Friday, November 29, 2019

British Airways functional areas Essay Example

British Airways functional areas Essay British Airways have many departments and functional areas. These also include Marketing, Finance and Community Relations. Marketing, Finance and Community Relations all co-operate with each other in different ways (mentioned in 2C).  The effectiveness of Marketing co-operating with Finance is generally good as the Marketing Department need to be able to advertise as much as they can to ensure the members of public use their airline and through finance they can use money to a certain extent which will help them to be known. Marketing needs to also report back to Finance according to research on what prices they should set their tickets. This is good as it is showing teamwork between the two departments and they are working together to achieve success for the company. The effectiveness of Marketing co-operating with Community Relations is also good as by finding out what the customers want by carrying out different types of research goes to show that the people who work for British Airways care about what the members of the public need.  The effectiveness of Finance co-operating with Marketing is good because it shows teamwork and good decision making. The finance department gives the marketing department a reasonable budget on how much they can spend on advertising and other things such as research etc. The effectiveness of Finance co-operating with Community Relations is excellent as it really shows concern for the poor and the needy. If the staff members decide to fly out to help with any charity or programme, the finance department help by funding money to them which covers the cost of flight, accommodation, food and drink etc.  The effectiveness of Community Relations co-operating with Marketing is very efficient as it helps them to be known worldwide. As Community Relations do works for the poor and needy, they inform the Marketing Department about their wonderful acts. This then allows the Marketing Department to advertise which will then bring customers to fly with British Airways. We will write a custom essay sample on British Airways functional areas specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on British Airways functional areas specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on British Airways functional areas specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The effectiveness of Community Relations co-operating with Finance is good because just in case the community relations need some money or funds to contribute to the society, they can turn towards the finance department and then they can help them with anything that needs to be given for a good cause.  Changes that I think should personally be made are for the Finance department to be careful as to who and which department they lend money to. This is because their main aim as being a big company is to make a profit and not using their money wisely may prevent them making a profit as so much money will be gone out to departments and other things to do with the business. This is my only suggestion otherwise British Airways is running well and they just need to keep up their excellent service and continue doing a good job for the members of the public giving them everything they need. How effectively does British Airways functional areas co-operate with each other.  Criterion 2A  It is good for departments to co-operate with each other as it makes things easier for people as more things will be done and will be more clear understandings. It is also good to co-operate with each other as more things gets done and speeds up the process of work rate such as decision making. It shows teamwork and when working for a big company teamwork and teamwork is required for success. British Airways have many departments and functional areas. These also include Marketing, Finance and Community Relations. Marketing, Finance and Community Relations all co-operate with each other in different ways (mentioned in 2C).  The effectiveness of Marketing co-operating with Finance is generally good as the Marketing Department need to be able to advertise as much as they can to ensure the members of public use their airline and through finance they can use money to a certain extent which will help them to be known. Marketing needs to also report back to Finance according to research on what prices they should set their tickets. This is good as it is showing teamwork between the two departments and they are working together to achieve success for the company. The effectiveness of Marketing co-operating with Community Relations is also good as by finding out what the customers want by carrying out different types of research goes to show that the people who work for British Airways care about what the members of the public need.  The effectiveness of Finance co-operating with Marketing is good because it shows teamwork and good decision making. The finance department gives the marketing department a reasonable budget on how much they can spend on advertising and other things such as research etc. The effectiveness of Finance co-operating with Community Relations is excellent as it really shows concern for the poor and the needy. If the staff members decide to fly out to help with any charity or programme, the finance department help by funding money to them which covers the cost of flight, accommodation, food and drink etc.  The effectiveness of Community Relations co-operating with Marketing is very efficient as it helps them to be known worldwide. As Community Relations do works for the poor and needy, they inform the Marketing Department about their wonderful acts. This then allows the Marketing Department to advertise which will then bring customers to fly with British Airways. The effectiveness of Community Relations co-operating with Finance is good because just in case the community relations need some money or funds to contribute to the society, they can turn towards the finance department and then they can help them with anything that needs to be given for a good cause.  Changes that I think should personally be made are for the Finance department to be careful as to who and which department they lend money to. This is because their main aim as being a big company is to make a profit and not using their money wisely may prevent them making a profit as so much money will be gone out to departments and other things to do with the business. This is my only suggestion otherwise British Airways is running well and they just need to keep up their excellent service and continue doing a good job for the members of the public giving them everything they need.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Waiting for Social Security Disability

Waiting for Social Security Disability Social Security Disability: The Ultimate Waiting Game The process for Social Security Disability is not an easy one, and it certainly is not fast. At the initial application level there are very low approval rates, extremely over-worked Social Security employees, and incredible hardships faced by the claimants. All of this mixed together results in a frustrating experience for the person who is trying to secure an income to help their family.One of the hardest parts of the entire process is the waiting. You can’t work, you have no income, the bills are piling up, and there are notices coming in almost weekly. It seems like there is no end in sight.After you submit your request for a hearing, the biggest wait time begins. The wait times for a hearing vary between each office. Here are Michigan’s hearing offices and their average wait times for cases that were heard in September, 2016:Detroit  15 monthsFlint  18 monthsGrand Rapids  18 monthsLansing  17 monthsLivonia  13 monthsMt. Pleasant  19 monthsOak Park  16 monthsIn comparison, the shortest waiting period belongs to Fort Smith, AR at 8 months, and the longest waiting period is in Ponce, Puerto Rico at 27 months (25 months in Buffalo, NY is the highest for states). The average wait time for all of the hearing offices is 17.7 months which shows that Michigan is experiencing roughly average wait times.One of the biggest contributing factors is the huge backlog of cases. Since there is such a low approval rating on the initial applications, there is a huge number of people filing appeals. The more people with appeals pending in a certain area, the longer the wait time.There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. For the 2016 fiscal year, more hearings were heard than scheduled.If you are finding yourself in a hardship situation, you may be able to speed up your case. This is never guaranteed, and there are no definite set of guidelines for approval, but it is always worth a shot.Additionally, if you need help with food, bills, or gen eral living expenses, please check out the Resources area of our website, contact the United Way at 411, or look into local charities and churches.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Lev Vygotsky Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lev Vygotsky - Term Paper Example Noticeably intelligent and articulate as a young boy, Vygotsky was dubbed the "little professor" (Wertsch, 1985, p.4). The family lived amidst an explosion of politics, philosophy, and art as well as prejudice, hunger, and disease. Growing up during the Russian Revolution, a time of tremendous social, cultural, and economic upheaval caused Vygotsky great personal difficulty at the same time it liberated him to look at philosophical and societal issues with fresh eyes. Tuberculosis struck Vygotsky at age twenty-six. Forewarned of an early death, Vygotsky worked at a feverish pace to produce over 180 studies, articles, and books (Blanck, 1990). Vygotsky was such an impassioned speaker that throngs of scholars, unable to gain entry into the crowded halls in which he spoke, gathered outside the windows in the hope of capturing his lectures. Wherever Vygotsky traveled in Russia, people left poetry and garlands of flowers by the wayside. Such accounts describe a unique mind and sensibility that affected and even cast a spell on thousands (Van der Veer and Valsinger, 1991). ... 