establishments could start finding a way of letting the citizens participate in the decision making process of what they are doing. They could also avail most of their services online that will result in introducing efficiency in what they are doing. Last but not least they could educate the public by availing easily accessible information online, which would enable them to interact with well informed citizens whose input would be more valuable. The EUC is one good example and had defined ITC as a powerful tool for applying good governance that harbors openness, active citizen participation, the acceptability of those involved, a focus in the effectiveness and coherence of whatever is going to be introduced. The OECD had defined e-government as the applying of ICT such as the Internet to achieve a better government that will introduce better policy results, enhanced service, a greater level of involving the citizens in what is taking place. The World Bank had defined e-government as the best way of harnessing Wide Area Networks, the Internet, and mobile services that are proven to transform the interaction and participation between citizens, businesses, and the various forms of governments at various levels. Establishments such as the UN had zeroed in on the fact that what e-government ushers in is not different from what e-commerce had ushered in such a way that it would primary be Internet-driven where citizens could have an unobstructed government information, services, and the ability to participate in various decision making process, simply because it is not going to be difficult to muster such an undertaking. The UN also had its own definition where it emphasizes on the unwavering commitment governments should have in improving the interaction and participation of private citizens and the public sector, which would result in being cost effective and the information delivered and the working arrangement will end up being very effective, while at the time it will be possible to disseminate knowledge at a very high level. The outcome if applied in its entirety would mean it is possible to involve citizens in as many as possible decision making processes. Since that is not applicable in a large scale currently, it is difficult to assess or foretell what the outcome will be. Another key input of e-governance could be it can create a platform where various polarized groups can come together and consult on what will be best for everyone without introducing difficulty that will discourage the participants, where either they could find their effort futile or it will be difficult, time consuming, or costly everyone would want to avoid it. It is possible to attest that such capability is possible from what is happening now where citizens had been undertaking a wide range of interaction, not only with the various governmental bodies, but also with other non-governmental agencies that avail various services online. Some of the outcomes had been the result of the variety of technologies that are becoming available for use, as well as the kind of speed that had been made available to manipulate data and disperse them around for those who have important use for them. A good example to cite might be the various networks that are mushrooming on the Internet that can facilitate the flow of knowledge, ideas, and most of all information where the earlier prevalent monopolies of knowledge and information had been obliterated. Individuals could start a dialogue about any subject matter in various forms and attain a deep understanding of issues at hand, to the point where they can always make the required preparation before making important decisions. It is not only that they could also ask informed questions. What this would mean is it is possible for them to ask more service or information from the governments, while at the same time when governments introduce programs or services they would know how to put them to work effectively. Since the number of people that belong to a network is high, and most of all since it is voluntary, the collective measure they could take could have uniformity where governmental bodies will not have to deal with a single outlook, where such outlook might not be refined. A distinction between availing a service online that could introduce efficiency, cost reduction, time-saving, and convenience and when there is a program setup to generate feedback about a certain service the governments render was made. The latter had been found as useful simply because it could be a stimulant to introducing improvement on what the involved governments seeking the feedback could be availing to the citizens. Hence, based on the feedback it is possible to take measures, and this would mean such interaction could be labeled as an indirect participation in the government decision making process, where there is no direct voting involved. It might also be important to mention why paying attention to this issue is important simply because the use of the Internet is becoming widespread. The number of people who have Internet connection from their work place, at home, and numerous outlets established by various source is on the rise everywhere, hence more presence on such a medium is to the advantage of everyone simply because good outcome could be attained by having a well organized interaction and participation. It does not matter whether the government is availing most of its services online, or it is gathering feedback about what it is doing and what the citizens wants, or in some cases the decision making