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

Micro - Essay Example Knowledge and data helps in the identification and may show factors to survival, activity, and death of the subject pathogen. Eschericheria coli 0104:H4 is the name of the health concern while Eschericheria coli is the pathogen that causes the health concern, a bacterial pathogen. The name of the health concern includes the name of the pathogen and even though only the concern is identified, the inclusion means identification of the pathogen. The statement also identifies the concern as an outbreak to establish its significance, in addition to explaining that the concern is an enemy among the human population. Consequently, the statement contributes to risk analysis through identification of a hazard Hazard characterization is another significant element of risk analysis and its absence from the statement undermines risk analysis aspect. An outline of the nature and degree of effects of an identified hazard is the main feature of hazard characterization. Identification of levels of the pathogen that is harmful to different population segments such as segments by gender and by age groups would be an example of hazard characterization and can be quantitative or qualitative. Even though the statement identifies existence of lessons that have been developed from occurrence of the hazard, the identification is too general, failing to communicate scope of the problem and its severity level. Incidence rate of the health concern and time that it takes to overwhelm the body or even a description of its severity would have established hazard characterization. Being devoid of these aspects therefore means that the statement fails in risk analysis. The statement is also devoid of exposure assessment. One of the key elements of exposure assessment is data on existence of pathogens in raw materials to a subject food. exposure assessment also meets criteria of risk analysis if

How Stan Musial Has Made Me Become a Better Person Essay Example for Free

How Stan Musial Has Made Me Become a Better Person Essay When you think of the All-Time greatest Major League baseball players who do you think of? I’m sure Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Lou Gehrig come to mind. All of these players are considered to be the greatest to ever play the game but there is one legend that a lot of people over look or probably just have never heard of and his name is Stan â€Å"The Man† Musial. Stan was born on November 21, 1920 in Donora, Pennsylvania. His parents were Lukasz and Mary Musial. His mother was of Czech descent and his father was a Polish immigrant. Musial frequently played baseball with his brother Ed and other friends during his childhood. Musial also had the benefit of learning about baseball from his neighbor Joe Barbao who was a former minor league pitcher. At age 15 Musial joined the Donora Zincs, a semi-professional team managed by Barbao. In his debut he pitched 6 innings and struck out 13 batters, all of them adults. Musial also played one season with the Donora High School baseball team. He also played basketball for Donora and he was even offered a scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh. Meanwhile the St. Louis Cardinals had scouted him as a pitcher and in 1937 offered him a professional contract, which he later accepted. After he accepted the contract he spent three years with Cardinals class D team the Williamson Red Birds and Class AA Columbus Red Birds. On September 17, 1941 Musial made his major league debut. He finally got his chance and he definitely didn’t waste it. Musial went on to play for 22 seasons never getting thrown out of one game. He had a career batting average of .331, he had 3,630 hits, 475 home runs, and 1,951 runs batted in. Musial was a 24 time All-Star, 3 time World Series champion, 3 time NL MVP, 7 time NL batting champion, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969 as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Stan played in his last game on September 29, 1963, he finished right where he left off with a hit of course but this hit was a foreshowing of what was to come. Musials last hit in his career was hit past the Cincinnati Reds first baseman at the time, Pete Rose, who would later break Musial’s National League hit record and later break Cobbs record to become the al l time hit king. Musial then retired after the 1963 season. After he retired Musial was named a vice president of the St. Louis Cardinals in September of 1963, and he remained in that position until after the 1966 season. Before the 1967 season began, the Cardinals named Musial the teams general manager, and he oversaw the clubs World Series championship that year. Through the 1990s, he frequently played the harmonica at public gatherings, such as the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and various charity events. Musial died on January 19, 2013 in his home in Ladue, Missouri. After he died another Cardinal great Albert Pujols had this to say about his passing. It was such a sad day, but I am so blessed to have spent time with him the last 12 years. He blessed my life and many, many lives in baseball during his career, and after his career. He touched so many lives. He means as much as Roberto Clemente does to Latin people. Thank God I had the opportunity to know him. Pujols also says, â€Å"I wish my kids had the opportunity to be around him, because thats how I want my kids to live their lives. I want them to be like Stan Musial.Not the baseball player. The person. Thats the respect I have for that man. Stan wasn’t just known for being â€Å"The Man† on the field but he was just as much of a man off the field as well. After he retired Musial didn’t just fall off the face of the earth like most ball players do, he stayed in St. Louis and hosted golf tournaments, worked with the boys and girls club of St. Louis and helped raise money for baseball fields and equipment all over the city. He was always around the team. Anytime there was a Cardinal event, parade, retirement or just a big game at Busch Stadium Stan Musial was there. He didn’t just sit in the team box and waved to the crowd either. Stan Musial was a real person who always took time to walk around the stadium, shake hands and sign anything. In conclusion, Stan Musial to me isn’t just one of the greatest baseball players of all-time he was one of the greatest men of all-time. He is someone that I look up to not just as a baseball player but as a person as well. He’s the reason I wear the number 6 because every time I put that jersey on I remind myself of Stan and how he played the game and that’s how I want to play. Just. Like. The Man.

Dialogue Essays - Freshly Cut Grass -- Dialogue Essays

Dialogue Essays - Freshly Cut Grass The air sings with the fragrance of freshly cut grass. As a backdrop to other things, children are at play, swinging too and fro, running and skipping; there are toddlers who toddle and mindful mothers who watch on in painful and patient distraction. The sun is everywhere: in the corners of the pavilion, bearing down on the tennis courts, caressing the flower beds, the convection of its heat pulling at the carpet-like lawns, dragging out bodily its scent. Meanwhile the park keeper potters about, the days' work done, reluctant to leave his eternal garden with its endless memories. Standing in the shade of elm he drifts away, and almost never comes back. He half-watches half-feels the bumble bees bumble from flower to flower. Else where, there is great inactivity, and everyone is busy doing it to a degree close to perfection. The park keeper, a simple man in blue overalls, T- shirt, straw hat, blue pumps and pockets full of silence, seeks out the cool of deeper shadow, retiring to the hidden security of his tool shed, where he sits in the stripy curve of a well worn deck chair. Door ajar, pipe smouldering, gazing out into the summery world through eyes bright with the light of nearly wisdom, he surveys his universe with unhurried care. A days grass cutting concluded, the park keeper presently plays part of an extra, superfluous to the tale's needs, and knowing this, he fades from focus. Over a ways, cross legged, mounted on a blanket and hiding on the inside of a book, sits the person of Doris, who, like her name, is of another age. On display, for the world to see, like a dusty exhibit in the quiet, unvisited corner of a dead museum, she aw... ...im again. She saw him everyday for the rest of her life. It was all so long ago, akin to a dream. It had been real enough though, and she is strangely thankful for it. Thankful to have known existence, and felt the terrible pain of it. She can almost feel the echo of its sorrow. Doris is all but dead, and she all but knows it. The fire of her life is fuelled by a few remaining drops of hope, but even they will soon be exhausted. She stands to leave. Walking by the park keeper in his hide-away, he gives a smile of recognition. Of his routine, she knows it well. Next Friday he will once again mow the lawns, releasing their fragrance into the air, to fill the world with sweet perfume. Doris will be there, to breathe it deeply, gasping for more, until it fills her mind, until she becomes drunk, once again, with that smell of freshly cut grass.

Curfews, And Other Limits Essay -- essays research papers

Curfews, and Other Limits Many Parents set up rules, and other boundaries in which their teens must follow. These rules are usually placed over their teens to control, protect, and teach their teen. Even though most parents mean well, and some rules are necessary it's easy to overwhelm teens with regulations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all teens are not going to follow all of the rules, and secondly there are some things that certain teens will not do with, or without a specific rule on that subject. For example, there are many teens who would never use drugs, but by placing a rule on this, the teen might not feel trust worthy, and might be more likely to try drugs. This is not always the case though, some teens need every rule stated, or they might test your patients. Parents should remember that they know heir teenager best, and they need to set rules according to their own teen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drugs and other illegal things are often a problem with certain teens, but some teens will never try drugs. Teenagers will turn to drugs for answers to problems. To avoid having problems with your teen, spend time with them and talk to them. In dealing with a teen who has taken illegal drugs, you as a parent need to try to understand why you teen has committed the crime. Only when you understand the child, then you can give the appropriate punishment. Another important factor in discipline is to make sure that the teen understands why what they have do...