1). Vygotsky excelled academically, spoke eight languages, and was able to teach far ranging subjects such as literature, Russian, education, psychology, logic, aesthetics, and art history (Blanck, 1990). With close collaborators, Alexander R Luria and Alexei N. Leontiev, Vygotsky formed a famous "troika" (Kozulin, 1990), or what John-Steiner (1997) calls a "thought community" (p.207) that became a driving intellectual force in Russia. Vygotsky borrowed ideas from different disciplines to form his learning theory. Psychology and education are the fields in which he made his major contributions although he possessed no formal training in either. It may be that Vygotsky's unique vision was predicated on his ability to look at established ideas in a new way. This may also account for the wide appeal of his work. Blanck (1990) believes that ... it was precisely his newness to the field coupled with his strong insights from other fields (philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, historical mate rialism) that illuminated for Vygotsky fresh answers to perplexing questions (pp.38-39). Vygotsky was coincidently born the same year as Piaget, and like Piaget, his learning theory exerted a profound influence, even creating a paradigm shift, on the way in which we view human development and learning. Vygotsky was a deep thinker, capable of integrating complex philosophical ideas into a unique vision of his own. Vygotsky investigated how humans think, learn, and function within the context of society. Vygotsky's broad-ranging inquiry across discipline, methodology, and ideology, conceived so long ago and squarely situated within the social realm, continues to motivate and inspire the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Reflection on ERIE Step IV Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection on ERIE Step IV - Assignment Example nother one is influenced by numerous factors, such as personal mind and brain activity of a child, character of learner, educator’s teaching style, form of information’s representation, level of students’ involvement in the teaching process, variety of tasks and assignments, opportunities to implement children’s creativity and initiative, atmosphere in a classroom, psychological approach of the teacher and educator’s experience and emotional urge. Taking into account such a large number of internal and external variables that cause specific impact on the learning process, it is no wonder that frequently results of our educational system can be rather disappointing. This happens due to the fact that some teachers are prone to disregard any notion from the mentioned list and build a lesson according to a standard template; meanwhile, it is imperative to keep in mind that every student is individuality, who sometimes requires special approach. Knowledge can be considered as indispensable part of our not only professional, but also social and private life. According to the gist of studied theories, such as constructivism, objectivism, humanism and behaviorism, the same piece of information can be represented and taught differently thereby the results and return from each approach can vary drastically. With the help of carried out researches, it has been found out that human’s ability to forget some information and fail to apply the knowledge which he or she has gained previously in specific situations is affected by experience and emotional background. Secondly, it has been proved by many scientists that availability and abundance of information, such as personal incentive that encourages student to enroll in a course, the main goal of the lectures, student’s preferences regarding offered activities and learner’s psychological reactions along with age, sex and social background, play extremely urgent role in the character of the final results.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Management Tasks and Computer Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Tasks and Computer Technology - Essay Example In this scenario, much of the data and information comes openly from the vision and mission statement for the organization. In addition, establishing objectives for the business goal and following up on the implementation of the plan are two significant elements of the planning function. For instance, if an organization wants to open a new local restaurant, the manager will need to develop a marketing plan, a hiring plan and a sales plan. Additionally, the formulation of these plans can involve extensive searches of data and information as well as creation of a technically feasible proposal. In this scenario, computers present an excellent support for carrying out the task of information search through information retrieval systems on the Internet (Rothbauer-Wanish; FAO). Moreover, a good information recovery system which can help in collection and retrieval of related data and information on the subject of concern can significantly improve the quality of data and information collect ion. With the exception of this, there are a wide variety of other packages for this service. For instance, activities such as working out project budgets, time frames and generation of proposal reports can be aided with the help of data management systems, electronic spreadsheets and word processing, which smooth the progress of development and management of various alternatives with relative simplicity. At the present, the majority of business organizations make use of the Internet for planning of their tasks. For instance, if an organization wants to launch a new product or a service, it can use internet based surveys to collect the response of people. In light of their response, an organization can better decide whether it should launch a particular product or not. So, the use of information technology can save a lot of precious time and effort of an organization (Rothbauer-Wanish; FAO). Organizing Another significant job of managers is organization of the business and this cons ists of various important tasks such as organizing people and resources. In fact, determining how many people would be required for specific shifts can be vital to the success of an organization. On the other hand, if those workers do not have the essential resources to carry out their activities, organization cannot occur. In addition, without an organized place of work, workers will perceive a manager as unqualified and may lose respect for that specific manager’s managerial techniques. In this scenario, computer supported tools and applications can play a significant role. At the present, there are a wide variety of tools and applications which can perform these jobs on behalf of managers. For instance, MS Project can be used to organize tasks. A Gantt chart can provide the necessary information such as when a particular activity will be completed and how much resources will be required to perform a specific task. In this way, computer technology has made this function of management relatively easier (Rothbauer-Wanish; FAO). Leading The management and leadership are not the same activity. Basically, a manager is responsible for managing the workers and their tasks. In other words, this person ensures that all the activities are carried out on time and specific rules and standards are followed. In this scenario,

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Salafi Movement In Global Context Theology Religion Essay

The Salafi Movement In Global Context Theology Religion Essay Salafism (al-Salafiyyah) is a contemporary Islamic global movement, which is concerned with a search for the pure teachings of Islam as prescribed in the Quran and the Prophet Muhammads tradition (sunnah) by rejecting any external influences and human involvement in the interpretation of religious texts. The proponents of Salafism define themselves to be the inheritors of the pre-modern Ahl al-Hadits (people of the Prophet tradition). In their view, this school of thought was the only group that remained faithful to the pure teachings of Islam as prescribed in the Quran and the Sunnah so that it was considered the saved sect. They base their claim on a hadith (the Prophet Muhammad sayings) that the Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said that there would always be a group of his people who remained committed to the truth, whom the Salafis identify as the Ahl al-Hadith (Duderija, 2011). By claiming to be the inheritors of the Ahl al-Hadith and followers of its footsteps, the propon ents of contemporary Salafi movement attempt to assert that they have privilege and take pride to be the guardians of the pure Islam in modern period. The proponents of contemporary Salafism identify themselves, and are proud to be, as salafi (plural: salafiyyin), the followers of al-salaf al-shalih(the righteous ancestors). For them, the term salaf refers to the first three Muslim generations in the early Islam, who were considered as the best Islamic generations as they were directly guided by the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. This self-ascription is based on their belief that their understanding and practicing Islam is in complete accordance with the footsteps and methodology of the salaf (manhaj al-salaf). Abdullah ibn Baz, one of the main Salafi authorities, said that Salafi ideology is derived from the Quran, Sunnah and Consensus (ijma`) which govern the method of acquiring din [religion] and understanding the Quran and Sunnah according to the principles agreed upon by the righteous predecessors (salaf) (Cited in Duderija, 2011:54). Due