process could involve citizens directly by asking them to vote and the measures taken would be based on the vote. Overall, what the priority should be is to become familiar with the citizens’ need and try to accommodate it according to what the social changes require it. This would mean on the part of the government an effort to put to good use of whatever technological advancement comes to the fore. When that is the case the government would be in a position to avail efficient service to the citizens and eventually some kind of e-democracy could become practical. Similar to what Layne and Lee (2001, 122-135) did Kim had introduced four models of e-government and had concluded by saying the main drive of the change is not the advancement of technology. In fact, according to his observation what is responsible for the change is the diversity and evolution of society that resulted in making society, culture, and politics the main surges behind the change. The exception being that if new technologies such as the Internet did not come around, it will be difficult to say that evolvement could make it where it is now, although it is possible to attain the diversity without the new technologies. The four models of e-governments according to Kim are Bureaucracy Model, Information Management Model, Citizen Participation Model, and Governance Model.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Case Study 8.1: His Team Gets the Best Assignments Essay

Case Summary: Jack’s team: †¢ Most creative †¢ Willing to go the extra mile †¢ Gets along well with Carly †¢ Often gets allocated extra resources †¢ Praised for a provocative ad campaign Terri’s team: †¢ Counseled out of an ad campaign †¢ Performs well for the agency †¢ Unhappy with how Carly treats the team †¢ Holds animosity toward Carly †¢ Feels Carly is unfair and favors Jack’s team Julie’s team: †¢ Notices Carly favors other teams †¢ Feels the other teams get the best writers and art directors †¢ Feels Carly doesn’t notice her team or help it with its work †¢ Feels undervalued Sarah’s team: †¢ Sarah has worked for 10 years †¢ Agrees with some of Terri’s & Julie’s observations, but it doesn’t seem to bother her †¢ Her team gets the job done †¢ Being in Carly’s ‘inner circle’ would require extra time and more headaches †¢ No interest in changing the way department works Carly Peters directs the creative department at Mills, Smith, & Peters, which has the reputation for being one of the best advertising and public relation agencies in the country. The department has four major account teams, each is led by an associate director, who report directly to Carly. These four teams are headed by Jack, Terri, Julie, and Sarah. Each of the associate directors have different relationship with Carly. Questions 1.Based on the principles of LMX theory, what observations would you make about Carly’s leadership at Mills, Smith and Peters? According to LMX theory and its research, subordinates become a part of the in-group or the  out-group based on how well they work with the leader and how well the leader works with them. Leaders should create a special relationship with all employees, similar to the in-group relationship. Leaders should also offer each employee the opportunity to take on new roles and responsibilities, and should look for ways to build trust and respect. It is clear from this case that Carly has different relationship with each associate directors. Jack’s team is the most creative and goes the extra mile. The result of these team members going the extra mile is that Carly, in turn, does more for them. Jack and Carly’s relationship is clearly in the phase three â€Å"partnership† of leadership making. Terri and Julie, claim that their teams perfo rm well for the agency and hence, it’s clearly unfair for Carly to be biased towards Jack’s team. Terri’s and Julie’s relationship with Carly appears to be in the Phase 2 â€Å"acquaintance† of the leadership making. The quality of leader member exchange matters most to employees who feel less empowered, and in this case it matters the most to Terri and Julie. It is the responsibility of the leader to make high quality exchanges will all the employees and make them feel as part of in-group to avoid negative implications and inequities. Sarah’s team gets the job done for the agency and Sarah clearly doesn’t want to be in Carly’s in-group, as it will mean more responsibilities for her and her team. Carly has low quality exchanges with Sarah, and their relationship appears to be in the phase 1 â€Å"stranger† of the leadership making. 2.Is there and in-group and an out-group, and if so, which are they? Jack’s team is clearly in the in-group and Sarah’s team is in the out-group. Julie’s and Terri’s team are also in the out-group but struggling to be a part of the in-group. 3.In what way is Carly’s relationship with the four groups productive or counterproductive to the overall goals of the agency? Leaders should have high quality exchanges and try to build effective dyads with all employees in the work unit, this would avoid inequities and negative implications of being in an out group. This in turn will also empower employees, and empowering them will have a positive implication on the job satisfaction, performance, turnover and the overall organizational goals. Carly’s  relationship with Jack’s team is clearly productive. I feel that her relationship with Sarah’s team is also somewhat productive from an organizational standpoint, as Sarah mentions that her team gets the job done and she clearly doesn’t want to be in the in-group. However, her relationship with Terri’s and Julie’s team seems to affect the team’s morale. It also has made them feel ignored and invaluable, which would certainly af fect the teams productivity in the future, and in turn would be counterproductive to the overall goals of the agency. 