Early Adolescents’ Perceptions of Peer Pressure

The Journal of Early Adolescence http://jea. sagepub. com/ Early Adolescents' Perceptions of Peer Pressure B. Bradford Brown, Mary Jane Lohr and Eben L. McClenahan The Journal of Early Adolescence 1986 6: 139 DOI: 10. 1177/0272431686062005 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jea. sagepub. com/content/6/2/139 Published by: http://www. sagepublications. com Additional services and information for The Journal of Early Adolescence can be found at: Email Alerts: http://jea. sagepub. com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://jea. sagepub. com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsReprints. av Permissions: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsPermissions. nav Citations: http://jea. sagepub. com/content/6/2/139. refs. html ;; Version of Record – Jun 1, 1986 What is This? Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 from the SAGE Social Science Collections. from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong Universit y of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded All Rights Reserved. Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. om at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011 Downloaded from jea. sagepub. com at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies on October 21, 2011

The Importance of Choosing the Right Way of Communicating Your Ideas

The Importance of Choosing the Right Way of Communicating Your Ideas Communication plays an important role in people’s lives. For instance, Japanese people who suffered from the quake were terrified because they felt isolated without any communication (Fackler 2011, p.A11). Reportedly, people who were deprived of electronic means of communication relied on such means as announcements from loudspeakers, or sirens.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Choosing the Right Way of Communicating Your Ideas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Admittedly, verbal and non-verbal communication is essential for every individual. It goes without saying that every situation requires specific ways of communication, otherwise the major aim of communication will not be achieved. Thus, even informal private communication should be effective, and this can be achieved if the major principles of effective communication are taken into account. In the first place, it is necessary to point ou t the major communication objective. Basically, communication objectives â€Å"include the effective exchange of ideas and opinions† (Tonn 2010). People are sharing ideas in the workplace and in their personal life. For instance, the conversation between David Carr and A.O. Scott who commented upon Oscars ceremony can be regarded as a private conversation (Oscars: Youthful Audience n.d.). The interlocutors feel free. It is important to note that both of them pertain to one culture (they are Americans) which simplifies their communication since no cultural barriers exist between them. In fact, culture plays a very important role in communication since culture shapes individuals’ values and beliefs which influence greatly people’s behavior, which in its turn is essential when communicating. Witsel (2009, p. 170) also stresses that cultural differences influence the effectiveness of communication greatly and it is essential to take into account these cultural pecul iarities when sending and receiving messages. The present conversation is free from issues concerning cultural differences. The communication between Carr and Scott is effective since the interlocutors manage to share their ideas. They send their messages waiting for the feedback, and they get the feedback since the interlocutor is an active listener. Both, Carr and Scott, support or refute arguments of each other, which is a very effective technique when communicating (Ulrich 2009, p.583). It is necessary to point out that sometimes the interlocutors interrupt each other, so certain barriers or, so-called noise appear. They do not listen to the speaker attentively because they start talking and articulating their ideas (Oscars: Youthful Audience n.d.). The noise can lead to miscomprehension and it can also lead to less effective communication (Witsel 2009, p.135). However, there are only two cases of interruption, so it does not prevent interlocutors from communicating their ideas. Advertising Looking for essay on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The present dialogue is a valuable example of the significance of non-verbal communication. For instance, the interlocutors use illustrators, â€Å"gestures that go along with† speech (Witsel 2009, p.170). Carr and Scott laugh and nod, they make direct eye contact and these non-verbal means of communication (which are â€Å"very positive messages in US culture†) create a friendly atmosphere which is favorable for communication (Witsel 2009, p.163). Thus, it is possible to state that the dialogue can be characterized by effective communication since the interlocutors share their ideas on certain topic in a friendly atmosphere. In my opinion, the dialogue is effective because the interlocutors had an idea about certain peculiarities of effective communication. It does not necessarily mean that they were studying tho se effective means of communication, but the majority of verbal and non-verbal means they used are determined by culture. Thus, as far as non-verbal communication is concerned, smiles, nods and laugh are signs of active listening in American culture. Both speakers make use of these non-verbal means. As for verbal communication the interlocutors conveyed their ideas in explicit way so that their receiver could easily understand the message and provide his feedback. It is necessary to point out that the work of Witsel (2009) was a very valuable source of knowledge which enabled me to learn about communication theories and, what is more important about their application in the real life. For example, found out about the importance of paying attention to such four factors as feedback, channel, type of communication, language source (Witsel 2009, p.135). The right choice of each element is beneficial for reaching the major aim of communication. Thus, it is essential not to confuse formal or informal communication since every type has certain rules to follow. Nevertheless, I believe that information about non-verbal communication, revealed in Witsel’s work (2009) was of primary importance for me. I acknowledged that this type of communication plays a very important (and sometimes crucial) role when sharing ideas. Many non-verbal signs can lead to misunderstanding and failing communication.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Choosing the Right Way of Communicating Your Ideas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, I now understand that before communication your ideas to some person or people it is essential to find out more about their cultural background. This is extremely important in the modern globalized world. In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that communication theories help understand the major principles of communication and what is more important to reach commu nication aims. For instance, analyzing an example of informal conversation between two Americans, it is possible to identify the main principles of effective communication. The example is quite valuable in terms of communication analysis since the dialogue reveals effective means of communicating ideas, used by the interlocutors and their drawbacks. Basically, I learnt much about verbal and non-verbal means of communication. Now I should admit that non-verbal communication have become essential in the modern globalized world since people from different countries should share ideas effectively and cultural differences can negatively influence communication. Reference List Fackler, M 2011, â€Å"Quake Area Residents Turn to Old Means of Communication to Keep Informed†, The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2011, p. A11. Oscars: Youthful Audience. The New York Times Video, video, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000000670802/oscars-youth.html?searchResultPositio n=1. Tonn, VL 2010, Meanings, Images of Interpersonal Communication, and The Iching.  China Media Research  vol. 6, iss. 2, pp. 94-103, Expanded Academic ASAP. Ulrich, B 2009, Engaging in Crucial Conversations.  Nephrology Nursing Journal  vol.35, iss.6 (2009): 583.  Expanded Academic ASAP. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Witsel, M (ed.) 2009, Communication in Organisations, 5th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Suppose Nottingham City Council imposes rent contr Essays - Economy

Suppose Nottingham City Council imposes rent contr Essays - Economy Suppose Nottingham City Council imposes rent control on all accommodation rented by students. Use the market model to conduct an economic analysis of the policy. There are three types of market systems. A command or planned economy, a market economy and a mixed economy . A command economy is one in which all resource allocation decisions are taken by the government. The government decid es what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce (A mess 2017) . A market economy solely uses the price mechanism : the forces of demand and supply to allocate resources and a mixed economy is a combination of both a command and market economy. Imposing rent control is an example of government intervention and this can only be done in a mixed economy where the government steps in to correct the free market. In order to impose rent control on student accommodation , Nottingham County Council will have to place a price ceiling on rent prices . A price ceiling is a maximum price level that must be set below the free market equilibrium price in order to be effective. Landlords offering student accommodation must not raise their prices above this price ceiling. As seen in the diagram, the price ceiling P max has been placed below the free market equilibrium . The law of demand states that as price increases quantity demanded decreases and vice versa, ceteris paribus. The law of supply states that as price increases quantity supplied increases and vice versa, ceteris paribus (Amess 2017) . Consequentially, the price ceiling will result in a new and higher quantity demanded Q d as a greater number of students will now be willing and able to rent student accommodation. However, the quantity supplied will fall to Q s because fewer landlords will be willing and able to offer their properties for rent. This will lead to a shortage of student accommodation in Nottingham which diagrammatically is the horizontal distance between Q d and Q s . Initially under free market conditions, the equilibrium price Pe and output Qe are Pareto efficient. Pareto Efficiency occurs when it is impossible to make anyone better off without making someone else worse off (Sloman, Wride and Garratt 2015). This can be demonstrated using the Production Possibility Curve (PPC). The PPC is a representation of all the possible combinations of two goods that an economy can produce within a specified time period with all its resources fully and efficiently employed (Sloman, Wride and Garratt 2015). Producing at any point on the PPC (points A, B, C and D) is pareto efficient because all of the economies' existing resources are being fully exploited, producing the maximum possible outputs of both student accommodation and consumer goods. Producing at a point below the PPC (point E) is not pareto efficient because the economies' existing resources are not being fully utilised as greater quantities of both consumer goods and student accommodation can be produced. Production cannot take place at a point beyond the PPC curve because the economy doesn't have sufficient resources to produce the desired quantities of both student accommodation and consumer goods. Nottingham County Council attempts to achieve point F, a point beyond the PPC, by imposing rent control which may be desirable but is currently unachievable. All other residents of Nottingham must be made worse off in order to make students better off because resources will have to be reallocated by producing fewer consumer goo ds and more student accommodations for the new demand to be met. Therefore, the output price and quantity after government intervention is not pareto efficient. The short run is a period of time in which at least one factor of production is fixed. The supply of student accommodation in the short run will be price inelastic with an elasticity of supply value less than 1. This can be represented in the market model by drawing a very steep supply curve. Price elasticity of supply (PES) is a measure of the responsiveness of demand to a change in the price of the good or service. PES equals the percentage change in quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in the price of the product (Amess

The 4,000 Year Old History of Locks

The 4,000 Year Old History of Locks Archeologists found the oldest known lock in the Khorsabad palace ruins near Nineveh. The lock was estimated to be 4,000 years old. It was a forerunner to a pin tumbler type of lock, and a common Egyptian lock for the time. This lock worked using a large wooden bolt to secure a door, which had a slot with several holes in its upper surface. The holes were filled with wooden pegs that prevented the bolt from being opened. The  warded lock  was also present from early times and remains the most recognizable lock and key design in the Western world. The first all-metal locks appeared between the years 870 and 900, and are attributed to the English. Affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure boxes within their households and wore the keys as rings on their fingers.   During the period of the 18th and 19th centuries - in part to the onset of the Industrial Revolution - many technical developments were made in the locking mechanisms that added to the security of common locking devices. It was during this period that America changed from importing door hardware to manufacturing and even exporting some. The earliest patent for a double-acting pin tumbler  lock  was granted to American physician Abraham O. Stansbury in England in 1805, but the modern version, still in use today, was invented by American Linus Yale, Sr. in 1848. But, other famous locksmiths patented their lock designed before and after Linus. Robert Barron   The first serious attempt to improve the security of the lock was made in 1778 in England. Robert Barron  patented a double-acting tumbler lock. Joseph Bramah   Joseph Bramah patented the safety lock in 1784. Bramahs lock was considered unpickable. The inventor went on to create a Hydrostatic Machine, a beer-pump, the four-cock, a quill-sharpener, a working planer, and more. James Sargent   In 1857, James Sargent invented the worlds first successful key-changeable combination lock. His lock became popular with safe manufacturers and the United States Treasury Department. In 1873, Sargent patented a time lock mechanism that became the prototype of those being used in contemporary bank vaults. Samuel Segal   Mr. Samuel Segal (former New York City policeman) invented the first jimmy proof locks in 1916. Segal holds over twenty-five patents. Harry Soref   Soref founded the Master Lock Company in 1921 and patented an improved padlock. In April 1924, he received a patent (U.S #1,490,987) for his new lock casing. Soref made a padlock that was both strong and cheap using a case constructed out of layers of metal, like the doors of a bank vault. He designed his padlock using laminated steel. Linus Yale Sr.   Linus Yale invented a pin-tumbler lock in 1848. His son improved upon his lock using a smaller, flat key with serrated edges that is the basis of ​the  modern pin-tumbler locks. Linus Yale Jr. (1821-1868)   American, Linus Yale Jr. was a mechanical engineer and lock manufacturer who patented a cylinder pin-tumbler lock in 1861. Yale invented the modern combination lock in 1862.