to this strong emphasis on the Salaf as the only model of understanding and practic ing Islam, Salafism can be said as a movement of return to the forefather (Marshallsay, 2004). Major Authorities of the Contemporary Salafi Movement Within contemporary Salafi movement, the most influential proponents are the Middle Eastern Muslim scholars with Saudi nationality or Saudi-educated, university educated, many gained PhDs in Islamic sciences from Saudi universities. These include Nashir al-Din al-Albani (d.1999), Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1999), Muhammad ibn Shalih al-Uthaymin (d. 2001), Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadii (d. 2001), Rabi ibn Hadi al-Madkhali (b. 1931), Yahya al-Hajuri, and Shalih al-Fawzan. The dominance of Saudi Arabian or Saudi-educated religious scholars (ulama) asserts the centrality of Saudi Arabia as the birth of modern Salafism. As the main representative of the Salafi movement, these ulama become major references that Salafi leaders and ordinary followers in the Muslim world turn to for guidance and advice in their lives. Outside the Middle East, leading personalities of Salafism in Western countries such as Jamal Zarabozo and Bilal Philips (Duderija, 2011) mostly become the mouthpiece of these Middle East authorities, translating their Salafi messages for the Western Salafi followers. The same is true for the leaders of the Salafi movement in Indonesia. Most of them went to Saudi and Yemen universities or Islamic religious learning institutions (mahad) to study Islamic knowledge. These include Abu Nida, Ahmad Faiz, Yusuf Baisa, Jafar Umar Thalib, Ayip Syafrudin, Luqman Baabduh and Muhammad Umar Sewed (Hasan, 2007; 2009). Compared to their locally trained Salafi proponents, these Middle East graduates commonly enjoy more authority and recognition from their followers due to their highly-esteemed learning in Mecca or Medinah, two holy cities of Islam. Yet, all of these Salafi exponents make the Saudi and Yemeni Salafi authorities as major, and to some extent, the only references in learning and preachi ng Salafi ideas among Indonesian Muslims. The Middle East Salafi authorities write treatises on Salafi ideas exclusively in Arabic. But, this is not a major barrier for Salafi followers from non-Arabic speaking countries to understand the messages of these Salafi ulama. The Salafi followers and sympathizers have attempted to translate the works of these Salafi ulama into local languages. For this purpose, in Western countries, they have established publishing houses, including Tarbiyyah Publications in Toronto, Invitation to Islam and Al-Khilafat Publications in London, and Salafi Publications and Maktabah Darussalam in Birmingham. Mobilizing the information and communication technologies, they have created websites such as www.salafipublications.com, www.tarbiyyahbookstore.com, http://sunna.com, www.salaf.com, and www.fatwa-online.com. Individual Salafi authorities websites have been also established by the Salafi supporters, such as www.binbaz.com (on the works of Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz), www.rabee.net (on the works of Rabi i bn Hadi al-Madkhali), and www.ibnothaimeen.com (on the works of Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymin) (Duderija, 2011). The Puzzle of the Origin and Meaning of Salafism For decades, there has been conviction among Western and Western-educated scholars that history of Salafism is a history of Islamic modernism; that Salafi ideas are regarded as similar to those of Islamic modernist movement; and the Salafis are representatives of Muslim modernist. It is believed that Salafism dates back to the 19th Islamic modernism, which was associated with Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (d. 1897), Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905), and Rashid Ridha (d. 1935), whose principles and ideas include rejection of taqlid (blind following), promotion of ijtihad (independent interpretation), and support of progress and rationality in its responses to the decline of the Muslim world. As Lauziere (2010) identifies, this conception can be seen in the standard academic works of Islamic thought such as Brills Encyclopedia of Islam, Malcolm Kerrs Islamic Reform (1966), M. A. Zaki Badawis The Reformers of Egypt (1978), and Daniel Browns Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought (1996). Some recent studies by scholars of contemporary Islam, such as Ali Hassan Zaidi (2006) and Dumber and Tayob (2011), also connect Salafi orientations with Muslim reformists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, this conception is problematic in some respects. First, there is no convincing evidence to the claim of the connection among Salafism, al-Afghani, and Abduh. According to Lauziere (2010), there are no primary sources including al-Urwat al-Wuthqa, a flagship journal of al-Afghani and Abduh, that substantially prove the claim that al-Afghani and Abduh coined the term Salafism and used it to identify themselves and their reform movement in the 19th century. It is true that Abduh mentioned the term al-Salafiyyin (the Salafis) in Al-Manar (Al-Manar 5, 1902 cited in Lauziere 2010) to designate Sunni Muslims who were against Ashariyyah, a 10th century school of speculative Islamic theology,  [1]  in terms of theological issues based on their strict adherence to the creed of the forefathers (Lauziere, 2010). But, Abduh clearly did not claim to be a Salafi nor identified his followers as Salafis. He simply referred al-Salafiyyin in the context of theological debates as Sunni Musl ims who differed from Asharites based on their strict adherence to aqidat al-salaf (the creed of the forefather) (Lauziere, 2010). Moreover, Rasyid Ridha, one of Muhammad Abduhs main disciples, recognized the fundamental differences between Salafism and Islamic modernist school, which his mentor promoted. According to Ridha, following the Salafi creed did not necessarily make one committed to Islamic modernist school. During his time, Ridha identified Salafism as Wahhabism to which he called al-Wahhabiyyah al-Salafiyyah. Later, in 1928 he and some of his disciples declared their passage to becoming Salafis not only with respect to Islamic theology but also in fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence (Lauziere, 2010). Second, the unconfirmed claim of ideological connection between contemporary Salafism and the early 20th century Islamic modernism can be seen in the issue of how each defines the term Salaf. While the two movements shared the idea of the importance of the pious ancestors, they differ in the issue of to what extent the Salaf is defined and how it should be modelled. The proponents of Islamic modernism conceived that the term Salaf includes virtually the Muslim scholars of all schools of thought in the medieval period whose success and achievements should be contextually propagated and imitated within modern Muslim contexts. The early 20th century Salafism understood the Salaf as Muslim scholars in religious science as well as in secular science of the golden age of Islam in the medieval period that should be contextually followed. In contrast, the proponents of contemporary Salafism restrict the Salaf to the first three generations in the early Islam, namely the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (al-shahabat), those after them (al-tabiin) and the next generation after them (atba`u al-tabiin). They also include religious scholars (ulama`) in the first and second centuries of Islam who were considered to adhere to the way of these first three Muslim generations, particularly Ahmad bin Hanbal and the followers of his textual school. These Salaf generations and Salafi ulama` were considered rightly guided forefathers and, hence, role models to whom Muslims are obliged to follow their ways in any circumstances. In addition, when the proponents of contemporary Salafism speak about the Salaf, they use it in its narrow religious sense. Practically, they exclude, show suspicion and hostility towards social, cultural and scientific heritage of the Muslim forefathers. In their view, the perfect method of modelling the S alaf in the contemporary Muslim societies is preserving and imitating their footsteps without contextualizing them in the present contexts. Third, the issue of the unconfirmed ideological connection between Salafism and the late 19th century Islamic modernism can be discerned in differences between them with respect to methodology and objectives. In response to the decline of the Islamic world, the Islamic modernism of al-Aghani and Abduh was committed to islah (reform) in Muslim society through promotion of itidal (moderation and balance) by which Muslims were expected to conduct conciliation between Islam and Western civilization. It encouraged the appreciation and adoption of social, political and scientific achievements of Western civilization and at the same rooted firmly in Islamic principles and civilization. In other words, al-Afghani and Abduhs Islamic modernism was a moderate approach to Islam and Western civilization in that it was able to balance between revelation and reason, and between strict Islamic conservatism and blind following of the West (Lauziere, 2010). Contemporary Salafism, in contrast, aims to revive the golden age of Islam by adhering strictly to the ways of the first three Muslim generations in the early Islam understood and practiced Islam to protect its purity from forbidden religious innovation. From this perspective, the making of the Salaf as a perfect model requires strict applying the Salaf method in social and cultural vacuum, without contextualizing their ideas and practices within present contexts of the Muslim world. Subsequently, this movement regards revealed texts as the only primary sources so that its proponents tend to be anti-rationalistic approach to