India and Different Religions Free Essays

Unity in Diversity in India India is probable the only country in the world where people belonging to different religions, castes and creeds, speaking different languages, having different cultures, different modes of living, different clothing, different feeding habits, worshiping different gods and deity live together in harmony and believe to be the children of one mother-MOTHER INDIA. They are one nation at large. They are governed by one central authority, have one Prime Minister, one president, one Supreme Court and one army chief. We will write a custom essay sample on India and Different Religions or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is why we say we have unity in diversity. Geographically India is a vast country so much so that even one of its states in bigger than many countries of Europe. But the whole country is well bounded by nature. In the north is the Himalayan Range. On the other side is the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea. This provides, natural geographical unity to INDIA we have different religions in India. Apart from Hinduism we have the followers of Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Parsees. But Hindus form the greater majority. There are, no doubt, different factions, sections and sub-section but basically we all believe in the theory of Dharma and Karma. The theory of rebirth, purification of soul, salvation, Heaven and Hell holds good for each and every one. We untidily celebrate the festivals like Holy, Diwali, Charismas, Budh Jayanthi and Mahavir Jayanthi. This provides unity in diversity. India philosophy has developed on India soil. It has not been borrowed from anywhere. This has blended the various cultures together. There are differences in overall conception of gods, and modes of worship. These changes have been gradual due to interaction of different groups. But the ultimate aim of achieving salvation and the fear of Hell keeps them all bound together. Very important characteristic of Indian society is the coexistence of different ethnic groups. These groups formulated inter-group behavior. Hence there is no mutual interference as also no merging of their identity. There might be some drawback in our constitution such as separate provision for different castes; particularly the backward and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes but industrialization policy and agrarian reforms have generated a new secular outlook giving rise to a new culture. Members of different castes and communities and followers of different religions have come together in forms, factories and educational institution. As a result different cultures have been blended together thereby bringing unity among them. We have a cultural unity in India in as much as our philosophy of life, our customs, creeds and traditions are basically, more or less, the same. The institution of marriage, the very foundation of a society, exists all over the country and most of the rituals and sanskars are similar everywhere. Emotional unity plays its own part. The name of Bharat Mata brings us closer and closer together. In spite of different languages and dialects, Sanskrit, the language of Vedas, brings us all together because Sanskrit is the mother of all languages. The outstanding features of Indian culture responsible for bringing unity in diversity may be summarized as follows: (a) We Indians lay emphasis on spirituality, not on material wealth. (b) Religion has the most important place in India. We believe in Karma and Sanskar. Performance of duty is our religion. (c) Religion tolerance is the unique feature of religions in India. Hence there is no difficulty in coexistence of follower of different religion. (d) Hinduism, which forms majority of the population, has the capacity to absorb all good cultures. It has either absorbed the immigrant cultures or has largely influenced them. e) We have a very broad outlook. We preach and follow religion and spiritualism without ignoring married life and worldly things. (f) We firmly believe in freedom of thought and freedom of expression because such freedom enriches the culture which then becomes dynamic. Although unity to the desired extent has not been attained but all attempts by foreign agencies to disrupt it or disprove it have proved futile. We might be subject to regionalism and casteism in trifling matters but we always rise to the occasion in times of need such as foreign interference or invasion on our territory. This is sufficient to prove our unity in diversity. How to cite India and Different Religions, Papers

Critical Analysis of Various Macroeconomic

Question: Discuss about the Critical Analysis of Various Macroeconomic. Answer: Introduction: The conducted report contains a critical analysis of various macroeconomic indicators of Australia and the USA from the year 1990-2015.This report gives an idea that how real GDP performance is related to other indicators of the country. It tells us the correlation between the macroeconomic indicators of both the countries. Furthermore, this report explains that the movements in macroeconomic indicators of the country affect the economy (Austrade, 2016). On the basis of tables and graphs, it gives an overview of countries economic performance in the past years. Finally, this report tells that the tighter monetary policy followed by countrys government in the past decade. On the basis of important macroeconomic indicators it also forecasts the countrys recession or expansion in future. Real GDP growth related to other indicators in Australia and the USA Australian economy faced the recession challenge in the year 1990.GDP is slowed down in the year 1990-1992.Due to the slowdown of GDP growth percentage, that leads to an impact on other macroeconomic indicators like the rise in the unemployment rate and interest rate in the period between 1990-2000.As the recession ends in the year 1991, the growth rate of the economy is positive after 1992 to 2000.The rate of Unemployment also declined and the CPI inflation is also reduced at a certain level. There was an average improvement in the import and export rate of the economy of Australia that results in the growth and productivity in the year from 1990 to 2000. Australian GDP growth rate is Zigzag from the year 2000-2008(in below figure 1) and the rate of inflation is constant between those two years i.e. 2000-2001(rba, 2016).The other variables like import and export rate are increased and decrease at a moderate level. The increase in export leads to improve the financial stability of th e economy. The unemployment rate is declined as the GDP is increased. Inflation is also increased in recent years according to the growth in GDP. It is considered that there is in a rise in production at higher prices. In this scenario GDP and Inflation are both rises and the demand is exceeded the supply that leads to more competition in the market. The company needs to pay competitive wages to hold the labor. Exports percentage increased positively it shows that there is appreciation in the Australian dollar. It also maintains the balance of international payments (SMH, 2016). Figure 1: Macroeconomic indicators of Australia from the year 1990-2015 USA GDP growth is shown an average increase from the year 1990-2000.But after the year 2000, the GDP growth is zigzag (Shown in below figure: 2). Inflation seems to decease from 1990 to 2015.It seems that the supply factor is stronger than demand factor in the economy of USA. The