The Risky Us High School Behavior, Drug Abuse and Alcohol Impairment Essay

The Risky Us High School Behavior, Drug Abuse and Alcohol Impairment - Essay Example The researchers randomized the two groups of the participants; the students were selected from the high school and screened for the driving license allowing the independent, uncontrolled and unsupervised driving activity. It was distributed 30 days before the period of the study and a survey for 15-week of the research carried out on the vehicle that served instrumental in the period. The parent provided the consent and the privacy of the participants and data protected by the certificate of confidentiality.The collected data or the demographic factors were analyzed using the multivariate sequential logistic regression. The treatment group provided the immediate feedback information of the green lights without the effect of the gravitational force as well as flashing lights after an occurrence of an event. The treatment group – lights plus received the feedback from the light only and the feedback sent by the parents indicating the risks and the score for the week.The events w ere not significantly different between the two groups and showed that the calculated measure of central tendency and measures of variation were higher in light plus group in relative comparison to the first group throughout the period. Lights plus group involved themselves in the few events. Thirteen percent of the sampled students were reported to drive while impaired (DWI) in the period of study. Evaluation and recorded events showed that 74% of the lights only group made the sharp cornering while 10% applied the hard braking.

The Nature of he Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Nature of he Hero - Essay Example Homer creates a certain cult of the hero who should be physically strong and heroic. Beowulf possesses similar features depicted as a warrior and fighter. He describes: "My father was known, a noble head-warrior" (Beowulf). In epic, the cult of the hero is established not to benefit the hero but to punish his enemies. There are many unique qualities that make up the hero and the stories have been told time and time again. The hero's moodiness inhibits exploration of human behavior. Some heroes are disobedient fellows who committed a wrong in the past. The most vivid example of an evil hero is Hector who is described as "The Hero-slaughtering Hector!" (Homer). Youth of heroes tells against them-it is part of the theme that heroes have been molded into the settled prejudices of the world. Any attempt to allegories human nature without paying due attention to our sexual responses must appear to be incomplete. It is possible to say that a journey symbolizes important life stages as the p rocess of becoming an 'adult' and new perception of self (in Inferno). A man becomes a hero coming through different stages of moral and physical development. Some heroes show a social fanaticism rather than an actual bravery, for instance Dante in Inferno.

Al-Khwarizmi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Al-Khwarizmi - Essay Example The early Arab mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi has been considered by some to be the founder of algebra, a branch of mathematics dealing with equations containing unknown quantities and variables. While this has been disputed, it is certain that his publications on the subject were among the earliest available to the Arab world, and were highly influential among later audiences. (Sen, 2) One of the most well-known early Arab scientists, he wrote his famous treatise, "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing," by the year 830. Later, this work had a great impact on Western mathematics and science; Latin translations of his work were quite important to scholars and businesspeople during the Middle Ages. Al-Khwarizmi is also known for bringing the Hindu system of fixed numerals to international attention. He wrote an Arab-language text that explained Hindu methods of calculation, which depended upon written numerals rather than the more primitive counting techniques that were widely used at the time. The 'publication' of the book of al-Khwarizmi at the beginning of the ninth century-between 813 and 833 -is an outstanding event in the history of mathematics. For the first time, one could see the term algebra appearing in a title to designate a distinct mathematical discipline, equipped with a proper technical vocabulary. Muhammad ibn Miss al-Khwarizmi, mathematician, astronomer and distinguished member of the 'House of Wisdom' of Baghdad, had compiled, he wrote, 'a book on algebra and al-muqbala, a concise book recording that which is subtle and important in calculation' (Gandz, 263-277). The event was crucial, and was recognized as such by both ancient and modern historians. Its importance did not escape the mathematical community of the epoch, nor that of the following centuries. This book of al-Khwarizmi did not cease being a source of inspiration and the subject of commentaries by mathematicians, not only in Arabic and Persian, but also in Latin and in the languages of Wester n Europe until the eighteenth century. But the event appeared paradoxical: to the novelty of the conception, of the vocabulary and of the organization of the book of al-Khwarizmi was contrasted the simplicity of the mathematical techniques described, if one compares them with the techniques in the celebrated mathematical compositions, of Euclid or Diophantus, for example. But this technical simplicity stems precisely from the new mathematical conception of al-Khwarizmi. Whilst one of the elements of his project was found twenty-five centuries before him with the Babylonians, another in the Elements of Euclid, a third in the Arithmetica of Diophantus, no earlier writer had recompiled these elements, and in this manner. But which are these elements, and what is this organization The goal of al-Khwarizmi is clear, never conceived of before: to elaborate a theory of equations solvable through radicals, which can be applied to whatever arithmetical and geometrical problems, and which can help in calculation, commercial transactions, inheritance, the surveying of land etc. Al-Khwarizmi begins by defining the basic terms of this theory which, because of the requirement of resolution by radicals and because of his know-how in this area, was only concerned with equations of the first

GSA Wants You Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GSA Wants You - Assignment Example (GSA) Schedules solicitation regarding various significant aspects that require to be taken into concern while conducting the above stated business i.e. producing small remote control aircrafts. These aspects have been discussed in detail in the following. In early days, mailing bunch of paper materials and letters were quite common. Nowadays, advanced technological advancements have certainly changed the perception of individuals and enabled them to keep pace with the changing world. In general, electronic submission is regarded as the process based on which documents are submitted through varied electronic means. The internet medium has certainly become one of the best electronic means through which one can easily transfer the document from one place to other with saving much amount of time (Rush University, n.d.). In the context of building model airplanes into a small business, which produces small remote control aircrafts that are capable of long sustained flights, the electronic submission process can be carried out through internet medium as an essential communication component. It will be vital to mention in this similar concern that the aforesaid mean of electronic submission process eventually contribute in preparing as well a submitting various essential documents electronically, resulting in simplifying the contract process between the two parties (Rush University, n.d.). Specially mentioning, the security measures present in the above discussed business approach are quite important to be taken into concern with the intention of effectively submitting a particular offer along with getting accepted the same. It is quite obvious that the submission of important documents over the internet or web always generate certain threats that might create greater complexities in the operational procedures. In this regard, the measures include following the solicitation instructions carefully and reviewing the same with utmost efficiency among others (Rush

What is Confucius' concept of good government and the ideal state Essay

What is Confucius' concept of good government and the ideal state - Essay Example It mainly aimed at assisting leaders maintain local order, keep tradition, and maintaining a steady living standard for peasants. Those who adhered to this school got training in loyalty, traditional rituals, and generosity 1(Bell, 2008). In addition, the school taught respect for the old and superiors. Confucius honored the ancient ways of life, which he encouraged his students to master. For example, he urged them to read the Book of Documents as well as the Book of changes. His philosophy included embracing Chinese values, which included proper performance of traditional rituals 1(Bell, 2008). Confucius proposed that proper governance could be established by embracing virtue and benevolence. He emphasized that the leader had to be good; this way, people would follow what is right. Therefore, he taught that leaders should be excellent examples to the subjects to enhance the creating of a true empire. The Confucius concept advanced that all the posts in the government had to be 1based on righteousness and virtue. As a result, the ruled class, seeing their leaders as upright and benevolent, would also become upright. Therefore, this concept states that an ideal state should have leaders whose virtues can be emulated by those they rule. 2(Bell, 2008) In his book, Bell argues that the Confucius concept of good governance and the ideal state has three essential doctrines. The first doctrine of this concept is benevolence, which Confucius regarded as something people have to cultivate in themselves. Enlightened self interest plays a key role in approaching benevolence. For governance to succeed, leaders have to put themselves in the position of those they rule. State leaders should treat other people accordingly. To this concept, benevolence entails doing unto others what one would like them to do to him or herself. Thus, this concept places emphasis on the need for benevolence and treating