revelation. The proponents of contemporary Salafism are also suspicious of anything not textually written in the scripture, taught or done by the Prophet Muhammad, his companions and religious scholars adhered to their ways. Conservatism, or even ultra conservatism, is highly represented in contemporary Salafi movement. As a result, there is no adequate evidence to claim ideological connection between the late 19th and early 20th centurys Islamic modernism and the contemporary Salafi movement. There is no support that Al-Afghani and Abduh proclaimed they were Salafis or exponents of the Salafi movement or their ideas were in accordance with contemporary Salafism. The modernist conception of Salafism substantially differs from the contemporary Salafisms understanding of the same term. Within contemporary Salafi movement, salafism is conceived first and foremost as label by Sunni purist-literalist-traditionalists to designate their particular approach to Islam. Conceptual History of Salafism Undoubtedly, the uncertainty of the origin and meaning of Salafism within modern scholarship has caused the substance of Salafism remain puzzling. Fortunately, a recent study by Henri Lauziere (2010) is helpful in solving this puzzle and gaining relative certainty in the issues of the origin and meaning of Salafism. He argues that the puzzle of the meaning and origins of Salafism is attributable to the faulty scholarship and the fact that there is little scholarly attention to the examination of the history of knowledge production of Salafism (Lauziere, 2010:369). The First Use of the Term Salafism Historically speaking, Salafism as a religious orientation is not purely a modern phenomenon. Rather, it rooted in the Islamic scholarship in pre-modern history of Islam. The early use of the term Salafism (Salafiyyah) as an approach to religious texts is found in a number of religious scholars works in the medieval period. For example, Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1238) writes in his al-Fatawa al-Kubra: As for the Salafiyya it is as [Hamd ibn Muhammad] al-Khattabi and Abu Bakr al-Khatib [al-Bagdadi] and other have stated: The way of the Salaf is to interpret literally the Quran verses and hadiths that relate to the Divine attributes (ijra ayat al-sifat wa ahadits al-sifat ala zahiriha), and without indicating modality and without attributing to Him anthropomorphic qualities. So that one is not to state that the meaning of hand is power or that of hearing is knowledge (Cited in Haykel, 2009:38). However, as Haykel (2009) and Dumbe Tayob (2011) suggest, the historical precedent of the Salafi orientations even dates back earlier to the 9th century theological and juridical debates between the Ahl al-Ray (people of opinion), which was associated with the Mutazilah,  [2]  and Ahl al-Hadith (people of the Prophet Muhammads tradition), which was related to Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), the inspirer of the Hanbali school of law (Hanbaliyyah).  [3]  Particularly, the early use of the term Salaf and its derivatives in this period can be traced back to the Ahl al Hadits. It is reported that Ibn Hanbal said: It has been transmitted from more than one of our ancestors (salafina) that they said the Quran is the speech of God and is uncreated, and this is what I endorse. I do not engage in speculative theology and I hold that there is nothing to be said other than what is in Gods Book (Quran), the traditions of His messenger or those of his companions and their followers- may God have mercy on them. It is not praiseworthy to engage in theological discussion in matters not contained therein (Cited in Haykel, 2009:38). These statements not only refer to the early use of the terms Salaf and Salafism within Islamic scholarship, but also points out the way of thinking that the early Salafis advocated in regard to theological issues such as the nature of the Quran as Gods messages revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. With respect to the approach to the interpretation of religious texts, the Ahl al-Ra`y represented Muslims scholars who sought explanations from personal opinions and borrowings from other cultures and intellectual traditions, while the Ahl al-Hadits sufficed themselves with literal meanings of the texts and tradition of the Prophet and his companions believed as pure and original sources of Islam. Another corresponding term, madhhab al-salaf (the school of forefathers), is found in the literature of Muslim scholars of medieval period. As Lauziere (2010:372) suggests, written sources also indicate that medieval Muslims scholars used this term primarily in the theological debates within early schools of theology in Islam. The notion of madhhab al-salaf was used to designate those who hold a theological purity in a time when early Muslims were not faced yet with speculative theology (ilm al-kalam) resulted from the encounter of Islam and other world civilizations. The proponents of madhhab al-salaf showed hostility towards Islamic speculative theology (ilm al-kalam) which was influenced by Greek inspiration and rationalism such ilm al-mantiq (syllogistic logic) and falsafah (philosophy). Contrary to Islamic theologians (mutakalimin) such as Mutazilis and Asharites, the people of the madhhab al-salaf distanced themselves from intellectualizing the divine issues, such as al asma` w al sifat (the divine names and attributes). However, the word Salafi or Salafism was not commonly used by medieval purist Muslims to refer to themselves and their approach to Islam. Instead, the common epithets used to refer to the purists at the period were not derived from the word salaf, but rather from the terms associated with the Prophet Muhammads tradition, such as Ahl al-Sunnah (people of the prophetic tradition), Ahl al-Hadist (people of prophetic sayings and sayings) or al-Atsari (the follower of the prophetic report) (Lauziere, 2010:373). The Origin of the Confusion of Salafism: Louis Massignon and the Salafyah Review A recent study by Lauziere (2010) revealed the origin of the confusion between Salafism and Islamic modernism in scholarly literature. He argues that puzzle of Salafism lies in the fact Massignon and scholars who quoted him were not aware of the complex development of the Salafi epithets within Muslim scholars in the Middle East. They simply relied on al-Majallah al-Salafiyyah, a monthly reformist journal published by Salafiyya Bookstore in Egypt -whose key role in Salafi discourses will be examined in the following section- that reached overseas including Paris. Being established in 1917, the journal was edited by Abd al-Fattah Qatlan and rendered by him into English as Salafyah Review. The journal was purported to serve as a marketing vehicle for reaching a wider readership of the Salafiyyah Bookstore. More importantly, the journal was created in the period in which the reform spirit overwhelmed the Salafiyyah Bookstore before the coming of the Saudi-Wahhabi influence on the type o f literature it published. So, in line with the reform spirit, the journal aimed to spread the achievements of the pious ancestors (al-salaf) in a wide range of scientific, cultural and intellectual fields. In line with this spirit, the content of the journal encompassed various themes such as literature, linguistics, and astronomy in addition to religious topics (Lauziere, 2010:379). It was through this journal that the term Salafism caught the attention of Western scholars (Lauziere, 2010). Louis Massignon, a well-known French orientalist and the major contributor to the leading journal Revue du monde musulman, subscribed to Arabic journals including al-Majallah al-Salafiyyah. When the first issue of the journal reached his journal office, Massignon provided explanation of the Majallah al-Salafiyyah to the readers of his journal. He said that the Salafiyyah was an intellectual movement that emerged in early 19th century India at the time of Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi (d. 1931) [and] Siddiq Hasan Khan (d. 1890), the founder of the Ahl-i Hadith movement, had later rehashed its ideas (Cited in Lauziere, 2010:380). Then, he added that from there, [the Salafiyyah] was spread by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Syaikh Abduh and established itself in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and even in the Maghrib and Java (Revue du monde musulman 34, 1916-18 in Lauziere, 2010:380). But, later M assignon abolished the connection of the Salafiyyah with the 19th century Indian movement and focused more on its link with al-Afghani and Abduh. Then, he associated Salafiyyah with a relatively transnational Islamic modernism in the 19th century, whose proponents were committed to reform in Islam and Muslim societies (Lauziere, 2010). However, Massignons claim of Salafism is problematic as it raised questions with respect to conceptual and historical foundations of Salafism he based on. It is not clear how he came to this claim though it is known that he studied Islam in Baghdad and made contacts with some reform-oriented Muslim scholars like Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi. Due to this, it can be said that Massignon misinterpreted the term Salafiyyah and inadequately made Salafism and Islamic modernism of al-Afghani and Abduh synonymous (Lauziere, 2010). Nevertheless, as Lauziere (2010:381) shows, some leading scholars welcomed Massignons definition of Salafism and even took its validity for granted despite its factual limitations. The famous The New World of Islam, published in 1921, repeated this misinterpretation when made reference to Salafiyyah. In 1922, the leading journal The Moslem World published by Hartford Seminary did the same when it translated an article of Massignon from the Revue du monde musulman. This is further misinterpreted by Henri Laoust, a scholar who spread Massignons ideas in French, when