4.Do you think Carly should change her approach toward the associate directors? If so, what should she do differently? Definitely, organizations stand to gain much from having leaders who can create good working relationship. Carly should try to be an effective leader and build effective relationships with all her employees, the number one thing to do would be to communicate and listen to each of them about their roles and responsibilities. She should also support them in their tasks and motivate them to perform better. If she creates high quality exchanges, builds effective relationships and makes everyone feel a part of in-group, the team dynamics and attitudes will become more positive and this in turn will have positive effect on the overall goals of the organization.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Literature research Essay

I found a lot of valuable information from doing my literature research. I was able to see that many people have different answers on how to combat bullying. I also found out very interesting stats on bullying over the past 3 years. They showed me that each year there was an increasing amount of children calling child line about bullying issues compared to the previous years. This is statistical evidence to support my hypothesis, â€Å"bullying is spiralling out of control†. If I had been able to conduct my interview my results would have been much more valid. Valid data is a true picture of what is being measured. From the interview that I did conduct I was able to look at the views of a head teacher who had been in education for many years so was able to see if bullying really was getting worse. She believes that bullying hasn’t got any worse it is just society now has a greater awareness of it. She also says as there is now much more media coverage that gives young people ideas to do different things to people to get attention. This would refute my hypothesis but as this is of only one persons view it is not as valid as I would like. When conducting my questionnaires I had 10 participants for the adult questionnaire and 10 participants for the children’s questionnaire. This was fairly small scale therefore making it lass valid. If I had a longer period of time I would be able to get much more respondents and get them from a wider area making my results more valid and more reliable My results from the adults questionnaire showed me that all the respondents believe that bullying isn’t spiralling out of control its just society has a greater awareness of it. 70% of my respondents were also aware of bullying when they were at school. My questionnaires that I received from the children showed me that they have a lot of knowledge on the subject. All of the children said that bullying had been around for a long time and 0ver half of them thought that it was getting worse. This could be due to the fact that as the get older they are starting to experience more bullying situations and see this as it is due to the fact that bullying is getting worse. In conclusion my results both support my hypothesis ( bullying is spiralling out of control) and refute it. I found supporting evidence for both of these so I cant say which one I believe is true. My questionnaires and interview are supporting evidence for my hypothesis but the literature research shows me strong evidence to refute it especially the statistical evidence I found. Therefore I cant conclude from my research that bullying is spiralling out of control but it is a strong possibility that society is now more aware of it which may make bullying look like it is spiralling out of control with all the recent media attention there has been. If I repeated my research project to make it more valid and reliable I would do a longitudinal survey. With these I would be able to analyse the changes of bullying and make comparisons over time making the results I already have more reliable as I would be able to back them up with these repeated results. I would be able to gain a lot of quantitative data which would enable me to produce more reliable stats and help me to analyse statistical data over a longer period of time. I could also use supervised questionnaires as I would then know that the person that I wanted to fill in the questionnaire actually did making them more valid. A way of getting more respondents to fill my questionnaire within the short space of time that I would have would be to use postal questionnaires. I could cheaply reach a large amount of people making my results more valid. The problem with these is that they have a low response rate (less than 50%). I could also look at bullying from a different angle, to gain a better understanding of it. I could look more at the types of bullying that happen and the different effects it has on the victims. This could give me a deeper insight into the different aspects of bullying and could possibly show me ways in which bullying could be stopped. Bibliography   http://news.bbc.co.uk

Friday, September 13, 2019

An Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Othello

An Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Othello There are many powerful stories in the world. Tales of intrigue, revenge and redemption. But it is the skilful craft of storytelling which makes these narratives memorable. Narratives which are well told that involve the compelling characterisation of complex individuals, an engaging and suspenseful plot which reflect the values of the narratives context and masterful use of language to create a story which has withstood the test of time. Great storytelling appeals to the audience with its engaging plot through the universal themes that have been demonstrated in the tragedy of both Othello and New Boy through their individual context, utilising the Aristotelian elements. William Shakespeare’s Othello has been reimagined by Tracy Chevalier, where she encapsulates the solid and timeless themes of jealousy, duplicity and the use of the tragic hero and transports them onto a school playground. With the shift in time, from the 17th Century Venice in Othello, to New Boy’s much more contemporary era, 1970’s Washington DC, the same themes are explored in both texts and are used to their full potential. So, what is it that makes Othello so powerful and memorable that its’ story can be reimagined to todays time? How skilfully the story must be moulded so the untouched themes can fit the drastic change in context? â€Å"A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;†¦ in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.† â€Å"A cartharsis of pity and fear†, that is what has made Othello so memorable. Words spoken by the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, has recognised the basis of what consists of powerful storytelling, the plot, the character, the melody, and has aided some of the most classic and timeless stories having Othello being one of them. When Chevalier chose to mirror Othello in New Boy, she felt that â€Å"an American school playground† would be most appropriate, where there is active evidence of dramatic affairs taking place, a clear order of hierarchy and a lot of room for drama. All these factors that come with the playground context make room for Chevalier to write a more contemporary version of Othello, where the times and values have changed. One thing Chevalier noticed in Othello was the lack of the involvement of the ladies in the play as the values of the people at the time saw women as weak and submissive, so she chose to give the girls in New Boy, Dee, Mimi and Blanca more of a voice, fitting to today’s contemporary era as the feminism movement grows stronger. This would appeal to a wider audience considering ‘girl power’ is much more prominent today compared to the 16th century when Othello was written, further making New Boy a powerful narrative through time whilst still encap sulating those same timeless themes of jealousy and duplicity. Characters are what bring the story to life. Compelling characters are what keep the story alive. Othello is an outsider, a moor in Venice and has eloped with the most sought-after girl in the city. Osei is a new boy, the Ghanaian son of a diplomat and has earned the title of ‘Dee’s boyfriend’. Sound similar yet? This is what makes these characters complex. They’re not one-dimensional and have sides to them which are revealed throughout the play and novel. The tragic heroes of both Othello and New Boy have been developed and twisted by the antagonists, Iago and Ian respectively. They have been adapted for the sake of creating what the author feels best about how to intensify their story, how to mould each character and their perspectives by utilising the language forms, with one being a drama and another, a novel. The skill of crafting a story is essentially how well the author can shape the language forms and features to create and enriching experience tha t highlights the core themes and the context. Through time, the concept of an unreliable narrator has only recently been coined, where the narrator’s credibility is questioned, and the perspective of other characters has been closed off by the author. This concept has been recognised by Chevalier as her novel can be read from the point of view of many characters. Not only has she created an unbiased view but her deliberate choice of a playground setting has created intensity by concentrating all the drama into one day and one setting. She makes her novel follow the recognisable language features that are prominent throughout Othello, the motifs of the handkerchief and the pencil case, the bestial imagery, having race as a line defining who the outsiders are, only to showcase how the shift in time from when Othello to when New Boy was written is very much reliant on how those same themes and language features is being represented. Shakespeare’s Othello, however, has bee n a culprit of potentially having unreliable narration. The conscious choice of exploring the aspects of jealousy and manipulation through a play has restricted Shakespeare by limiting him to create the multiple perspectives, which is what builds up intensity. Instead, he depends on the dramatic irony and soliloquys that are mostly presented by the malign Iago. He’s first shown as an intriguing character, â€Å"Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners: so that if we will plant nettles, or sow lettuce†¦either to have it sterile with idleness or manured with industry, why the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.