GSA Wants You Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GSA Wants You - Assignment Example (GSA) Schedules solicitation regarding various significant aspects that require to be taken into concern while conducting the above stated business i.e. producing small remote control aircrafts. These aspects have been discussed in detail in the following. In early days, mailing bunch of paper materials and letters were quite common. Nowadays, advanced technological advancements have certainly changed the perception of individuals and enabled them to keep pace with the changing world. In general, electronic submission is regarded as the process based on which documents are submitted through varied electronic means. The internet medium has certainly become one of the best electronic means through which one can easily transfer the document from one place to other with saving much amount of time (Rush University, n.d.). In the context of building model airplanes into a small business, which produces small remote control aircrafts that are capable of long sustained flights, the electronic submission process can be carried out through internet medium as an essential communication component. It will be vital to mention in this similar concern that the aforesaid mean of electronic submission process eventually contribute in preparing as well a submitting various essential documents electronically, resulting in simplifying the contract process between the two parties (Rush University, n.d.). Specially mentioning, the security measures present in the above discussed business approach are quite important to be taken into concern with the intention of effectively submitting a particular offer along with getting accepted the same. It is quite obvious that the submission of important documents over the internet or web always generate certain threats that might create greater complexities in the operational procedures. In this regard, the measures include following the solicitation instructions carefully and reviewing the same with utmost efficiency among others (Rush

Major Theological Divisions in the Islamic World Research Paper

Major Theological Divisions in the Islamic World - Research Paper Example The purpose of this paper is to establish the origins and evolution of the major divisions in Islam, and identify their ideologies and historical significance until the period of the Mongol Conquests. The paper argues that the major divisions of Islam were caused by struggles for power and authority, and evolved over a long period of time starting in the eighth century after the death of Prophet Muhammad. The major Islamic divisions include: Sunni, Shiite, Wahhabis, and Suffis. As the discussion stresses Prophet Muhammad had predicted in his ruling time that the Islamic religion would divide into seventy-three sects, which would all go to hell except himself and his true followers. The Islam divisions are now up to 150. The first Islamic group which was a successor of Prophet Muhammad was formed immediately after the death of the prophet in the seventh century. This division is known as the Sunni Muslims. Sunni Muslims are the majority of Muslims in the world, and they follow the four Khalifs who succeeded Prophet Muhammad – Hanifa, Hannibal, Malik and Shafi. This group has evolved to pursue their religion alongside secular societies. Ansary suggests that â€Å"they have followed the three Islamic sources of law namely, Hadith, Quran and Muslim consensus†. They consider themselves as those who have been saved by Allah; hence deriving the title of Najiyah.  

Dolphins Essay Example for Free

Dolphins Essay Bottlenose dolphins can grow to be thirteen feet long and weigh up to 600 pounds (Bottlenose Dolphins). This makes bottlenose dolphins the largest of the beaked dolphins (Dolphin Research Center). Bottlenose dolphins have slick and rubbery skin with no sweat glands or hair. Their epidermis is ten to twenty times thicker than that of other mammals. It can be replaced every two hours, which is nine times faster than human skin. The peeling of their skin helps to reduce drag when they swim. The skin is dark gray on their backs, and fades to white or pink on their bellies. This coloring is called countershading. From above the dolphins blend in with the dark water below, and from underneath they blend in with the sunlight. Countershading helps dolphins hide from predators and prey (Bottlenose Dolphins). Bottlenose dolphins are piscivors, or fish-eaters. They have eighty-eight to one hundred small, sharp teeth for grasping slippery squid and fish (Parker and Burton) (Dolphin Research Center). When catching fish, dolphins usually herd a school of fish together and then dash through the school one at a time to feed. It has been observed where 200 bottlenose dolphins were in a single row, working together to find food. Dolphins can also use their tail flukes to toss a fish out of the water and then retrieve the shocked prey (Bottlenose Dolphins). If a dolphin catches a large fish, it will smack the fish on the ocean floor or the water’s surface to break it into smaller portions (McClintock). After a dolphin catches its prey, it uses its tongue to swallow the fish and push the water out of its mouth (Dolphin Research Center). Dolphins can eat up to thirty pounds of fish in one day, so it is helpful that they have three stomach compartments, similar to that of a cow (McClintock) (Lockley 69). Bottlenose dolphins find fish by using echolocation. This is when a dolphin sends out a beam of short sonar pulses from its melon, or forehead. The beam reflects off of fish or other objects and echoes back to the lower jaw. The echoes are then sent to the ear bones where they are characterized. Using echolocation, dolphins are able to locate prey that is buried up to one and a half feet under the sand (Cahill 140-141). Bottlenose dolphins are excellent swimmers. They can jump up to sixteen feet in the air. Three to seven miles per hour is their normal swimming speed, but they can reach speeds of eighteen to twenty-two miles per hour. Dolphins also porpoise, which is when a dolphin swims fast enough to repetitively come out of the water and back under the water in one swift movement. This uses less effort than swimming fast at the ocean’s surface. When dolphins swim in deep open water, they often dive. They dive to 150 feet regularly, but they have been recorded diving up to 2,000 feet (Bottlenose Dolphins). When a dolphin needs to breathe, it comes to the surface, exhales, and then inhales. If a dolphin stays underwater for a very long time, it can exhale at over 100 miles per hour (Cahill 77). It only takes about 0. 3 seconds for dolphins to breathe (Bottlenose Dolphins). Dolphins exchange 80% of their lung air with each breath; when humans breathe, they exchange only 17% (Bottlenose Dolphins). They come to the surface to breathe every twenty-eight seconds when they are not diving, but they can hold their breath for up to twelve minutes (McClintock) (Bottlenose Dolphins). Before a dolphin can hold its breath for a long time, it has to slow its heart rate down to twelve beats per minute. A slow heart rate helps to conserve energy and oxygen while diving (Dolphin Research Center). In order for dolphins to be able to swim, they have to have fins. Bottlenose dolphins have three different types of fins on their bodies. The most recognizable is the dorsal fin. It is located in the center of the back and is the cause of dolphins sometimes being confused with sharks. The dorsal fin is helpful for balance but is not essential. Dolphins also have flippers on both sides of their bodies called pectoral fins that are used to steer. The bones in pectoral fins look similar to human hands because they have five digits. The two parts of a dolphin’s tail are called flukes. Tail flukes are made up of tough connective tissue with no bones or muscle. The tail’s spread is 20% of the total body length. The dolphin’s back muscles move the flukes up and down to push the dolphin through the water. All of the fins and flippers use the process of countercurrent heat exchange to conserve body heat. This means that the arteries in the fins are surrounded by smaller veins so that some of the heat from the blood is transferred to the blood in the veins instead of being released to the environment (Bottlenose Dolphins). Dolphins need to conserve heat to stay warm in cooler waters. The lifespan of a bottlenose dolphin is twenty to thirty years. They can reproduce every three years for their entire lives starting at the age of six (Bottlenose Dolphins) (Cahill 98). The gestation period lasts twelve months. Baby dolphins, called calves, are usually born tail-first to prevent drowning, and the umbilical cord between the mother dolphin and calf snaps during birth (Cahill 98) (McClintock). â€Å"85% of all firstborn calves die† (McClintock). Newborn calves typically weigh twenty-two to forty-four pounds and are thirty-nine to fifty-three inches long (Bottlenose Dolphins). Since dolphins are mammals, calves drink milk produced in the mother’s body (World Book 296). Mother dolphins have to swim constantly with their calves in their â€Å"slipstream† because newborns do not have enough blubber to easily float (Hecker). At about four months old, young start to eat fish and are entirely weaned from milk between the ages of one year and eighteen months (Lockley 169). Each dolphin develops a signature whistle at one month old. In order for calves to recognize their mothers by their whistle, mothers whistle to their calves almost constantly for several days after birth (Bottlenose Dolphins). A dolphin will stay with its mother for at least six years and some dolphins stay with their mothers for their entire lives (Bottlenose Dolphins). Bottlenose dolphins are very social animals. They travel in pods, which are groups of two to fifteen dolphins (Bottlenose Dolphins). Dolphins are very protective of each other, and they have killed sharks that were too close to their pod by repeatedly hitting them in the gills (Lockley 172). They will also try to save an injured or dead dolphin by keeping it at the surface for hours or even days (Lockley 19). Bottlenose dolphins are usually very friendly towards humans. Some wild dolphins even go into bays and interact with them (Dolphin Research Center). Dolphins also love to have fun. In captivity, they enjoy teasing each other and humans that are around their tanks (Lockley 48). In the wild, dolphins like to ride ocean waves or a boat’s stern or bow wake (Bottlenose Dolphins). They sometimes toss jellyfish and seaweed to one another and use plastic, seaweed, or other objects as â€Å"dolphin jewelry† on their fins, beaks, and necks (Cahill 93). Bottlenose dolphins truly are intriguing and individual animals. It’s hard to believe that some people actually hunt them. Beloved and admired by many, they should be protected in both captivity and the wild. Bottlenose dolphins have been entertaining people in for over eighty years, and hopefully they will continue to do so for many years to come.