unemployment rate is slightly improving in the past years. It means that there is moderate growth in GDP impacts the unemployment growth rate. Firms are produced moderate, so they need few workers. Technological and structural change is also the factor that reduced the unemployment at a moderate level. Technological changes lead to high output but it is difficult for some workers that have insufficient skills to operate the new change. The rate of interest is shown increased in most of the past years. When the economy is growing the banks, company and individual spend more money to save opportunity cost. At the time of boom demand for borrowed funds is high that it is profitable to expand (Dell, Jones and Ol ken, 2016). Figure 2 : Macroeconomic indicators of USA from the year 1990-2015 So, it seems from the above given data, it can be say that GDP is related to every economic indicator. Correlation between inflation, interest rate, and uemployment Inflation occurs when there is too much money is spends to chasing few goods in the economy. In the given table (Table: 3 Shown in Appendix) of Australian macroeconomic indicators, the Inflation rate is seen to be reduced as compare to the base year i.e. 1990 (Westphal and Rother, 2012).Inflation created a problem for central banks when it is constant rise. This situation arises when there is confusion between prices and wages of workers. The increase in price leads to the demand of high wages by workers, and it put pressure on companies to raise the wages. This can happen in the situation where the shortage of supply of labors. It indicates that strong GDP leads to risk for the interest rate. From the given table (Table: 3 and 4 shown in Appendix) it shows the negative correlation between the inflation and Interest rate. The degree of strength of the correlation is weak or it can be said that there is a weak correlation between the two variables. It depicts that if the inflation rises then the rate of interest rate is decreased. It means that the borrowing capacity is increased and people borrow more money due to the low-interest rate that results to consumers have more money to spend, that increased the inflationary pressure on the economy. Similarly, the correlation between interest rate and unemployment is also negative i.e. 0.37 (Ferraro, Rogoff and Rossi, 2015).The degree of strength of the correlation is weak. It means that the rise in interest rate leads to lower the unemployment rate in Australian and US economy. As the cost of borrowing is higher that leads to a reduction in investment and consumer spending. In turn, this means investments are less in the market that results in a reduction of new jobs in the market. This has a negative impact on the unemployment rate. In the second table (shown in the appendix) it shows the positive correlation between the interest rate and inflation variable in the US economy. The degree of strength is weak between two variables. Lower interest rate creates more borrowing power in the hands of consumers. And when a consumer spends more the economy grows and creating inflation. But as per the given data, it shows that the increase in interest rate impacts little positive on the inflation rate. As the interest rate increases the inflation is also increase little bit i.e. 0.36% (Jappelli, Pagano and Maggio, 2013). Correlation between the macroeconomic indicators in Australia and the USA As per the given data (shown in Appendix), it shows the positive correlation between the two countries in some of the macroeconomic indicators such as GDP rate, Inflation rate, import and export rate. And there is a negative correlation between two macroeconomic indicators, like unemployment and interest rates between two countries. There are various ups and down in the Australian economy in the years 1990-2015.The GDP percentage went down to negative in the year 1991 due to the recession and weak policies of the government. But after that period the GDP growth was moderate in the past years. It reached to the maximum percentage in the year 1999 i.e. 5.01 due to low inflation and unemployment in that particular year. Similarly, the GDP of USA had shown the moderate rise in the past years (Baskaran and Feld, 2013); it went down to negative in the years 1991, 2008, and 2009 due to the recession and low production of goods and services in the country. But after that, the signs of growth are positive in the economy of USA. It can be seen that the USA economy contributes to smoother outcomes in Australia. Other important variables like Inflation and import and export percentage of Australia is shown good in the past years. There is a positive correlation between Australian Inflation rate and USA Inflation rate i.e. 0.61.The degree of strength is good between these two variables of countrys economy.CPI inflation has shown declined positively in both the economies from past years. It means that the government has framed good monetary policies and the firms are confident and invested at large scale in both countries. Due to low inflation, both economies benefited from the financial crisis as the banking sector is strong so that the inflation is under control. Similarly, the import and export variables of both countries economy had shown the positive correlation i.e. 0.76 and 0.53 (Fan, Titman and Twite, 2012).The degree of strength is good among two variables. Import and export percentage increased annually at the moderate rate in both the economies. It depicts that the policies of inter national trade are flexible and minimum restrictions on import and export. The flexible policy benefited to consumers to buy goods and services at low prices. Lower tariffs encourage more exports in the economy. The increase in imports created a healthy competition in both the economies of the country. It also impacts the currency of the both the countries. From the given data of both the countries (shown in Appendix) it can be seen that if there is an increase or decrease of two variables (import and export) of one country, there is also a significant rise of two variables in another country also. Because both variables depend on each other country on the basis of cost, raw material, skills, and policies. The negative correlation between unemployment and the interest rate of the two countries, the degree of strength is a weak. It indicates that the increase in the rate of variables in one country results in the decrease in the rate of the similar variable in another country. Australia faced the issue of unemployment in past recent years may be due to financial crisis, wages problem and demography. Unemployment occurs due to wages problem in the country. Skilled labors get fewer wages as compared to their skills. At the same time, the USA outsourced the skilled labor with decent packages that reduces the level of unemployment in the USA. Another variable is interest rate is went down due to currency differences of two countries. Australia spends more to appreciate the value of the currency and the USA spends less to purchase the goods and services of the Australia. Due to differences in currencies of the two countries, the interest rates are inversely related to each other (Koellinger and Thurik, 2012). Tighter monetary policy in past decade As per the given data of both the countries, it is considered that the USA tightened the monetary policy as compared to Australia. Inflation data of Australia indicated the average increase of inflation rate was 2.73% from 1990-2015.And on the other hand in the USA, an average increase