A History of the Arab Peoples Albert Hourani Essay Example for Free

A History of the Arab Peoples Albert Hourani Essay Albert Hourani’s book â€Å"A History of the Arab people highlights the Arab history in general since the early beginning of Islam –and even before that-, till the modern ages in the nineteenth century. The book is great for westerners interested in the Arabs and for Arabs, who are not familiar with their history. The book is a good add to any interested reader. Back ground information Lebanese-American historian Albert Tourane represent this book as an addition to his previous works discussing Arab’s history and Arabian affairs such as, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1789-1939,which was first published in 1962. It would be a mistake to deal with this book as a pure history book. It’s not depending only on dates and chronological extent of the Arabic people and civilization and this is a good point to build our review on it. Summary Hourani’s book begins with the story of Ibn-Khaldon, the great Arab socialist. The following chapter talks about the appearance of Islam and Muhammad and then his successors and the formation of the Islamic empire 3 . Next, the book talks about the Islamic society and its Koranic accounts 4 with the great revolution in translating science and Greek philosophy with the appearance of Sufism 5 . Islamic expansion and the description of minorities like Jews and Christians 6 followed. Life in countryside 7 and cities 8 and the rulers of the societies 9 were mentioned in later pages. † way of Islam† 1o and â€Å"The culture of the Ulema† 11 are two chapters talking about the faith in Islam with sense of community and low determination. The book also shows how culture was well represented 12 and how the following Ottoman empire 13 sustained the Arab world, with a brief description of Ottoman societies 14 . Chapter fifteen starts talking about the eighteenth century 15 and the European powers in the Arabic areas 16 like French intervention in Algeria. Opening of Suez Canal and Zionism arose with Jews settled in Palestine 16 and how the culture of Imperialism 17 started to have a loud voice in the area. Word War One 18 and its influence discussed in Chapter nineteen 19 with the modern life in Arabic societies 20 . Book show how the emergence of Israel started and the independent movements were held from French British and The tragedy of the triple attack on Egypt on 195621. Chapter twenty two 22 show a rapid change in Arabic societies and the Arabic culture extended 23 with the climax of Arabism started from 1950s 23 . Final chapters of the book discussed the difference between Arabs, the sudden death of Nasser and the 1973 war between Egypt and Israel 24. final chapter states some major problems in the area, including Kurds struggle for independence, Sudan problem and women issues. Number of twenty pages of maps followed, which make a great way to represent the places that was mentioned in the book. Evaluation of the book This book is well represented with all the illustration and maps introduced. The Index is well-written and helpful in finding any information directly. As mentioned before, the book couldn’t be categorized as a history book; its better described as Social-history book and starting with the life of Ibn-Khaldun is such evidence. It represents a vast look on the Arabic societies through history, describing the life style, science, different religion and civilization. Many chapters described the same period of time but dealing with different subjects, like chapters twenty 25 two and twenty three 26 in the (1950s and 1960s). From the other point of view, this book skims some important details such as, the detailed pre-Islamic era, the great empires of Umayyad and Abbasid which was represented with partly amount of pages that doesn’t exceed seven pages in some cases. Also the detailed life of Prophet Muhammad, which has a great impact on the Arabic societies. Also Crusaders wars weren’t well mentioned, although it has a very huge impact on Arabs in its time. Conclusion Dealing with the history of Arabs is such a great effort and a hard game to play. This book tried to do the most of the job with a different way, which is representing history from the social point of view. I would recommend this book if one already has a minimum knowledge and understanding of Arab history . Otherwise I recommend alternatives such as, History of the Arabs from the earliest times to the present, of Philip Hitti. It would be useful for a good specialized historical reading.

The use of a counselling approach

The use of a counselling approach This essay will critically assess the use of a counselling approach which might be appropriate for supporting an identified client through the process of change or coping with stress and Illness. This will be achieved through considering the counselling skills and counselling approaches and also considering how the practitioner will use the chosen approaches to support the client. The essay will also be looking at how the approach will be used with other aspects of intervention relevant for the service users.   The chosen client is a young child, who is of the age of 6 who is currently in primary school. The special needs co-ordinator who is working alongside the client feels that the child in question is withdrawn from the rest of the class and this could possibly be due to a speech and language difficulties that the child may be suffering from. The special co-ordinator will be using art as a form of  counselling the child, alongside using the transactional analysis approach (TA) which inter-links with the psychodynamic approach.    The special needs co-ordinator was particularly used for this child over the other professionals such as a teacher assistant because the special needs co-ordinator is able to give the child regular periods of individual help, by raising the childs self-esteem this is through classroom activities such as creative arts (Szwed, 2007). For example story telling would be used by the child through puppets whereby the child would use the puppets to act out a story, this would allow the special need co-ordinator to identify how the child may be feeling through their thought process through their imagination (Wright, 1995).   It is important to understand that as children are seen to be vulnerable, that the right professional is chosen for them, as the special needs co-ordinator will be working with the child on a daily basis, the child will feel secure and is able to express how they are feeling, this will not only help the child but also the professional to, as the professional is able to gain information from the child, but also the child will feel secure (as they will feel conformable to talk to the professional) and able to recover quickly from their illness (The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2011). Certain skills and training is required by the specials needs co-ordinator in order to support the child. For example as the special need co-ordinator is using art for counselling the child, the professional needs training on how they can interpret the art that the child has made. This is   important because if for example the child draws a firework, that could either represent the child being happy or the child being sad as they are frighten from it, however these skills by the professional only comes when training and support is provide to them (Hegarty, 1993) However, there are many problem that a child may be faced with when dealing with a special need co-ordinator. It is important that the special needs co-ordinator support both the child and the family this is because the