Is Participation In Development Still A Tyranny

Is Participation In Development Still A Tyranny Over the past thirty years Participation has become development orthodoxy in both theory and practice (Cornwall 2003: 1325). The basic aim of participatory development (PD) is to increase the involvement of socially and economically marginalized peoples in decision-making over their own lives (Guijt, 1998: 1). PD approaches claim to empower local communities and recognizes rural poor themselves as the primary agents of change with the capacity to transform their lives (ESCAP, 2009). In recent years, however, there have been an increasing number of criticisms from policy makers, practitioners and academics regarding the widely applied participatory approaches to development. Many elements of this approach have been challenged on the basis that participatory approaches often failed to achieve meaningful social change, due to its inability to engage with problems of power relations and underlying politics (Hickey and Mohan, 2005: 237). Questions have been raised regarding the methods of participatory development and the impact of policies on various aspects of development, such as community relations, power structures, social conditions, rights of the poor, the role of grassroots civil society organisations in rural development, and the nature of knowledge (ESCAP, 2009). In this context, important publications have emerged representing different views and critiques of the participation approach, one against: Participation: The New Tyranny? (Cooke, and Kothari, 2001), and another more positive assessment: Participation: From Tyranny To Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development (Hickey, and Mohan, 2004), which scrutinizes the various arguments. These works have generated heated debates about the concept of participation which some argue carries within it an inherent tyrannical potential for marginalising those who are already less vocal, but whom it seeks to empower (Cooke and Kothari, 2001). Later, more optimistic publications discuss, what can be done around participatory development and social change (Chambers, 2005b: 718). In order to address the question at hand, this paper examines the current debates on participation in development. The essay will consider a case study that uses participatory approaches in their project. This intervention has been implemented with varying degrees of success. The case chosen focuses on a project entitled the Rural Water Supply Management Programme in Rajasthan, India, in order to illustrate some of the different effects of applying this approach. The paper is divided into four sections: The first section begins by discussing the emergence of participation in development from both the historical and conceptual perspectives. It then proceeds to the second section which analyses participatory development in practice. The length of the paper does not allow for a detailed discussion on the methods of participatory approaches, such as participatory poverty assessment, rapid rural appraisal and participatory rural appraisal (PPA/RRA/PRA). Therefore, this section will only provide a brief overview of these approaches and their use in development projects. In the third section follows a discussion on what is meant by the tyranny of participatory development. The fourth, concluding section seeks to draw some lessons from the discussion and analysis of the case study and provides a hint of what the literature suggests may be in store for participatory development in the future. 1. Emergence of Participation in Development: First let us consider how participation in development has emerged and what are some of the contentious interpretations of this concept. The emergence of the participatory development is tied into critiques of both theory and practice (Mohan, 2002: 50). In the late 1950s, the term participation or participatory was coined for the first time in the field of development (Rahnema, 1992: 117). The inception of participatory development is linked to colonial times and the mission to bring modernity from the west to the then developing countries. Thus, there was an increasing trend to equate development with modern western knowledge and practices by means of a top-down approach to countries in the south (Schuurman, 1993: 187-191). Critiquing this trend, social activists and field workers observed that non-inclusion of the people concerned in a development project from its inception to the implementation stage led to limited benefits of the development venture (Rahnema, 1992:117). This top-down approach carried Eurocentric and positivists ideas which disempowered beneficiaries (Escobar, 1995; Peet and Watts, 1996: 20-25; Chambers, 1997; cited in Mohan, 2002: 50). This concern was raised in the 1970s, by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator, who argued that development should not be the privilege of some few persons, but the right of everyone (Freire, 2003: 88). He promoted participatory development approaches, in contrast to top-down practices, by arguing I cannot think for others or without others, nor others can think for me (Freire, 2003: 108). In his Pedagogy of Oppressed Freire emphasized knowledge creation of the marginalized by increasing their awareness about their rights and establishing networks of soli darity to encourage dialogue which would enable people to express their needs and give them a sense of ownership of the projects. A similar view was echoed by Robert Chambers who challenged the various biases of development polices and interventions that make the poor invisible by distinguishing between uppers, i.e. the powerful practitioners and lowers, i.e. the powerless beneficiaries (Chambers, 1983; 1997: 2005a; Williams, 2004: 560). He argued that this [top-down approach] implies uppers empowering lowers between all levels. To do this, they must individually relinquish degrees of control themselves (Chambers, 2005a: 72). Thus, for Chambers, participatory development is a new paradigm, which will lead to empowerment of the beneficiaries, and a shift from hierarchical top-down development projects. He advocates open power structures which will bring personal and institutional change (Williams, 2004: 560). Hence, participation of local communities was stressed to end the top-down approach in development projects and participation became widely practiced. 1.1 Participatory Approaches: There are a myriad of methods for conducting participatory development in practice. However, the most extensively used methodology is Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The other approaches include Participatory poverty assessments (PPA) and Rapid rural appraisal (RRA). The PRA approach is based on achieving change and a reversal of roles, behaviours and relationships. Though, this may be carried out by external development practitioners, their role is limited to facilitating the focus group, by listening to them and sharing methods with the local people to help them reflect on their on own knowledge. The outsiders do not transfer technology. The strength of the PRA method lies in understanding the local needs; providing local ideas; extracting, developing and investing local resources; and generating development ideas (Chambers, 1997: 103, 2005a:87, also cited in Mohan, 2003: 52). PRA collects and records data on local customs and practices for a predefined development issue, wher eas the RRA approach is used by outside practitioners to plan, and target the improvement of a given intervention. Finally, PPA, influences policies at the macro level in relation to poverty reduction development projects (cited in ESCAP, 2009: 13; for original see Norton et al., 2001). Thus, PRA is considered to be the more important approach to promote empowerment. The participatory development method involves all stakeholders who are affected, by the policies, decisions, and actions of the system. This may include individuals, groups, communities, local government institutions, local and international institutions, self-help groups (Chambers, 2005a:87). This approach is used by the World Bank, non-governmental organisations, aid agencies and academicians, which for instance have applied PRA for climate change adaptation projects. 2. Participatory Development in Practice: This section will examine (the) participatory development in practice through case study. The aim of this example is to illustrate different aspect of participation in development and how it can lead to potential tyranny. Case Study: Rural Water Supply Organisation in Rajasthan, India: This case study, which looks at the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) situated in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, demonstrates how Gender is dynamic and gender norms can be altered when matters as significant as social participation are negotiated and water management is put into practice (Berry, 2010:48). Social participation is associated with gender in the conduct of this non-governmental organization in water supply management. India is the one of the largest consumer of water today. Water is considered to be a womens resource in large parts of rural India, as women have the responsibility to fetch water for domestic purposes 86 per cent of the time (Bhatia, 2004; cited in Berry, 2010:49). Women seeking water often have to travel long distances, and sometimes are confronted with reduced water supply availability. This means that women having to spend more time in storing and preventing contamination of water. This predicament applies to rural women in many regions. For example, women in Nepalese villages are house bound with domestic responsibilities in juxtaposition with men engaged in economic activity, which may put women in a situation where they are excluded from participating in water management decision making. Moreover, a lack of electricity hinders women from collecting water from the water pumps (Shah, 2006; Berry and Mollard, 2010: 49). The household shapes gender relations, as well as playing key role in the use of water. Domestic water use connects women with women of other households (Cleaver, 1998). These household dynamics and local customs reinforce gender inequities (Cleaver, 2001; cited in Berry, 2010: 50). Thus, because of their low social status, women are perceived as being uneducated and unable to take official decisions, which constrains their participation in water user associations. Barriers to institutions and political engagement make women dependent on informal forms of participation'(Mohan and Hickey, 2004; and Berry, 2010: 51). Thus, when women go to fetch water, they meet other women socially and engage in informal discussions about their lives and information sharing. In South Asia, and specifically in India and Nepal, caste, race, religion, age and family play a significant role in defining how gender affects and is reflected in water management practices. Thus high caste women are likely to be involved in decision making due to their interest in the quality of water, whereas, lower caste women may be more supportive of having easy access to the water supply. It is also important to note that since most of the rural women are poor and are likely to lead the kind of life mentioned above, they will be less interested in participating in water supply management due to their already busy schedules. Given these types of social scenarios, JBF a non-governmental, has taken initiatives to empower women in water management decision making and provide public space for their participation, as women are the real stake holders. In addressing the above issue, JBF is required to develop relations with governments, aid donors and work within the customary practices of the local communities. UNDP has been actively involved with JBF to promote womens participatory water initiatives and make governance more participatory. A UNDP sponsored evaluation in 2008 acknowledged the progress made by JBF by building wells and tanks closer to houses, resulted in a reduction of the four kilometer average walking distance in the targeted regions and decreased the time spent by women for collecting water (Berry, 2010: 54). JBF also helped these rural women by establishing self help groups and linking them with banks for small house loans. Even though the JBF project resulted in varying degrees of success, criticisms were raised, regarding the lack of convergence between water initiatives undertaken by mainstream village institutions dominated by men and womens self help group (ibid.). JBF recognizes that womens role is central to the community water management practices. Communities may also manifest themselves as sites of conflict and shifting alliances influenced by power and social structures, both exclusionary as well as inclusive (Berry, 2010: 58). JBF faced the following problems in the case of Rajasthani women, such as their having low autonomy even in their own households and often being unable to work out of the house, due to cultural norms. The women often did not attend meetings, as they were illiterate, and therefore it was difficult to get them involved in village water practices, as they also felt shy to talk in front of men. These rural women are facing two contradictory problems. Firstly, patriarchal society and traditional customs exert pressures geared to maintaining privileges associated with the prevailing social and gender hierarchy, and, secondly, they have been faced with the introduction of modernity which is transforming rural economies. H ence, traditional understandings of gender, and local power structures have come into conflict with the externally disseminated strategies. As a result of this conflict, JBF projects have provided little benefit to rural women although they were meant to promote gender equity and participation on one hand and reifying traditional cultural practices on the other (McCusker and Oberhauser, 2006; cited in Berry, 2010: 63). 3. Tyranny of Participation in Development: Much of the discourse on participation in development has been challenged over the past two decades. Criticisms have been raised about the participatory approaches and demand at best their rethinking, if not their abandonment (Cooke, and Kothari, 2001:2). The critiques mainly emerge from within the field of development itself (ibid. :5) after the failure of current forms of participatory development to engage with the issues of power and politics raised by its language of empowerment' (Hickey, and Mohan, 2005: 241). These criticisms are viewed by Cooke, and Kothari (2001) as tyranny in development practice. Tyranny here means, Illegitimate exercise of power in participation. The authors have identified three types of tyrannies; first, the Tyranny of decision making and control; second, tyranny of the group and third, tyranny of method. However, there are other points of criticism raised by academics and practitioners which will be referred to in relevant parts of the following discus sion. 3.1 The knowledge claims of Participatory Development: Participatory development is designed to uncover the local realities of the poor and ensure their involvement in decision making (Cleaver, 1999: 599-600). This claim to understanding the local knowledge and particularly PRA approach has been highly criticised by field practitioners. Chambers (1994) makes claims in support of the reliability and accuracy of the knowledge obtained through PRA approach. However, Campbell (2001) rejects these claims, and argues that whilst approaches, such as RRA and PRA, were aimed to generate more or less accurate information, practitioners have been using them as the only model for undertaking research. Hence, Campbell proposes an integration of PRA approach with qualitative and quantitative methods to generate in-depth understanding which would not be possible to achieve through techniques of observation (ESCAP, 2009: 22-23). 