of inflation is 2.53% and the interest rate was 3.97% from 1990-2015 (Taylor, 2013).On the basis of Inflation rate data of the both the countries, it is considered that the USA had tightened the monetary policy due to the high inflation rate and interest rate. Tight monetary policy involves raising interest rates. High-interest rates lead to borrowings became more expensive so that the consumers and firms spend less. It encourages savings, Therefore firms and consumers have kept their money in the banks. Due to inflationary pressure, it affects the exchange rate of the country and tax structure.USA federal raising interest rates to appreciate the value of the dollar so that increase the savings rates i n the country (White, 2012). An appreciation in currency helps to reduce the inflationary pressure in the economy. The government also tightened the monetary policy to limit the supply of money. Due to less supply of money, it increases the demand for long-term bonds in the financial institutions. By sell off bonds there is a reduction in liquidity and therefore reduce the rate of lending in the market. High-interest rate does not always control the inflationary pressure in the countrys economy. There are other factors like for example rise of oil prices in tight monetary policy lowers the economic growth of the country. Australian government followed the easier monetary policy because the average rate of interest from the year 1990-2015 is 3.68% i.e. comparatively low from the USA. This policy helps countrys government to increase the money supply in the economy and lower interest rate increased the borrowings and spending capacity that helps into expansion of the countrys economy (Baxa et al., 2013) Macroeconomic outlook of Australia and the USA Australia economic outlook seems good as per the given data. From the year 1990-2000, the GDP growth rate was good. The economy was growing in these years. After the year 2000-2010, there were some obstacles in growth due to high unemployment rates and interest rates. As the economy was stagnant at that time due to poor governmental policies and plans, soon after the year 2000-2015, there was a moderate growth in the economy (Sheehan and Gregory, 2013). At the same time, Inflation and unemployment are also reduced at a certain level. It seems that the aggregate demand meets the supply factors. Production and consumption pattern of goods and services are maintained that is beneficial for the countrys economic growth. Data of Import and export had shown the signs of a rise in demand in the home and foreign countries. The current account deficit is improved due to increase in the level of export percentage. Similarly, import data has shown the expansion of the new market for the Austral ian economy due to high import rate. The Overall outlook is good and it will be better than expected, because the main macroeconomic pillars of the country i.e. real GDP, inflation, and Unemployment rate are constantly improved (IZA, 2016). On the other hand the USA macroeconomic outlook seems also good. The GDP growth rate was 2.42% from 1990-2015 as per given data. In 2008-2009, the GDP rate was continuously negative i.e. -0.29 and -2.78.The consequently negative GDP leads to recession for the country economy. Due to the recession, the rate of unemployment was also increased at that period. The countrys economy is grown moderate after the year 2009, USA federal tightened monetary policy to curb the inflation. It will help the economy to grow in the future and it will encourage growth and more investments in the country. Unemployment data of country falls constantly after 2009 that will enhance the optimal level of production in the economy, enhance buying power and fewer government borrowings in the country (Argy, 2013). As per the study of both the countries variables, it is forecast that the Australian economy will expand soon due to improvement in their macroeconomic indicators. Conclusions From the above study, it can be concluded that the real GDP, unemployment and inflation are the three main pillars of the countrys economy. Other macroeconomic indicators i.e. interest rate, import and export percentage which is based on these three important pillars. Further, it can be concluded that the both the countries tried to achieve the macroeconomic stability in the economy. When compared to both countries economic indicators, Australia had reduced the Unemployment rates in past decade. Similarly, on the other hand, USA had tightened the monetary policy to curb the inflation rate in the past years. Finally, it can be concluded that both countrys economy maintained their real GDP in the past decade. References Argy 2013. International Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy.UK: Routledge. Austrade 2016, A resilient economy.[Online].Available at: https://www.austrade.gov.au/International/Invest/Why-Australia/Growth (Accessed by: 10 September 2016) Baskaran, T. and Feld, L.P., 2013. Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in OECD Countries Is There a Relationship?.Public Finance Review,41(4), pp.421-445. Baxa, J., Horvth, R. and VaÄ ek, B., 2013. Time-varying monetary-policy rules and financial stress: Does financial instability matter for monetary policy?.Journal of Financial Stability,9(1), pp.117-138. Checherita-Westphal, C. and Rother, P., 2012. The impact of high government debt on economic growth and its channels: An empirical investigation for the euro area.European Economic Review,56(7), pp.1392-1405. Dell, M., Jones, B.F. and Olken, B.A., 2012. Temperature shocks and economic growth: Evidence from the last half century.American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics,4(3), pp.66-95. Fan, J.P., Titman, S. and Twite, G., 2012. An international comparison of capital structure and debt maturity choices.Journal of Financial and quantitative Analysis,47(01), pp.23-56. Ferraro, D., Rogoff, K. and Rossi, B., 2015. Can oil prices forecast exchange rates? An empirical analysis of the relationship between commodity prices and exchange rates.Journal of International Money and Finance,54, pp.116-141. IZA 2016. Australia: The Miracle Economy.[Online].Available at https://ftp.iza.org/dp7505.pdf (Accessed: 10 September 2016) Jappelli, T., Pagano, M. and Di Maggio, M., 2013. Households' indebtedness and financial fragility.Journal of Financial Management, Markets and Institutions,1(1), pp.23-46. Koellinger, P.D. and Roy Thurik, A., 2012. Entrepreneurship and the business cycle.Review of Economics and Statistics,94(4), pp.1143-1156. Reserve Bank of Australia 2016. Australian Economy Snapshot.[Online].Available at https://www.rba.gov.au/snapshots/economy-snapshot/ (Accessed by: 10 September 2016) Sheehan, P. and Gregory, R.G., 2013. The resources boom and economic policy in the long run.Australian Economic Review,46(2), pp.121-139. Taylor, J.B., 2013. International monetary policy coordination: past, present and future,12 (34).pp.1-38. The Sydney morning herald 2016. GDP: Australia's economic growth accelerates in first quarter.[Online].Available at https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/gdp-growth-accelerates-in-first-quarter-20160531-gp8nna.html (Accessed by: 10 Septmber) The World Bank 2016. World Development Indicators.[Online].Available at https://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=world-development-indicators (Accessed by: 10 September 2016) White, W.R., 2012. Ultra easy monetary policy and the law of unintended consequences.real-world economics review, pp.19-56.