family may feel neglected into the stages of the child development so it is important that the professional at all times informs the parent of what happening with the child (Lindsay and Dockrell, 2000)   It is essential that the professional make sure that the child needs and want are paramount this is important because the professional needs to make sure that certain barrier are not crossed and know what the limits are. For example the child may feel enhinder by the special needs co-ordinator because he/she is sitting to close to the child and the child may feel that he/she is not getting treated the same, this could be a result of peer pressure through being teased by the other children (Croll and Moss, 2000)   There are many different approaches that can by used when supporting a client who is going through the counselling process, some of which include the psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioural approach. However for the purpose of this essay, it will be focusing on the psychodynamic approach, which focus on the border picture of the therapeutic approaches (This session was introduced in the counselling module in Week 8 on 24/11/10) (The Counsellors Guide, 2011). For example the psychodynamic approach would by used on a child to try to get them to bring their feeling to the surface, so that the child is understood and can experience their feelings (Hood, 2008) The Psychodynamic approach looks at the principle of that everyone has an unconscious mind. It believes that everyone who has a feeling which is held by the unconscious   part of the mind find it painful to face their feeling. An example of this within children are that children can become very in-denial of their illness or condition. The development of psychodynamic therapy was introduced by a man called Sigmund Freud (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2005) This approach identified that the humans personality can be divided into three components of the Id, Super-Ego and Ego, through the three domains of the mental activity of the unconscious, pre-conscious and conscious (Segrist, 2009). For example the special needs co-ordinator will chose a specific art activity as a way of looking at how the development in the childhood process has had an impact on the child today (Kaplan, 2007)   The transactional analysis approach is an approach that incorporates both the theory of psychotherapy and psychology, however the transactional analysis is based on a integrative model whereby it uses an element of cognitive and psychoanalytic approach but it mainly focuses on the psychoanalytic approach. The transactional analysis approach was developed by a psychiatrist Eric Berne in the late 1950s (Hargaden and Sills, 2002).    According to Berne everyone has three behavioural characterises, which are the adult, parent and child, these are referred to as ego states. The child ego states looks at the way in which the child thinks, feels and behaves from the first few years of their life. For example, for a child it will be looking at how the child has survive through life to reach the stage that they are now (Stewart, 2007) Whereas the adult ego looks at the thinking, feeling and behaviour in the way which is appropriate with what is actually here and now. For example how a persons bereavement process is after losing a love one, through the feeling, thinking and behaviour (Pitman, 1982) However the parent ego looks at how you can copy and borrow from parent and other grown-ups through a variety of social influences such as the media. An example of this would be when a child behaviour changes through a influence of a adult peer due to peer pressure or role models (Midgley, 1999)   For example this approach in relation to the child is saying that the child always has an adult inside them and can experience different characteristics, for example they can show empathy by acting like the adult (Killick and Schaverien, 1997).    Transactional analysis is used on children so that they are able to understand their own emotions and how this affects the childs behaviour. For example the transactional analysis approach would be used on a chid who may have a speech and language difficulty by using drawing to express how the child maybe feeling. For example, when the child has drawn the picture if he/she is feeling anything different and if he/she does feel different, what is it, that is making the child feel the way that they are. If they drawing made the child feel happy what is it that made them feel that way, it could possibility be the use of the creativity used in art through the colourful drawing, then you would look at the past and ask the child how they were feeling then (Teacher.Tv, 2006).    Art is used by the transactional analysis approach for children as it provides an aid which enable the child to communicate in an creative way. This is because as the chosen child is withdrawn from the class due to a speech and language difficulty, the child is less likely to open up and express how they are feeling. Art provides a good bases for the professional to understand the child and change the way in which the child is thinking (Clarkson, 1992). An integrated art therapy exercises was used in the counselling module on the 26/01/11 through creativity by making an object out of art material to identify the process of university life in the last year. From this activity it identified that arts can bring out what the person is feeling and the way in which they can express their feeling and through through the use of art. The approaches to counselling can overlap each other for example transactional analysis and cognitive behavioural therapy according to Hann (2011) stated that both of   these approaches use a collaborative methods, this means that the child and the professional work on equal grounds. However these both do have some limitations, for example although both of the approaches look at the childs past experiences the transactional analysis approach focuss more on the childhood rather than focusing on the here and now whereas the cognitive behavioural approach look at both however it mainly focuss on the behaviour of the child and how that can change the childs thoughts and feeling (Taylor and Francis, 1977).      The transactional analysis approach itself both has it strengths and limitations. For example the strength of the approach is that it look at the childs childhood experience this is a positive as you are able to identify the root cause of the problem however this also can be seen as a disadvantage as you are not considering other factors that may have contributed to the illness such as lifestyle factors. In relation to the ego states the egos may overlap this could be seen both as a positive and a negative, it can be seen as a positive as the communication can be lost when the egos overlap this can be seen as be a negative as the child may loose trust, however it can bee seen to be positive as it considering the overlapping factor of all the egos because the child cant just have one egos sometime a child may overlap through different stages of counselling.    Overall it can be concluded that   Reference à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clarkson, P (1992) Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy (An integrated approach). London: Routledge   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Croll, P and Moses, D (2000) Special Needs in Primary School.   