in his seminal article in 1932 defined Salafism based on Massignons conception. Even influential scholar Sir Hamilton Gibb took Massignons claim of Salafism for granted in his famous Modern Trends in Islam. Hence, it is through this intellectual transmission that the term Salafism with the sense of Islamic modernist movement was created within Western scholarly literature on Islam. The Evolution of Salafism If there is no connection with al-Afghani and Abduhs Islamic modernism of the late 19th century, who first used the Salafi label as understood today? And how was it defined? As Lauziere (2010) argues, to remedy this puzzle requires considering the origin and development of the term Salafism from the perspective of conceptual history. According to Lauziere (2010, the growing popularity of Salafi epithets as well as overlap between Salafism and Islamic modernism can be attributed to a key role played by the Salafiyah Bookstore (al-Maktabat al-Salafiyyah). It was established in 1909 in Cairo by Muhib al-Din al-Khatib (1886-1969), a Syrian activist, well-known figure in the Egyptian publishing business, and pupil of Salafis-cum-modernists ulama`, Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (d. 1914) and Tahir al-Jazairi (d. 1920). Al-Khatibs involvement in cultural and political affairs opened the opportunity to establish the bookstore aimed at spreading his interests in Islamic scholarship and reformist ideas under the label Salafiyyah (Salafism). The name Salafiyyah for the bookstore was inspired by al-Khatibs mentor, Tahir al-Jazairi, who had inclinations to the madhhab al-salaf (school of the forefathers) with respect to Islamic theology. But, it seemed that al-Khatib misinterpreted the term Salafiyyah or understood it in a broader sense than al-Jazairi meant (Lauziere, 2010). This is reflected in the way he and his partner, Abdul Fattah Qatlan (d. 1931), operated the Salafiyyah Bookstore, particularly in terms of the type of literature they published. Being motivated by desires to encourage educated Arab readers to rediscover the glory of their religious, social and cultural heritage for the advancement of their society, al-Khatib and Qatlan were not confined themselves in printing and selling books on the Salafi theology. Rather, they published works on progressive nature of Islams golden age as well as a wide range of issues not connected to religious reform. They used the Salafi epithets to refer virtually to any Islamic intellectual heritage in medieval period, not in a narrow sense of a particular school of theology. In addition to treatises on religion, the Salafiyyah Bookstore published works on Arabic literat ure, Arabic grammar, and work of medieval Muslim philosophers such al-Farabi (d.950) and Ibn Sina (d.1037). In short, the literature that the Salafiyyah Bookstore published and sold in the 1910s was in accordance with the spirit and concerns of Islamic modernism (Lauziere, 2010:378). The selection and publication of this type of literature suggest that al-Khatib and Qatlan attempted to revive the works of the great Muslim scholars and underline the Muslimss contribution to modernity in the West of modern age. Under the label Salafism, they sought to emphasize the compatibility between revelation and modernity as shown by the works of great and pious forefathers (Salaf) in the past by which Muslims in the modern age should model for the revival and advancement of the Islamic world. In turn, all this resulted in turning Salafiyyah into a common and popular term among producers and consumers of Arabic literature in the Middle East and other Muslim regions (Lauziere, 2010:382). More importantly, an impression built up that the Salafiyyah Bookstore intertwined the term Salafism with Islamic modernism projected to the revival of Arabs and Muslims in the modern period. The label Salafism it used was then considered as to represent the success and greatness of the Islami c past. The bookstore expanded the scope of the term Salafism beyond its initial theological meanings and gradually created the association between Salafism and the project of Islamic modernism (Lauziere, 2010:377). The later development of the Salafiyyah Bookstore, however, determined the association of Islamic modernism and Salafism and brought about decisive changes in the nature and development of Salafism after the establishment of the Saudi Kingdom in the early 1920s. The bookstore experienced a shift with respect to choices of works for publication. This began with the change in the choice of works for publication. In the early 1920s, al-Khatib and Qatlan began to print works that appeared contradictive to the progressive and rationalist ideas of the Islamic reform movement though they kept promoting Islamic modernism. For example, the Salafiyyah Bookstore published works of those who strongly opposed the secular and controversial works of Ali Abd al-Raziq and Taha Husayn. It also published anti-rationalist treatises by Hanbali and his school followers ordered by Saudis. This shift in the choice of publications was more clearly discernable in the establishment of the Saudi branch of the S alafiyyah Bookstore in Mecca in the late 1920 initiated by Qatlan in partnership with a Hijazi Muhammad Salih Nasif (d.1971). In 1928, to suit the local needs, this Saudi branch began to publish works on Ahmad ibn Hanbal and his supporters as well pro-Wahhabi books such a theological treatise by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292-1350), which was printed with the request and fund from Ibn Saud (d. 1932), the first monarch of Saudi Arabia (Lauziere, 2010:383). This shift within the Salafiyya Bookstores choice of publications, according to Lauziere (2010), should be seen in the context of political change in the Muslim world in the mid 1920s. The fall of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of Islamic caliphate in the early 1920s brought about political and cultural turbulence within the Muslim world. At the same time, however, the rise of the Saudi Kingdom in Hejaz offered Muslim ummah (global Muslim community) a great hope of social and political renaissance in the Muslim world. Therefore, many Muslims intellectuals and religious scholars, including Rasyid Ridha, supported the young Saudi state and turned toward religious conservatism, particularly Wahhabism,  [4]  founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792), and endorsed as an official school of Islam and promoted by the state. Al-Khatib showed the same response to these circumstances. He opted to support the young Saudi state and showed respect to the Wahhabism and its propone nts. These religio-political stances influenced the activities of his Salafiyyah Bookstore. This was reflected in the change of choices of editing and publishing when it began to publish the Wahhabi treatises and pro-Saudi works. Although Lauziere missed to capture the complexity of social and political transformation in the Muslim world in the first quarter of twentieth century, his argument was sufficient to overcome to the puzzle of Salafism by making sense of the evolution of Salafism. By publishing pro-Wahhabi works to cater the religious and political needs of the Saudi elite and proponents of Wahhabism, the Salafiyyah Bookstore brought its commercial label Salafism closer to Wahhabism. Though the Cairo Salafiyyah Bookstore still published modernist themes, the popularization and commodification of the Salafi epithets by the Saudi branch of the Salafiyyah Bookstore had brought the Wahhabi religious orientation to the fore. The unfounded intellectual association between Salafism (Salafiyyah) and al-Afghani and Abduhs Islamic reform as well as the absence of the monopoly over Salafism as a marketing brand that al-Khatib and Qatlan might have opened opportunity to the proponents of the Wahhabi-oriented pur ist movement kept using Salafiyyah as the label of their publications ignoring any modernist agenda as initiated by the original Salafi Bookstore in Cairo (Lauziere, 2010). It can be added that given that they shared the strong reference to the pious forefather (al-salaf al-shalih) with respect to theological issues with the Salafiyyah Bookstore, at least in its early years of operation, the proponents of Wahhabism had no difficulties in taking the advantage of using Salafism as their label of spreading the purist ideas of Ibn al-Wahhab. Through these religious-political processes, consequently, the Salafi epithets experienced re-definition and counter-definitions. More importantly, this gradually created the impression that the term Salafism and Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia were synonymous. The opening of the Saudi-connected Salafiyyah bookstores outside Saudi Arabia, such as in Syria and Pakistan, enforced this impression (Lauziere, 2010). Undoubtedly, this evolution of Salafism explains the state of the contemporary development of the Salafi movement with Saudi Arabia as its major supporter. Due to the fact that it is a contemporary phenomenon that assigns the epistemological value to traditions, Adis Duderija (2007:2011) labels the proponents of this contemporary Salafism as Neo-Traditional Salafis. In its later development, in the 1960s Wahhabi-inspired Salafism encountered with religious-political ideas brought by the Islamic activists who fled from their ruling governments repression and persecution found Saudi Arabia safe haven. This has to do with the Saudi Arabias policy under King Faisal (d. 1975) to support Islamic solidarity in its attempts to oppose Egypts pan-Arabism promoted by President Jamal Abdel Nasser (d. 1970), which was regarded as a threat to the existence of the kingdom (Lacroix, 2010). Among these refugees were the members of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood), a religious-political movement that first emerged in Egypt in 1928 and then spread to the Muslim world. The political aspects of the ideology of al-Ikhwan al Muslimun encountered with the puritanical ideas of Wahhabism (Wahhabiyyah) brought about an intellectual hybrid identified as al-Sahwa al-Islamiyya (th