Burmese Days by Gorge Orwell Essay Example

Burmese Days by Gorge Orwell Paper Based on Orwell’s experiences as a policeman in Burma, George Orwells first novel presents a devastating picture of British colonial rule. It describes corruption and imperial bigotry in a society where, after all, natives were natives interesting, no doubt, but finally an inferior people. When Flory, a white timber merchant, befriends Indian Dr Veraswami, he defies this orthodoxy. The doctor is in danger: U Po Kyin, a corrupt magistrate, is plotting his downfall. The only thing that can save him is membership of the all-white Club, and Flory can help. Florys life is changed further by the arrival of beautiful Elizabeth Lackersteen from Paris, who offers an escape from loneliness and the lie of colonial life. For Said, controversy about the postcolonial discourse begins with the term of re-presentation which gives the Westerners upper-hand as a â€Å"genuine creator, whose life-giving power represents, animates, constitutes, the otherwise silent and dangerous space beyond familiar boundaries† . This representation is so powerful which brought the concept of the Orient, first of all in Western academics, â€Å"then Western consciousness, and later Western empire. † The effect of this representation is the creation of binary opposition of the self and other which posits the former in the privileged position that permits himself to define, describe and articulate the Orient as she wishes, and the former in the position of a silent, disabled object of study. Said continues that one cannot make any distinction between representation and misrepresentation and the difference is matter of degree. We will write a custom essay sample on Burmese Days by Gorge Orwell specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Burmese Days by Gorge Orwell specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Burmese Days by Gorge Orwell specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Burmese Days is commonly referred to as an anti-imperialist novel which closes down ‘the entire genre of imperial heroics’. It is true that Orwell has created a novel which is distinguished from earlier colonial writings, such as those Kipling and Forster by, but as it has been mentioned before, ‘it lacks a firm commitment to antiaimperialism’, both on the part of Flory and his author’s or as Boehmer points out appropriately Burmese Days ‘does not diverge significantly from a colonialist semiotic’and it is an ‘ambivalent text’ . As Edward Said says that Intruders control the fiction and all types of writings and misrepresent the natives. They indirectly convey their message. Similarly Burma is viewed through a Westerner’s lens and functions just as a setting with its fauna and flora. The novel focuses on the White community and they are at the center and Burmans are totally marginalized in the novel. There is no hint of their culture, lifestyle, customs and etc. nd the novel concentrates on a Flory’s loneliness rather than a critique of imperialism and ‘the novel deals not so much with the problems of the Burmese as with the problems of the English in Burma’. Orwell is trapped in the role of Westerner’s representer by an ‘Orientalist mindset’ and personified in Flory who is torn between loyalty to British Raj and sentimental sympathy for the natives, ‘doubleness between membership among the dominant and an affinity for the dominated’. ‘He did not speak of his sympathy for the Burmese’ and follows the ‘White man’s code of silence in the East’. Holderness et al assert that if one takes the novel as a critique of imperialism, one cannot ‘find in this text a critique of racist assumptions’. For Orwell, anti-imperialism and anti-racism are two different things. Racism and racial bigotry are not criticized by the narrator and as Blyemel states, ‘Orwell’s exposure of extremist color prejudice is unsettling’. Edward Said in his essay talked about the misrepresentation of the natives. The natives are being stereotyped by associating animal imagery with them. In this novel ‘Unironic use of adjectives’ for natives is very unsettling too, when the narrator calls the Burmese as swines, ticks, black coolies, the sneaking, cowardly hounds, bloody sods, damned and smelly natives,gutless curs, yellow bellies, evil and unclean Orientals, greasy little babus, little pot-bellied dirty niggers,those with the scents and stench of coconut oil, sandalwood, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, sweat, and those with black skins, brown, malicious and epicene faces and filthy black lips. Orientalism is closely related to the concept of the Self and the Other because as Said points out in his second definition of Orientalism, it makes a distinction between the Occident, i. e. self and the Orient, i. e. the Other. Since the analysis of the relationship of the self and the other is at the heart of Postcolonialism and many define Postcolonialism in terms of the relationship of the self and the Other. For instance, Boehmer emphasizes that ‘Postcolonial theories swivel the conventional axis of interaction between the colonizer and colonized or the self and the Other’. The Self and the Other can be translated to the Occident / Orient, us /them, The West /the rest, center/margin, metropolitan/colonial subjects, vocal/silent. In all these cases Western literary and cultural canon defines its other in relation to himself, the other is an alien and alter ago, to and of the self, as the inferior reflection of Europe. By the process of Othering, the colonizers treat the colonized as ‘not fully human’, and as a result, it dehumanizes natives. Othering codifies and fixes the self as the true human and the other as other than human. The Colonizers consider themselves as the embodiment of â€Å"proper self† while label the colonized as â€Å"savages†. Said focuses on the Myth of purity- which states that everything should be pure,there is no mixing of the language, tradition, culture etc. so the westerns create binary oppositions. â€Å"Burmese Days† revolves around the binary opposition of the Self and the Other, and the very essence of the Club is to make the distinction between the whites and non-whites more conspicuous. Hence, all the characters of the novel lay fitly on two categories: The natives and non-natives, the whites and non-whites, the Indians and Anglo-Indians, the familiar or stranger, the civilized and uncivilized or barbaric, the European and Asian, the us and them, and the Self and the Other. In addition, a set of stereotypes and cliches are attributed to the natives that have contributed to Orientalize them. The Orient and