London: Cassell à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hargaden, H and Sills, C (2002) Transactional Analysis (A Relational Perspective). Sussex: Routledge   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hann, C (2011) About Counselling/Psychotherapy [WWW]   Counselling/Psychotherapy. Available from: http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentHYPERLINK http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentpart=2HYPERLINK http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentpart=2part=2 [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hegarty, S (1993) Meeting special needs in ordinary school, 2nd ed. London: Cassell Education Limited à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Kaplan, F.F (2007) Art Therapy and Social Action. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Killick, K and Schaverien, J (1997) Art, Psychotherapy and Psychosis. London: Routledge à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lindsay, G and Dockrell, J (2000) The behaviour and self-esteem of children with specific speech and language difficulties. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70 (4), pp. 583-601 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Midgley, D (1999) New Direction in Transactional Analysis Counselling. London: Free Association Book Ltd à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pitman, E (1982) Transactional Analysis: An Introduction to its Theory and Practice . Journals of Social Work, 12, pp. 47-63 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Segrist, D (2009) Whats going in your professors head? Demonstrating the Id, Ego and Superego. Teaching of Psychology, 36 (1), pp. 51-54 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Shaver, P and Mikulincer, M (2005) Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the psychodynamic approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 39 (1), pp. 22-45 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Stewart, I (2007) Transactional Analysis Counselling in Action, 3rd ed. London: Sage Publication Ltd à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Szwed, C (2007) Reconsidering the role of the primary special educational needs co-ordinator: policy, practice and further priorities. British Journal of Special Education, 34 (2), pp. 96-104 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Taylor and Francis (1977) Free Paper. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 6 (4), pp. 25 146   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Teacher.Tv (2006) Transactional Analysis [WWW] Teacher.Tv. Available from: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/transactional-analysis [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2011) What is therapy? [WWW] The   British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Available from: http://www.bacp.co.uk [Accessed 28/02/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Counsellors Guide (2011) Psychodynamic Approaches to   Counselling [WWW] The Counsellors Guide. Available from: http://www.thecounsellorsguide.co.uk/psychodynamic-approaches-counselling.html [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wright, A (1995) Storytelling with children. Oxford: Oxford University Press   

Increasing Animal Adoptions at Shelters Essays -- increase dog adoptio

It was a hard day for me. My dog of almost 7 years had to be put down, and it was the first pet I had ever lost. My dad wasn’t too keen on me getting a new puppy. We started looking at other dogs and my dad found one that he thought we should get. My parents decided to take me on a surprise trip to the animal shelter to get a better look at the dogs that we wanted to adopt. As we entered the dog room, barks started to echo around us and excited dogs jumped up on their kennels to make sure we saw them. As we got to Mack’s cage, I think his puppy face must have melted my dad’s heart because he agreed to adopt him and take him home. Today, years later, I still believe adopting Mack was one of the best decisions I could have made. Through adopting Mack, I was inspired to volunteer at the animal shelter as soon as I was old enough. One day I went up just to look at animals and I realized that there were many dogs that had been in the shelter for a long time. No one was interested in adopting them because they weren’t a popular breed, or they were not the right color. From that day forward, I decided that I was going to find a way for those dogs to be adopted, so they had the chance to be as happy as Mack is, in a home and out of a shelter. By finding a way to positively promote breeds prone to indifference, unwanted color, and through establishing positive behaviors and character, animal shelters will be able to increase canine adoption. One of the most significantly impacting characteristics on adoption success is breed preference. Because some breeds are â€Å"talked up† more than others, for example, beagles compared to pitbulls, people would be more likely to lean towards a beagle if they had to choose between those two breeds for... ...olor and breed are not able to be changed, but by changing the behaviors of a dog, a shelter could increase the dogs appeal no matter the breed and color. Works Cited Woodward, Lucinda, Jennifer Milliken, and Sonya Humy. "Give A Dog A Bad Name And Hang Him: Evaluating Big, Black Dog Syndrome." Society & Animals 20.3 (2012): 236-253. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Siettou, Christina, Iain Fraser, and Rob Fraser. Kent University. 2012. PowerPoint. secure.fera.defra.gov.ukWeb. 14 Mar 2014. . DeLeeuw, Jamie L. Animal Shelter Dogs: Factors Predicting Adoption Versus Euthanasia. (2010): n. page. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. . . N.p.. Web. 14 Mar 2014. .

A Gathering Of Old Men: Importance Of Standing Up For Oneself

â€Å"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today†. This quote by H. G. Wells is seen in the novel A Gathering of Old Men. The novel, taking place in the 1970s, was in a time in which African-Americans still suffered heavy discrimination. After years of taking this abuse, when an incident comes in which a white man lays dead at the hands of a black man, which would eventually call for a lynching, the discriminated unite. They show that despite their tortured past, they still possess their bravery, power, and pride.This dramatic novel by Ernest J. Gaines, A Gathering of Old Men, written in a critical tone employs the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism to express the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself. In the book, a character named Mathu is one who does not falter in up keeping his pride. From the very beginning, he never let anyone insult him because of his African-American heritage. He always stands up for himself, even facing a white man, and never faltered, even when he was sent to jail.Because of this attitude, Mathu was respected even by some white men like Mapes who â€Å"knowed Mathu had never backed down from anybody, either. Maybe that’s why he liked him† (Gaines 84). Mathu was like a strong rock, the attempts of others at making him submit were but pebbles against his overpowering pride and dignity. A character that Mathu attempted to instill some lessons on becoming a man was Charlie. Charlie, despite his mild character was a large man towering at 6feet 7inches and weighing 275 pounds.Beau Boutan, Charlie’s boss and some others often ridiculed him with names like â€Å"Big Charlie† and â€Å"nigger boy† because of his mild character (Gaines 187). Charlie however, after observing Mathu’s strong pride and refusal to let anyone step over that pride, eventually gained some courage to stand up for himself. After he killed Beau and ran away, he came back and was ready to atone for his deed. Gaines used this event in the novel to show that even though people might be insulted and beat down, they can still gain enough courage to stand up for themselves.When Charlie did stand up for himself, and became, in his eyes, a man, that eventually led to his death. Gaines’s killing off of Charlie after he started standing up for himself was alluding to the idea that when people make a stand, they must be careful not to overdo it, like Charlie did, or there might be unfavorable results. Another character of interest is Candy. Candy is the owner of the place in which all the men gather, and the organizer of the gathering. At first, Candy seems to be genuinely worried about the people in Marshall, saying â€Å"’No I won’t let them harm my people’†¦ ‘I will protect my people.’