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority

Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority Incomplete Works Cited Just beyond the â€Å"biggest and greatest town on earth†, four men sit patiently on their boat, waiting for the serene waters of the Thames to ebb (65). One of the men, a Buddha, breaks the silence, saying, â€Å"and this also†¦has been one of the dark places of the earth† (67). This pensive and peaceful idol, Marlow, explains to his apathetic listeners how a great civilization is blindly made out of a darkness, remarking, â€Å"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only† (70). The irony with which Marlow looks upon colonization suggests that this redeeming feature, â€Å"†¦Europe’s claim to be civilized, and therefore superior, needs earnest reexamination† (Sarvan). As Sarvan suggests, Heart of Darkness contrasts the appearance of African â€Å"savagery† with European â€Å"civility† to demonstrate the inhumanity of the Europeans, rather than that of the Africans. Conrad’s dehumanizing descriptions of the Africans serve to show the inhuman effects of colonialism, rather than to demean the African people. For example, Sarvan notes that when an African is â€Å"reclaimed† by serving the Europeans, â€Å"†¦it is grim irony because he has been reclaimed to a worse state of barbarism.† When Marlow reaches the first station, he notices one of the â€Å"reclaimed† in a uniform jacket missing a button and notes, â€Å"†¦[He] seemed to take me into partnership in his exalted trust†¦I also was a part of the great cause of these high and just proceedings† (82). By ironically referrin... ...rlow’s â€Å"ironic voyage of discovery† could have happened anywhere. Indeed, the appearance of a fiendish black figure with his â€Å"long black legs, waving long black arms† is a mere illusion created by the fire behind him (148). The possibility that this wild and mysterious being in the midst of a great darkne ss could represent any man in any place lends a great sense of significance to Marlow’s â€Å"inconclusive experiences† (70). The irony of this dark portrayal of human nature is that humanity must hide from its own abomination in order to survive. Just as Marlow tells a detestable lie to hide the horrors of one man’s corrupted soul, it is ironic that the â€Å"taint of death, a flavor of morality† should protect idealism (96). Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. â€Å"Heart of Darkness.† An Introduction to Literature. Terry, Joseph. New York, NY: Longman, 2001. 1614-1672.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Implementation and evaluation of technology plan in schools Essay

Following the important role played by technology in current industrial society, there is much need to incorporate technology in schools to help students prepare for the rapid changing world. Incorporation of technology in schools will not only enhance learning but will also support education reform goals. To this end, in order to ensure effective integration of technology in schools, there is need to ensure that there is collaboration and sharing of vision among schools, community members, parents, educators as well as business leaders. This will help to ensure that the plan does not help in acquisition of software and computers alone but have promoted collaboration, professional development, meaningful learning capable of adjusting to any change. Implementation of Webpage SharePoint in schools The implementation of webpage SharePoint will help in developing a collaborative online link for teachers, parents geared towards enrichment of student’s activities. Incorporation of webpage in school will provide a centralized location where teachers and parents could interact and get to learn on the development across all schools while still providing a framework to share ideas, discuss issues and develop rapport with other teachers and parents. Incorporation of webpage and SharePoint will be able to foster a greater sense in volunteer participation and shared purpose across school through timely, continuous and consistent information (Alfinio, Jonathan, James & Fredrick, 2000). Implication of Webpage on mathematics; Implementation of webpage in school will help in preparing and modeling of respective teachers with technologies, tools and strategies consistent with National standards as well as with standards of other schools. It will also provide a framework for curriculum development, teaching and assessment of prospective teaching expected from teachers. This as a result will help to ensure that through webpage, teachers address the needs of students through incorporation of teaming in teaching and planning; development of flexible interdisciplinary thematic block scheduling and curriculum units as well as formation of cooperative heterogeneous grouping (Alfinio, Jonathan, James & Fredrick, 2000). Implementation of Parent link in schools According to Science Daily (2009) with implementation of parent link as a new parent communication system. Parents will be provided with instantaneous messages through telephone text messaging and e-mail. This will prove very fundamental in enhancing message conveyance for homework assignments, weather cancellations. This sophisticated system will help school to alert parents to the closing of the school as well as student’s test score. With a special code, implementation of parent link parents will be notified of the attendance of their children through an automated message. The technology have been successfully implemented and proved quick and reliable in Osceola Township where it works very efficiently in alerting parents on a snow day, (Tom, 2009). In enhancing mathematics, the parentlink will have four tabs in mathematics, science, English language and social science where the parent will be provided with an access of how the child is learning; the grade level the child is as well as the state standards for each subject, (Maria, 2010). On institutional organization, implementation of parent link will provide educators and parents with a snapshot of the performance of the child from the student profile, the support system the child needs in order to improve on performance. Through the parent link, the school will be well equipped with the student as well as parent’s data based on meal codes, test scores, home language and others which will be fundamental in supporting the family as well as the child. Parent link will provide parents with timely access of their children’s information thereby allowing them to contact the school immediately they come a cross inaccurate information (Maria, 2010). Maria, (2010) explains â€Å"Aris parent link system has provided families with information about their school as well as of other schools, information that has enabled parents to collaborate with teachers in addressing the strengths and weaknesses of their students. Helped parents to make a choice of helping the school as well as in selecting a school of their choice. † Why implement Skype Technology in schools. Science Daily (2009) explains that â€Å"even without direct input from a teacher, as long as there is an environment that stimulates curiosity, is possible for children to teach themselves and share pertinent knowledge. A process called ‘minimally invasive education. † When Skype technology is incorporated in the school, it will offer an ideal resolution for team-based education. With Skype webcam chats, students will be provided with an authentic experience and enough access to a free personal tutor. This will also enable students to collaborate with their English-learning fellows and especially through face-book. Glendon & Kathleen (2009) observes that in Wiregrass High School, â€Å"students benefit in exchanging questions and answers with their teachers via SMS and browse classroom blogs for additional instruction. As a collaborative tool, Skype have helped students to quickly trade notes while other simply takes a snapshot of the blackboard for later studying. † On instructional organization, Implementation of Skype software in schools will facilitate and allow teachers to work in those schools situated in undesirable and remote locations without leaving their offices. Skype and mathematics By 2011, Skype technology should be able to provide collaboration in mathematics through web environment. It should be made to incorporate such features an interface with browser to ensure that students and teachers are able to login from anywhere, an automatic TeX formatting filter for formula typing by teachers and students, (Science Daily, 2009). This implementation of Skype in school curriculum will therefore help students collaborate in computing a complex problem, work on currency conversion, and calculate time zones for other countries among other applications (Science Daily, 2009). Implementation of Skype in schools will facilitate connection between teachers and students world wide through real-time synchronous discussions, audio and text chat, instant file sharing and video conferences. Skype will allow teachers to collaborate and network with their fellow educators; students with the help of Skype will be privileged to surrender their assignments and get back the graded scores from their teachers (Science Daily, 2009). From the discussion above, it is very clear that it is not possible for computers to replace good teachers. However, this technology can be utilized to ensure a high standard of learning in the schools while still allowing teachers to remain at their desirable areas. To this end, incorporation of technology in schools should not be considered a threat to teaching rather an asset to enhance the same (Science Daily, 2009).