† Presenting himself in this soliloquy as the ‘master gardener’ because of his great self-control over himself and his actions and his ability to plant the seeds of doubt and jealousy in Othello’s mind. This powerful and skilful use of language features, with the analogy about the garden is used by Shakespeare to enhance and further contribute to the characterisation of Iago, to mould his perspective of himself and others, creating dramatic irony which further involves the audience making the play more powerful. Shakespeare also explores Othello’s language as he uses Iago as a puppet that works on him, showing the decline of his character through how his language has changed. His once calm and edu cated tone, twisting him into a â€Å"Green-eyed monster†. The character development that has been written for Othello is remarkable. Watching him undergo a transformation that makes him so fascinating contributes to how powerful the story of Othello and New Boy really is.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Cell Phones Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cell Phones - Research Paper Example The main reasons for this monumental change over such a short, time are the abilities that science and technology has conferred to modern phones, particularly mobile devices. Today, a phone has acquired such a wide variety of uses that a phone without the ability to call, while it would be dysfunctional, would still be a viable communication device. On the other hand, a 1990s phone would be useless if one could not make or receive calls on it. While the early phones were expensive gadgets and the reserve for the rich and educated, today they can be owned by almost anyone and one needs only the most basic education to use a phone. Mobile phone companies are competing to see whose device can hold and use the most applications and offer the best services other than calling. One can use their mobile phone to browse the internet, and as such access pertinent information from virtually anywhere in the world, provided they have a good signal. As a result, millions of people many of them you ths spend hundreds of hours every week using their phones on nonverbal interaction and social networking, indeed, the time spent making phone calls pales in comparison to the time spent on Facebook, tweeter, instant messaging or in related activities. Many mobile phones offer the user a capacity to do any of these activities especially the smart phones, described as â€Å"clever gadgets,† which are more than just phones, (McKendrick, 2011). This is because of their many features that transcend what ordinary mobile phones can do including a variety of user friendly applications that allow users to carry out a range of tasks such as; reading EBooks, teleconferencing, reading, and creating emails. Mobile phones can also be used in time of emergencies; to call for help, or look for directions when one is lost because some of them have gotten applications like Google maps, which enable users to look for direction, and pinpoint their current location. Furthermore, mobile companies use the technology to help the police trace lost people or criminals by tracing their signals. Indeed a lost person can be traced even if their phone is switched off (Siegel, 2008). Other security futures include sending distress messages without having to make a phone call, for instance with some Samsung phones one only need to press the volume key thrice, and a discrete text is sent to a pre-determined number notifying the recipient that the sender is in danger. Mobile devices are also used as/alongside baby monitors, using certain IPhones applications parents use their Smartphone to keep an â€Å"eye† on their infants. For instance, one can use an application that automatically sends a message to their phone whenever the child makes noise or cries (Associated Press, 2009). A more rudimentary albeit expensive tactic, which can be used, is to leave one phone in the baby crib with an active connection to another phone, possibly with a headpiece so one can listen to the baby w ithout being present. Mobiles phones today have an immense entertainment role and are competing with mainstream media such as Television and radios. Several phone types allow one to listen to radio and watch television on the move. Teens and young adults (13-24) are the leading users of mobile devices for these functions (chiff.com

Self Analysis Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Self Analysis - Personal Statement Example I just wanted to experience the culture of the United States. I had been fascinated by American movies since I was a kid and something just clicked. And thanks to the strong Japanese Yen (not good for our exporters, but good for me); I had more than enough funds. So I spent the next year applying to colleges and planning for the next few years in the United States. The big day finally arrived; I took from the Tokyo Airport and landed in Los Angeles Airport. I was very excited. I had meticulously planned everything, my first visit to the United States was nothing like I expected. It was extremely exciting. My housing was already arranged. It was a house, off campus and I had three room mates, one from California, one from Singapore and one from India. It was a most interesting combination and it seemed we had a little U.N. going. My room mates were very helpful. Naresh from India was pursuing his Masters in Engineering; Li Kwon from Singapore was also doing his Phd in Biotechnology. And Chris Adams from San Diego was a fifth year senior pursuing his degree in liberal Arts. I had already arranged for a purchase and pick up of a car before I left from Tokyo. Chris dropped me of at the dealership. Though I had an international driver's license1, I decided against driving the car out of the dealership that day. I took some driving