† (Gaines 19).However, as the story progresses Gaines shows that Candy’s motives may not have been as good-natured as firs tly suggested. It’s eventually revealed she does not care much for the other men gathered in Mathu’s yard, but only for Mathu himself. While she showed little emotion when the other men were called up to Mapes and hit, she was quick to react when Mathu was called. Gaines also showed Candy’s true nature in the event when Clatoo wanted to talk to the men inside Mathu’s house, without Candy.At this point, Candy threatened to have all the men who followed Clatoo kicked out of the Marshall place, their only home. Gaines portrayed Candy in this way to show in this time, the idea of oppressing people still existed in the minds of even those who seemed good-natured. Finally, Gaines creates a complex character out of Mapes. Mapes is a character who experiences a change during the story. When he first arrives at the site of Beau’s death, and the gathering of the old men, he acts with the same mindset of the Cajuns in that time.His first response to the scene is violence. He attempts to gain information from the old men by hitting them. Eventually, when he realizes violence will produce no results, he lets them tell their stories. The prominent change in Mapes is shown at the time Luke Will and his crew arrive with the intent of hanging Beau’s killer. Mapes attempts to protect Charlie and the rest of the men, saying â€Å"’Go home, Luke Will’† after Luke Will demanded he hands Charlie over to him (Gaines 195).When Luke Will ignored Mapes and started a shoot out between his crew and the old men, Mapes resigned control of the situation to the old men and Charlie. Gaines used this to show that the mindset of people can change for the better. In the instance that Mapes trusted the old men and Charlie with the situation, he recognized them not as people of a lesser racer, but respectable and trustable men, showing that old men’s attempt at standing for themselves was able to change a man.Gaines also employs the use of flashbacks in the novel. The main role the flashbacks play is to show the hardships and discrimination the African-Americans faced in that time. When Uncle Billy, one of the old men who gathered to finally stand up for himself after many years, was asked by Mapes the sheriff his reason for killing Beau, as all the old men claimed to have killed Beau, he recalled an event that happened years before. â€Å"’What they did to my boy’†¦ ‘The way they beat him.They beat him till they beat him crazy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Gaines 80). Gaines introduced this flashback to show the brutality suffered by the blacks at that time, and that it spared no one, not even a child. Another flashback was by Johnny Paul, who remembered back to a time when they had all lived as a community, till Beau and his tractor came to plow it all up. Johnny Paul was referring to this time when he confused Mapes by saying â€Å"’But you still don’t see. Yes, sir, wh at you see is the weeds, but you don’t see what we don’t see. ’† (Gaines 89).Johnny Paul was talking about how the weeds and rotting houses had replaced what was once a place of happiness, and brotherhood among the black families living there. Gaines uses this flashback to show what was taken from the African-Americans in the novel, to better explain their need to stand up for themselves. Tucker, one of the old men, goes into a flashback of his own. He remembers a time his brother and two mules, beat a white man and a tractor. The white man and his friends however said Tucker’s brother had cheated, and beat him with canes.Gaines adds this flashback to portray the obvious distinction between whites and blacks in that time. African-Americans were thought to be less of people than the Cajuns, so for this lesser person, Tucker’s brother Silas, to beat the supposedly superior white man was unthinkable. Like Tucker said, â€Å"’†¦and b ecause he didn’t lose like a nigger is supposed to lose, they beat him’† (Gaines 97). In that situation a scared Tucker didn’t stand up for his brother, and they beat him to his death.Gaines uses this flashback to show the results of the old men being walked over by the Cajuns, and doing nothing about it. Gable also reminisces about his unfortunate past. He remembers the Cajuns sentencing his sixteen year old son to the electric chair, â€Å"on the word of a poor white trash† (Gaines 101). He remembers the indifference the Cajuns displayed in killing his son, watching his death, and leaving as though it was a â€Å"card game† (102). Through this flashback, Gaines shows again how the cruelty of the Cajuns didn’t spare any ages.He also shows how little the word of a black man counted over that of a white man or woman. When his son was being sent to electric chair, Gable couldn’t do anything but beg the Cajuns. Gaines then ties thi s back to the importance of the men standing up to their tormentors, hinting such events could possibly have been avoided if they had stood up to their oppressors. Finally, Gaines utilizes symbolism in his novel to express the theme. Throughout the novel, a constant symbol that repeatedly came up was the tractor.The tractor was what Beau Boutan was riding when he came after Charlie. The tractor was also what drove many of the African-Americans on the plantation out of work and away from their homes. Finally, the tractor was what the Cajun, Felix Boutan, rode when he was beat by Tucker’s brother, Silas, which led to Silas being beat to death. The tractor symbolizes one of the main tortures of the African-American community in Marshall. It drove them out of work, drove them out of their homes, and eventually led to their death, in the case of Charlie and Silas.Gaines added the tractor and all it symbolized to be another motivator to the old men to make a stand. Another symbol w as the shotguns that the old men had. The shotguns’ empty shells in the beginning symbolized the weakness and ineffectiveness the old men had at the start of the story. In letting themselves to be walked over, and offering no resistance, they were as useless as the shotguns with empty shells they held in their hands. However, as the story progressed, when it came time to fight, the men had fully loaded shells and were ready for war.This symbolizes the change they went through. From being old useless men with no impact, they were able to make a difference, and have an impact. By standing up for themselves, they displayed their power and pride, which eventually even affected Luke Will, who â€Å"looked worried, real worried† when he realized their conviction (Gaines 205). Concluding, with the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism, Ernest J. Gaines expressed the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself throughout the book.This theme was expressed through the characters Mathu, who always stood up for himself, Charlie, who learned to, and Candy and Mapes who were characters that were a motivator to the old men standing up