3.2 Tokenism Reference to participatory models have become an attractive slogan and strategy for governments to acquire political advantages and foreign aid. These slogans generate the impression that governments are sensitive to all the local needs (Rahnema, 1992:118). Participatory methods in development process are increasingly viewed as an important tool to effectively avoid the past mistakes by undertaking projects which require awareness of the local knowledge of the field; access to networks which help to succeed the ongoing project and provides avenues for future investments in rural areas; and cooperation of the local organisations to carry out development initiatives. In this view, grassroots organisations play significant role in providing technical and human resource assistance in the field, and by acquiring investments for the projects (Rahnema, 1992:119). The foreign assistance agreements with recipient countries show the willingness of the latter to participate in the global efforts of their developed associates. This collaboration has helped developing countries governments with sophisticated systems of control over their populations (Rahnema, 1992:117), as this approach allows governments to be present everywhere to manage democratic participation. Thus, this approach to participation results in exploitative practices contrary to the wishes of the majority of the population, whereas development polices have a tendency to influence the minds of the people to become dependent on modern services. In this manner, their participation in policymaking and decisions is sought to confirm the support for the same needs. Thus, development projects which benefit only a few obtain majority support due to misperception that these advantages will soon be accessible to them as well (Rahnema, 1992:118). 3.3 Tyranny of the Group and Tyranny of Method: The participatory development approach is critiqued for considering communities as socially homogeneous rather then distinguishing the heterogeneous groups of people in a society or community. This view does not take into account the embedded inequalities within the communities, and ends up reinforcing the existing marginalization and power conflicts between uppers and lowers (Cleaver, 2001: 44; Kothari, 2001: 140; Mohan, 2002: 53). Others, Mosse (1994, 2001) and Guijt (1998), have raised concerns about the nature of knowledge and reliability of the information. Although, this approach may have empowered a given local community to some extent, the literature suggests that support for community has meant that funding and authority is transferred to the already privileged whilst the oppressed are further excluded (Mohan, 2002: 53). However, in this context, gender differences and community need to be distinguished as separate groups in applying PRA and other approaches, as conflating t hese conceptually could be problematic. Mosse argues that local knowledge is generated in a social context which is influenced by power, authority and gender inequality (ESCAP, 2009: 23). Mosse further highlights that the problem of knowledge generation via PRA approach is likely to be influenced by the predefined agenda of the outsider and their interaction with insider community members. This space of interaction is where each group repeatedly tries to anticipate the others wishes and intentions (ESCAP, 2009: 23). This supposition is a matter of concern to Mosse and he discusses how the process of acquiring the local knowledge shapes the relationship between beneficiary communities and development institutions. Thus, this makes local knowledge, compatible with bureaucratic planning (Mosse, 1994; ESCAP, 2009: 23). The case study discussed on gender equity in this paper shows that local village men do not share the same, nor are they willing to cooperate. They are caught up in local politics. Often decentalisation and participation cause the more vocal in the already advantaged group to remain in their position, which defeats the very purpose of participatory development by preventing the flow of contextualized knowledge, and diminishing the effectiveness of interventions (Perret, and Wilson, 2010:196). Criticisms have also been levied against the methods of Participatory Development. Stirrat (1996) raised concerns about the idea of dual forms of knowledge local and scientific knowledge. He argues that in the age of globalization, knowledge cannot exist in isolation but is mutually dependent on interrelationships. 3.4 The Myth of Community: According to Cleaver (2001: 603) the community in participatory approaches to development is often viewed as natural social entity characterized by shared values. It is believed that these values can be manifested in simple organizational form. This view is refuted by many. The assumption that the community as a natural entity and is identifiable in any location with defined boundaries and rights to membership appears to be simplistic. This imaginary view of a community or myth can have wider implications and lead to generalizations about all communities as having similar characteristics. As Stirrat (1996) notes, communities are physical spaces where people interact socially. 3.5 The Tyranny of Decision Making And Control: This view of Participatory approaches which emphasizes consensus building -and shared values is rather illusiory. Stirrat (1996) argues that these approaches with their supposed cooperation and solidarity is a new form of Orientalism, which ties in with ideas of domination and power relations. It is evident that in practice the power of decision making ultimately lies with the development agencies (Mosse, 2001). Therefore the participatory approach is criticised for not recognizing the social diversity and conflicts which pave the way for social exclusion (Cleaver, 2001; ESCAP, 2009: 24-25). It is argued that the approach is used in the name of empowering people and represents external interests as local needs, [and] dominant interests as community concerns (Mosse, 2001:22). This perception of participation has the potential of oppressing the beneficiaries and leading them to challenge the social hierarchies in the society (Kothari, 2001: 143). 3.6 The Bureaucratic organizations: When the organizational interests clash with the ideals of empowerment this leads to bureaucratisation of participation (Richards, 1995: Mohan, 2002). This conflict can lead to withdrawal of the project (Mosse, 2001). The civil society organisations can create competition with local organizations, as large amounts of aid money are chanelled through such organisations. This competition can sideline the weaker organisations, which will further undermine their development projects. In order to seek better funding, these organisations develop alliances with the donor organisations in the North. This perspective shows how the local governments authority is by-passed and that these grass roots agencies focus on increasing their capacity. Many such partnerships between northern countries organisations and those of southern countries come with a price. The delivery of aid money comes with an agenda (Mohan, 2002: 53). Thus, in effect, the development project of such organisations subjugates t hose who are supposed to be empowered. As these civil society organisations are accountable to their donor originations, they are also time bound and have certain targets and objectives to achieve in order to continue the source of their funding, which may affect the development of the projects (Stirrat ,1996; ESCAP, 2009). 3.7 From tyranny to transformation: This section briefly examines the present state of participatory approaches from the works of Hickey and Mohan (2004) and other literature produced in the aftermath of criticisms about the shortcomings and tyranny of participatory approaches. They argue that participation has expanded its role in development, with new methods appearing in theory and practice, and note that, in recent times, developing countries are engaged in formulating creative strategies to express their needs and are better aware of their rights. They stress the transformative approach to development by means of gaining an understanding of the power structures and politics of participation in development. Hickey and Mohan propose the creation of synergies between local projects and political action and governance at the state level. They claim that this synergy will help to overcome the potential tyranny of localized projects and promote social justice and rights based approaches through radical political action. This view proposes changes at the institutional and hierarchal level in order to provide oppressed citizens with an opportunity to take charge of the decisions which affect their lives and advocates promoting the agency of active citizenship by relocating participation within the wider realm of sociopolitical practices. It is assumed that this model of participation in development discourse will provide increased opportunities to the poor to exercise their rights as active members of the society and give them better control over socioeconomic resources (ESCAP, 2009: 25). 4. Conclusion: Participation has become a popular approach in contemporary development discourse. To draw some tentative conclusions from the above analysis, it is evident that empowerment through development has not been fully achieved. Although participatory development has benefited some local communities, the literature suggests that the participatory approach has a patronizing relationship to development. It has been abused by different stakeholders for various ideological and self-serving purposes (Stokke, Mohan, 2000: 263), and provided little or no gain to those whom it seeks to empower. As the evidence from the case shows, in the struggle for power observed in the rural water management programme in Rajahstan India, the unequal status of women meant that they had little access to participation in the water management incentives. It seems reasonable to conclude that many theorists and practitioners may be justified in their claims that participation is disempowering those who are already oppressed because of its inherently tyrannical nature. It can undermine the role of state and powerful transnational development organisations. However, it is important to note that studies on the subject, such as Participation: The New Tyranny?, and similar work, does not discourage the use of participation in development per se. The debates on participation rather suggest that issues of inequality and social structure must be addressed to overcome current problems and improve the participatory process. Although the tensions discussed in this paper continue to hinder development, they also present opportunities for the effective use of participatory approaches. Continuing efforts to challenge and transform local power relations by participatory practitioners and agencies with similar interests can bring them on the same platform to work together for effective local participation to the benefit of development. In recent times, many development agencies have changed their focus to incorporate the broader questions of citizenship and sovereignty. Many of these organisations are now seeking avenues for building institutional and state capacity (Mohan, 2002:53-54). Thus, as Cornwell argues: participatory approaches have much to offer, but will only make a difference if they are used with sensitivity to issues of difference and diverse social realities (Cornwall, 2003: 1338). Bibliography Cited: Berry, K. (2010). Gender and social Participation in a Rural Water Supply Organisation in Rajashtan, India, In Berry, K. and Mollard, E. (eds). Social Participation in Water Governance and Management: Critical and Global Perspectives. Earthscan, London. Bhatia, R. (2004). NGOs in womens economic development in India: an evaluation, in S. Hassan and M. Lyons (eds) Social Capital in Asian Sustainable Development Management, Nova Science Pub, New York. Campbell, J.R. (2001) Participatory rural appraisal as qualitative research: Distinguishing methodological issues from participatory claims. Human Organization. Chambers, R. (1983). Rural Development: Putting the last first. Longman, Harlow. Chambers, R. (1997). Whose Reality Counts? Putting the first last, Intermediate Technology Publications, London. Chambers, R. (2005a). Ideas for Development. Earthsacn, London. Chambers, R. (2005b). Review: Participation: From Tyranny To Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development, Development in Practice, 15, (5): 717-718. Taylor Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Oxfam GB. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4030152, [Accessed March 1, 2011] Cornwall, A. (2003). Whose Voices? Whose Choices? Reflections on Gender and Participatory Development, World Development, 31(8): 1325-1342. Cooke, B. and Kothari, U. (eds). (2001). Participation: The New Tyranny? London: Zed books. Cleaver, F. (1999). Paradoxes of Participation: Questioning Participatory Approaches to Development, Journal of International Development, 11: 597-612. Cleaver, F. (2001). Institutions, Agency and the Limitations of Participatory Approaches to development in Cooke, B. and Kothari, U. (eds). Participation: The New Tyranny? London: Zed books. ESCAP. (2009). Regional trends, issues and practices in rural poverty reduction: Case Studies on Community Participation. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific Publications Office. ST/ESCAP/2571. Available at: http://www.unescap.org/pdd/publications/poverty_and_development/trends_rural.pdf [Accessed March 1, 2011] Escobar, A. (1995). Encountering Development: the making and unmaking of the Third World, Princeton University Press, Princeton. Freire, P. (2003). The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 30th anniversary edition, New York. Guijt, I. and Shah, K. M. (eds). (1998). The myth of Community: Gender Issues in Participatory development. IT Publications, London. Hickey, S. and Mohan, G. (eds). (2004). Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development. London: Zed Books. Hickey, S. and Mohan, G. (2005). Relocating Participation within a Radical Politics of Development. Development and Change, 36 (2): 237-262. Kothari, U. (2001). Power, Knowledge and Social Control in Participatory Development in Cooke, B. and Kothari, U. (eds). Participation: The New Tyranny? London: Zed books. Mayo, M. and Craig, G. (1995). Community Participation and Empowerment: The Human face of Structural Adjustment or Tools for Democratic Transformation?, in Craig, G. and Mayo, M. (eds) Community Empowerment: A Reader in Participation and Development, Zed Books, London. McCusker, B. and Oberhauser, A. M. (2006). An assessment of womens access to natural resources through communal projects in South Africa, GeoJournal, vol. 66, pp. 325-339. Mosse, D. (1994). Authority, Gender and Knowledge: Theoretical Reflections on the Practice of Participatory Rural Appraisal. Development and Change, Vol. 25, pp. 497- 526. Mohan, G. (2002). Participatory development. In: Desai, V and Potter, R (eds). The Companion to Development Studies. Arnold London, UK: Hodder. Mohan, G. and Hickey, S. (2004) Relocating participations within a radical politics of development: critical modernism and citizenship, in S. Hickey and G. Mohan (eds). Participation: From Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development. London: Zed Books. Norton, A. and B. Bird, K. Brock, M. Kakande, C. Turk (2001). A Rough Guide to PPAs. Participatory Poverty Assessment: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. London: Overseas Development Institute. Peet, R. and