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Learn How Animals Are Classified

Learn How Animals Are Classified For centuries, the practice of naming and classifying living organisms into groups has been an integral part of the study of nature.  Aristotle (384BC-322BC) developed the first known method of classifying organisms, grouping organisms by their means of transport such as air, land, and water. A number of other naturalists followed with other classification systems. But it was Swedish botanist, Carolus (Carl) Linnaeus (1707-1778) that is considered to be the pioneer of modern taxonomy. In his book Systema Naturae, first published in 1735, Carl Linnaeus introduced a rather clever way to classify and name organisms. This system, now referred to as Linnaean taxonomy, has been used to varying extents, ever since. About Linnaean Taxonomy Linnaean taxonomy categorizes organisms into a hierarchy of kingdoms, classes, orders, families, genera, and species based on shared physical characteristics. The category of phylum was added to the classification scheme later, as a hierarchical level just beneath kingdom. Groups at the top of the hierarchy (kingdom, phylum, class) are more broad in definition and contain a greater number of organisms than the more specific groups that are lower in the hierarchy (families, genera, species). By assigning each group of organisms to a kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, they can then be uniquely characterized. Their membership in a group tells us about the traits they share with other members of the group, or the traits that make them unique when compared to organisms in groups to which they do not belong. Many scientists still use the Linnaean classification system to some extent today, but it is no longer the only method for grouping and characterizing organisms. Scientists now have many different ways of identifying organisms and describing how they relate to each other. To best understand the science of classification, it will help to first examine a few basic terms: classification - the systematic grouping and naming of organisms based on shared structural similarities, functional similarities, or evolutionary historytaxonomy - the science of classifying organisms (describing, naming, and categorizing organisms)systematics - the study of the diversity of life and the relationships between organisms Types of Classification Systems With an understanding of classification, taxonomy, and systematics, we can now examine the different types of classifications systems that are available. For instance, you can classify organisms according to their structure, placing organisms that look similar in the same group. Alternatively, you can classify organisms according to their evolutionary history, placing organisms that have a shared ancestry in the same group. These two approaches are referred to as phenetics and cladistics and are defined as follows: phenetics  - a method of classifying organisms that is based on their overall similarity in physical characteristics or other observable traits (it does not take phylogeny into account)cladistics  - a method of analysis (genetic analysis, biochemical analysis, morphological analysis) that determines relationships between organisms that are based solely on their evolutionary history In general, Linnaean taxonomy uses  phenetics  to classify organisms. This means it relies on physical characteristics or other observable traits to classify organisms and does consider the evolutionary history of those organisms. But keep in mind that similar physical characteristics are often the product of shared evolutionary history, so Linnaean taxonomy (or phenetics) sometimes reflects the evolutionary background of a group of organisms. Cladistics  (also called phylogenetics or phylogenetic systematics) looks to the evolutionary history of organisms to form the underlying framework for their classification. Cladistics, therefore, differs from phenetics in that it is based on  phylogeny  (the evolutionary history of a group or lineage), not on the observation of physical similarities. Cladograms When characterizing the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, scientists develop tree-like diagrams called cladograms. These diagrams consist of a series of branches and leaves that represent the evolution of groups of organisms through time. When a group splits into two groups, the cladogram displays a node, after which the branch then proceeds in different directions. Organisms are located as leaves (at the ends of the branches).   Biological Classification Biological classification is in a continual state of flux. As our knowledge of organisms expands, we gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences among various groups of organisms. In turn, those similarities and differences shape how we assign animals to the various groups (taxa). taxon  (pl. taxa) - taxonomic unit, a group of organisms that has been named Factors That Shaped High-Order Taxonomy The invention of the microscope in the mid-sixteenth century revealed a minute world filled with countless new organisms that had previously escaped classification because they were too tiny to see with the naked eye. Throughout the past century, rapid advances in evolution and genetics (as well as a host of related fields such as cell biology, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and biochemistry, to name just a few) constantly reshape our understanding of how organisms relate to one another and shed new light on previous classifications. Science is constantly reorganizing the branches and leaves of the tree of life. The vast changes to a classification that have occurred throughout the history of taxonomy can best be understood by examining how the highest level taxa (domain, kingdom, phylum) have changed throughout history. The history of taxonomy stretches back to the 4th century BC, to the times of Aristotle and before. Since the first classification systems emerged, dividing the world of life into various groups with various relationships, scientists have grappled with the task of keeping classification in sync with scientific evidence. The sections that follow provide a summary of the changes that have taken place at the highest level of biological classification over the history of taxonomy. Two Kingdoms (Aristotle, during 4th century BC) Classification system based on:  Observation (phenetics) Aristotle was among the first to document the division of life forms into animals and plants. Aristotle classified animals according to observation, for example, he defined high-level groups of animals by whether or not they had red blood (this roughly reflects the division between vertebrates and invertebrates used today). Plantae  - plantsAnimalia  - animals Three Kingdoms (Ernst Haeckel, 1894) Classification system based on:  Observation (phenetics) The three kingdom system, introduced by Ernst Haeckel in 1894, reflected the long-standing two kingdoms (Plantae and Animalia) that can be attributed to Aristotle (perhaps before) and added third kingdom, Protista that included single-celled eukaryotes and bacteria (prokaryotes). Plantae  - plants (mostly autotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes, reproduction by spores)Animalia  - animals (heterotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes)Protista  - single-celled eukaryotes and bacteria (prokaryotes) Four Kingdoms (Herbert Copeland, 1956) Classification system based on:  Observation (phenetics) The important change introduced by this classification scheme was the introduction of the Kingdom Bacteria. This reflected the growing understanding that bacteria (single-celled prokaryotes) were very much different from single-celled eukaryotes. Previously, single-celled eukaryotes and bacteria (single-celled prokaryotes) were grouped together in the Kingdom Protista. But Copeland elevated Haeckels two Protista phyla to the level of kingdom. Plantae  - plants (mostly autotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes, reproduction by spores)Animalia  - animals (heterotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes)Protista  - single-celled eukaryotes (lack tissues or extensive cellular differentiation)Bacteria  - bacteria (single-celled prokaryotes) Five Kingdoms (Robert Whittaker, 1959) Classification system based on:  Observation (phenetics) Robert Whittakers 1959 classification scheme added the fifth kingdom to Copelands four kingdoms, the Kingdom Fungi (single and multi-cellular osmotrophic eukaryotes) Plantae  - plants (mostly autotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes, reproduction by spores)Animalia  - animals (heterotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes)Protista  - single-celled eukaryotes (lack tissues or extensive cellular differentiation)Monera  - bacteria (single-celled prokaryotes)Fungi  (single and multi-cellular