for themselves. Gaines used the flashbacks to better portray the importance of the African-Americans in the area standing up for themselves, and he used symbolism to show one of the major torments of the people, and the change the old men went through. By standing up for themselves, the old men not only displayed their power and pride, but also seized hold of their future for themselves and their generations to come. A Gathering of Old Men: Importance of standing up for oneself â€Å"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today†. This quote by H. G. Wells is seen in the novel A Gathering of Old Men. The novel, taking place in the 1970s, was in a time in which African-Americans still suffered heavy discrimination. After years of taking this abuse, when an incident comes in which a white man lays dead at the hands of a black man, which would eventually call for a lynching, the discriminated unite. They show that despite their tortured past, they still possess their bravery, power, and pride.This dramatic novel by Ernest J. Gaines, A Gathering of Old Men, written in a critical tone employs the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism to express the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself. In the book, a character named Mathu is one who does not falter in up keeping his pride. From the very beginning, he never let anyone insult him because of his African-American heritage. He always stands up for himself, even facing a white man, and never faltered, even when he was sent to jail.Because of this attitude, Mathu was respected even by some white men like Mapes who â€Å"knowed Mathu had never backed down from anybody, either. Maybe that’s why he liked him† (Gaines 84). Mathu was like a strong rock, the attempts of others at making him submit were but pebbles against his overpowering pride and dignity. A character that Mathu attempted to instill some lessons on becoming a man was Charlie. Charlie, despite his mild character was a large man towering at 6feet 7inches and weighing 275 pounds.Beau Boutan, Charlie’s boss and some others often ridiculed him with names like â€Å"Big Charlie† and â€Å"nigger boy† because of his mild character (Gaines 187). Charlie however, after observing Mathu’s strong pride and refusal to let anyone step over that pride, eventually gained some courage to stand up for himself. After he killed Beau and ran away, he came back and was ready to atone for his deed. Gaines used this event in the novel to show that even though people might be insulted and beat down, they can still gain enough courage to stand up for themselves.When Charlie did stand up for himself, and became, in his eyes, a man, that eventually led to his death. Gaines’s killing off of Charlie after he started standing up for himself was alluding to the idea that when people make a stand, they must be careful not to overdo it, like Charlie did, or there might be unfavorable results. Another character of interest is Candy. Candy is the owner of the place in which all the men gather, and the organizer of the gathering. At first, Candy seems to be genuinely worried about the people in Marshall, saying â€Å"’No I won’t let them harm my people’†¦ ‘I will protect my people.’† (Gaines 19).However, as the story progresses Gaines shows that Candy’s motives may not have been as good-natured as firs tly suggested. It’s eventually revealed she does not care much for the other men gathered in Mathu’s yard, but only for Mathu himself. While she showed little emotion when the other men were called up to Mapes and hit, she was quick to react when Mathu was called. Gaines also showed Candy’s true nature in the event when Clatoo wanted to talk to the men inside Mathu’s house, without Candy.At this point, Candy threatened to have all the men who followed Clatoo kicked out of the Marshall place, their only home. Gaines portrayed Candy in this way to show in this time, the idea of oppressing people still existed in the minds of even those who seemed good-natured. Finally, Gaines creates a complex character out of Mapes. Mapes is a character who experiences a change during the story. When he first arrives at the site of Beau’s death, and the gathering of the old men, he acts with the same mindset of the Cajuns in that time.His first response to the scene is violence. He attempts to gain information from the old men by hitting them. Eventually, when he realizes violence will produce no results, he lets them tell their stories. The prominent change in Mapes is shown at the time Luke Will and his crew arrive with the intent of hanging Beau’s killer. Mapes attempts to protect Charlie and the rest of the men, saying â€Å"’Go home, Luke Will’† after Luke Will demanded he hands Charlie over to him (Gaines 195).When Luke Will ignored Mapes and started a shoot out between his crew and the old men, Mapes resigned control of the situation to the old men and Charlie. Gaines used this to show that the mindset of people can change for the better. In the instance that Mapes trusted the old men and Charlie with the situation, he recognized them not as people of a lesser racer, but respectable and trustable men, showing that old men’s attempt at standing for themselves was able to change a man.Gaines also employs the use of flashbacks in the novel. The main role the flashbacks play is to show the hardships and discrimination the African-Americans faced in that time. When Uncle Billy, one of the old men who gathered to finally stand up for himself after many years, was asked by Mapes the sheriff his reason for killing Beau, as all the old men claimed to have killed Beau, he recalled an event that happened years before. â€Å"’What they did to my boy’†¦ ‘The way they beat him.They beat him till they beat him crazy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (Gaines 80). Gaines introduced this flashback to show the brutality suffered by the blacks at that time, and that it spared no one, not even a child. Another flashback was by Johnny Paul, who remembered back to a time when they had all lived as a community, till Beau and his tractor came to plow it all up. Johnny Paul was referring to this time when he confused Mapes by saying â€Å"’But you still don’t see. Yes, sir, wh at you see is the weeds, but you don’t see what we don’t see. ’† (Gaines 89).Johnny Paul was talking about how the weeds and rotting houses had replaced what was once a place of happiness, and brotherhood among the black families living there. Gaines uses this flashback to show what was taken from the African-Americans in the novel, to better explain their need to stand up for themselves. Tucker, one of the old men, goes into a flashback of his own. He remembers a time his brother and two mules, beat a white man and a tractor. The white man and his friends however said Tucker’s brother had cheated, and beat him with canes.Gaines adds this flashback to portray the obvious distinction between whites and blacks in that time. African-Americans were thought to be less of people than the Cajuns, so for this lesser person, Tucker’s brother Silas, to beat the supposedly superior white man was unthinkable. Like Tucker said, â€Å"’†¦and b ecause he didn’t lose like a nigger is supposed to lose, they beat him’† (Gaines 97). In that situation a scared Tucker didn’t stand up for his brother, and they beat him to his death.Gaines uses this flashback to show the results of the old men being walked over by the Cajuns, and doing nothing about it. Gable also reminisces about his unfortunate past. He remembers the Cajuns sentencing his sixteen year old son to the electric chair, â€Å"on the word of a poor white trash† (Gaines 101). He remembers the indifference the Cajuns