Orientals are stamped with an otherness says Said, and this otherness is a threat that should be avoided. In all colonial novels, some negative attitudes and a set of fixed cliches are ascribed to this otherness. Edward Said underscores that the starting point for all Orientalists is to recognize these stereotypes. It is not a difficult task to see; to some extent these images come true in â€Å"Burmese Days†. For instance, all the natives particularly the servants are lazy and lethargic, as Mrs. Lackersteen complains about the laziness of the servants , or Ko S’la, Flory’s servant is lazy and dirty, and his ex-wife as ‘a fat, lazy cat’ . U Po Kyin, more than anyone else stands for cunning, intrigue and flattery which were mentioned earlier. His brain though cunning was quite barbaric . For their distorted minds, Eliza mocks them for blocking up the roadway for spectacle, as Flory answered that ‘there are no traffic regulations here’ . Flory calls Ma Hla May a ‘liar’ when she said no brown hands touched me, however the readers know that she had an affair with a brown man. The Orientals have no nobility and grace except by accompanying and camaraderie with the occidentals. U Po Kyin and Veraswami’s efforts for admission to the Club are for this nobility and prestige, as Dr. Veraswami pointed it in his example of barometer. For mistreatment to animals, one can remember the scene that ‘a fat yellow woman with her longyi hitched under her armpits was chasing a dog round a hut, smacking at it with a bamboo and laughing. ’ Recurring images do not confine to the above mentioned and many other labels such as superstition, strangeness, polygamy are also attributed to the Orientals. The natives believe that the ‘strips of alligator hide’ has magical properties ; Ma Hla May sometimes puts love-philters in Flory’s food; â€Å"The Burmese bullock-cart drivers seldom grease their axles, probably because they believe that the screaming keeps away evil spirits† ; as the medicine, they eat and drink ‘herbs gathered under the new moon, tigers whiskers, rhinoceros horn, urine, menstrual blood! ’ And finally Weiksa or magician who distributes magic bullet-proof jackets. Edward Said points out that Oreint is always seen as mysterious and a muddle for the Occidents. Burma is an exotic place for Westerners and Orientals, strangeness and exoticism generate from that exotic locale. Elizabeth is terrified by this ‘strangeness’, as Adela in â€Å"A Passage to India† did. Accordingly, the bushes are foreign-looking, rhythms of the tropical seasons and hollow cries are strange ; Eliza among the natives’ spectacle wishes to escape from this strange place to familiar one, i. e. the Club and she always barked at strange Orientals Ko S’la is an ‘obscure martyrs of bigamy’ and Li Yeik, the Chinese shopkeeper had two girls as his concubines. In short, in Burmese Days like other colonial novels, a web of colonial images and cultural stereotypes are attributed to the Burmese which fix them in their inferior position. Elizabeth as a memsahib is also bigoted and she felt ‘the hatefulness of being kin to creatures with black faces’ . Eliza’s overt racism is also shown in two occasions: when Flory, assuming that ‘she was different from that herd of fools at the Club’ and she will appreciate native’s culture, took her to a pwe, a kind of Burmese play. Another occasion was when they paid a visit to bazaar. At first she is shocked when she sees how they have blocked the road for their performance, and Flory answers that â€Å"there are no traffic regulations here. The native music is a ‘fearful ‘pandemonium, a strident squeal of pipes, a rattle like castanets and the hoarse thump of drums’ . Elizabeth felt insecure to go among ‘that smelly native crowd’ and she watches ‘the hideous and savage spectacle’ with tediousness and horror: Its grotesque, its even ugly, with a sort of willful ugliness. And theres something sinister in it too. Theres a touch of the diabolical in all Mongols. And yet when you look closely, what art, what centuries of culture you can see behind it! †¦Whenever you look closely at the art of these Eastern peoples you can see thata civilization stretching back and back, practically the same, into times when we were dressed in woad. Eliza comes from the ‘civilized places, and her superiority is blatantly expressed when she calls them with a very offensive term even in that time, Mongols. She considers the White racially and civilizationally superior to the Burmese. The word woad signifies that the present-day Burma is less civilized than the ancient Briton (in that times, woad was used for painting their bodies). Furthermore, they are connected to devil and devil worship (as the term diabolical and sinister connote); besides, the dancer girl becomes a ‘demon’ figure for her. In the bazaar’s scene, Eliza once more humiliates the Orient and Orientals. The bazaar is described as ‘large cattle pen’ by ‘a cold putrid stench of dung or decay’, and ‘Everythings so horribly dirty’. Eliza becomes insecure and asked herself why Flory has brought her to ‘watch their filthy, disgusting habits’ (Ibid). The barbarity of the bazar and absolute savages was stifling her. The natives were ‘damnably dressed’. All the children are naked and one was ‘crawling like a large yellow frog’. The Chinese women practice deforming their insteps, a sign of being ‘behind the times’, an anachronism. She is too arrogant to say thank you to girls fanned them and poured out tea. It is a ‘sort of infra dig’ to sit in their houses. At length Eliza cannot tolerate the ‘absolutely disgusting people’ and ‘beastly Oriental things’ and went out. Flory tries to calm her down that one should not expect all the people behave at the same manner, suppose, for instance, you were back in the Middle Ages. Flory, the protagonist of the novel, at the first look, is against British Empire and he hates the devotion to Pukka Sahib code. He is ashamed of themselves and wonders how they oppose to Veraswami’s admission in the club only for his black skin. This seemingly animosity toward British Empire is revealed during a long conversation with Dr. Veraswami that he admits that we are here to â€Å"rub our dirt on them, and â€Å"wreck the whole Burmese national culture†. He goes further and prefers Thibaw, the last king of Burma to his white fellows. He believes that we do not have any â€Å"purpose except to steal†. What bothers Flory more than anything else is a lie,‘slimy white man’s burden humbug’, the pukka sahib pose. Flory knows that this lie corrupts not only the natives, but also the Whites themselves. The colonizers ‘build prison and call it progress’.