osmotrophic eukaryotes) Six Kingdoms (Carl Woese, 1977) Classification system based on:  Evolution and molecular genetics (Cladistics/Phylogeny) In 1977, Carl Woese extended Robert Whittakers Five Kingdoms to replace Kingdom bacteria with two kingdoms, Eubacteria and Archaebacteria. Archaebacteria differ from Eubacteria in their genetic transcription and translation processes (in Archaebacteria, transcription, and translation more closely resembled eukaryotes). These distinguishing characteristics were shown by molecular genetic analysis. Plantae  - plants (mostly autotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes, reproduction by spores)Animalia  - animals (heterotrophic, multi-cellular eukaryotes)Eubacteria  - bacteria (single-celled prokaryotes)Archaebacteria  - prokaryotes (differ from bacteria in their genetic transcription and translation, more similar to eukaryotes)Protista  - single-celled eukaryotes (lack tissues or extensive cellular differentiation)Fungi  - single and multi-cellular osmotrophic eukaryotes Three Domains (Carl Woese, 1990) Classification system based on:  Evolution and molecular genetics (Cladistics/Phylogeny) In 1990, Carl Woese put forth a classification scheme that greatly overhauled previous classification schemes. The three-domain system he proposed is based on molecular biology studies and resulted in the placement of organisms into three domains. BacteriaArchaeaEukarya

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Does Teacher Diversity Matter In Student Learning Professor Ramos Blog

Does Teacher Diversity Matter In Student Learning In her article, Miller states, based on research, the gender and race of teachers matter especially to nonwhite students when it comes to learning. However, the teacher work force is predominantly white and female. She adds that studies show that teacher diversity can make a difference in a student’s performance and interest in school like when middle school black boys had a black teacher, they tend not to drop out when they reach high school, and more likely attend to college. She discloses that researchers say that students tend to be inspired by role models they can relate to. There is a mutual cultural connection. But teachers unconsciously influence and treat students of a different color differently based on their own backgrounds and stereotypes, which scientists called implicit bias. Furthermore, there is a teacher’s bias that is happening where black teachers have higher expectations for black students and vice versa. Teachers should know their students’ value and the sense of belongingness in the classroom. The optimistic approach given by white teachers towards white students hurts and deprives the black students of equal attention and motivation. However, these expectations can be met from teachers of the same color. The cultural biases and stereotypes by white teachers have a long term effect on the stigmatized black students. It would make a big difference in the training and hiring of more racially diverse teachers. She tells that study also suggests that in order to retain black teachers who have poor resources and are at risk of burning out from their job is by increasing their pay to retain teacher diversity in school. She also continues that studies show that after training, teachers are better able to value their students’ perspectives, view misbehavior as a learning opportunity, inform them of their stereotypes, and provide online tutorials to students. The positive effects were an increase in grades and decrease in suspension rates for black students. Discussion Questions: 1. How does teacher diversity affect student learning? 2. What ways can we increase student learning in such a non-diversified school setting? Work Cited Miller, Claire Cain. Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning? The New York Times. 10 Sep 2018, pp. 1-3. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/10/upshot/teacher-diversity-effect-students-learning.html Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning In the article Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning? by Claire Cain Miller it addresses just how much diversity or the lack there of effects students. Boys especially have been shown to have responded better to educators who shared either race or gender with them, which is not the best case scenario for them since 77% of teachers in the K-12 system today are white women. Girls were shown to have performed better than boys and white students over both hispanic and black students. In schools with even 1 black teacher scores rose among the black children. The point here is that there needs to be more diversity in our educational system to benefit our youth.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Appeal Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Appeal Process - Essay Example er of cases although some may require to be heard by separate appellate committees such as the appellate committee of bankrupt judges (Lawfirms.com, n.d.). A litigant wishing to appeal does it only on paper, and at the appeal, level there is no actual trial. The litigant will have to write down a brief explaining how the court erred in his sentencing, or how their constitutional rights may have been violated in the trail. The federal or state cause trying this case will review the brief and determine based on the submitted evidence if it is a legitimate cause for a retrial. In some cases, the appeal courts will require having an oral argument by the lawyers; this does not involve submission of any new evidence (Lawfirms.com, n.d.). While the appellate court has the legal mandate to review any facts pertaining to the trial, the review process is based on what was on record on the court. It can review the facts of the case, but cannot overturn decisions on factual grounds without categorical evidence of erroneous decisions. Court decisions are not infallible since they are made by humans who are fallible and as such, it is crucial that people are given as the benefit of doubt for as long as possible and all loose ends tied up, this can only be achieved by an improved appeal process. Appeals are often long and tiresome processes, which have an incredible toll on the plaintiff and their families; one of the main causes for this is the shortage of appeal court judges. For an appeal to go through it must be heard by a panel of judges, and this is difficult if there are not enough to go round, another way of simplifying the appeal would be to make it possible for non-lawyers to appeal cases when they are not able to afford and attorney. This could be made possible by simplifying the legal and other requirements needed in the cause of pursuing the appeal. Antony William was arrested and arraigned in for the murder of a ten-year-old girl, while being transported to

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Unclear Energy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unclear Energy - Assignment Example The geographical location of Jordan makes it hard to use water as a coolant and therefore need to find other means of cooling the reactors. The other difference is the availability of the relevant personnel to run the nuclear plants. Sophisticated and technical knowledge is required to manage a nuclear plant ensuring safety and efficiency. The use of nuclear energy in America started back in the 1940s, and therefore enough plans are set up to ensure enough individuals are trained for this job. Jordan is facing a challenge of personnel to operate the machines and maintain the nuclear power plants as it is something that has never been used before in this country. Environmental impact of the nuclear plants is the other difference. Nuclear energy production releases minimal amounts of greenhouse gases to the environment. However, the waste products from nuclear reactors contain radioactive elements that are harmful to human. Proper engineering techniques should be used and far away from human settlement. America has land that can be used for this while Jordan has limited land capacity and hence disposal of these wastes would be a problem. Also, Jordan still uses fuels and oil as a source of energy that highly contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases (Armaroli, 2013). Students contribution is highly required for the establishment of solutions on challenges faced in the energy sector. The first research on other cooling techniques to be used in nuclear plants located in areas where there is scarcity of water. The other is acquiring knowledge regarding operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants s it is a challenge faced in Jordan and other countries. The third is research and advice of disposal techniques of the radioactive wastes so as not to endanger human beings. The use of nuclear energy in America started a long time ago and therefore there is a big difference between the