displayed in killing his son, watching his death, and leaving as though it was a â€Å"card game† (102). Through this flashback, Gaines shows again how the cruelty of the Cajuns didn’t spare any ages.He also shows how little the word of a black man counted over that of a white man or woman. When his son was being sent to electric chair, Gable couldn’t do anything but beg the Cajuns. Gaines then ties thi s back to the importance of the men standing up to their tormentors, hinting such events could possibly have been avoided if they had stood up to their oppressors. Finally, Gaines utilizes symbolism in his novel to express the theme. Throughout the novel, a constant symbol that repeatedly came up was the tractor.The tractor was what Beau Boutan was riding when he came after Charlie. The tractor was also what drove many of the African-Americans on the plantation out of work and away from their homes. Finally, the tractor was what the Cajun, Felix Boutan, rode when he was beat by Tucker’s brother, Silas, which led to Silas being beat to death. The tractor symbolizes one of the main tortures of the African-American community in Marshall. It drove them out of work, drove them out of their homes, and eventually led to their death, in the case of Charlie and Silas.Gaines added the tractor and all it symbolized to be another motivator to the old men to make a stand. Another symbol w as the shotguns that the old men had. The shotguns’ empty shells in the beginning symbolized the weakness and ineffectiveness the old men had at the start of the story. In letting themselves to be walked over, and offering no resistance, they were as useless as the shotguns with empty shells they held in their hands. However, as the story progressed, when it came time to fight, the men had fully loaded shells and were ready for war.This symbolizes the change they went through. From being old useless men with no impact, they were able to make a difference, and have an impact. By standing up for themselves, they displayed their power and pride, which eventually even affected Luke Will, who â€Å"looked worried, real worried† when he realized their conviction (Gaines 205). Concluding, with the use of characterization, flashbacks, and symbolism, Ernest J. Gaines expressed the theme that there comes a time one must stand up for him or herself throughout the book.This theme was expressed through the characters Mathu, who always stood up for himself, Charlie, who learned to, and Candy and Mapes who were characters that were a motivator to the old men standing up for themselves. Gaines used the flashbacks to better portray the importance of the African-Americans in the area standing up for themselves, and he used symbolism to show one of the major torments of the people, and the change the old men went through. By standing up for themselves, the old men not only displayed their power and pride, but also seized hold of their future for themselves and their generations to come.

Impact of Marketization on Higher Education in the UK The WritePass Journal

Impact of Marketization on Higher Education in the UK Abstract Impact of Marketization on Higher Education in the UK ). From such perceptions, it is arguably important to note that the theory of marketization explains the fact that through the concept of liberalising an economy all the trade barriers and price controls are significantly removed, which provide space to the various stakeholders to actively engage in ensuring that there is high quality production process. From the perspective of the marketization theory, a number of economies across the globe are calling upon for the deregulation of institutions of higher learning with the aim of making them more competitive within the global market. The 2013 year has been a year of marketization of the higher education system in the UK (Raffe Croxford, 2013). Throughout the 2013, UK developed policies and strategies towards attaining a fully marketised system especially for the higher education sector. Since 2013 UK has developed numerous and possibly effective policies that are aimed at encouraging the expansion of higher education. Expansion of higher education as anticipated by the UK government through development of various policies has the sole objective of increasing participation of all the stakeholders in education (McNeill, 2012). Increased participation of all involved stakeholders in the higher education courtesy of marketization concept results into a more educated workforce, which has actually enabled the UK to experience a growth in its economy. Indeed, marketization of the higher education in UK has offered a perfect ground-breaking insight on how the government policies can be employed towards altering the structures and operations of different institutions for higher learning especially universities and technical colleges (Xue-chao, 2012). The following section provides an empirical review of the previous studies and views of the scholars on the impact of the marketization on higher education with special focus to the UK. Empirical Review Different scholars and researchers have performed evaluation, analysis, and studies on the impact of marketization on higher education in the UK. Brown (2013) conducted a study that aimed at describing the concept of market-based policies with regards to higher education in the UK. In addition, Brown (2013) also aimed at assessing the historical background regarding the current reforms within higher education in UK especially in respect to marketization. The study by Brown (2013) established that there has been an improvement in higher education as seen within the idea of competition, efficiency, responsiveness, as well as innovation courtesy of marketization. From the perspective of the theory of marketization, Brown (2013) argued that marketization has provided the opportunity for different stakeholders other than government to also engage in providing services of education and learning in higher institutions of learning. Therefore, from the study of Brown it is evident that market ization has positive impact on higher education within UK. The other study was performed by Hommel and King (2013) who sought to find out the financial dimension of specific reforms by the government especially in respect to developing an educational sector that is risk-based. From the corporate risk management literature, Hommel and King (2013) found out that business schools, which continues to adopt the risk-based regulations and reforms to meet their objectives and targets with respect to learning process, face a lot of challenges especially in line with managing risks. In this respect, Hommel and King (2013) established the fact that business schools especially within the ranks of universities and other institutions of higher learning should be careful about their financial solvency through effective and efficient maintenance of functioning risks. Hence, on the perspective of the study conducted by Hommel and King (2013), it is evident that in as much as marketization provides some positive impacts there are negative impacts that accrue due to the concept for instance the increase exposure to various financial risks. Natale and Doran (2012) also performed a study on the marketization of education in a bid to identify the ethical dilemma that exists in the same. From the study, it is clear that the marketing of education continues to be epidemic, which calls for the suffusion of both practices and principles of business in the management of higher education. However, Natale and Doran (2012) established in their study that in as much as the higher education is becoming more advanced, efficient, effective, and very