Essay examples --

Living in today’s American society is a blessing and a curse. Never has information been so easily attainable, knowledge is literally at our fingertips, that being the blessing. However, so are advertisements, movies, songs and general media that are coming at us so fast that we have no idea how to handle it. The average American is subjected to about 3000 ads per day (Kilbourne, 2006). The curse is what it does to our generation’s ideal perception of the perfect body, advertisement being the biggest culprit of them all. Hyper sexualized women and men in the media are the reason that 80% of children by the age of ten years old are afraid of being fat. According to a recent study in Spain found that adolescents consume an average of 3 hours to 3.2 hours a day of television on weekdays and weekends, respectively (Bercedo Sanz et al., 2005). Children are still in their developmental stage, their brain and ideas are still forming which is why they are so easily targeted. Television, magazines, films, billboards, and the like frequently offer a distorted vision of the world (Bercedo Sanz et al., 2005; Shrum, 2009), and it may be difficult for children and adolescents to distinguish whether what they see is real or not, so that they are more vulnerable to the messages transmitted (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). Men and women are each targeted very differently in media. Although sex sells, it is the image in the advertisement itself that is what is engrained in our minds. Media tells us that wome n are supposed to be skinny, dainty and delicate. Whereas men they are supposed to be big and strong so that women will faun all over them and their muscles. These images are making young children’s self-esteem plummet way faster in th... ...ian body builder Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian is considered a god amongst men in the body building community. He died of a heart attack in a sauna due to steroid abuse while on vacation in Thailand. Why people consider him a hero is still a mystery. In the media the seemingly over weight men never get the posy and are never taken seriously. Men must be stern chiseled and highly sophisticated. Not only that but they must also take charge and be animalistic, women in the media are often portrayed as objects for the men’s pleasure. Media is a vessel in which women and men a like use in order to try to better themselves. In trying to duplicate what they see they really are only causing themselves heart ache and emotional and psychological damage. Until we can passively look at media and still be happy with whom we are; we as a society can never be happy and healthy.

Censorship in Public Schools Essay -- essays research papers fc

because he thinks they might contain "obscenities or offensive sexual references" (Berger 59). -A Vermont high school librarian is forced to resign because she fought the school board's decision to remove Richard Price's The Wanderers, and to "restrict" the use of Stephen King's Carrie and Patrick Mann's Dog Day Afternoon (Jones 33). -An Indiana school board takes action that leads to the burning of many copies of a textbook that deals with drugs and the sexual behavior of teenagers (Berger 61). These cases of censorship in public schools are not unusual and there is evidence that such challenges are increasing (Woods 2). These challenges are actually typical of the ones being leveled against school libraries today. These challenges can come from one person or a group concerned with the suitability of the material in question. In almost every case, the effort to ban books is said to be "justified by fear of the harmful effects that the books may have on young children" (Berger 59). The result of these censorship attempts has been two opposing sides: one side believes that "more suitable materials can usually be found from among the wealth of materials available on most subjects (Woods 1), and the other side believes that students' "intellectual freedom" can be upheld only if students are allowed to examine "any available relevant materials in order to gain the insights needed to reach their own conclusions" (Woods 1). In the simplest terms, the debate is between censorship and the freedom to read. The most important question when discussing censorship deals with its constitutionality; does censorship violate the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech? Censorship advocates actually use the words of the First Amendment to make their point; "the amendment reads, 'Congress shall make no law...", it does not say, "There shall be no law...'" (Berger 69). They believe that, although the federal government is forbidden to censor, it is not unconstitutional for states and local communities to pass censorship laws (Berger 69). Also, since the US Supreme Court does not believe the First Amendment protects all forms of expression (child pornography, etc.), then proponents of censorship believe that censorship laws are constitutional (Berger 69). Anti-censorship has the upper-hand, constituti... ...ensors react when they find anything they deem objectionable in the school. Why will people react emotionally, even violently, to certain spoken or written words, while in many cases having mild reactions to the actions described by the words? While D.H. Lawrence has seen considerable censorship due to his affinity for sexual content, Shakespeare has enjoyed relative peace even though Othello and his lover made "the beast with two backs" (I.I, 119-120). I, myself, will continue to struggle against the censors who seek to control written expression in our schools while waving the banner of freedom, for it is censorship that we must fear, not words, and hope that in the future, the true obscenities of the world (poverty, hunger, war) will be what we shall strive to censor. Works Cited Berger, Melvin. Censorship. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982. Jones, Frances M. Defusing Censorship: The Librarian's Guide to Handling Censorship Conflicts. Phoenix: The Oryx Press, 1983. Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1945. Woods, L.B. A Decade of Censorship in America: The Threat to Classrooms and Libraries. London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1979