The Adventures of Huckleberry essays

The Adventures of Huckleberry essays The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn picks up where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer leaves off. Tom and Huck discovered 12 thousand dollars and Judge Thatcher invested the money for them. Huck is a young boy who loves to spend time in the outdoors. Unfortunately Hucks father has abandoned him so he lives with the Widow Douglas. The Widow Douglas and her sister Mrs. Watson try to teach Huck right from wrong. Tom and Huck decide to start a gang and get some buddies to join them. They soon get bored of make believe battles so the group breaks apart. Hucks father returns and tries to take Hucks money from him. He threatens Huck and tells him not to go to school anymore. The Widow Douglas tries to get full custody of Huck, but the new judge in town will not let her. Not long after Pa gets Huck away from Widow Douglas and goes to a log cabin. Pa starts to beat Huck so he wants to get away. He kills a pig and spreads the blood everywhere so Pa would think it was him. Huck finds a canoe and floats down the river to Jackson Island. Huck sets a camp site up and stays there for a while. After a while he runs into a campfire and wants to find out who else is on the island. He is a little frightened, but he still wants to know who is on the island with him. The next day he finds out that it is Mrs. Watsons slave, Jim. Jim was scared because he thought Huck was dead. He got over it though because he liked having a friend with him now. Jim and Huck have become good buddies on this island all alone. The river starts to rise and they see a whole house float by. They decide to hop on it to see what they can find. They never thought they were going to find a dead man in the corner, but they did. Jim goes over to look at the body and realizes that it is Pa. He doesnt want to tell Huck. After this Huck returns to town dressed like a girl so no one will know that he is still alive. He wants to ...

Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) - Essay Example Consequently, the Greek system prepared individuals to serve the state while the Hebrew system prepared individuals to serve God. There is little question that religion played an important part in the social lives of both civilizations but dogmatic religious practices are more readily associated with the Hebrew tradition. In similar fashion, the political realities of the day reflected the intrusion of religion into the affairs of the state. The Hebrews believed that God would hold everyone accountable one day so the ruler was expected to be accountable to God alone. In contrast, the Greek system of personal accountability relied on philosophy and on the discretion of fellow men. Hence, the Greek ruler was accountable to his fellow men more than his accountability to any gods. This increased accountability paved for the world’s first democracy in Athens (Blainey). The achievements of various Athenians such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle among others laid the foundation for the modern Western civilization. The move to democracy strengthened the Greek quest for knowledge. Furthermore, the Greeks had managed to disassociate divinity with exploration of things around them. Even after Athens was subsumed into the larger Greek civilization, the traditions of learning and development continued unabated. The epistemological drive of the Greeks led to developments in science, architecture, law, philosophy, commerce and numerous other fields. A rich scientific tradition can be traced back to the Greeks with names such as Archimedes, Hero of Alexandria, Galen and others appearing in scientific discussions to this day (Thornton). In contrast, the Hebrew tradition kept God intact with learning limitations. God was seen as the center of the universe in the literal sense and ideas upheld by the scripture were unquestionable. The strength of the Hebrew tradition of

Leadership Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership analysis - Case Study Example He links the employees with the employer, advocating for regulated working hours. Though he is close, WHP included mandatory checkups which might have sounded as unkind to the workforce. However, Teow covered the ruthlessness of this activity by including members from each department in the program’s management team. Teow expressed a positive character that portrayed high levels of compatibility with the workforce he was outgoing and very social. Teow led by example and maintained smallest distance possible between him and his employees. Notably, Teow comments that his goal of achieving a happy and engaging team that incorporated all department was achieved, portraying the desire to listen to every individual regardless of his job position. Teow sought stimulation of employees via improved health and openness to the best interst of the company. Teows success was based on his friendly and agreeability trait. WHP program, was n manged by several people including the Company’s Recreation committee. Teow respected opinions of these members and acted according to collective judgement. Evidently, Teow promoted payout bonus previously set by the management though he incorporated changes its implementation to include physical health. Moreover, Teow stands by his actions and embraces little sensitivity to emotions. The WHP program faced opposition in its initial stages. Despite having low employee participation, Teow never gave up or even implemented a forceful action, but emphasized on convincing by stating its importance. Additionally though Teow seems anxious about the results, he controls his anxiety and slowly sets small achievable goals. WHP made Teow appear as a dependable leader. The program’s success was accompanied by productivity improvement as well as achievement of company goals as it was anticipated in the beginning. Teow is a conscientious leader embracing on planned changes.

Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale Research

Spiritual Coping Strategies (SCS) Scale Research Background of the Study The study of religion and spirituality has been gaining much attention to researchers nowadays. Research studies on these two areas and their relationship to health are expanding rapidly. (Koenig Bà ¼ssing, 2010) The relationship of religion and health has been existing in all groups of population even in the past. (Koenig, King, Carson, 2012 as cited by Koenig, 2012) Koenig (2012) comprehensive systematic review of existing research about the relationship of religion and spirituality to health revealed positive influence of religion and spirituality to patients health and longevity, specifically to psychological, social and health behavior. Religion offers resources for coping with stress and increases the positive emotions rather than the likelihood of the negative effects of stress. On the part of the healthcare providers, religious beliefs found to be influential in making medical decisions. Furthermore, it may generate beliefs that conflict with medical care, induce spiritual struggles that create stress and impair health outcomes and it may interfere with disease detection and treatment compliance (Koenig, 2004). While Christian dominated countries in the west have been serious in this area, there is a much lesser studies that has been done in the Muslim – dominated Middle East countries that examines the relationship of these variables to health. (Koenig Alshohaib, 2014) This holds true in Saudi Arabia where Islam was born and is considered as one of the most religious place in the world. Little is known about religiosity and spirituality and their relationship to health as perceived by Saudi Muslims. (Al Zaben, et al., 2014) For the last three decades, there has been a marked rise in the prevalence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in Saudi Arabia. (Al-Sayyari Shaheen, 2011) Alsuwaida et. al (2010) reported in their study that the prevalence of ESRD in the young Saudi population is around 5.7%. Furthermore, a systematic review conducted by Hassanien, et. al (2012) reported yearly mortality rate in three different regions in Saudi Arabia. The data showed that between 2001 and 2003, there were no significant changes in the mortality rates of these regions. However, at present, the annual cases of ESRD in the country continue to grow. It was anticipated that the Saudi population will rise up to 3.5 folds over the next 20 years. Probably this will also cause a rise in new cases. In 2008, 2976 new patients were added to the hemodialysis program pool. This represents 29.2 % of the total 10,203 patient. (Al-Sayyari Shaheen, 2011) Patients undergoing dialysis experience serious challenges to their physical and mental health. These challenges are brought by stresses, fears, family problems, and physical discomforts. (Al Zaben, et al., 2014) In addition, the complexity of their treatment regimen as well as the unknown complications which are associated with such disease contributes to the suffering of these patients. (Lingerfelt Thornton, 2011; Barnett, Yoong, Pinikahana, Si-Yen, 2007). These patients also perceive uncertainty of life on dialysis because of the struggles and hard times that they experience in life as related to their mode of treatment. (Polascheck, 2003) Likewise, psychiatric disorders such as major depression, dementia and delirium are relatively high in these patients. Furthermore, coping problems are very common to these patients which if not addressed can lead to more serious problems such as higher mortality. (Kimmel et al. 1998; Drayer et al. 2006; Chilcot et al. 2011; Mapes et al. 2003; Al Zaben, 2014) The involvement of religion and other spiritual activities are widely used by patients to cope with physical and mental challenges that they face throughout the course of their disease. (Saad de Medeiros, 2012; Wachholtz Sambamoorthi, 2011; Amjad Bokharey, 2014) Patients from Saudi Arabia have shown similar use of these variables as ways of coping. Interventions with religious background are widely used which indicates the strong influence of religion to their lives most especially when they are in life-threatening situations such as in chronic illnesses. (Jazieh et al. 2012) Religious and spiritual coping are widely studied in relation with hemodialysis patients both in Christian and non – Christian patients. (Valcanti, Chaves, Mesquita, Nogueira Carvalho, 2012; Saffari, Pakpour, Naderi, Koenig, Baldacchino Piper, 2013; Spinale et al. 2008; Asayesh, Zamanian, Mirgheisari, 2013; Patel, Shah, Peterson Kimmel, 2002; Berman et al. 2004) Studies have reported that spiritual coping affects the over-all health of patients with ESRD. It also assists in the patients’ adaptation as well as in their health – related quality of life. (Patel, Shah, Peterson Kimmel, 2002; Valcanti, Chaves, Mesquita, Nogueira Carvalho, 2012; Ramirez et al. 2012) Thus, religiosity is potentially influential to the overall health of dialysis patients, including their commitment and compliance to dialysis treatment. (Pruchno, Lemay, Field Levinsky, 2006) In Saudi Arabia, researchers are beginning to focus on this area in Hemodialysis patients. Al-Jahdali et al. (2009) surveyed 100 HD patients at King Fahd National Guard Hospital in Riyadh and King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah about predictors of advanced care planning preferences. They reported that majority (70%) of the patients scored high in a single question religiosity scale. However, they found out that religiosity is not identified as a predictor of advanced care planning preferences. A more recent study was conducted by Al Zaben et al. (2014) to examine the relationships between religious involvement and the mental and physical health of HD patients in Jeddah region. They have found out that involvement in religious activities is associated with better overall psychological functioning, better social support, improved physical and mental functioning, better health behavior and better commitment to dialysis treatment. Because of the increasing interest of researchers in Saudi Arabia in this area, it is essential to have an instrument that can accurately measure the spiritual coping of patients. Majority of the available instruments in this area were structured for Christian patients. (Baldacchino Buhagiar, 2003; Koenig Bà ¼ssing, 2010; Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011; Charzynska, 2012) To my knowledge, there is no available valid instrument that measures the spiritual coping strategies of Saudi Muslim HD patients. It is for this reason that this study was conducted. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale (SCS) among Saudi HD patients. Methodology Design This is a cross-sectional study that evaluated the validity and reliability of the Saudi Muslim version of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale (SCS) among hemodialysis patients. Participants The participants of the study included _______ patients enrolled and undergoing hemodialysis in the HD unit of a general hospital located in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling technique was employed for sample identification. The study participants’ number was adequate for a factorial analysis. Inclusion criteria were: (1) being a Saudi, (2) self-identified Muslim, (3) being HD patient with CRF or ESRD, (4) enrolled in the HD unit of the general hospital, (5) 20 years old and above, (6) male and female, and (7) conscious, coherent and oriented. Measures Demographic Characteristics Patient’s information in the patient’s chart was examined to collect the data for their demographic characteristics. These included: (1) age, (2) gender, (3) religion, (4) civil status, (5) employment, and (6) duration of undergoing HD. Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale The Spiritual Coping Strategy Scale (SCS), developed by Baldacchino and Buhagiar (2003), is a self – administered questionnaire that determines the spiritual coping of the respondents. It has a Judeo-Christian orientation and was based on the nursing, psychological, sociological, philosophical and theological literature. The SCS scale was developed in English and then translated into the Maltese language. It is a scale that measures both religious and spiritual (nonreligious) coping strategy which constituted its two subscales. It measured the respondents’ attitude towards religion and belief in God. The SCS is a 20-item, 4 – point response scale from â€Å"never used† or 0 to â€Å"often used† or 3. The responses indicated how often they use the various coping strategies presented. The Religious Coping subscale was comprised of 9 items which were meant to assess the respondents’ attitude towards their religious practices and their relationsh ip to God. On the other hand, the Spiritual Coping subscale has 11 items which relates to coping strategies that involve relationship to self, others and nature. The scores of all items is ranging from 0 to 60. A higher subscale and total scale score indicated more frequent use of the religious or spiritual coping strategies. The internal consistency reliability of the religious and spiritual coping factors was 0.82 and 0.74, respectively. A test – retest reliability of r=0.47 and r=0.81 for the subscales and total scale, respectively, was also reported. (Baldacchino Buhagiar, 2003) The SCS was earlier translated to Italian (Burrai, Scalorbi, Sebastiani, Cenerelli Cocchi, 2009), Spanish (Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011) and Farsi (Saffari, Koenig, Ghanizadeh, Pakpour Baldacchino, 2014) languages. Validity and reliability of these versions were established accordingly. Muslim Religiosity Scale This is a 13 – items scale that measures the religiosity of Muslim population. It has two subscales. The first subscale is a 10 – item religious practices scale while the second subscale is a 3 – items intrinsic religious beliefs scale. Validity and reliability of the scale was earlier established with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.68, 0.64 and 0.93 for the full scale, religious practices scale and intrinsic beliefs scale, respectively. (Koenig, Al Zaben, Khalifa Al Shohaib, 2014; Al Zaben et al. 2014) The Arabic version of the scale was utilized in this study. Quality of Life Index Dialysis Version III The Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III measures the HRQoL of the HD patients. This scale has four subscales which includes health and functioning subscale, social and economic subscale, psychological/spiritual subscale, and family subscale. The QLI has two parts. The first part measures the satisfaction of the respondents and the second part measures the importance of the various aspects of life. The ratings in the second part are used to weight the satisfaction responses. Items that are rated with higher importance have a greater effect on scores than those of lesser importance. Overall quality of life as well as scores in the four domains is calculated. A score of 19 and lower means poorer quality of life. Validity and reliability of the QLI Dialysis Version was reported somewhere else with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93. Likewise, the four subscales exhibited acceptable validity and reliability. Content validity was good as it was based from ext ensive literature reviews on HRQoL and with patients’ report. (Ferrans, 1996; Ferrans Powers, 1985; Ferrans Powers, 1992) The Arabic version of the Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III was used in this study. Translation and Cross Cultural Adaptation of the SCS The translation and cross – cultural adaptation of the SCS followed the cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures guidelines for translation. (Beaton, Bombardier, Guillemin Ferraz, 2000) The guideline suggests five stages: (1) translation, (2) synthesis, (3) back translation, (4) expert committee review, and (5) pretesting. In this study, the cultural and religious context of Saudi Arabic language was considered in the translation process. The first step of the adaptation is the forward translation. Two independent forward translations were made from English to Arabic by two bilingual Saudi nationals. One of them is a nurse educator who specializes in mental health nursing. The other Saudi is a lecturer with specialization in English language. After the translations have been done, the two translators together with an observer met to synthesize the result of the translation. A consensus from the two translators signified the completion of the Saudi Arabic version of the SCS. The Arabic version was then presented to two non-medically inclined translators who translated it back to English. These two translators were unaware of the concept as well as the purpose of the scale. The Arabic version was then presented to a panel which comprised of a: (1) Muslim religious leader; (2) Islam scholar, (3) nurse clinician, (4) nurse researcher, and (5) translator. The committee decided for the cultural and religious equivalence of each items in the scale. After reaching a consensus, the pre-final Arabic version of the SCS was formed. The pre-final Arabic version was then subjected for pilot testing for validity and reliability. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Add modifications done here) Data Collection Data gathering was performed from May to June 2015. The SCS Arabic version, the Muslim Religiosity Scale Arabic version and the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Dialysis (QLI) Version-III Arabic version was distributed to the respondents by the researchers with the assistance of the nurses on duty. The nurses where properly informed about the purpose and procedure of the study. The respondents were given 20 to 25 minutes to respond to the scales. Three weeks after the initial data collection, the same questionnaires were redistributed to a subsample of 25 respondents. (Hawthorne, Youngblut Brooten, 2011) Ethical Consideration Ethical approval was granted by the Ethical Review Board of Shaqra University. Permission to conduct the study was sought from the administration of the general hospital. Modification and translation of the original version of the SCS to Arabic language was permitted by the original authors. The respondents were asked prior to participation to sign the informed consent signifying their understanding of their voluntary participation to the study. No incentives were offered to the respondents for their participation. Statistical Analysis All statistical analyses were done using the SPSS version 21.0. Internal consistency reliability of the Arabic version was assessed with coefficient alpha and item–total correlation (ITC). An alpha higher than 0.70 was considered acceptable internal consistency reliability while an ITC between 0.30 and 0.50 is considered moderate and ITC higher than 0.50 means good. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess the factor structure of the SCS Arabic version. Kaiser – Meyer – Olkin (KMO) index was computed to check for sampling adequacy. KMO value equal to or higher than 0.6 indicate sampling adequacy. Further, to determine whether the correlations among variables were appropriate for the factor model, the Barlett’s test of sphericity was used. A Barlett’s test of sphericity with p The stability reliability for the test–retest subsample of the translated scale was assessed with Pearson product moment correlations. Convergent validity was established by examining the association between spiritual coping and religiosity. Divergent validity was established by the relationship between spiritual coping and health-related quality of life. Both were tested using Pearson product moment correlations. Differences between demographic profiles on the spiritual coping strategies using the SCS Arabic version were also examined using t-test and One-way ANOVA. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.