competitive, the idea of exposing higher education to marker-based systems has resulted into increased costs of education. As a result, there is a growing ethical concern, that is, even though on one side the higher education sector is becoming more efficient, effective, and competitive, the cost of accessing such higher education has become higher and unattainable since the pricing has been left on market forces. Such views have also been put forward by Tapper (2013), who argue that desp ite positive impacts of marketization on higher education, the market-based systems have exposed the pricing of higher education to market forces, which makes the entire cost expensive. Hence, there is need to identify whether to enhance efficiency at the expense of the cost of providing education. The other study was conducted by Holmwood (2012) with an aim of analysing markets and publics as the new battlegrounds for the sector of higher education across many economies. Holmwood (2012) evaluated the recent policy changes especially started by the British Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. The policy by the coalition government is a preferred paradigm shift with respect to restructuring and remodelling of the higher education sector. The findings from the study showed that there has been radical and neo-liberal approach towards transforming the higher education sector. So far, the policies developed by the government have been very successful in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of higher education. However, Holmwood (2012) stated in the study that the only problem with transforming higher education sector into a market-based system is the fact that monocultural perspectives are likely to result into value of what is lost. Despite th e problem of monoculture as created by the market-based systems, Holmwood (2012) strongly believe that marketization is indeed a good concept; a view that has also been supported by Nickola et al (2012). Consequently, marketization continues to be a good foundation for changing higher education in the UK. Conclusion The above is a literature review explaining the impacts of marketization on higher education with special focus to the UK. The review contains two main sections, namely, the theoretical review and the empirical review. On the basis of the theoretical review, it is evident that the theory of marketization calls for the removal of the public or government dominance in the running and management of institutions of higher learning. What’s more, the theory of marketization explains that through changing the higher education sector to market-based system, the private sector is highly involved, which results into enhanced efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of the higher institutions of learning. On a different perspective, the empirical review provides an analysis and evaluation of the various findings by different researchers and scholars on the impact of marketization on higher education. From the empirical review, it is clear that whereas there are numerous positive im pacts of marketization on higher education, the concept also has negative impacts on the same sector. List of References Brown, R. 2013, Access to Higher Education: The Shift towards Market-Based Policies in the UK, DICE Report, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 23-27. Holmwood, J. 2012, Markets versus Publics: The New Battleground of Higher Education, Harvard International Review, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 12-15. Hommel, U. King, R. 2013, The emergence of risk-based regulation in higher education, The Journal of Management Development, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 537-547. McNeill, T., 2012, ‘‘Don’t affect the share price’’: social media policy in higher education as reputation management. Research in Learning Technology, vol. 20. Natale, S.M. Doran, C. 2012, Marketization of Education: An Ethical Dilemma, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 105, no. 2, pp. 187-196. Nickolai, D. H., Hoffman, S. G., Trautner, M. N., 2012, Can a knowledge sanctuary also be an economic engine? The marketization of higher education as institutional boundary work. Sociology Compass, vol. 6, no. 3; Pp. 205-218. Quinlan, K. M., 2014, Everything for sale? The marketisation of UK higher education. By Roger Brown with Helen Carasso. British Journal of Educational Studies, (ahead-of-print), 1-3. Raffe, D., Croxford, L., 2013, How stable is the stratification of higher education in England and Scotland?. British Journal of Sociology of Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-23. Tapper, T., 2013, Roger Brown and H. Carasso: Everything for sale? The marketisation of UK higher education. Higher Education, vol. 66, no. 5; Pp. 641-643. Xue-chao, Y. H. J. M., 2012, Marketization of Higher Education in the UK: The Perspective of Financing [J]. Tsinghua Journal of Education, vol. 3, no. 015.

Criminal Thinking Patterns Essay Example

Criminal Thinking Patterns Essay Example Criminal Thinking Patterns Paper Criminal Thinking Patterns Paper A) There are many theories which psychologists have found to help explain and understand criminal thinking patterns. The information Processing Approach or the rational choice theory proposes hat criminals think about their actions and do a cost and reward analysis. Van Den Haag suggests that there is no difference between the decision to become a dentist and the decision to commit rape or mugging. An individual weighs up the advantages of that course of action (money for example) and takes away the cost of achieving it (possibly going to jail or, in the case of becoming a dentist, many years of hard study). If the beliefs outweigh the cost regarding an action, the individual will engage in it. Rational choice theories strongly believe that individuals have free will over their decisions. The Cognitive Dysfunction theory suggests that criminals think in different ways. These criminals are said to commit crime because of thinking errors. Yolchelson et al identified categories for these thinking errors. The first is criminal thinking patterns, these are characterised by both fear and a need for power and control. The second is Automatic thinking errors; these include a lack of empathy and trust, failure to accept obligations and a secretive communication style. The last was Crime related thinking errors these include optimistic fantasising about specific criminal acts with no regard for deterrent factors. The atypical Moral Development theory suggests that criminals have lower levels of cognitive development. Kohlberg suggests that there are three stages of development on moral reasoning. The first is Pre-conventional; this is basic thinking and instinct. The second is Conventional, this means that you do accept things but do start to think of the consequences. The last is Post-conventional, this means that you fully understand and accept things but must follow your conscience. Psychologists have also found other factors associated with crime which has been classed as individual differences. Some criminals may have lack of empathy meaning that they do not understand others feelings in situations. Also Impulsivity is recognised as a factor as criminals may act on impulses, rather than thinking through their actions. Another theory based on other factors is the Attributation theory, this is where the criminal describes the crime as a motive for example, they spilled their drink on me deliberately so I hit them, where as the case may be that it was accidental. B) There are many evaluative issues regarding the theories on criminal thinking patterns. The strengths of rational