lessons for a week and got accustomed to driving on the opposite side. Having such a varied group of room mates also was a learning experience and various perspectives. I had taken a few cultural orientation classes in Tokyo before coming here, and there was some preparation given to us to expect a few people in the U.S. (a very small minority of people.) who could be xenophobic or racist. It did stick in my mind; however I could not find these xenophobic racist people at the classes I enrolled for and even at the cafeteria where I joined to work a few hours a week. After the first week I wondered if such people existed or if they were relics of a bygone area. I asked my room mates. Naresh said that most people he met held Indians in high regard. One time someone did yell at him out of a driving car when he was trying to cross the road calling him a "camel jockey" which was slightly misplaced racism as that is a derogatory term for Arabs. Lee Kwon said, he definitely did not encounter any. Chris who was a Caucasian said, generally African Americans encountered a lot of racism, but most of it was overt and not too blatant. It was of course illegal to discriminate on race at work or school. But Chris said an over proportionate percent of the African American Population would be arrested or sent to Prison.2 "There is a long and bitter history between blacks and whites in this country" he said. "Perhaps like between us and the Chinese or us and the Koreans". Both Nar esh and Chris almost exclaimed at the same time, how can you tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese and a Korean. I was taken slightly aback. I told them that the difference between Japanese and Chinese was like between Night and Day. Chinese tended to have smaller features, while the Japanese had a much redder tinge; the Chinese had more of a yellowish tinge. However one day as I was walking in the park, an older gentleman walked by me and just said "go back jap" I was shocked , this gentleman must have been in his eighties, he lived a couple of blocks down

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

An Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam Research Paper

An Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam - Research Paper Example (Waines 92) This ambiguity of the meaning of Islam ultimately evolves from the concept that one’s submission to the will of God will bring peace in this worldly life. A fundamental Muslim thinks that submission to God and peace are the two sides of the same coin. Conventionally it is often believed that Islam was founded by Muhammad, in the 640 AD, who claimed himself to be the messenger of God. But referring to the Quranic evidences, some scholars claim that the origin of Islam dates back to Adam, the first man as well as the first prophet of Islam. This is how, all of the Abrahamic religions and few others were the ancient versions, of Islam, which have now been annulled by God Himself. (Nasr 45) But other scholars argue that since the ancient versions of Islam such Christianity (the religion of Prophet Zesu, one of the most revered prophets in Islam), Judaism (the religion of Prophet Moses, another revered prophet in Islam) and other religions have been repealed by God beca use the distortions of these religions by men, the true Islam for modern people is the one that Muhammad founded in the Seventh Century. Articles of Faith in Islam Institutional Islam, to a great extent, can be viewed as the summation of some seven beliefs and actions according to these beliefs. A follower of Muhammad or a believer of Islam needs to believes in: a. one God (Allah), b. prophets starting from Adam to Muhammad including Noah, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, etc. c. divine scriptures (Qutub) such as the Torah (the divine message of David or Da’ud), the Zabur (the divine message of Moses or Musa), the Bible of Zesu or Isaac (the Ingile as the Muslim calls it), the Quran (Muhammad), other unnamed minor religious scripts that were descended upon the prophets, d. the angels as the servants of God, e. belief in the â€Å"Day of Judgment† () and f. belief in fate. The summation of these beliefs is known as Islamic Belief, in Arabic ‘Iman’ or ‘Aqidahâ⠂¬â„¢. ‘Iman’ or ‘Aqidah’ essentially means to have beliefs in these six articles. Indeed five of these Articles of Faiths are supported by the textual evidences from the Quran. For an example, the verse 136 of chapter â€Å"An-Nisa† says, â€Å"Whoever disbelieveth in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily wandered far astray.† (4:136) Again the verse 285 of Chapter ‘Baqarah’ tells about the four of the main articles of faith in Islam: â€Å"believers have believed in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers† (2:285). Tawhid: Islamic Belief in the Oneness of God Islamic belief in God is both confirmation of one’s belief in one God and denial of many. In this sense, belief in Islamic God is a rigorous monotheism. In Arabic, this monotheism is called Tawhid or the oneness of God. This ‘Tawhid’ is the most fundamental concept of Islam. Indeed th e Islamic belief in the existence of one God is essentially the denial of many gods. According to the Quran, the fact that God is one is self-evident and therefore, the concept of many gods is simply false. God as well as His oneness, in Islam, often sides with transcendentalism. Though the transcendentalism has not directly been affirmed in Islam. The description of God, in a round about way, infers that God is transcendental. The Chapter, â€Å"