Comparative Literature in an Age of Globalization

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION: Utrecht University The bylaws of the American Comparative Literature Association stipulate the writ-ing every ten years of â€Å"a report on the state of the discipline. † The present collection Comparative Literature in an Age of Globalization represents the latest in the series and is a follow up to Charles Bernheimer's Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism (1994). The structural similarities between the two titles, with their repetition of â€Å"Comparative Literature in the age of † is striking, and I will corne back toit.The nineteen essays in the collection have been written by a team of eminent scholars and they respond not only to Bernheimer's collection and to the general theme of â€Å"globalization† but also to each other. The resuit is an interesting series of kaleidoscopic interventions, some highly readable and pulling lots of punch; others less user-friendly and, in attempting to ar ise to the occasion, somewhat convoluted and over-written.Granted: the â€Å"report† is a very awkward genre for which there are no rules and, given this need to improvise, the editer Haun Saussy has made a good job of providing a nuanced and multiperspectival account of the â€Å"state of the discipline†. It would have enhanced the impact of the present volume, however, had it been at times less an inward looking colloquy among seniors and more inviting to the as-yet not initiated graduate student.As it is, it makes very interesting reading for the diehard senior member of staff (and presumably the members of the ACL A) while being less accessible to the future scholar or to those working in other disciplines and interested in finding out what Comparative Literature stands for, where it is going to, and why it might be important. Canadian Review of Comparative Literature / Revue Canadienne de Litterature Comparee CRCL DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBRE RCLC 0319-051Ãâ€"708/35. 4 /353  ©Canadian Comparative Literature Association 54/ CRCL DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBRE RCLC ANN RIGNEY | COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION/ 355 A survey attempting to do justice to the complexity of an academie field and what is at issue in it, almost inevitably leaves the reviewer less with a single argument than with a variety of perspectives on a variety of issues (on among other things, the importance of historical approaches, the value of study of graphie novels and other visual forms alongside texts; the nature of comparative literature as a â€Å"metadiscipline† or exploratory space).So what is really surprising about this collection, then, is the degree of convergence that it nevertheless manifests. To begin with, the majority of contributors do address some issue within the broad frame of â€Å"globalization† taking their eue from the substantial introductory essay by Saussy, himself a specialist in Chinese literature.Where the 1994 report focuse d on questions of the boundaries between literature and other cultural expressions, ten years later the main emphasis here is on themes that are in many ways more traditional within the multilingual field of comparative literature: the concept of world literature or â€Å"literatures of the world† and how best to teach it (David Damrosch and Katie Trumpener provide interesting solutions); the cultural role of translation and its status as a medium in teaching and research (Steven Ungar); the nature of comparison itself and the grounds upon which texts or movements from different cultural and linguistic traditions, even from different periods, may usefully be compared with each other and if indeed, as Emily Apter argues following Alain Badiou, if grounds for comparison are always needed; the future role of (East) European literature and theory within the much larger body of world literature now becoming available (Caryl Emerson). Even Marshall Brown's enthusiastic celebration of the close reading of particular texts, using the example of Effi Briest, reflects the concern with globalization: the very fabric of Effi's provincial life is woven through, as Brown shows, with the impact of more distant and general developments.Such concerns suggest that we are witnessing the return of Comparative Literature to its origins as the inter-cultural and multilingual study of literature. As if to con-firm this, the polyglossic Zeitschrift fur Vergleichende Literatur established by Hugo Meltzl de Lomnitz in 1877 is cited on more than one occasion as the foundational text of the discipline (rather than say, the Russian Formalists' programme for a general literary science as promoted among others by Rene Wellek). The phrase â€Å"return to origins† might seem at first sight a merely conservative retreat to older positions, but re-engaging with roads taken earlier in comparatism is not a symptom in this case of burnout.Instead, the present concern with intercultur al and interlinguistic â€Å"comparatism† as the basis for the common pursuit of literary studies represents not just a return, but also a revitalization: a return to a well-established tradition that had been marginalized as long as other theoretical formations, taking a more universalist approach to literary texts, dominated the academie study of literatures, as they did from the 60s on. But it also represents a revitalization and expansion of this tradition: at a time when globalized communication networks, intercultural exchanges and human mobility are such dominant features of our lives, some of the traditional concerns of comparative literature a la Meltzl de Lomnitz and Paul van Tieghem among others have become relevant in new ways and have the possibility of taking central stage in the field of literary studies at large.Ail of this is good news for those who continue to want to disengage the study of literature from the inevitable parochialism of the separate language departments and who are committed to the study of literature as a trans-national medium that has long been crossing borders—before ever the term globalization was invented—both in the original and in the form of translations. The report thus bespeaks confidence in the Comparatist project and a certain excitement at the sense that literature has become an even richer domain now that we in the West are becoming belatedly aware of the variety of literatures in the world and, thanks to work done in the last years to make it more accessible in the form of anthologies, a little better equipped to talk about nonEuropean literatures.As several contributors point out, the success of comparatist concerns in the field of literary studies at large along with the more general acceptance of translation as a legitimate medium for teaching, may mean that Departments of Comparative Literature as such may become less distinctive. The even greater risk is also there that the inter-lingu istic and inter-cultural aims of the Comparatist project may end up being reduced to the derivative study of â€Å"literatures of the world† through the monolingual filter of a globalizing English. For globalization, of course, is always double-edged: while providing a greater awareness of cultural diversity it also tends to reduce that diversity by the very fact that it makes cultures more widely accessible in an homogenizing lingua franca.Given this downside of globalization, the distinctive aims of Comparative Literature as the multilingual study of literature have become ail the more urgent. As the present collection demonstrates, however, the traditional demand that students of Comparative Literature be at home in three (European) languages is no longer enough for the task at hand. More language skills are needed. But since there are presumably also limits to the number of languages any individual scholar can master, there is new need for different forms of collaboration between specialists in various fields-a point implied by a number of contributors, though not extensively thema-tized in the present collection.Indeed, given this need for collaborative projects, the core of Comparative Literature may no longer be in a particular â€Å"disciplinarity† (i. e. that it is carried out by individuals who are skilled in various languages, though hopefully these people will continue to exist) but in its function as a platform for research and teaching: the fact that it brings together scholars who are committed to exploring in a collaborative way the cross-currents and exchanges between literatures written in different languages across the world at different periods. This report on â€Å"the state of the discipline† thus gives not only food for thought but also reasons for confidence.Nevertheless, it also leaves me with some niggling doubts about the very way in which we as literary scholars think about our work. My concern centres on the ge neric title: â€Å"Comparative Literature in the age of†¦ † The problem lies not so much in the epochal tone, suggesting as it does that in the course of 10 years we have moved from the â€Å"age of multiculturalism† to that of â€Å"globalization† (as if mul- 356/ CRCL DECEMBER 2008 DECEMBRE RCLC ANN RIGNEY | COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION/ 357 ticulturalism were somehow no longer relevant or globalization a new thing). The problem is more with the implicit assumption that one should define â€Å"the state of the discipline† by looking at ils relation to â€Å"the age† around it as if it should be its mirror.Behind this conceptualization lies, of course, the legacy of Matthew Arnold and the belief that criticism's main task is to provide knowledge, not so much of literature as such, as of the world itself as this is represented or reflected through literature. â€Å"Comparative Literature in the age of † bespeaks thi s grand commitment to be the conscience of the world and to interpret the â€Å"best† that has been thought in it. This continues to be a self-evident aim within literary studies. Hence the ongoing selfsearching about what is the proper object of study fuelled by the belief that the choice of object (world literature, literatures of the world, popular fiction or highly regarded works of literature) involves an ethical decision about what is relevant at the present time or in the present world.With our present global perspective and our awareness that there is more to literature than the canon of European classics, that â€Å"worldly† task has become an even heavier one and the way to its realization more fraught by the need to select carefully. Far be it from me to trivialize the importance of cultural criticism or a commitment to seeking out interesting literary phenomena to study above more banal ones. Nevertheless, there is something paradoxically ostrich-like about the ways in which Comparative Literature defines itself in relation to the world around it and in relation to â€Å"the age† as a whole. The very moral authority accorded to literature is also a throw-back to a time when literature (vide Arnold) was the dominant cultural form.But for ail its ostensible worldliness, the present collection arguably puts its head in the sand when it cornes to the changing status of literature in the highly mediated world in which we live and where globalization has been effectuated more obviously through the medium of television, film, popular music and internet than it has through literature. In paying so much attention to world literature and how it should be defined and taught (in itself a really positive development) the collection nevertheless succeeds in ignoring the fact that literature's relation to the world, and its place in the world, has fundamentally changed. More precisely, it ignores the interface between literature and other med ia, and between literature and other forms of knowledge at the present time. In raising this point, I do not mean to uggest that we should ail drop the study of literature in favor of looking at other media (a pos-sibility raised briefly by Malti-Douglas), for that would be to perpetuate the belief that literary studies is somehow a super-discipline that provides the conscience for the humanities and has a responsibility for ail of culture. Rather it is an argument in favor of reconsidering the changing relations between literature and other cultural media, and the impact both in the past and in the present of new technologies and changing literacies on the very possibilities we have for expression and interpretation. It is also an argument for considering new forms of collaboration with specialists in other fields of culture. In other words, the next challenge is to conceive of literary studies itself from a comparative perspective, that is, in relation to other forms of knowledge about culture and media.In the last decades, certainly in Europe, media studies have been institutionalized and have been providing increasing competition for literary studies both when it comes to attracting students and to attracting research funding. The question which needs to be addressed, sooner rather than 10 years down the line, is how to reposition comparative literary studies in relation to these adjacent fields. In the first place, this will mean becoming more modest: accepting the fact that writing and reading are just one form of culture among other, albeit the one with the longest history and about which there is the greatest body of knowledge (here we should be much less modest).It will also involve becoming more pro-active as we define more clearly, and become once again surprised by the magic of language in its various manifestations, what literature can and can not achieve (Jonathan Culler's intervention hints in this direction). Instead perhaps of soul-searching c ontinuously about the identity of Comparative Literature in relation to the set of objects (world literature, counter-canons, etc) and in relation to â€Å"the age† as a whole, we need to look outside the discipline and accept that there is an outside. Hopefully the next report will focus less on â€Å"the state of the discipline† as seen from within and be more specific about what we have to offer the world of learning at large.