choice theory are that it strongly believes that the individuals have free will and that it is supported by the work of Van Den Haag (1982). The criticism of the theory is that not all criminal decisions are rational this is supported by Crawford et al. Also, the theory does not take into account the mind of the criminal as if the criminal is intoxicated or suffering from a mental disorder they may not be thinking rationally. The theory also presumes that the criminal will have accurate information to do the cost award analysis, for example criminals may not know the true sentence length for a crime. The theory suggests that all criminals do the same cost reward analysis for crimes but more experienced criminals will have a different perception of the cost and rewards than someone less experienced. Although the theory has been supported by Van Den Haag there are many cr iticisms. The strengths of the Cognitive Dysfunction theories is that the theory is supported by Yolchelson and Samehow who found that non criminals were more intelligent than criminals and that criminals chose to do crimes due to thinking errors. Although the study is supported by Yolchelson and Samehow, Wulach (98) suggests that they only describe psychopaths and so their theory cannot be regarded as a general theory of crime. The strength of Atypical Moral Development theory is that within their study the stories were directly translated in other countries so a better generalisation can be made to the population. The theory also explains moral reasoning. Within the study the answers were based on a story, not in real life. This lowers the ecological validity and also increases demand characteristics as participants are likely to give socially desirable answers. The sample used consisted of males and so cannot be generalised to females. Another criticism of the theory is that morals are not genetic, but the result of socialisation so there will be differences between sexes. In evaluation of the other factors associated with crime, a strength is that the theories explain behaviour in more detail in specific points e.g.-motives. Also, it takes into more factors than the other theories on criminal thinking patterns. This theory has also introduced cognitive restructuring to therapy techniques. A criticism of the theory is that it does not take into account biological and social explanations. C) In terms of criminal thinking patterns there are many ways in which psychologists would explain the occurrence of a crime. Using the rational choice theory psychologists suggest that a criminal would complete a cost reward analysis. Using the example of armed robbery, the criminal would create a mental list of the costs of the crime i.e. being caught, jail sentence, injury etc. They would also create a mental list of the rewards of the crime i.e. money, power, control etc. They would then weigh up the cost and rewards and if there were more rewards than costs they would choose to commit the crime. Another way in which psychologist could explain criminal thinking patterns of crimes is by using cognitive dysfunction theory. This theory suggests that criminals think in different ways and have thinking errors. Using the example of armed robbery, the criminal may suffer from automatic thinking errors meaning that they have a lack of empathy and trust, failure to accept obligations and responsibilities and a secretive communication style. This could mean that the criminal chose to commit the crime because he had a lack of empathy and so did not understand what the victims would feel. Also they may have failure to accept obligations and may feel that they do not need to work.

Mothers Day Celebrations Around the World

Mothers Day Celebrations Around the World Although the idea of honoring mothers on a special day was known as far back as ancient Greece, today Mothers Day is celebrated in many countries, in many different ways, and on different dates. Where Did Mothers Day Originate? The credit for the American Mothers Day observance goes to three women. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), who also wrote the lyrics for The Battle Hymn of the Republic, proposed a Mothers Day observance dedicated to peace in the years following the Civil War. Such annual observances were held in Boston in the late 1800s. In 1907 Anna Marie Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia teacher originally from Grafton, West Virginia, began her own efforts to establish a national Mothers Day. She also wished to honor her own mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis (1832-1905), who had first promoted the Mothers Work Days in 1858 as a way to improve the sanitary conditions in her town. She later worked to relieve suffering during and after the Civil War. With the support of churches, business people, and politicians, Mothers Day came to be observed on the second Sunday in May in most U.S. states within several years of Ann Jarvis campaign. The national Mothers Day holiday became official on May 8, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution, but it was more of a patriotic day on which flags were flown in honor of mom. Ironically, Anna Jarvis, who later tried in vain to combat the increasing commercialization of the holiday, never became a mother herself. Mothers Day in Europe Englands Mothers Day observance goes back to the 13th century when Mothering Sunday was observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent (because it was originally for Mary, mother of Christ). Later, in the 17th century, servants were given a free day on Mothering Sunday to return home and visit their mothers, often bringing along a sweet treat known as the mothering cake that was to be kept until Easter. In the UK, Mothering Sunday is still observed during Lent, in March or early April. In Austria, Germany, and Switzerland Muttertag is observed on the second Sunday in May, just as in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Italy, Japan, and many other countries. During the First World War, Switzerland was one the first European countries to introduce Mothers Day (in 1917). Germanys first Muttertag observance took place in 1922, Austrias in 1926 (or 1924, depending on the source). Muttertag was first declared an official German holiday in 1933 (the second Sunday in May) and took on a special significance as part of the Nazi motherhood cult under the Hitler regime. There was even a medal- das Mutterkreuz- in bronze, silver, and gold (eight or more Kinder!), awarded to mothers who produced children for the Vaterland. (The medal had the popular nickname of Karnickelorden, the Order of the Rabbit.) After World War II the German holiday became a more unofficial one that took on the cards-and-flowers elements of the U.S. Mothers Day. In Germany, if Mothers Day happens to fall on Pfin gstsonntag (Pentecost), the holiday is moved to the first Sunday in May. Mothers Day in Latin America International Mothers Day is observed on May 11. In Mexico and much of Latin America Mothers Day is on May 10. In France and Sweden Mothers Day falls on the last Sunday in May. Spring in Argentina comes in October, which may explain why their Mothers Day observance is on the second Sunday in October rather than May. In Spain and Portugal Mothers Day is Dec. 8 and is more of a religious holiday than most Mothers Day celebrations around the world, although the English Mothering Sunday actually began under Henry III in the 1200s as a celebration of the Mother Church. German poet and philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Von Vater hab ich die Statur, des Lebens ernstes FÃ ¼hren, von MÃ ¼tterchen die Frohnatur und Lust zu fabulieren.